Page 18 of King of the Crease

Hank doesn’t question it. We get each other’s numbers. I’ve never gotten a boy’s number before. Even if Hank is likely straight, I let myself feel this buzz.

“Great to meet you, gentlemen. I think I’m going to choose Sandwiches on Main.”

“Let me know what you think about the tomatoes.” Hank picks up the tree, and Griffin takes the front. “On the count of three. One, two, three, lift!”

The guys walk off, Christmas tree in hand.

And just like that, Nick from Baltimore made his first friend.

6

HANK

Hockey practice is held at Summers Rink, the one community rink in Sourwood. Figure skaters, hockey players, and people looking for a casual date night share the space. The place is preserved in ‘90s amber, including a neon sign for the snack area and a functional pay phone.

Even if we’re not as agile as we once were, I love any time I get to spend with my friends. We’ve been there for each other through losing spouses, cancer diagnoses, and divorces. I may not drive a Lexus, but I feel very rich in life thanks to these guys.

I roll up to practice with a heavy load of nerves sloshing around my stomach. Is Nick going to show? Ever since we met a few days ago, we shared a few texts about getting him set up as my new teammate: making sure he filled out paperwork with Marcy the rink owner, where to get hockey gear, relaying information about practice.

It’s been a very professional vibe, not like the fun buzz I got from chatting with him in person. When is it appropriate to start joking with someone on a text chain? Are we friends?

Do friends think about each other’s sparkling eyes?

In fairness to me, they were utterly transfixing. Staring into Nick’s eyes reminded me of looking into a kaleidoscope and getting lost in swirls of color.

A few years ago, while in the trenches of dating post-divorce, I kissed a guy at a New Year’s party and…I liked it. I still like women, but I also liked that. I’ve leaned into being bisexual a little bit more since then. I went on a few dates with guys, and while they never led to second dates, I liked the energy of those evenings. Although I can’t help worrying that in gay world, I’m a lousy first date.

I’m secure enough to appreciate male beauty. Lots of gentlemen are handsome. Dashing. Even sexy. I have no embarrassment about admitting that. The Lord has blessed certain men with beautiful features. Who are we to ignore his artistry? It’s not like all male tourists who visit The David in Italy are turned gay by one glimpse of his tight, marble ass.

Nick is merely a beautiful man. Beautiful eyes. Beautiful pouty lips. I’m friends with a lot of handsome men, and Nick will be another on that list.

“Hank!” calls out one such handsome friend, Bill Crandell. He comes up to me in the locker room while I change into my goalie gear. The amount of padding I have to put on makes me feel like I’m wearing one of those sumo wrestler costumes.

“Hey Bill! What’s up?”

Bill has short dark hair and a bushy dark beard and no time for bullshit. “You had Marcy put a new guy on our team?”

“Nick! He’s great!”

“He’s cool,” Griffin says, getting changed one bench over. That chills Bill out slightly.

“It’s a good idea to invite other people onto the team,” says Tanner, a winger on the team, as he searches through his bag. “None of us have backups.”

There’s truly nobody playing hockey who’s sweeter than Tanner. It’s amazing the aggression in the sport and the stress of raising four children never seeped into his spirit.

“Des, do you have my elbow pads?” Tanner puts a hand on the shoulder of Des, a man who’s so suave and charming, it’s like he came out of the womb wearing a suit and drinking a martini.

“Oh, yeah. I saw them on the counter, so I packed them. Here you go, babe.” Des reaches into his bag for the pads and kisses Tanner’s hand as he passes them over.

Besides being teammates and best friends, they married recently. It was originally to help Tanner and his kids out with an insurance issue, but they wound up falling in love for real. I got to be Des’s best man, and I was pretty great at it.

Seeing them have these quick moments of cuteness sometimes makes me miss having a significant other. And right now, it’s making me think of Nick.

Bill clears his throat. “Guys, remember: in the locker room, we’re just teammates.”

“Yeah, yeah. We know.” Des rolls his eyes. “It’s a good thing you have a boyfriend Bill or else I’d assume you were homophobic.”

Outside the rink, Bill is a VP at some fancy corporate company. He finally loosened up a little when his (now former) assistant Tate propositioned him on a business trip. They’re still together, and Bill can’t help show a slight grin whenever he hears Tate cheer for him at games.