All week, Ryan had barely heard a peep from Kevin. It wasn’t surprising, since this was the week of his first training camp, but Ryan was anxious to hear how it was going.

He figured he’d get a call on the weekend to catch up, but he didn’t expect to get a call from Kevin right before midnight on Friday, almost Saturday morning. Half-expecting to hear a drunk and happy buddy, Ryan smiled and picked up.

“Hey, Kev.”

“Hey,” Kevin answered, but there wasn’t background chatter from a bar, and Kevin’s voice was rough.

Instantly, Ryan’s lips drew into a frown and he turned off the TV. “What’s up, man?”

“Well, camp week just ended.”

Oh, God. Don’t let him have been sent home.

“And?” Ryan asked, trying to keep his voice casual and not stress Kevin out more.

“And, uh, looks like I’m still on the roster… pending the actual training camp and stuff, of course. And they’re probably gonna give me a couple sheltered minutes here or there of actual game time, slowly build it up.”

Ryan exclaimed, “Awesome!”

“Yeah. It’s a relief.” Still, Kevin didn’t sound like he was that relieved. Something else was on his mind. Boy trouble?

Ryan raised a brow. When Kevin didn’t say anything, he prompted, “But?”

“Um…” Kevin hedged.

“Dude, you don’t call in the middle of the night without a reason.” It wasn’t that late, but Kevin sounded like he’d just been asleep. “Spill,” Ryan told him simply.

“I really, really like this guy. Shit, I just don’t know what comes next.”

Ryan hummed under his breath. “You hinted at that before. What happened?”

“I…” Kevin trailed off, then cleared his throat. “Someone’s trying to gossip about us, and it’s complicated, what with hockey and things…”

“It involves hockey? You want me to add Cam to this call? He knows the league better than me.”

Kevin sounded relieved. “Yes, please. Three-way call? What is this, the 90s?”

“Wait for it,” Ryan laughed. “Uh, hold on… do you know how?”

“No. Do you?”

“No. Hold on,” Ryan told Kevin. “I’ll Google it.”

He pulled up his laptop and Googled how to 3way call. After a few button presses, he managed to find the right key combination, then added Cam’s phone number.

They both listened quietly to the ringing phone, and then Cam answered, his voice husky. “Hey, what’s up Ryan?”

“I got Kevin on the phone.”

“No shit. Hey, Kev!” Cam answered, already sounding more awake. “How’s it going, man?”

“Great,” Kevin answered. “They kept me around. Coach Walker seems to think I’m all right. It’s not about hockey, actually. Well, it sort of is…”

Cam hummed, his voice even and calm. “This about dating?”

“How’d you know?”

“Lucky guess.” Something shifted in the background and then thumped. “Okay, just had to grab some fresh air,” Cam added, and the sound of the patio door sliding shut faintly echoed through the line. “Okay, what’s going on?”

Kevin blew out a quick sigh. “Long story short? There’s this guy I like, but as far as the league goes… I don’t wanna be out. But my roo—someone here… is trying to spread rumors and shit.”

Cam grunted a sigh. “Fuck that bullshit.”

“I know,” Ryan muttered, but he otherwise stayed quiet. Cam had the hockey side covered, which was good since Ryan never knew what to say. He was a lot better at listening than giving advice.

“Yeah,” Kevin murmured. “So I’m pretty sure everyone knows about me now, and I haven’t even formally practiced with the team yet…”

Cam interrupted before Kevin could get panicky. “It’s fine. Dude, I was only half-in the closet the whole time. Everyone knew. The guys are great. If you date a fan or whatever, like I did… as long as he isn’t an asshole like him… they’ll look after you.”

“He’s… not a fan.”

Cam sucked in a quick breath and even Ryan muffled his gasp.

Oh, boy. Kevin was dating a hockey player.

“Going right in the deep end, huh? A player?” Cam chuckled quietly. “Tell me it ain’t a coach.”

Kevin sounded sheepish. “Yeah. A player.”

“Who better to understand the life, though?” Cam followed up instantly and Ryan grunted in agreement.

