Chapter Four

Calgary apparently had a couple of practice rinks that Bobby had an in on. Dan was glad they weren’t trying for any that were hosting Olympic events; he couldn’t imagine they’d be willing to let a group use the rink after hours, athletes or not.

With all six of them crammed into a cab, Dan ended up stuck next to Bobby, who seemed determined to press himself as close to Dan as possible. There was plenty of room for him to have his own space, and Dan desperately hoped that he would shift a little on the seat, but from the way Helena’s curling up, and the knowing smirk on Rafael’s face, that wasn’t going to happen.

“Who did you sleep with to get access to this rink?” Rafael asked, looking unimpressed.

Something about the casual way he said it made Dan’s stomach roll unpleasantly but he didn’t focus on it, instead looking out of the window at Calgary’s city rushing by. The last time he’d been here had been for a game, and he’d begged off going out with the team. Dan wasn’t interested in picking up or getting drunk off his ass, so he spent most nights reviewing game tape or just watching movies until he fell asleep. He hadn’t had a roommate in a few years, so he didn’t have anyone to slam into the room and wake him up, or anyone to bother by being a stick-in-the-mud – a term Max was still prone to using, even though he was eighteen and should probably update his terms to hockey slang and cusses.

“Nobody,” Bobby said, playing with the ring on his middle finger. It was ostentatious. Everything about Bobby was ostentatious. He had makeup on. Dan figured that was the problem with his attraction to Bobby’s eyes. If he hadn’t been wearing eyeliner, Dan would be fine. He had more jewelry on than Dan’s mother had worn in her life, but he was still ridiculously attractive.

Sitting so close to him, Dan was painfully aware of just how attracted he was. “You’re a figure skater?”

Bobby stared up at him, which was not something that Dan found hot at all. “Somewhat.”

“He’s lying to you,” Ian said, sounding more annoyed than Dan thought the situation warranted. “He’s won gold for the US twice and silver once. Even though he’s not American.”

“Flattery,” Bobby said, unaffected by Ian’s tone, “Will get you everywhere. And, contrary to popular belief, I am half American.”

“Wow,” Dan said. He sent a glare Ian’s way because whatever problem he had with Bobby was his issue and his alone. There was no excuse to be rude. “I mean, congratulations. That’s some record.”

“Thank you.” Bobby’s smile was warm. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

“You didn’t know I was a hockey player until fifteen minutes ago,” Dan pointed out.

“Please,” Rafael snorted. “He’s known who you were since Kayla started skating competitions.”

It wasn’t a surprise; Kayla knew plenty of people in skating circles, hockey and figure skating both given their history, but Dan didn’t think anyone would make the connection to him through that. They didn’t even share a surname. “Really?”

Bobby shrugged, but there was a rising color to his cheeks.

“I’m not as good as Ian,” Dan pointed out.

Ian sighed, and Rafael narrowed his eyes, but Bobby waved a hand.

“I’m sure that’s not true, Daniel. I’ve seen you skate. If you weren’t so busy holding back, you’d see it for yourself.” There was a small pause. “Ah, here we are.”

The taxi slowed to a stop and as everyone climbed over each other to get out, Dan couldn’t get his legs to work. Bobby knew he was holding back? It wasn’t deliberately—Dan really did want to get ahead in the NHL—but it was also true that he didn’t skate at his best. Most coaches worth their job noticed and often tried to break him of the habit, but he was still putting up points and scoring goals, so that got him a lot of slack. Still, Bobby didn’t play hockey and Dan couldn’t figure out how he knew Dan was holding back. Maybe Kayla told him? Maybe Rafael knew, and he’d just been waiting for a chance to bring it up.

“He’s not wrong, you know,” Rafael said, jostling Dan’s shoulder as Bobby led them into the rink. It was dark outside, and the rink had to be closing soon, but Bobby walked in with surety that they would be allowed onto the ice. “You are holding back.”

“I’m not,” Dan protested, and when Rafael opened his mouth, Dan sighed, resting a hand on Rafael’s arm. “What if I am? I do my job, I get pay equal to the way I play, and everyone’s happy.”

“If you could win us a game,” Rafael said. “Why do it?”

“I have reasons,” Dan snapped because he wasn’t about to sob out his story to Rafael. “The coaches know and if they can’t get me to snap out of it, you can’t.”

