Page 147 of Game Misconduct

He’d finished his water, gone to pee, and was ready to head out the door when Jesse grabbed his hand. “Dude, it’s our song!”

“Our song?” Tanner said blankly. He listened to the music. “Oh! Our song!”

He and Jesse had hooked up for the first time at an AHL All-Star weekend and had been friends ever since. They’d met at a bar and danced together, and this was the song that had been playing then.

Tanner let himself be dragged onto the dance floor, so happy he could burst.

He was gonna see Leif soon and he was dancing with his friends, and everything wasso fucking good!

It wasn’t long before the songs switched to something new and he tried to edge his way through the crowd but then Jesse and Kady were dancing up to him, bumping butts while Connor and Mandy and Jake and Lauren watched.

Oh, he fucking loved this team so much! They were so fucking queer and poly and …

He caught a glimpse of Declan O’Shea in the crowd, smiling at them all and it made it evenbetter. There Declan was in a picture on the wall, hoisting the Cup all those years ago and now it was Tanner and Jesse and Connor’s turn to do it.

Tanner threw himself back into dancing. Just one more song and he’d go to Leif and he was laughing as someone pressed another shot into his hand and loved everyone right now. Every single fucking one of them!

When the song was over, he pushed through the crowd and ran straight into Erik Wyatt—who looked like he’d seen a ghost.

“Dude, you okay, Wy-Guy?” Tanner asked, worried.

Earlier this season he’d drank so much he puked and Tanner wanted to be sure he hadn’t done it again.

“Crawford isretiring?”

“What?” Tanner blinked at him, sure he’d heard him wrong. “What are you talking about? No, this is just a celebration for his thousandth game.”

“Dude, no, I heard him talking to Liam at the bar. He said he’s retiring. Liam is too. He’s gonna sell the bar to Crawford when he does.”

“No way. You—you fucking heard them wrong or something,” Tanner said, the world shifting under his feet. Shit he was a little drunker than he realized. Or something.

“No, I heard it! I swear to God.”

“Fuck!” Tanner said, furious. “Where is he? I need to find him.”

Tanner shoved through the crowd until he found Crawford. He was reaching for a drink on the bar and Tanner slapped his hand away.

“When were you gonna fucking tell me!” he shouted over the music.

“Tell you what?” Crawford asked with a scowl.

“That you’reretiring!” Tanner threw back.

“Goddamn it, will you keep your voice down?” Luke glanced around.

He grabbed Tanner by the elbow and dragged him outside onto the patio. It was mid-April, cool and a little damp, and fires burned in the firepits, although no one was out here at the moment.

Tanner shook off Crawford’s grip and glared at him. “Well?”

“How did you find out?”

So it was true then. Tanner felt sick and shaky all over again. “Someone fucking overheard you talking to Liam.”

“Goddamn it!” Crawford glanced around like he was looking for someone to punch. “Who?”

“I’m not telling you!” Tanner snapped because he wasn’t about to let Crawford go after one of the baby rookies and scare him to death. “It’s true though? You’re retiring?”

“Fuck! I don’t know, Clayton. At some point, yeah.” Crawford dragged a hand through his hair. “Maybe at the end of this season, maybe next season. I don’tknowyet.”