Page 143 of The Tryout

“He’s been getting a lot of calls since Ethan came out, a lot of interest in working with him. More than he can handle, really. And with him in New York and his top client in Minneapolis, he thought it would be nice to have someone closer by, especially someone young and queer and inside hockey, who could help him think through some of what these guys might be dealing with.”

I nod. Honestly, it sounds perfect. Too perfect.

“But I could still get sent back to Iowa. Or, hell, traded somewhere else.”

Avery nods, and I appreciate that he understands the plan isn’t fool proof.

“And we’d have to deal with that when it comes. Maybe it would be worth transferring schools and maybe it wouldn’t. Hell, I might not even get into Minnesota, it’s a top 25 law school.”

I have absolutely no doubt that he will, that he’ll ace his test and they’ll fall all over themselves to admit him.

“But I think…it will let us move toward a future where we can be together. And even if we’re apart, we’ll know that there’s an end in sight. I’d like to build a life with you, Finn. If you’ll let me.”

Looking into his eyes, I see the truth in them, the honesty. And for the first time in a long time, I let myself hope.

MINNESOTA’S MURPHY PROBLEM

Reuben Santos for The Neutral Zone

[Image 1 Description: A young man in gray and navy hockey gear is captured mid-slapshot, his hockey stick bending against the ice.]

[Image 2 Description: Two young men are photographed outside a local restaurant holding hands. The man on the right has curly light brown hair and is wearing slim-fit black pants with a burgundy sweater; the man on the left has short auburn hair and is wearing a gray suit with a blue tie.]

The postseason is well under way, and it’s becoming clear the Minnesota Huskies have a problem on their hands – winger Finn Murphy. After starting his career with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Iowa Pack, Murphy has grown into a full-time NHL player over the past two years.

While many feared his performance would dip this season after a training camp injury, Murphy has seemed determined to prove them wrong. At the end of the regular season, Murphy was sitting on thirty goals and seventy points, which now has us asking: is there any way the Huskies can keep him?

Murphy will no doubt be near the top of the list of available offensive players this offseason, during which he will be a restricted free agent. He has already shown he’s got what it takes to be a first-liner, most recently during Anders Lindholm’s second paternity leave. Whispers around the league point to interest from a number of teams planning to extend offer sheets to the 23-year-old.

However, others indicate that the Huskies will happily match any offer sheets that come his way. And for what it’s worth, Murphy seems happy with the team and the city, where he is considered a fixture of the Twin Cities restaurant scene.

Murphy lives in downtown Minneapolis with his partner, up-and-coming agent Avery Lawson. After a brief AHL career of his own, Lawson has pursued legal studies at the University of Minnesota while working alongside NHL veteran and agent to the stars, Jack Kinkaid. Many may remember Lawson as the college teammate of another Huskies star, Jamie Carter.

EPILOGUE

AVERY

Two and a Half Years Later

When the alarm goes off on my phone, I’m surprised to find it’s almost noon already. Jack’s had me digging into some whispers that have been coming out of Dallas, although he hasn’t filled me in completely on what he thinks is happening yet. So I’ve been picking through online forums, trying to find a thread to follow.

I gather up all of my things, knowing that I won’t be back until tomorrow. After lunch and the press conference, I’m dedicating the rest of my day to Finn. With my 2L exams right around the corner, I’ve been spending a ton of time studying that I’d rather have spent with him.

But for the next few hours, I don’t need to be a junior agent or a lawyer in training – I just need to be a boyfriend.

The Huskies are coming off of another good playoff run, this time losing in the seventh game of the conference finals. It was a hard loss for the guys, and I know it’s got people asking whether they’ll be able to pull off a Cup before they start losing core members of the team. As a fan, I know I should share their concerns.

But as Finn’s boyfriend? I’m fucking thrilled; it put us in exactly the right position to push hard on the front office to get him locked up now. There’s already been talk of offer sheets headed his way from Philadelphia and Montreal; no one wants to give Finn the chance to even see those numbers.

I swing by home on the way to the arena to grab something quick to eat. That first half-season Finn was in Minneapolis, while I was still playing for the Pack, he decided to stick with the guest room at Jamie and Ethan’s. Part of that was not wanting to pay rent on two places, I’m sure – even if he could easily afford it. But part of it was the loneliness, too. God knows I spent a lot more time with the Novaks that spring.

But once I got my acceptance to the University of Minnesota Law School? He’d started sending me Zillow listings for apartments in the Twin Cities almost every day.

It seemed a little strange at first apartment hunting with someone I’d only started dating a few months before, but given that we started as roommates, it would have felt weirder to intentionally not live together. I had figured that Jamie and Ethan’s guest room was always there if things went wrong, and jumped in with both feet.

But, of course, things hadn’t gone wrong. Whether in Iowa or Minneapolis, living with Finn continued to be one of the best things in my life. In fact, the hardest parts had been when we couldn’t be together – the long road trips and, at the beginning of this season, a terrifying two week stint in Iowa while Finn rehabbed a pulled hamstring.

Our place is nice, with a location near the river that reminds me of our old place in Des Moines. Still, once the front office approached Jack about Finn’s next contract, I started getting those texts again, this time for houses.