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27 January 2012 - Ottawa, Ontario, NHL All-Star Game
“In, in, in.” Jordan Eberle shoved Jamie into the bathroom of James Neal’s hotel room, where he bumped into the back of Tyler Seguin. “Okay, seven minutes, starting now!”
The door slammed shut behind Jordan, and they were left in silence.
“Uh, so, this is kind of awkward,” Jamie offered up, leaning back against the counter. He’d drunkenly admitted to Jordan the night before that he thought Tyler was hot, but he didn’t think it would result in this. “Don’t worry, I don’t think they really expect us to make out in here. I mean, I’m certainly not expecting it, at least.”
“Yeah,” Tyler answered, staring down at his shoes with his arms folded around himself.
“You okay?” Jamie started to reach a hand out to comfort Tyler, but thought better of it and put it back on the counter. “I kind of figured you’d be all over this sort of thing. Tell me you’re not, like, some homophobic asshole who-”
“I’m gay.” Tyler interrupted, finally looking up into Jamie’s eyes. “Ebs probably knows because Hallsy can’t keep his damn mouth shut. That’s why he’s doing this. I’m sorry he forced you into this. I knew I shouldn’t have gotten so drunk over draft weekend.”
“Oh, uh, okay. Me, too.” Jamie took a step away from the counter and towards Tyler. “I mean, I’m gay, too. So, do you want to make out, then?” Jamie grinned at Tyler, but Tyler looked back down at his feet.
“I’ve never actually kissed anyone,” he admitted quietly.
“Really? You? That’s surprising,” Jamie remarked, eyebrows raised. “Can I be your first? I promise not to be offended if you say no or anything.” He wouldn’t be offended, but he’d certainly be disappointed.
“Yeah, I’d like that.” Tyler started to smile a little bit for the first time since entering the bathroom. “Do you mind keeping it between us, though? I’m not really ready for everyone to find out yet.”
“Of course.” Jamie closed the gap between them and pressed his lips softly to Tyler’s, letting him set the pace and waiting to see if he’d push for more. It wasn’t easy to restrain himself, but he managed to keep himself under control.
Tyler pulled back after a few long moments and chuckled softly before meeting Jamie once again, pressing harder and leaning his body into Jamie’s. Jamie took that as an obvious sign to keep going, and a thrill shot through him. They stood in the middle of the bathroom, continuing to slowly kiss each other until Jordan knocked loudly on the door.
“If you guys are done, we’re going for more beer! Otherwise, carry on.”
They stepped away from each other, and Jamie’s heart dropped, the distance a cold reminder that Tyler wasn’t his. Tyler headed towards the door to rejoin the group, but he stopped before turning the handle and looked back at Jamie.
“Thanks, Jamie.”
“No problem.”
10 October 2015 - Denver, Colorado
“The rumors of my promiscuity have been greatly exaggerated.” Jamie looked up into the camera on his iPad, seated in a non-descript hotel room in Colorado. “Let the record show that I, Jamie Benn, being of sound mind and slightly-above-average dick size, swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth... starting now.”
Part 1 - The Shudder Inducing and Cliched, However Totally False Account of How I Lost My Virginity to a Guy at Training Camp
“Jamie!” Jason shouted across the dance floor, causing Jamie to turn his way to see what he wanted. “This is Jeremy. Jeremy, this is Jamie.” Jason gave Jamie an exaggerated wink and shoved Jeremy towards him. “He even has a J name, so he can fit right in!” Jason paused to giggle. “‘Fit right in.’ I’m hilarious.”
“Uh, hi, Jeremy. Jason, can I talk to you?” Jamie grabbed Jason’s wrist and pulled him off of the dance floor and over to where Jordie and Tyler were watching them. “What the actual fuck are you doing?”
“I’m trying to help you with your problem. You know, your problem.” Jason waggled his eyebrows pointedly.
“Shut the fuck up, Daddy,” Jamie hissed through his teeth, glancing over at Tyler and Jordie. It was embarrassing enough that they all knew, including Tyler. They didn’t need to talk about it as well.
