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November 2016
The first time Hayden had thought Lily might be married he’d dismissed it. Shane wasn’t like that. But there had to be a reason Shane was so secretive about Lily’s identity. At first Hayden had just thought Shane didn’t need to share the details of a casual hookup, but it was clear that Shane was meeting up with the same woman each time they visited Boston. Hayden had even casually suggested he could set Shane up with one of Jackie’s friends, Shane’s denial just confirming what Hayen had suspected: that things with Lily were more serious than Shane let on, and that Shane was determined to maintain his strange secrecy around her. The longer it went on the more suspicious it was. When he confided in J.J. about his concerns, J.J. agreed. While they didn’t want to believe Shane would date a married woman, there weren’t many reasons for this level of privacy.
Bringing it up to Shane did not go well.
“You really think so lowly of me? Shane said flatly. “When have I ever made it seem like I’d have an affair with someone?”
Hayden winced. Shane’s emotionless questions were almost worse than anger.
“I… We…” He wasn’t sure how to explain.
J.J. jumped in. “You never share anything about her! Why else would you be so secretive?”
Shane looked pained. “She's just… private. But not married or anything like that. You have to trust me on that.”
Hayden was ready to move on from this whole conversation, but apparently J.J. didn’t know when to stop.
“Just tell us one thing about her. One small thing.”
Shane looked like he was about to shut down the conversation, but then he seemed to change his mind. He thought for a disturbing amount of time considering he was coming up with one fact about his girlfriend. Finally he said, “She’s athletic,” before leaving.
J.J. turned to Hayden. “What are we supposed to do with that?” he grumbled.
Hayden agreed. “We probably could’ve guessed that on our own. Big surprise, hockey-obsessed guy dates athletic girl.”
January 2017
Texts between Hayden and J.J
J.J.: Lily is Rose! That's why he never told us, she probably wanted to keep it quiet. And she’s definitely athletic, have you seen the stunts she does in those movies?
Hayden: But Lily lives in Boston and has been with Shane a lot longer than Rose
J.J.: That’s just what Shane told us, it was obviously a cover. Now that they’re public he’ll tell us
Hayden: I’m not sure, man. Wouldn’t Rose have been filming during half the times Shane and Lily were meeting up? And I doubt she does all her own stunts
J.J.: I really thought we had it this time
April 2017
Hayden and J.J. were waiting in the hospital, hoping for a chance to visit Shane. They’d all seen the hit and been forced to play the rest of the game worrying about him. Even after the team got news about his injuries and learned that it should be a straightforward recovery, Hayden didn’t think he'd be able to relax until he’d actually talked to Shane. From the way J.J’s foot kept tapping, it seemed he felt the same.
“J.J., do you think Lily's on her way? She has to know, right?”
“She definitely has to be. You think…”
J.J. trailed off, but Hayden knew exactly what he was implying. It felt a bit wrong to be thinking about this while Shane was hurt, but it was probably their best opportunity. Shane never had to know that they were watching all of his visitors, determined to note any unfamiliar women who stopped by.
But even with all their careful watching, there was no one who could even conceivably be Lily. Hayden had been so positive she would visit, but it seemed like she wasn’t going to. He lost track of time as they continued to wait. Until Rozanov appeared at the end of the hall. He had a strange expression, a confusing mix of anxiety and joy.
J.J. scowled. “What’s he doing here?”
“It isn’t right,” Hayden said angrily. “We haven’t gone in, no one that could be Lily has gone in, but Rozanov has?”
Hayden had meant that comment for J.J., but Rozanov must have overheard because he strode over to them.
“Probably they do not want to disturb Hollander with bad hockey players. Is okay, they will probably let you in eventually. And this Lily? She is Hollander’s girl, but you do not know who she is, even though you are friends?”
“Shut up, Rozanov, Shane’s just a private person.” Hayden didn’t know why he was defending himself to Rozanov of all people.
“I will find out who this Lily is. Before you,” Rozanov declared. “I am much better at noticing things.”
“We’re his closest friends!” Hayden protested. J.J. nodded in agreement.
Rozanov smirked. “Wait and see. You are lucky I am not suggesting a bet with money.”
They watched him walk off.
J.J. spoke first. “He doesn’t know something we don’t?”
Hayden scoffed. “How could he, we’re the ones who see Shane everyday.”
November 2017
“She's Greek,” J.J. announced as he and Hayden were leaving the gym.
“Who?”
“Lily!” J.J. seemed confused that Hayden hadn't immediately understood that jump in logic.
“And how do you know she's Greek? Did Shane finally admit something else?”
“Of course not. I saw it on his phone. He had one of those apps open, you know for languages, and when I glanced at his phone I saw Greek letters.”
“Huh.” Something still seemed off to Hayden. “But why would he hide learning Greek? There's nothing embarrassing about that.”
“Probably disappointed he couldn't get a French-speaker,” J.J. said confidently.
Hayden had no idea if J.J. was joking or not. “What, are you offering?”
J.J. looked offended. “As if I'd betray Lily like that!”
But Hayden’s offhand joke had awoken a suspicion he'd never considered before. Maybe the Greek was a distraction from the real secret. He honestly wasn't sure how neither he nor J.J. had suspected before. Well, probably because Shane had never even hinted at the possibility. He waited until he and J.J. were in the car before telling him his suspicions.
“What if Lily is a man?
J.J. just stared.
Hayden continued. “It would make sense, that's why Shane is so secretive about everything. And why he's hiding that he’s learning Greek.”
“You know, this actually makes sense. Huh. Why didn’t he tell us though? Doesn't he trust us?”
“I guess we just wait. At least now we have a better chance of figuring out Lily.”
J.J. nodded. “It never made sense that we couldn’t figure it out. Now that we’re on the right track it’ll be easy.”
They drove in silence for a while before J.J. spoke up again. “Do we know any Greek men?”