Rafael held up his hands, looking startled at the vehemence in Dan’s words. “I just want you to be the best, man. It’s all everyone wants for you.”

“Yeah.” Dan thought of his mother. “Not all of them for the right reasons.”

Dan didn’t want to wait to see if Rafael would connect the dots, so he pulled away and hurried after the others, not caring if the door closed before Rafael reached it. His heart was hammering in his chest and there was a rush of heat through his body at people knowing his secret. Or one of them. They were tied together in a way, but Dan could barely explain it to himself, let alone someone else.

Thankfully, by the time the rink time had been sorted out, and Bobby was handing out skates appropriate to the sport, Rafael gave him a stiff nod, and Dan knew they were good. Rafael wasn’t going to bring it up again.

Still, Dan didn’t truly relax until he was stepping out onto the ice, leaving the others to chatter amongst themselves. There were a couple of sticks in the locker room and though Dan didn’t like using sticks he wasn’t familiar with, he grabbed one, twisting it in his hands. The ice was fresh and smooth and as his skates cut through it, he let himself sink into the feeling.

“You look good,” Bobby said, gliding toward him. Dan had never seen Bobby skate before, though he would probably spend some of his downtime looking over Bobby’s Olympic medal programs. Bobby was wearing sweatpants and a sweater, so he wasn’t exactly dressed for the occasion, but then neither was Dan. It felt weird to be on the ice in street clothes, so used to the jersey and protective gear. He skated rings around Bobby.

“You’re not a bad skater yourself,” Dan said, feeling brave. “Though figure skating is easy.”

Bobby narrowed his eyes, but there was an amused tilt to his smile. “Oh? The big bad hockey player thinks he can take me one on one?”

Dan didn’t know the real answer to that question. Just prior to meeting Bobby he’d looked at Simon and thought stereotypical figure skater. Bobby was not that. Even with the sweater on, Dan could tell he had well-defined muscles, that he was packing heat. It was part of the reason he was having to tell his dick not to get too excited, please. “With speed?”

“Sure,” Bobby said, though there was a glint to his eye that said his mind had been elsewhere.

Dan tried not to think about where that might be. “Come on then.”

It was a bad idea. Dan knew this the instant they started. Something about Bobby was pulling him in, making him want to show off and skate hard, prove to Bobby that yeah, he was holding back and look what he could do.

Ian and Rafael were going to come onto the ice eventually, so whatever Dan wanted to prove to Bobby, and for whatever reason, he kept a hold on how he was skating.

“I know you can do better than that,” Bobby prodded, pushing him hard as they skated around the rink. Dan pushed back, and Bobby would dart around him, adding a spin or a familiar figure skating move that Dan had seen Kayla doing. It was a give and take and Dan was enjoying himself. Something about Bobby’s words made him brave.

“Sure,” Dan said easily, eyes narrowed. “Doesn’t mean I’m gonna show you everything.”

He kept his tone light; “flirty,” Kayla would say.

Bobby was looking intrigued, and feeling a rush of want once again, Dan put on an extra burst of speed, hands on Bobby’s arms as he propelled them backward. Bobby didn’t fight, breathing hard against Dan’s neck. It took every ounce of Dan’s self-control not to shiver.

“I’m not going to make everything easy. You’ll have to work for the rest,” he added, dropping his hands to Bobby’s waist and patting gently before pulling away, circling the rink. He could see Rafael and Ian leaning against the boards, Simon and Helena both clapping at their little display, even if they hadn’t been doing anything particularly impressive. Bobby was skating slowly around the rink, eyes following Dan carefully and Dan’s dick jumped at the heat in his expression.

Dan schooled his expression as he passed the others, holding out his arms. “You coming or what?”

Ignoring the knowing look on his brother’s face, not wanting to acknowledge the he knows about you thought currently running through his head.

Dan was glad Helena had decided to ask Bobby to bring them here. The ice time was doing wonders for his nerves and for the energy that had been battering at him since he arrived in Calgary. Thoughts of his mother his performance, his secrets; it all fell away and he gave himself over to the feel of his skates on the ice and the weight of a stick in his hands. Even if he, Ian and Rafael were just playing keep away and running small drills, with Helena occasionally running interference, it was enough to get Dan back on familiar ground.

“He looks less crazy,” Helena pointed out after a while.

Ian laughed, clapping Dan on the back. “Definitely needed this, eh?”