“We’re just worried about you, Chubbs.” Jordie threw an arm around Jamie’s shoulder and squeezed. “I can’t let you go into yet another season as a virgin. It’s embarrassing as both your brother and your teammate. Just let us help.”
“I don’t need your help!” Jamie threw Jordie’s arm off angrily. There was no easy way to tell his teammates that the reason he couldn’t do it was because he still held out some ridiculous hope that maybe Tyler would want him someday.
“I really think you do.” Jordie took a step back and pulled Jason into his side instead.
“No, I don’t.” Jamie paused and thought desperately for a reason before opening his mouth and saying the first thing that came to him. “I slept with someone when we were down at training camp!”
“Shut the fuck up!” Jason screeched excitedly. “And you didn’t tell us? We’re your team, Jameson! You’re our fucking captain! It’s your duty to tell us when you get laid!”
“It really, really isn’t.” Jamie rolled his eyes.
“Come on, we need details!” Jason prompted, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.
“We really don’t,” Jordie protested, but Jason clapped a hand over his mouth.
“Shut up, Darth. Come on, details.”
“We did it,” Jamie forced out, looking over at Tyler uncomfortably, only to see Tyler frowning back at him.
“Yes, finally! Now you’re a super slut like me!” Jason danced excitedly in his spot, signaling over to a passing waiter that they needed another round of shots.
“I don’t think letting Jordie grab your ass behind a Tim Horton’s really makes you a super slut,” Jamie responded dryly, causing Jordie to sputter a bit.
“There were a lot of people walking past, okay? Someone could have easily seen,” Jason argued back. “But, come on. What was his name? Where was it? Who topped?”
“Jesus, fuck, Daddy. His name was, uh, George. It was in the bar bathroom while you all were dancing around like morons. Nobody topped, it was just blow jobs,” Jamie lied as smoothly as he could.
“George is not a sexy name. George is what you name your teddy bear, not the name you wanna scream out during climax,” Tyler chimed in, and Jamie looked over to see that he was standing with his arms crossed, frown firmly in place.
“What the fuck ever. If you guys are going to be assholes, I’m just going home.” Jamie took a half-step back from the group. He really didn’t need to hear about Tyler’s opinions on names to scream out during climax.
“We’re sorry, Jamie. Don’t leave!” Jordie protested, but Jamie shook his head.
“I’ll just see you guys in the morning, okay?”
The alarm on Jamie’s clock blared early the next morning, and the radio decided to start pumping out Natasha Bedingfield’s ‘Pocketful of Sunshine’.
“Ugh, I’m going to have this stupid song stuck in my head all damn day.” Jamie fumbled to turn off the radio and get out of bed.
He worked his way through his typical morning routine, showering and getting dressed while singing to himself.
“Take me away, a secret place, a sweet escape,” Jamie continued loudly as he headed downstairs to get some coffee and breakfast. “Take me awaaa- Shit.”
“Good morning, sunshine.” Jason grinned at him from the breakfast bar where he and Jordie were seated. “That was embarrassing as hell for you, but I suppose I’ll have to let it go in light of this morning’s news.”
“Why are you here and what news?” Jamie grumbled, pouring himself some coffee from the carafe on the counter.
“We’re here to check on you and make sure you’re okay, but I’m guessing you haven’t checked your phone this morning, have you?”
“It died last night, and I never turned it back on, I guess.” Jamie pulled his phone from his pocket and hit the power button. “Why? Is something wrong?”
“Okay, so, don’t kill us.” Jason’s face turned serious. “You know how you like to lord it over Tyler that you’ve never been on Deadspin?”
“Yes,” Jamie answered suspiciously. It’s not like missing team breakfast or anything was really that bad, but it was always fun to tease Tyler about it.
“You kind of can’t do that anymore and it’s, uh, kind of big.” Jordie held out his phone with an article pulled up.
Jamie read the headline and felt his heart sink. Someone had captured their conversation from the night before on video and uploaded it online.
“Fuck.” Jamie ran a hand through his hair as his phone finally finished loading and started to explode with notifications.
“Congrats on being the first out hockey player?” Jason offered up with a nervous smile.
“I swear to god, Daddy, you’ll be so fucking lucky if I don’t turn you two into the second and third.” Jamie threatened, but they all knew it was an empty threat. He scanned his texts and sighed, pocketing his phone without opening any up. “I better head in and face the music. PR is going to have my head.”
