Page 123 of Game Misconduct

“So what the fuck happened today?” Anker asked, frowning. “You lookedspooked, man.”

“I stopped back at the hotel after meeting up with some guys from L.A. but when I left to come here, I would fuckingswearDarla—our ex—was following me.”

Tanner looked around but he didn’t see anyone acting weird. Of course, he had no idea what Darla looked like.

“What are you going to do?” Crawford asked.

Tom ran a hand over his hair and sighed. “I don’t fuckin’ know. Tell security and Gavin, I guess?”

“Yeah,” Connor said, frowning. “That’s good. But we’re not letting you go off on your own while we’re here, okay?”

“Hey,” Tanner said to Tom after Crawford disappeared and a couple of guys got up to wander around. “I’m sorry you didn’t feel like you could tell us you were poly.”

Tom shrugged. “Don’t take it personally. It’s … complicated. It’s just not something we want getting out to fans, you know?People get weird about it and the fact that Krista and I are both Black …”

Tanner winced. “People are dicks,” he agreed. “I hope your family is cool with it. If they know.Dothey know?”

He shouldn’t assume. Lots of people weren’t out about a lot of things.

Tom chuckled. “It took a while but yeah, they came around to the idea. We were just talking about introducing Darla to the family when everything went sideways, actually.”

“Man, that sucks,” Tanner said.

“It’s hard when you love someone and they turn out to be someone other than who you thought they were,” Tom said softly.

“I bet,” Tanner said with a frown.

Well, at least he didn’t have to worry about that with Leif … Tanner groaned. Damn it, why did his brain keep going back to Leif. It happened every time. Why was he thinking about him nonstop?

And, sure, he knew that he kinda threw himself into whatever he did. He got excited about new things and then moved on to the next shiny bit.

But there were things that stuck around in his life, hockey being the biggest one, of course.

And it was starting to feel like Leif could be one of those really big ones.

“Are you okay?” Tom asked.

Tanner focused on him again and shrugged. “I will be.”

“Well, I’m here if you ever need someone to talk to,” Tom said.

“Thanks, man,” Tanner said, grateful. “And that goes both ways, you know? If you ever need to vent about stuff, I’m here.”

Tom smiled and clapped him on the shoulder.

Tanner hoped that meant that maybe Tom was starting to trust Tanner. He knew he and Rafe both kinda had a reputation for being guys who shared a little too much information. Who weren’t always trusted with secrets.

But he was trying, damn it. He didn’t mind playing the part of the team’s annoying younger brother, even if he wasn’t even close to being a rookie anymore.

It would be nice if they respected him for more than his ability to score sometimes and keep the puck out of their opponents’ net though.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

“So, what’s the occasion?” Silje Vang said with a warm smile as she approached the table. She was dressed elegantly as always, every hair in place.

Leif rose and she kissed his cheek before hugging him. He hugged her back, closing his eyes for a moment as he held on. When they separated, she studied his face intently but didn’t say anything.

He pulled out his mother’s chair, helped her into it, and didn’t answer her question until he’d taken a seat across from her.