Page 175 of The Long Game
“How did Hayden react at first? Thrilled for you, was he?”
Shane’s mouth dropped open. He tried to think of a defense, but in the end he just closed his mouth again.
J.J. huffed. “That’s what I thought.”
“Look. The less people who knew, the better. It’s nothing personal.”
“It fucking feels personal.”
“God, would you stop? I’ve been hiding this thing for eleven fucking years. It sucked, okay? I’m sorry if your feelings are hurt, but come on, man.”
Somewhere in the middle of Shane’s outburst, J.J. had gone very still. He looked like he’d seen a ghost. “Eleven years?” he said quietly.
“Um,” Shane said, “give or take.”
J.J. walked to the staircase that led to the second floor and sat down hard on the third step. “Eleven fucking years. The entire time I’ve known you.”
A lump formed in Shane’s throat. “We haven’t been, like,a couplethat whole time.”
J.J.’s shoulders slumped. “Fucking hell, Hollander. Whoareyou?”
Shane took a chance, and sat next to him on the step. It was...cozy. “I’m your friend. And your teammate. And I fell in love with the most complicated person I could possibly fall in love with.”
“Ilya fucking Rozanov.” J.J. shook his head. “Jesus, Shane. Why?”
“Because...” Shane didn’t even know where to start. Finally he just said, “He makes me happy. I know it doesn’t make sense, but he’s it for me. We’re getting married.”
J.J.’s head whipped around to face him, eyes wide.“Married?”
“Uh, yeah,” Shane said nervously. “So, y’know. Watch for an invitation.”
“Fuck, Hollander. This is a lot.”
Shane nudged him. “I’m the same friend you’ve always had. And I’ll still be the same when I’m Ilya’s husband. I swear I’m normal.”
A long, tense silence fell between them. Then J.J. sighed and said, “No one who’s never heard of Cardi B is normal.”
Shane barked out a surprised laugh. “Fuck off. I’d heard thename, I just didn’t know any of his songs.”
“Her, you fucking dipshit.”
They leaned against each other and laughed, and it felt like things might be okay between them.
“I don’t want to be mad at you, Hollander.”
“I know. But you can be.” Shane smiled. “Until tomorrow. Then we’ve gotta play hockey.”
J.J. smiled back. “Deal.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
April
“The king is back!” Bood yelled as soon as Ilya entered the Centaurs locker room.
Everyone in the room clapped and whooped in excitement. Ilya felt himself blushing a bit.
“Thank you,” he said, meaning it. Shane had told him a bit about his own team’s reception of him earlier that morning, and it had been a lot more wary and awkward than this, which made the warm welcome back even more touching.