“Good luck, baby brother.” Jordie pulled him in for a hug. “When they kill you, Jason and I will take care of your house and your plants and shit.”
“Thanks.” Jamie rolled his eyes and grabbed his keys, heading for the front door. “Don’t fuck with anything.” He paused before adding as an afterthought, “Or on anything.”
Part 2 - The Accelerated Velocity of Terminological Inexactitude
“Are you kidding me with this?” Marianne, one of the women in the PR department, was furious from the moment Jamie walked into the office.
“I’m so sorry. It was a total lapse in good judgement to talk about that in the bar, and I feel horrible about it,” Jamie apologized as he sat down in the chair she directed him towards.
“As if it’s not bad enough that you’re whoring yourself around, there’s video of you bragging about it, and you apparently did it with a man!” She practically shouted, slamming her office door shut and sitting down behind her desk.
“Like I said, it was poor judgement, and I’m very sorry.” Jamie sighed miserably. “I’d love to go back in time and change it, but I can’t.”
“Well, what the fuck are you going to do about it?”
“Isn’t that kind of your job here?” Jamie asked with a frown. “I mean, I’m already out at this point, so I might as well just own up to it, apologize, and hope everyone gets past it at some point.”
“Fine, whatever. Just stay out of trouble from now on, okay? You’ve made your bed. I just hope for your sake that you’ve cleaned the sheets.” She made a shooing motion with her hand. “Go to practice, and send Micah in on your way out.”
Jamie avoided his phone and the media for the rest of the day, but he knew he wouldn’t get away with it after their game the following day. They disembarked from the plane in Chicago for their last preseason game and headed to morning skate. Reporters called after him a few different times, but he ignored them in favor of hiding in the locker room until he could sneak away to the hotel for his afternoon nap.
Everything was going relatively fine until they were out on the ice. Halfway through the third and down by two, Jamie was hopping over the boards and skating out during a stoppage of play when he passed by Ryan Garbutt.
“Perhaps you should embroider a red A on your wardrobe, you abominable tramp,” Ryan snarled at him, surprising Jamie. He knew Ryan was bitter about the trade, and he was used to the chirping on ice, but he’d thought they were still friends. He was also a little surprised about the literary reference, but he figured that’s what an Ivy League education gets you.
“At least I’m good enough to earn myself a letter in the first place, you abominable fuck,” Jamie snapped back and skated away to line up for the face-off.
He seethed as he played through his shift and skated back to the bench, still pissed as he slammed the door shut and sat down.
“You okay, Chubbs?” Tyler leaned in to ask, bumping his helmet into Jamie’s.
“Yeah, Garby’s just being a fucking asshole,” Jamie complained, pressing in close to Tyler’s side in an effort to calm himself down.
“Don’t let him get to you, okay? Fuck him. It’s only preseason, and he needs to chill the fuck out.”
Jamie nodded and tried to get his head back into the game, but in the end, they couldn’t do enough to dig their way back out of the hole they were in.
“So, Jamie, did you know that what you said to Ryan Garbutt was picked up by the microphones?” The reporter from the Chicago Sun-Times called out during the post-game scrum.
“Uh, no, I didn’t,” Jamie stammered out his answer, his eyes going wide.
“It went out over the national broadcast. Anything to say for yourself?”
“I’m really, really sorry,” Jamie replied as his frown deepened.
“Sorry you said it or sorry you got caught?” The reporter seeked to clarify, more than a hint of sass in his voice.
“Sorry I said it, honestly.” Jamie looked down at his hands for a moment before adding, “And sorry I got caught a little bit too, but mostly just sorry I said it.”
The crowd of reporters chuckled, and the next question went back to the game they’d just played.
After the scrum, Jamie headed out to the team bus and flopped down into his usual seat. Tyler came along shortly after and sat next to him, nudging Jamie’s side until he looked up.
“I heard about what you said to Garby getting picked up by the mics, but I guess they didn’t pick up what he said. What did he say that had you so upset?”
“Nothing. I just overreacted, okay?” Jamie tried to force out a smile, but he could tell Tyler saw right through it.