“Or we could both get distracted by each other and fuck up each other’s careers.”

Cam snorted with laughter and Ryan crinkled his eyes, waiting for the punchline. “Dude,” Cam told Kevin. “Are you with him 24/7? You still hitting the gym? Making all your practices?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Calm the shit down then, bro.”

Ryan snorted with laughter, too. “Yeah, he’s kind of right. What exactly’s the problem? He on your team? Can’t focus on the puck when he’s there?”

“No, no, not at all. M—He’s, uh, he’s… on the major league team.”

Cam whistled teasingly, and Ryan could picture Kevin’s cheeks turning beet red. “Friends in high places, then,” he teased. “Seriously, dude. It’s chill. Guys secretly date all the time. We just don’t talk about it.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah,” Cam laughed. “I’ve known a lot of guys I think were fucking, or at least making out heavily.”

Ryan chuckled, then told Kevin, “See? I figured he’d know what he was talking about.”

“All right, all right,” Kevin laughed, but his voice was a little lighter now. “You don’t think it’ll be a big deal?”

“If it gets to the media and the public, if it blows up,” Cam told him, “you two will have to be ready for that. If you become a you two, that is. Just… play really hard. Keep proving you deserve to be there. Cause if it comes out, you’ll have to be twice the player anyone else has to be to get support, and that’s shitty, but…”

“Yeah,” Kevin murmured. “Yeah, I figured.”

Cam was quiet for a few moments, and when he spoke up, his voice was quiet. “You’re lucky to play with him—even if not quite with him—though. You’re practicing at the same rinks, you’ll see each other playing at home, in parties… especially during the summer. Make the most of that.”

Ryan wondered how hard it had been on Cam to date someone outside the hockey life. From what he knew, Cam’s ex was a dirtbag anyway. He hoped Kevin had better taste.

“Right,” Kevin said.

“And bring him out here for me to meet, Jesus,” Cam laughed. “This summer, have him come home with you or something.”

“But that’d look—” Kevin started.

“Totally normal, too. Remember what’s normal in the hockey world—bromances are, like, a thing all over the league. You can get away with murder, dude. More than outside hockey, really.”

“Huh,” Kevin hummed. “Yeah… I might. Okay. Thanks, guys. I should probably hit the hay.”

“Course,” Ryan spoke up. “I wanna meet the guy too.”

“Right,” Kevin laughed. “Okay. Good night.” After their good nights, Kevin hung up, leaving Ryan wondering if Cam was still there.

“You still there?” Cam asked, just as he was about to.

“Yeah,” Ryan laughed. “Thanks for picking that one up, man.”

Cam chuckled. “No problem, dude. Glad to put my ridiculously specialized skill set to work sometimes. Shit, though… I think I know who he likes.”

“No way,” Ryan chuckled. “Is he… all right?”

“Uh…” Cam said, hedging for a moment, then sighed. “I think so. I’m kinda worried for them both, if it’s who I think it is. But there’s nothing I can do from out here. But yeah, I’d trust that guy with my own brother.”

“I’ll keep working on him if you do,” Ryan promised. “Make sure they come out for a visit.”

“Good,” Cam laughed. “We’ll see ‘em by the end of the summer, then. Okay, I gotta get to bed before Noah comes to find me.”

“Right,” Ryan chuckled quietly, glancing over towards his own dark, empty bedroom. Fuck, he’d been right: he was gonna end up the last single one.

“Take care, all right? Still on for a barbecue this weekend?”

“Still on,” Ryan promised. “See you, man.”

“Good night.”

When Ryan pushed through his jealousy, he was glad for Kevin. Hockey would be a damn lonely life and career if he didn’t find someone. He just wondered how long Kevin’s deal with this new guy could stay in the shadows, especially if his roommate was being an asshole.

At least he didn’t have that problem. On the other hand, sometimes he’d kill to live with someone just so he had someone to talk to at night.

“Bedtime,” he said out loud. He had some projects to build this weekend, and the table saw didn’t care how much sleep he’d gotten.