Page 53 of Bro Code

They dug through the spare skates in the equipment closet until they found a pair that fit, and Louis put them on. He stood at the gate with his jeans tucked into the skates and a pair of gloves that were too big for him, looking at the ice with a kind of nauseated expression. Riley put out his hand.

Reluctantly taking it, Louis stepped onto the ice. His foot immediately shot out from under him, and his free arm windmilled as he jerked backward. Riley caught his hand and just managed to keep him from falling onto his ass.

“Wow, you are really bad at this!”

“Shut up,” Louis growled, clutching him in a death grip.

“Bend your knees. You’re like a statue!”

Skating slowly backward, Riley towed him once around the rink and out to the center. Louis stayed locked in a rigid crouch, not moving his legs, and kept looking down at his feet.

“Eyes on me,” said Riley, and as Louis’ eyes came up, he winked.

Louis blushed and kept his gaze fixed on Riley’s. His eyes under the arena lights were more honey-colored than brown, and the way he gripped Riley’s hands, putting all his trust in Riley to keep him from falling over, made Riley’s heart skip. He smiled, and Louis blushed again and smiled back.

“You know, anyone could just walk in and see this,” he murmured.

Riley nodded. “I guess I don’t care? You’re gay. I’m gay. Everyone knows we’re gay.”

Louis tilted his head. His eyes probed Riley’s more intensely. “That seems like progress.”

Riley frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you’re not scared.”

They put Louis in the middle of the ice with a bucket of tennis balls, and he heaved them at Riley as Riley skated around him in circles and figure eights. Riley thought it might be working – he hardly noticed the things flying past him. But that may have only been because he couldn’t take his eyes off Louis. He’d never felt so protective, and at the same time, so weirdly proud.

“Look at you,” he said, skating backward so he could grin at him. “Not falling down.”

“Fuck off,” said Louis, and heaved another.

They won the game against North Carolina five-three. Riley wasn’t sure if his and Louis’ work that day had helped or not – they wouldn’t know that until Louis looked at the data. But he felt good. For the first time in a long time, he felt like someone up there in the crowd was on his side.

After the game, he fought his way through the usual media circus, showered, dressed, and texted his parents. They were getting ready for a weekend in Napa, and hadn’t watched the game. In fact, confessed Mom, they hadn’t watched the last three. Riley was shocked. She’d watched every game he’d played in the major leagues – or if she hadn’t, she’d at least said she had. But maybe this was a good thing. Maybe she was finally letting go.

He felt kind of sad about that.

Back at the hotel, he dumped his duffel bag and collapsed onto his bed. He was idly doomscrolling TikTok when there was a knock on the door.

Louis was on the other side, wearing a crisp, purple button-down that hugged every skinny line of him, tight jeans, and a cagey smile. He smelled freshly showered and he was wearing cologne. Riley frowned and glanced up and down the corridor. “What’s up?”

“Do you wanna go out?” said Louis.

“Out where?”

“Dancing.”

“Dancing?” Riley barked a laugh. “Uh…”

“Last day of the tour. We have two days off…nowhere to be tomorrow…” Louis folded his arms and leaned on the doorframe. “And there’s a gay bar near here. Supposed to be pretty good.”

Riley’s stomach flipped. “A gay bar? I’ve never…been to one of those.”

Louis’ eyes were bright with amusement. “Well, mon ami, there’s a first time for everything.”

The club was called The Anaconda, and it was packed. They had to wait in a line out front that went all the way around the corner. Riley stood with his hands in his pockets, looking nervously up and down the street. He’d never engaged with, like, gay culture. Not that there was only one type of gay culture. And not that you had to. But he’d never even been to a pride parade. There was this whole side of it that he wasn’t totally sure how to navigate. A side that Louis was apparently into.

Also: was this a date?