“I don’t believe you, but I will allow you to keep it to yourself for now. Want to play some video games and drink away the loss with us tonight? Jordie, Jason, and I thought the four of us could grab two adjoining rooms.”
“Sounds good.” Jamie agreed, earning himself a genuine smile from Tyler. He was helpless to do anything but return it, feeling himself sink even further in love.
“So, are you gonna tell us what Garby said to you?” Jason asked as they all stood out on the hotel balcony together, beers in hand.
“He wouldn’t tell me.” Tyler frowned and scooted closer to Jamie. Jamie told himself it was probably just for warmth, but he appreciated the closeness either way.
“He doesn’t have to, because I heard it,” Jordie interjected, giving Jamie an unimpressed look. “Basically called Jamie a whore, said he should sew a red A on his jersey instead of the C.”
“Fuck him for that. Just because you finally got laid doesn’t make you a whore.” Jason leaned over to squeeze Jamie’s arm. “At least you can comfort yourself with the thought of George on his knees, right, Chubbs?”
“I made it up,” Jamie blurted out, surprising everyone, himself included.
“What?” Jordie said after a few long moments of silence.
“I made it all up. There was no George; I just wanted you guys off my back. I made the whole thing up so you three would stop harassing me and someone fucking filmed my lie and now the whole world knows I’m gay and they all think I’m some fucking manwhore.” Jamie waited for everyone’s anger, but it didn’t come.
“Shit, Jameson.” Tyler’s voice was quiet, and he sounded relieved as he pulled Jamie in for a hug. “That sucks.”
“Pretty much,” Jamie mumbled into Tyler’s neck as he hugged back. He took a deep breath, letting the smell of Tyler’s cologne soothe him.
“Group hug!” Jason crowded his way into the hug as well, Jordie following right behind him. “We’re really fucking sorry about this whole thing, Jamie.”
“It’s okay. Let’s just drink some beers and hope everyone forgets about it soon.” Jamie stepped back and took a sip of the bottle in his hand. “Let’s play some fucking XBox or something.”
Part 3 - A Lady’s Choice and a Gentleman’s Agreement
“Jamie, I’ve figured out the solution to our little problem,” Marianne told him as soon as he’d sat down in her office on Monday morning. “I’ve talked to this girl down in marketing. She’s a friend of mine; her name is Brandy. Anyways, she is willing to pretend to be in a relationship with you until this all blows over.”
“What?” Jamie asked, confused.
“She’ll come to games and sit with the other wives, she’ll go to events with you, you can put some pictures together on instagram, the whole thing. Then after the press moves on to something else once it’s obvious you’re not really gay and that the whole thing was a big misunderstanding, you can break up amicably and you can go back to keeping out of the press.”
“But I am really gay.” Jamie pointed out, unimpressed.
“That’s just semantics. No one needs to know the truth.” She waved a hand at his protest, rolling her eyes.
“No. I’m already out at this point. Sure, I didn’t plan to come out like this or probably at all, but whatever. I’m out now, so you’re going to have to get over it.” Jamie stood up to stomp out of her office.
“So you’re okay with the press thinking the first gay hockey player is some man whore? That’s giving all the people who don’t like your kind even more ammunition. They already think all the gays are sluts, and you just want to feed into that thinking. Fine, go right ahead.”
“My ‘kind?’ Fuck you, Marianne.” Jamie flung the door open and slammed it closed behind him before heading out to his car.
He drove around angrily for a little while, fuming at everything that was going on, until it was finally time to get to practice.
In the locker room, he was still pissed off, throwing things around and not making eye contact with any of the team. Everyone steered clear of him as he made his way out to sit on the bench for a few minutes to calm down.
He was only alone for a short time before Tyler settled down onto the bench next to him.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Jamie snapped before Tyler had even opened his mouth.
“That’s fine. We don’t have to talk about it.” Tyler put his hand on Jamie’s thigh and squeezed it reassuringly.
“That bitch in PR wants me to fake a relationship with some girl from marketing and go back in the closet. I told her no, and she said a bunch of shit about how I’m making gay men look like sluts and how I’m basically being a bad poster child for gay athletes or what the fuck ever.” Jamie let the words flow out of his mouth without even trying to stop them.
