Page 40 of Broken As Puck

“At least there isn’t a hole in the roof,” I muttered to myself as drips began to fall from the top of the door, where the seal was broken, and soaked my left arm.

When I finally arrived, I had to park at the far end of the lot because all the closer parking spaces were taken. I thrust the door open, shoved the umbrella through it, and popped it open, then slung my bag over my shoulder and dashed for the front entrance.

I got to the front door at the same time as a man in a hooded jacket. As I closed my umbrella, he pushed his hood back and held the door open. I glanced at his face and recognized the brown eyes and dark, closely shorn hair.

“Gadot,” I exclaimed, hoping that this was a sign my luck for the morning was changing. “Can I have a quick word with you before training?”

“Of course.” He gestured for me to walk through the door, and I did, ducking awkwardly around him in a way that, in hindsight, wasn’t really necessary.

Gadot rolled his sleeve back and looked at his watch. “I’ve got about ten minutes before I really need to be in the changing rooms. What’s up?”

I moved to the side, so we weren’t blocking the doorway, and he went with me. “Have you heard of the Rainbow Sports Alliance?”

Now that we’d finished with the shelter’s fundraiser, it was time to move on to the next one, and Matt’s suggestion was the one that had resonated with me most so far—although, of course, no charities were unworthy of support.

He cocked his head. “You mean the charity that financially assists aspiring LGBTQ+ athletes?”

I nodded. “I really like what they’re doing, and I’ve been brainstorming how we might help them. I’d like to organize a charity game. Some of their players could play with some of ours. It would be a meet-and-greet as well as a training opportunity for them. We could sell tickets and any profit would be donated. I also thought we could have an auction. What do you think?”

Gadot’s smile had gradually widened until it stretched from ear to ear. “I love that idea! We could invite the players the charity is working with and form mixed teams with queer players and allies from among the Chaos.”

“Do you think many from within the team would be interested?”

He held his fingers out and began ticking them off. “Freeland is bi. He’d definitely be in. I’m not sure whether we have any other queer players, but we have plenty of allies. Jesse would be all for it. Hell, he’d probably dress in rainbow colors too. I think we’d also have Kelly, Matthews, Gauthier, Harris, and Taylor. Maybe some of the others. I don’t know the younger guys or the transfers as well. We’d easily get enough for a team, though.”

My gut fizzed pleasantly. I couldn’t wait to get to my desk and start planning. The shelter fundraiser had been a lot of fun, but this would be something I could really sink my teeth into.

“Would you be interested in helping me plan it?” I asked, trying to gauge his expression. “Obviously, I’ll do most of it, but I’m not LGBTQ+, and it would be really helpful if I had someone who is, to make sure I’m on the right path.”

“Absolutely,” he said before I’d even finished talking. “If you need anything sense-checked, just ask. I’m really excited about this. The team never would have been involved in anything as…liberal…under Coach Daniel’s watch. Just let me know what you need.”

I smiled, my heart warming at his enthusiasm and generosity. “Thank you. I appreciate it. I’ll let you get to training now.”

He didn’t move. “Actually, before you go, I have a question for you.”

“Sure.” I adjusted my weight from one foot to the other.

He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “What’s up with you and Matthews?”

I drew back quickly, my chest tightening. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Shit. Had Matt broken his promise and told people after all?

Gadot’s mouth twisted mischievously. “He’s practically mooning over you. He stares at you anytime you’re in the room, and he never does that. It’s so out of character for him.”

“Really?” I asked before I could think better of it.

“Oh yeah.” He nodded vigorously. “I was starting to think he might be aspec. Almost all the other guys either have a partner or regularly hook up. Austin didn’t before Jane, but he’s basically a hockey-playing cyborg masquerading as a human—I mean that in a nice way. I like the guy, don’t get me wrong.”

I fought the urge to tell him to hurry up and get to the point.

“With Matthews, though,” he continued, “it always struck me as strange that he never dated or went home with any of the women he met at bars and clubs.”

“He didn’t?”

Ugh. Why did I keep caving in to my curiosity? It shouldn’t matter to me that Matt might have been telling the truth about not dating or sleeping around.

Only…it kind of did. Because if he’d gone for so long without showing interest in anyone, did that mean he was still hung up on me?