Nothing beats the awkward morning after quite like needing to hide, but if his face is any indication, I’m glad we’re going the teasing route.
“You have a crush. On me.” The arrogance all hockey players possess shines through.
“You’re too old for anyone to have a crush on.”
“Just because my joints think I’m an old man doesn’t mean I’m not irresistible. I can still pull a guy in his early twenties. That makes me super-hot.”
I can’t argue with that. “Well, you are the hottest guy I’ve ever met in real life. Which is amazing because, you know, I’ve met real celebrities.”
Soren looks at me incredulously. “I’m sorry, what? I can’t have heard that correctly. I swear you said I’m not a real celebrity.”
“Who’s been recognized since we’ve been here?”
“We’re in Fiji. Once we’re home, you’ll see how much I’m recognized.”
“Okay, Roman Josi.”
“Hey, I’m not Roman in New Jersey.”
“Ooh, New Jersey. Score.”
Soren frowns. “You sound like Maddox. Do you know how much he disses New Jersey? You should’ve been there the day he found out I was Canadian too. It was murder.”
Oh, I need to hear that story. “How did he find out?”
“I said something about taking his toque off indoors.”
“Rookie move.”
“It was me, Bryce, Damon, and Maddox, and we went out for dinner. As soon as that word came out of my mouth, the whole table went silent. Like so silent I thought someone was stroking out. Maddox turned to me and said, ‘Is there anything you’d like to share with the group? Like where you’re originally from?’”
I laugh so hard I have to hold on to my stomach. “I can totally see Maddox doing that.”
“Damon slumped and said, ‘I’ve kept it from him for as long as I could. I’m sorry. He’s irrational when it comes to Canada and New Jersey.’ And that was all it took. Cue endless mocking.”
“That’s hilarious.”
“Bryce wasn’t too impressed. I understood it was all in good fun, but, uh, yeah, he claimed all my friends were immature frat boys. He’d said the same when we went out with Ollie and Lennon, and Lennon is the smartest of us all.”
“Well, he is smart, but he’s not very mature.”
Soren laughs. “True.”
“Bryce was dating a hockey player. What did he expect? Intellectual conversations about foreign politics?”
“Pretty much.”
“Why did you date him again? Oh, wait, that’s right. He was your ‘hat trick.’”
He nudges me. “Shut up.”
“There’s the intellect talking again.”
Soren cracks a smile and lifts his arm to pull me close. When his hand comes around my shoulder and I lay my head on his chest, the playfulness disappears. Like he’s trying to change the subject without asking for it. But I want to know more about his ex. About why he was with him for so long and what it was that finally made them break up.
“Did you leave Bryce, or did Bryce leave you?”
Soren stiffens but covers it by shifting onto his side so he can face me. “Does it matter?”
“No, but I’m curious.”
“He technically left me, but he said I hadn’t been in the relationship for a lot longer, which is true.”
“Were you caught off guard, or did you see it coming?”
“If we’re going to have the ex talk, I need to go question for question.”
I hesitate. “Okay. But you have to understand that I have an NDA in place, so there are things I can’t tell you.”
He purses his lips. “Like who he really is? Some backstage crew member wouldn’t have you sign an NDA. Is he one of the guys from Eleven?”
“I can’t—”
“It’s Harley.”
Oh, shit. “What the—how did you—”
“His real name is Harry.”
“How … and …”
Soren chuckles. “I still watch your shows and read all your interviews online. I probably know more about your band and Eleven than even you guys do.”
“Not all the stuff online is true.”
“This is, though, isn’t it?”
I shake my head even though it is true. “I can’t … I …”
“I was surprised when Bryce first left but not after,” Soren says. It takes a second for me to realize he’s answering my original question. “I hadn’t been present in our relationship for a long time. I thought I had to make it work because I came out for him. Coming out would be a waste if it didn’t work.”
“But you said you came out because of my song. Not for him … or were you lying about that?” I don’t think I could handle it if that first night was based on a lie.
I gaze into Soren’s eyes, trying to find signs of deception—whatever the fuck they look like—but all I see is softness.
“Your song gave me the courage to come out, but I thought I had to do it so I wouldn’t lose Bryce. In retrospect, the idea that I thought I needed to come out for someone else should’ve been a red flag.”