“Fuck her,” Tyler said vehemently.
“That’s what I said. I’m not going back in the closet, and I’m not faking a relationship with some girl.” Jamie exhaled shakily. “But maybe she’s right about it looking bad for everyone else if I’m some man whore.”
“You’re not a man whore,” Tyler pointed out.
“I know that, and you know that, but everyone else doesn’t know that.” Jamie shrugged. “Okay, time for practice. Come on.”
Jamie was in the middle of making dinner for Jordie, Jason, and himself that night when the front door opened, followed by the sound of skittering paws on his hardwood floors. He smiled and turned just in time to see Tyler step into the kitchen, followed by Cash and Marshall.
“Oh, sweet. You’re already making dinner. I’m starving.” He stepped over to peer into the pot on the stove.
“Good thing I made extra.” Jamie chuckled. “What’s up?”
“I sort of had an idea I wanted to run by you.” Tyler opened a cupboard and grabbed a bag of tortilla chips before hopping up onto the counter to watch Jamie work. “You know how that bitch in PR wanted you to fake a relationship with a girl for the press?”
“What!?” Jason shouted from the doorway as he and Jordie came in from the living room to greet Tyler.
“Don’t worry, I told her no. Chill the fuck out.” Jamie rolled his eyes fondly at Jordie and Jason’s matching appalled expressions. “Anyways, keep going, Segs.”
“Uh, hey guys, mind giving us a minute here?” Tyler asked, biting at his lip.
“Nah, go ahead and keep talking.” Jason sat down at one of the stools at the breakfast bar and made grabby hands for the bag of chips. Jordie snatched the bag from Tyler, earning himself a protesting noise, and handed it over to Jason before sitting down next to him.
“Fine, nosey assholes.” Tyler sighed dramatically before looking back to Jamie. “I was thinking about coming out, too.”
“Tyler, you don’t have to-” Jamie started, but Tyler held up a hand to stop him.
“I know I don’t have to, but hear me out. What if we pretended to be in a relationship? We’d look like we’re committed to each other, so no one could say you were a whore or anything. We’d both be in it together, and maybe if there’s two of us, we’d convince some others around the league to come out, too.”
Jamie was shocked at the proposal and thought it over, wondering if he could handle having Tyler so close to where he wanted him without fully having him as his own.
“Is that supposed to be a hint?” Jordie chimed in. “Because I think with you two coming out, this team’s gonna look gay enough. Maybe we’ll wait a little bit. This is still Texas, after all.”
“No, not a hint. The four of us are far from the only ones around the league. Everyone can go at their own pace.” Tyler shrugged. “But anyways, what do you think?”
“Here’s what I think.” Jamie reached into his pocket to pull out his phone and open up Instagram. He stepped between Tyler’s legs where he was still sitting on the counter and pressed a kiss to his lips as he snapped a picture of the two of them with dinner on the stove in the background. His hands shook as he typed out a caption and handed it over to Tyler for his approval, trying not to let it show on his face how much the whole thing was affecting him.
“‘Date night with the best boyfriend in the world,’” Tyler read off before looking at the picture for a few moments and hitting send. “Perfect.”
“I can’t decide if you two are geniuses or lunatics,” Jason informed them with a huge grin as he pulled up Instagram on his own phone to like the picture.
“Well, don’t they sort of go hand in hand?” Jamie chuckled with a shrug, pocketing his phone and moving to stir the pot on the stove.
The next day, Jamie and Tyler hunkered down at Tyler’s house, avoiding their phones and watching Netflix. They fell asleep on opposite sides of the couch that night, feet tangled together under their shared blanket. Jamie spent the entire time forcing himself not to dwell on the situation, instead focusing on enjoying Tyler’s company for what it was.
On Wednesday, they couldn’t hide any longer, so Jamie turned his phone back on when they were finished getting ready for practice.
“What the actual fuck?” Jamie shouted as he opened the Deadspin link that Jordie had texted.
“What?” Tyler asked, peering over his shoulder.
