Page 53 of The Poster Boy
“You better be careful what you wish for, Boone. She might end up with a crush on both of us.”
“Ugh. True. Anyway, let’s get out of here.” Boone clapped me on the shoulder and steered me toward the garage where his Jeep Wrangler was parked. Marek let out a low whistle at the sight of Boone’s shiny black machine.
Boone grinned. “She’s nice, right? I don’t drive her as often as I want to, though.”
I opened the hatch and dropped my bag in the cargo area behind the back seat. Boone tossed his stuff in next to mine, and Marek slid in next to me and put his gear on top. The shy smile he threw my way made my heart lurch. I wanted to press him against the side of the Jeep and kiss him senseless. But I didn’t want to give him the wrong idea about us. This wasn’t some kind of romantic getaway. This was me not wanting Marek to be alone on the holidays.
“Are you going to call shotgun, Jay?” Boone asked as he pulled the driver’s side door open.
“Myers can sit up front. He should get the full Boone Weimer behind the wheel experience.”
Marek gave me a worried expression.
“Do you get car sick, Myers?” I asked as I slipped intothe seat behind Boone’s. Marek went around to the other side and got in the front passenger seat.
Had I positioned us so that I could spend the next few hours getting my fill of staring at Marek? I didn’t want to answer that.
He clicked his seatbelt into place and looked back at me. “How bad is he?”
“I haven’t killed us yet, have I?” Boone started the vehicle and threw it into reverse.
“Comforting,” Marek said with a wry smile.
I itched to reach for him, and it was at that moment I realized what a long few days it was going to be. I’d only spent five minutes with him, and already I wanted his undivided attention. Boone knew about us, so theoretically I could play the part of the boyfriend for a few days.
But I’d never been a boyfriend before. Not as an adult. If I wanted to keep Marek, I had no idea what it would look like. What would the relationship of two hockey players be like? Would the team be okay with it? Would I fuck it up? I had no relationship experience beyond a couple short-term things in high school. But hockey had always come first. As long as I was a player, it would come before everything and everyone.
Hockey was all I had. Without the team, my life was shockingly empty. I had Boone and his family, but the rest of my world was sparsely populated.
“So, Myers, what’s the deal with the volunteering? How’d you get into it?” Boone asked as he navigated the streets of Vancouver like a fucking beast. He gave no quarter to other drivers, effortlessly moving into the lanes he wanted without batting an eye. Boone was as natural behind the wheel as he was on the ice.
“Once upon a time, there was this kid who just wantedto play hockey. He had the attention span of a squirrel at a rave until you put him in the net. The first time I was in net, they did it as a joke, I think. The assistant coach was a bit of a dick, and the other kids weren’t fond of me. They put me in net so they could shoot pucks at me.”
“Jesus Christ, Myers.” Boone sounded genuinely pissed off.
“Well, it was pretty clear right away that Marek in goal was different than Marek in any other position. It went from the kids trying to hit me with the puck to them trying to get it past me. I guess I volunteer because I know there’s still kids out there who are like me. Kids that don’t really fit or haven’t found where they fit yet.”
“Well, Myers, I think you fit just fine where you are now.” Boone met my gaze in the rearview mirror. He and I had been friends for long enough that we could communicate through a look, a gesture, a glance in the mirror. I didn’t have to hear the words to know that Boone approved of us, for whatever reason, and his approval meant a whole hell of a lot as it turned out. Because, for the first time since I’d invited Marek along, the knot of anxiety in my chest loosened and disappeared.
Chapter 25
Marek
Boone’s family home looked like something out of a Hallmark movie. A fresh layer of snow blanketed everything, really selling the whole thing. Every house on the street they lived on was decorated top to bottom with Christmas lights.
When we pulled into the driveway, Boone’s mom opened the door and waited on the front steps in her house slippers. She pulled her cardigan shut to ward off the chill and waved at Boone. And if that wasn’t a kick in the chest. Even before I’d come out, my parents were hardly the affectionate type. The fact that I couldn’t imagine a world in which I’d ever gotten a greeting like that from them made me heartsick.
Usually I did my best not to give them much thought, but they’d been on my mind lately. The internet and the media had found out the real story behind my fractured relationship with them and was firmly on my side. That was some small solace, but I still hated that everyone knew I’d been thrown away. Even now the rejection sat thick in my stomach. An ache I couldn’t get rid of no matter how I tried.
Boone cut the engine and was the first one out. I took my time, wanting to give Boone and his mom a chance to say hello first. But I couldn’t hide in the Jeep forever. Taking a deep breath, I climbed out and was met by Jay, who slung an arm around my shoulders and towed me toward the front door.
“They don’t bite. Boone’s the feral one of the bunch.”
“I heard that,” Boone said as he wriggled out of his mom’s embrace.
“You were meant to,” Jay shot back. “Diane, this is Marek. Marek, this is Boone’s mom.”
Jay kept his arm around my shoulders until I was in front of Diane and only then did he pull it away. Before I could even get a greeting out, she wrapped her arms around Jay and me.
