Page 118 of Cross Ice

They drifted away. I stayed by the bar and finished my drink.

A major donor approached—one I recognized from previous years. She asked about the season, my goal total, and whether we’d make the playoffs. I gave her the answers she wanted and excused myself as soon as I could.

By the time dinner started, I was ready to leave.

I sat at a table with Fortin and Thompson and their dates, picked at food I didn’t taste, and counted down the minutes.

“You okay?” Fortin asked quietly during the main course.

“Yeah. Just tired.”

“You’ve been missing beer nights,” he said. “Haven’t seen you out with the team in weeks.”

“I know. I’ve been busy.”

“With your boyfriend.”

“Yeah. With Evan.”

“He doing okay? I saw some of the stuff online. That blog post was fucked up.”

“He’s managing.”

Fortin nodded. “Just… don’t disappear on us completely, yeah? We miss you.”

My chest tightened. “I’m not disappearing.”

“Okay. Good.”

I left at ten thirty, the earliest I could without it being obvious.

Evan let me in, and I could see immediately he’d been having a bad night. His phone was face up on the coffee table, screen still lit.

“Hey,” I said.

“How was it?”

“Long.” I set my keys on the counter. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Just couldn’t stop checking things.”

I crossed to the couch and sat beside him. Pulled him against me without saying anything, and he came willingly, tucking himself into my side. His breathing slowed almost immediately. His hand found my knee. This, the way he fit against me, the way his body trusted mine even when everything else between us was complicated, this still worked.

His breathing slowed. His body relaxed. And for a moment, it felt like we were okay.

A few minutes passed. Maybe more.

“Did other people bring dates?” he asked quietly.

“Most of them. Yeah.”

He was quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry I couldn’t go with you.”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not okay. You could have brought someone this year. Everyone else had their person there. And you were alone because of me.”

“I’m used to going to those things alone.”