“Apparently a bunch of random fucking guys contacted Deadspin saying I’d slept with them over the summer, so Deadspin ran an article with all of their fucking bullshit stories. Apparently I’m even more of a whore than before, and now that I’m dating you, I’m ruining the team dynamics and shit.” Jamie felt like he was going to cry as he skimmed through the article, taking in all of the made up stories about himself.
“And people actually believe this shit?” Tyler reached out and took the phone away from Jamie to get a better look for himself at the comments on the article.
“People believe what they want to believe, and I guess everyone wants to think I’m a whore.”
“Let’s just get to practice, I guess,” Tyler sighed and put an arm around Jamie’s shoulder.
After practice, Jamie ducked out before Marianne could force him into another meeting with her. He hid at home the rest of the night, thankful that no one came to bug him or try to ask how he was feeling.
On his way to morning skate on Thursday, an idea struck him, and he pulled aside Dennis, the assistant equipment manager, to ask for his help changing the patch on his jersey.
During the player introductions, he ducked into an alcove and swapped his jersey with the one Dennis had altered for him.
When he stepped back into line, Tyler was skating out and only Alex and Vern were in front of him. Both of them turned to look at him and spotted his jersey right away.
“Give ‘em hell, kid,” Vern said with a chuckle as Alex grinned and headed out for his introduction.
“From Victoria, British Columbia, number fourteen, the captain, Jamie Benn!” Jamie listened as Jeff announced his name last. He took a deep breath and skated out onto the ice, stick raised in the air, to thunderous applause.
He could hear the difference in the crowd as they took in the sight of the red A on his jersey where there was normally a white C. Luckily, he didn’t have long to analyze their reaction before it was time to play.
The game went fantastically, shutting out the Penguins and feeling the excitement of a perfect start to the season in front of their own fans. The team didn’t talk about Jamie’s letter, but he got pointed nudges from Jason and Jordie, while Tyler tapped the letter then knocked their helmets together.
“Jamie, you know what we’re going to ask you,” A reporter said as soon as the post-game scrum started.
“Yes, I’m very happy with the fact that we opened the season with a shutout. It was a great showing by the whole team, and I’m ecstatic with our play tonight.” Jamie answered, avoiding the obvious questions.
“Jamie.” The reporter reprimanded lightly.
“I’m not going to talk about that. I’m here to talk about hockey, not my personal life. If you can’t keep the focus on that, we’re done here. Any other questions?”
Jamie answered a few on-topic questions before making a hasty exit, only to be stopped outside the earshot of reporters by Marianne, with her assistant Micah right behind her.
“Are you fucking kidding me, Jamie?” She snapped.
“What’s your problem?” Jamie rolled his eyes at her.
“You really wanna know what my problem is?”
“No. That was a rhetorical question. I don’t wanna know anything from you.” He pulled his arm from her grip and walked away, ignoring her shouts for him to come back.
Part 4 - How I, Jamie Benn, Went From Assumed Trollop to an Actual Home-Wrecker
“Jamie, can I see you in my office, please?” Frank, the head of PR, stood in the locker room when Jamie entered for practice the next morning.
“Yes, sir.” Jamie nodded and followed him upstairs to the offices.
“Sit down, Jamie.” Frank pointed at a chair, and Jamie sat quietly. “I’m sure you know that we track everything that each of you does on social media. I don’t know what your generation’s fascination is with documenting your every thought, but I can assure you they’re not all diamonds.” Frank paused to chuckle before continuing. ‘Antoine Roussel is having an OK day, and bought a Coke Zero at the gas station. Raise the roof.’ Who gives a rat's ass?”
"He got a Coke Zero again? Ah, that Rous. Incorrigible.” Jamie repled teasingly, earning a laugh from Frank.
“Listen, I know that you’ve been hearing plenty from Marianne about all of this.”
“Yeah, she’s said some pretty fucking shitty things to me, if you’ll excuse my language.” Jamie snorted, staring out the window in annoyance at the very mention of her.
“Excuse me, that’s my wife you’re talking about.” Frank reprimanded.
“She is?” Jamie’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “I didn’t know that, or even that she was married.”