Dan rolled his eyes. Yeah, he had, but his brother already had a big enough head, he didn’t need Dan adding to his ego. “Nah. It was being able to slam you into the boards that cleared my head.”

Lunging for a punch, Dan ducked with a laugh, skating a wide loop away from his brother and Rafael, and circling around Simon and Bobby, who were both doing intricate spins.

While Dan was distracted watching Bobby, Ian skated to the edge of the rink, waving a hand. “Come on, guys. That’s time.”

Helena and Simon immediately skated after, with Rafael reluctantly waving his stick in the air at Dan and following sedately. Bobby was still spinning slowly on the ice, and Dan watched him for a bit before testing the weight of the hockey stick again. Skating loose circles around the rink, he mentally pictured a goal and skated toward it, utilizing speed and direction he often tried to hold back on. He knew Bobby was watching and something about that made it more thrilling, made touching the ice that much more exciting.

“Show me,” Bobby said, waving a hand.

Dan did; stick to the ice, and eyes on the puck, he threw everything he had into the moves, ducking around imaginary defenders, stopping on a dime and throwing in the occasional shot on goal, by the time Dan was done, Bobby was staring him, heat obvious in his eyes.

Dan didn’t want to skate anymore; he wanted to drop his stick and skate right up to Bobby, kissing him on the mouth, dragging him back to the Village and—

Shaking it off, Dan swallowed.

“Why,” Bobby said slowly, “Don’t you play like that on the ice?”

Something about the way Bobby was looking at him, made Dan want to be honest. He said, “Because if anyone finds out I’m gay, I need my hockey to be better,” and regretted it immediately. Snapping his mouth shut, Dan darted his eyes back to the ice and skated away, avoiding the hand Bobby reached out toward him.

By the time they piled into a cab to go home, most of them were sleepy, Helena immediately resting her head on Ian’s shoulder. Dan somehow ended up next to Bobby again, the air heavy with everything Bobby wasn’t saying about Dan’s revelation, and Dan stared resolutely out the window, ignoring Ian’s kick to his shin.

“My coach is gonna go nuts,” Helena said, in the manner of someone who didn’t mind in the slightest. “I’m supposed to have training tomorrow and at this rate, I’ll sleep through my alarm.”

From the other side of Bobby, Simon let out a soft noise as he stared at his watch, eyes narrowed. Dan wondered where his glasses went. “Oh, shit, my coach is gonna freak.”

“Ours won’t care as long as we’re on ice,” Rafael pointed out to both Ian and Dan.

Dan didn’t need the reminder that he was going to have to face the team and skate tomorrow, with his own words ringing in his ears. “I’ll be fine.”

“So much stamina,” Ian said, envious.

Bobby snorted next to him and Rafael kicked him.

“Don’t even, Bobby.”

“What?” Ian asked, looking between Bobby and Rafael and then seemed to realize what he’d said, much to Dan’s embarrassment. “Oh, fuck you, Raf.”

“Yeah, fuck you,” Dan said, a beat too late, giving Rafael the middle finger.

Bobby was staring at him, so Dan looked back out of the window, trying not to see the hurt expression on Bobby’s face through the window. Fuck, even when he wasn’t trying he was being an asshole.

Helena was fully asleep by the time they made it back to the Village and though Ian was reluctant to wake her, Dan nudged her deliberately on the way out of the car, avoiding Ian’s hissed rebuke and jumping down to the sidewalk, shaking out his stiffness and stretching a little. Cramping up in a car after skating on the ice for an hour wasn’t doing his body any favors and he would feel it tomorrow.

“Dan,” Bobby started, as Rafael and Simon made their way inside.

“Please forget I said anything,” Dan said quickly, darting a look over his shoulder. Bobby followed his gaze, to where Ian and Helena were clambering out of the cab, Ian pausing to hand over cash, and he nodded.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” Bobby said. His expression was difficult to read. “You told me to work for the rest. I will, including the parts you’re so desperate to hide.”

Dan’s breath felt like it had been punched from his chest and he could only stand on the sidewalk, helplessly watching Bobby walk away from him, throwing a smirk over his shoulder.

“Snap out of it, Dan,” Ian said, shoving his shoulder. Helena was hanging off him, still mostly asleep. “Moon over Bobby later.”

Dan shook it off, scowling. “I wasn’t mooning, dickface.”

It was so much worse than mooning over Bobby.