Page 17 of Slew Foot
“You don’t mind Tanner bringing home a lot of women though?”
“Not only women,” Mickey said, taking a sip of his beer. “Men too. Possibly non-binary people? I get the impression he’s open to anyone.”
“Got it.”
“I’m the same, so it works well.”
Rafe froze. “You and Tanner are …”
“Oh. No.” Mickey shook his head, laughing. “We’ve never … he’s … not my type. I mean I’malsopansexual.”
“Got it.” Rafe’s lips tightened and Mickey wondered what that was all about.
“You’re … gay?” Mickey asked.
“Yeah.” Rafe’s mouth twisted. “Dated one of my teammates on the Acorns. It did not go well.”
Mickey winced, the look on Rafe’s face suddenly making sense. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“That’s why I needed the fresh start.” Rafe gestured vaguely around them.
“It’s a great team,” Mickey said confidently. “You’ll like them. Everyone here is quite open-minded and supportive. Connor’s been working hard to improve that this season, from what I understand.”
Movement on the far side of Rafe pulled Mickey’s attention and he glanced over to see Gavin Racine wrap an arm around Dakota Crane’s waist, dipping him and pulling him close before laying a huge, showy kiss on his lips.
A huge whoop went up from the crowd along with Arkady Romaschenko’s shout of “Surprise!”
Around them, everyone burst into laughter.
Rafe glanced over at Mickey. “Uhhh, what’sthatall about?”
“Apparently our general manager and yoga and Pilates instructor are dating,” Mickey said with a shrug.
“And, uh, Arkady is in on this?” Rafe asked, his forehead furrowing.
Mickey shrugged, glancing over at the Belarusian netminder who was grinning widely. “No idea.”
“Good surprise!” Kady said loud enough Mickey could hear.
Kady patted Dakota’s shoulder, nearly knocked him over. “Happy surprise!”
“For me too,” Dakota said, adding, “I didn’t like Gavin much when we first met,” when Kady looked confused.
The kid was picking up English quickly, but it could still be a challenge for him sometimes.
“Ahh,” Kady said. “I like Mandy from first moment we meet.” He hugged his girlfriend, Mandy, to his side, and she beamed.
Mickey smiled. Kady was a good guy and from what Mickey had seen of his girlfriend, she was perfect for him.
“And this guy is so sweet,” she gushed, pressing her lips to his cheek. “I was starting to think everyone on the apps was a jerk until I met him.”
“Congratulations,” Dakota said.
“You too!” Kady’s smile was so bright and happy. Infectious. “Life is so good. I buy drinks for everyone!”
A huge cheer went up from the team as they stampeded toward the bar where Mickey and Rafe sat, presumably to place their order.
Mickey glanced over to see Rafe frowning.
