Page 130 of Game Misconduct

Leif had finished practice, eaten lunch, and was still at the facility. The evening suddenly loomed in front of him with nothing to look forward to. Damn.

Team thing!He got back from Tanner.

I get it,Leif replied.

And he did, so he didn’t know why he was feeling so sour about this. Well, he did know that too, actually. He was feeling sour because he’d finally worked up the courage to tell Tanner about his feelings.

And now it wasn’t going to happen. So he’d have to go through this all over again. Or maybe he should just wait until they saw each other in person? It wouldn’t be that long.

Are you mad at me?

No?Leif sent back.Why would I be mad?

Dunno. U seem mad.

Leif read through what he’d sent. Okay, maybe he could see how he sounded a little mad. His answers had been short. But he wasn’t sure what else he could say that wouldn’t give away the fact that he wanted to talk to him or sound like he was being pissy.

He got it. The team came first. It did for him too.

Not mad,he sent back.I was just looking forward to it.

Me 2.

Leif smiled at the crying face. Not because he wanted Tanner to be upset but because he was kind of fond of Tanner’s over-the-top emotions. He definitely always knew what Tanner was thinking or feeling. He never really had to wonder.

Even if sometimes it did feel a little overwhelming. Which told him something, right? Tanner couldn’t possibly feel the same way Leif felt about him. If he was falling in love with Leif, it would be impossible to miss.

U should go do something fun!Tanner sent.

Like what?

Dunno. What do U do w/ friends?

Leif went a little blank. It wasn’t that he didn’thavefriends. He had guys he knew from the team, from modeling … but they didn’t hang out one-on-one very often. He had guys he knew from Juniors, but they usually only hung out or texted when they had a reason to.

Birthdays, a good game, a guy getting traded somewhere … but out of the blue on a random weekday? They never did that. And Leif wasn’t sure how to drop it into conversation without making itweird.

He checked through social media and emails, seeing if there were any events or parties he’d been invited to. Anything for his brand deals. But it was all pretty dead right now.

“Hey, do you have a minute?”

Leif glanced up to see Ian Salter looking at him. “Sure, Salty,” he said. “What’s up?”

“Uhh.” Ian cleared his throat, glanced around, then took a seat at the table across from Leif. “So the other day was weird, right?”

“What other day?”

“When Palmer was being a dick about you being gay.”

Leif blinked. That had been several weeks ago and he’d nearly forgotten about it. It wasn’t the first time it had happened, and it probably wouldn’t be the last either.

“I’m pretty used to it,” Leif admitted.

Ian frowned. “Well, you shouldn’t be.”

Leif chuckled. “I can’t fucking change this league,” he pointed out.

Though itwaschanging. In waves at times, in pockets of teams here and there. The old culture was dying out and things were getting better, despite the assholes dragging their heels. New York was just … not ready.