Page 167 of Triple Pucked
The kiss is gentle, tender, and possessive.
The type of kiss that he normally gives me.
The kiss of a man who is in a loving relationship, rather than simply dating or fucking.
And Shay melts in his arms.
Fear and joy hit me at the same time.
There is a stunned silence in the arena, along with gasps of surprise.
I raise my eyes to look at the reaction of the players.
The rival players seem confused by the whole thing, exchanging glances.
Grayson, Lucas, and Atlas are watching, equally stunned.
But then, Zach raises his stick. “Hell, yeah!”
Atlas quickly joins in the victory, raising his stick. Suddenly, the whole team skates to surround D’Angelo and Shay in a protective shield, cheering, as if this is just an extension of their hockey victory.
Their reaction is the touchstone for the rest of the arena’s response; they knew that it would be.
Cody and Noah start clapping, which starts off the rest of the staff.
The board members look uncomfortable, as if they don’t know how they should be reacting.
Dad stands, glowering.
Yet he is alone.
D’Angelo has been open about his bisexuality. Yet this is Shay coming out about both about his sexuality and his relationship with his own captain.
Coach knows about their relationship, but since it breaks our contract, could he still make our lives hard over it?
Sponsors and fans are not always accepting. Shay is only just starting out, and talented as he is, will he be damaged by this?
He doesn’t have a wealthy background to fall back on, and he insists on being independent.
Will our love ruin him?
I brace myself.
Slowly, however, the fans stand and start to clap.
It’s not wild or excited.
It’s considered, serious, and it means so fucking much.
Shay glances around at the fans in shock.
Suddenly, tears are chasing down my cheeks.
D’Angelo is pale but smiling.
Shay is almost managing to bounce on his skates in his joy, as D’Angelo keeps his arm around him.
“I love you.” Eden is watching his brother being claimed as publicly as all these men have claimed me but also, with a type of tenderness that I bet he didn’t expect. “I think that this may be what happiness feels like.”
