Page 139 of Two Guys One Puck
The New York Dragons have the first pick and the clock starts.
They use up some of the clock, and it feels like years.
I squeeze my eyes shut when they are finally ready to announce and it’s…Ktytor.
I open my eyes to find him smug as fuck, and I just know he’s going to be insufferable for the next few months.
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you.” He gets up to shake hands, and the Dragons give him a jersey with his number on it.
Chicago has the next pick, and they take Wolfe. Archangel is smiling, but I can tell it’s fake. My heart hurts for him.
Then the Dragons are up again?
“What?” I want to ask Ktytor, but he’s over with them.
I glance around, but everyone seems a little confused. It’s pretty public when teams trade players for draft picks, so how was this not talked about more? A quick Google tells me the Dragons, in some witchcraft shit, came up with the first andthird draft picks by last-minute trades after the regular season ended. It surprises a lot of the room, and I just know there are backroom statisticians and guys in back rooms rerunning numbers like this is a real life Draft Day. It’s not normal, but trades after the deadlines do happen. Those players just can’t play post season.
I haven’t seen any speculation about the trades, and I guess I wouldn’t since they didn’t qualify for the postseason. I hadn’t even thought to look at moves the teams have been making leading up to the draft.
I’m still reeling and reading an article on my phone when I hear my name.
My head snaps up. Am I having a fucking stroke? This can’t be real.
We’re going to be on the same team?
I stand up slowly, and Ktytor is beaming.
I’m handed a Dragons jersey with my name on the back as the entire arena screams. Some shock, some excitement. I don’t blame them. I feel a lot of the same. I rub my fingers over the material, trying to process that Ktytor and I might just end up in the same city.
We get through the pictures with the draft staff and then do a few interviews. The General Manager talks a lot about their plans for both of us, and I go through it all in a fog. When all that is finished the General Manager checks in with us, and we exchange pleasantries.
“Everyone told us we were crazy for taking the both of you. They say there’s no way you can get along, but we think you two can really complement each other.” The General Manager slaps me on the back.
“I’m still not sure how any of this is real.” And it’s been over an hour.
“You ready to play with me instead of against me, Seaborn?” Ktytor asks.
“I think so.”
“I’m sure you two got it. I saw you two at summer camp; that’s when I knew I had to make it happen. We’re going to be unstoppable.”
“You’ve been planning this that long?”
The General Manager shrugs with a smirk. “I keep things in the back of my mind, and I know we had a lot of changes and growth we need to do.” He goes back to the staff table to work on the rest of the draft, leaving us to our own devices.
All the fear and anxiety we’ve carried for months melts away, and we both smile. It’s the final piece we carry restricting happiness. Sure, there are other things like being in the closet and navigating the changes coming, but none of them feel insurmountable with Ktytor.
“What do you want to do with the rest of our night?” I ask.
“Let’s go have hotel sex and celebrate. You owe me a bare fuck. Don’t think I’ve forgotten.”