“Yes, and I’m sorry for her behavior. However, we need to talk about what you and Tyler put on Instagram. I already spoke to him this morning, and I’m not asking you to take it back or anything. I just need you two to understand what you’re doing and how it reflects on this organization. Going forward, can we just agree to keep any drunken bragging quiet, to keep your relationship with Tyler PG in public, and to maybe go back to that lovely white C that we gave you on your jersey instead of, well, you know?” Frank frowned at Jamie and Jamie couldn’t help but agree to his requests.
“Yes, that’s fine. I’m sorry for all of the trouble we’ve caused, sir.” Jamie stood up and held a hand out, shaking Frank’s hand before exiting the office.
As he entered the stairwell to head back downstairs for practice, he heard giggling around the corner. He followed it quietly to find Marianne and her assistant, Micah, kissing and groping each other in what they appeared to think was a secluded alcove. Jamie took a surprised step back before turning and hurrying downstairs, unsure what to do.
“You okay, Chubbs? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Jordie asked as he entered the locker room.
“Just saw something, and I’m trying to process what to do about it,” Jamie admitted quietly before crossing over to his stall to get ready for practice.
Practice flew by uneventfully and they ended a little early so they could get ready for their flight out to Denver that afternoon. On his way off the ice, Jamie’s stomach dropped as he saw an angry Frank and an even angrier Marianne standing in the locker room. He was thankful for a brief moment that he was the first one off the ice, because he could tell this wasn’t going to be good.
“What the fuck is this? I thought I told you to keep a low fucking profile.” Marianne shoved an iPad in Jamie’s face, and he snatched it from her to read the latest Deadspin article.
“Someone said I gave them chlamydia?” Jamie read incredulously. “I didn’t give anyone chlamydia! I don’t even HAVE chlamydia!”
“Well, according to this guy’s test results, you gave it to him!” She snapped back angrily.
“That doesn’t mean anything! Just because some guy has chlamydia doesn’t mean I fucking gave it to him! I’ve never met this guy in my life! There’s literally zero proof.” Jamie argued back as a few of his teammates started to enter the locker room. Jordie came up behind him and took the iPad, reading through the article to get up to speed.
“Marianne, settle down,” Frank scolded her slightly before turning back to Jamie. “Look, Jamie, this article isn’t good, and we just spoke this morning about you not doing this sort of thing.”
“Doing what sort of thing?” Jordie joined into the conversation. “You had a meeting with him, he came down here, skated in practice, and then came off the ice. What the fuck did he do wrong? He didn’t get involved in anything unsavory on his way from your office to the fucking locker room.”
Jamie snorted, and everyone turned to look at him.
“What are you laughing at?” Marianne turned her fury back to him. “According to this, a bunch of people said they saw you at a bar in Deep Ellum last night and that you left with some random guy. So, apparently, you’re sleeping around and cheating on Tyler, as well. Really fucking classy, Jamie.”
“Like you’re one to fucking talk,” Jamie growled back.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” She raised an eyebrow expectantly.
“I would never fucking cheat on Tyler. He’s fucking amazing, and I’d never do anything to hurt him.” Jamie had to stop himself from saying anything more, knowing he was giving himself away if Tyler could hear him. “Can’t say the same for you. How’s Micah, by the way?”
“How should I know?” She shrugged with an air of nonchalance, but Jamie could see fear in her eyes.
“Just how long have you been sleeping with him? I highly doubt what I saw today in the stairwell was the beginning of your little affair.”
“What’s he talking about?” Frank turned to Marianne in confusion.
“You fucking bastard.” Marianne took a step back from Jamie, backing up towards the door. “Fuck you!”
She turned and fled out the door, Frank following close behind.
Everyone else in the locker room turned to Jamie in a stunned silence.
“I-I-” Jamie stammered before turning on the heel of his skates and starting to walk away to compose himself. He looked up and saw Tyler holding the iPad that Jordie had been looking at, scrolling through the comments.
“Screw all these people, Jamie.” Tyler gestured down at the iPad.
“Haven’t you heard? I already did,” Jamie replied bitterly before pushing past Tyler and into one of the training rooms, locking the door behind himself. He kicked off his skates and stripped out of most of his gear before sitting on the floor with his back against the door, where he finally let go, sobbing quietly.
