Page 118 of Over the Line

Dad’s lips quirked, and then he shrugged. “It was an adjustment, I guess?” He winced. “I’d love to tell you I was Father of the Year and immediately accepted that my son was gay. But I wasn’t perfect. I took some time to come around to it, and I’m not proud of that.”

The candor caught me by surprise. Dad had never been anything but supportive; it was startling to realize he’d resisted the idea at first.

“I’m glad I caught on when I did,” he said. “It gave me time to chew on the idea and figure out that the only thing wrong was my reaction.”

I exhaled. “I had no idea, honestly. I always thought…”

“Well, then I did right by you, and I’m glad I did. Like I said, I’m not proud of it. But as long as I never made you feel like it was an issue…”

Shaking my head, I whispered, “No. Never.”

“Good. Good.” He seemed genuinely relieved by that. “Anyhow, we knew. And we knew every time you had a crush on someone after that… and when you had a boyfriend.”

I straightened. “You did?”

“Unless you and that other goalie didn’t date.”

My lips parted. “You… You and Mom knew about that?”

“Are you really surprised?”

“I…” I slouched back against the couch, letting my shoulders slump. “Well, damn. If I’d known that, we wouldn’t have stressed ourselves out sneaking around so you wouldn’t find out.”

Dad’s humor faded. “Did you think you’d get in trouble?”

“I was fifteen and in the closet, and one of my friends from school got kicked out for being gay the year before.” I waved a hand. “Of course I thought I’d get in trouble.”

He blew out a breath. “Jesus. I’m sorry. We were trying to let you come to us in your own time. We didn’t realize…”

“It’s in the past,” I said quietly. “You and Mom—you handled it all really well, and since I came out, I’ve never once thought you wouldn’t accept me or a boyfriend.” I swallowed. “I just didn’t realize you knew.”

“We knew,” he said softly. “Kids think their parents are oblivious, but we’re more observant than you think.”

I gave a dry laugh. “You don’t say.” I rewound the conversation and how we’d landed here in the first place, and I shifted uncomfortably. “So you caught on about me and Garrett, too.”

Dad nodded. “I thought you might just have a crush again. But then I saw how he was looking at you, and…” He whistled. “That man isn’t subtle either, is he?”

Air was suddenly hard to come by. Garrett actually was pretty good at keeping cards close to the vest. But he’d been looking at me in a way that tipped off my dad? Shit.

“You noticed?” I rasped. “I mean, he was looking…”

Dad chuckled. “You mean you didn’t?” He rolled his eyes, though he was still smiling. “Like I said—not subtle.”

Oh. Hell. I didn’t know how to respond to that. Or how to feel about it.

Dad watched me for a moment, then sobered. “Stuff like this—I know you value your privacy, but you know the reality of your high profile.”

Chewing my lip, I nodded. I could read between those lines:

You value your privacy, but the public doesn’t.

And if you don’t come out and do it on your own terms, it’s only a matter of time before you’re outed whether you like it or not.

I shuddered. Not for the first time, I was glad I hadn’t played hockey in the era when no one was out as gay. Keeping a relationship a secret was stressful enough. Hiding that entire side of me? No, thank you.

“We need to come out,” I admitted. “And we’ve talked about it. A lot.” I raked a hand through my hair and sighed. “He and Chris—they went through some rough shit, and they’re just now back to being on solid ground. If he finds out his dad is dating me…”

Dad pursed his lips as he seemed to think about that. “His folks broke up a while ago, didn’t they? I mean, I assume this isn’t a divorce that was just finalized last week.”