Page 95 of Game Misconduct

Nicky was gay and the team and management knew it, but he wasn’tpubliclyout so Leif didn’t want to tell Tanner and have him worry about accidentally outing him.

“I hear that.”

“I just always feel like I’m standing on the outside looking in,” Leif blurted out.

“Could definitely be the queer thing,” Tanner said. “Guys aren’t jerks about it, right?”

“No,” Leif said. “Not obviously, anyway.”

“But un-obviously?”

Leif shrugged. He wasn’t sure that was really a word, but he’d go with it. “I mean, Mirsad … he was born in Albania and he came over here as a teenager. That’s a pretty socially conservative area. I don’t think he’s really an ally or anything. I think it goes against his religious beliefs. But he’s neversaidanything to me about it. I’ve brought guys to team events and it’s been fine. He’s been polite.”

“Okay, but there’s a difference between being tolerated and being, I don’t know,welcomed.”

“Sure,” Leif said, although he’d always sort of wondered if people just tolerated him in general.

“I wish you could play for the Harriers.” Tanner sighed. “You’d love it here. We’re so fucking queer.”

Leif snorted. “Well, Ihadhoped to play for Boston, but they didn’t draft me.”

Tanner winced. “I am sorry about that.”

“What are you apologizing for?”

“I did goad you into drinking the night before the scout was there and?—”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Leif admitted. “It was mine.”

“Yeah, but if I hadn’t?—”

“It wasn’t just that night,” Leif admitted, feeling weirdly emotional. “Or that game. I was struggling and I didn’t know how to ask for help, and I was the one who blew my shot at getting drafted by Boston. Not you, not anyone else. And I’m sorry I blamed you for it until recently.”

“Wow,” Tanner said. “Is this character growth for us?”

Leif let out a startled laugh. “Uhh, I guess so?”

“I really wish you weren’t in New York right now,” Tanner said with another big, heavy sigh.

“Yeah, you just said that you wished I played for the Harriers, I get it but that’s not?—”

“No. I mean yes. I wish you played for a team like the Harriers because I think you’d love having a bunch of other queer playersaround you. And like, holy shit would we beamazingif we added you to the roster but then again, I don’t have a fucking clue where we’d even fit you into the lineup. That’s not what I meant. I mean …” Tanner hesitated. “Right now I really wish you weren’t all the way overthereand I wasn’t all the way overhere.”

Leif nodded because he got that. It would have been nice to have Tanner here, in person. So he could pull him close and … He cleared his throat again. “It’s getting late. If we’re going to get off together, we should do it now. I need to get to bed.”

Tanner rolled his eyes but he did take off his shirt. “Wouldn’t want to interrupt your routine.”

Leif shook his head and shimmied out of his clothing too. Like Tanner hadn’t been disrupting his routine since the very first second they met.

What Leif firmly refused to dwell on was how worth the disruption talking to Tanner was. How much he’d started looking forward to these almost-nightly calls.

Panting and covered in cum, Tanner sleepily said good night to Leif and ended the call.

This had been a really good one too. Leif had edged him a bit and by the time he finally came it was so intense it blew the top of his head off.

His phone buzzed.Don’t forget to go clean up.

With a groan, Tanner peeled himself out of bed before he could fall asleep. He’d complained about that to Leif before—he hatedwaking up to sticky sheets and dried cum in his pubes—but it was sometimes hard to get himself to move. He’d lie there, half asleep, trying to talk himself into getting his ass out of bed. But it was like his body was frozen even when his mind was chanting “go, go, go” like some sort of skating drill.