Jamie wasn’t sure how long he hid in the training room, just that he didn’t move until there was a soft knock on the door.
“Jamie?” Tyler’s voice floated in through the door. “Listen, everyone’s gone. It’s just me, okay? But you need to come out. We need to get ready to head to the airport, or we’re going to miss our flight. I’ve got lunch for us and everything.”
Jamie sniffled, wiping away the last of his tears before standing and moving away from the door to let Tyler in.
“Everyone thinks I’m a whore, and for the first time, I’m starting to believe it.” Jamie admitted quietly, arms tight around himself.
“Jamie, that’s ridiculous. You and I both know that’s all bullshit.” Tyler pulled Jamie into his arms and squeezed him tight, comforting Jamie immediately. They stood there quietly for a few minutes before Tyler started to chuckle. “I can’t believe you finally got your revenge on Marianne. I’m so proud of you. So is everyone else, especially Jordie. He wanted to tell you himself, but he thought it’d be best if I took care of you right now.”
“Yeah, well, he knows how I feel about you,” Jamie replied, before realizing what he’d said and tensing up.
“And how do you feel about me?” Tyler asked teasingly, not loosening his grip around Jamie even as Jamie tried to pull away.
“Felt. I definitely said felt.” Jamie argued, shaking his head.
“Jamie, it’s okay.” Tyler reassured him. “He knows how I feel about you, too.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.” Tyler chuckled self-deprecatingly as Jamie processed what he’d said. “Hey, if I promise not to Instagram it, could I kiss you right now?”
Jamie looked up at him, and they held each other’s gaze for a long moment before Jamie looked away, shaking his head slightly.
“No. Not like this.” Jamie turned back to see Tyler’s face fall and hurried to clarify. “I haven’t even showered from practice. Plus, I need to do something first.”
Part 5 - Not With a Fizzle, But a Bang
After showering and rushing to the plane, Jamie and Tyler rejoined the team. Everyone made sure to steer clear of the pair of them, allowing them to take their seats next to each other while Jordie and Jason loudly bickered over who was the Teammate of the Week that got to choose the movie. Jamie couldn’t help but cuddle into Tyler’s side as they watched TV on Tyler’s laptop, basking in the knowledge that Tyler returned his feelings.
At the hotel, Jamie sent Tyler off with everyone else and headed up to his room to prepare for his plan the following night. He worked through the night, writing out what he wanted to say and revising it to make sure he remembered everything.
Saturday’s breakfast and morning skate were subdued as the team gave Jamie a wide berth. It wasn’t until they were lacing up for warm-ups that Jamie finally relaxed and made peace with what he was about to do.
He got pulled aside for a pre-game interview for Fox Sports with Julie and answered the typical questions about the game, until the very end, when he added one last thing.
“Obviously there’s been some rumors going around about me, and I’m going to be going ahead and clearing those up tonight. I’m going to be on Periscope, details will be on my Twitter. Just make sure you all tune in, alright?”
“Alright, sounds good.” Julie smiled at him before cutting the interview. She stopped him as he turned to rejoin his team. “Hey, for what it’s worth, we all believe in you, okay?”
“Thanks.” Jamie forced the best smile he could and walked away.
After a frustrating loss, they headed back to the hotel, where Jamie got straight to work setting up his iPad and getting ready to periscope. When it was finally time, he logged in and began his webcast.
“The rumors of my promiscuity have been greatly exaggerated.”
He spoke at length about the situation, recounting everything that had happened and reading from his notes until he finally got to the end.
As he was wrapping up, he heard a knock at the door and got up to open it, leaving the webcast running in the background. He smiled warmly at Tyler and let him in before going back to his webcast.
“That’s Tyler,” he told the camera, aware he was sporting a lovesick smile. “Not that I owe you guys any more confessions, but I really like this guy and, uh, I might even lose my virginity to him.” He paused to share a look with Tyler, who sat down next to him on the bed. “I don’t know when it’ll happen. You know, it might be five minutes from now or tonight or six months from now or maybe on our wedding night. But the really amazing thing is, it is nobody’s goddamn business.”
Jamie finally leaned in to kiss Tyler as he reached out and ended the webcast.