Ice Angels by Ryan Taylor & Joshua Harwood

Author:Ryan Taylor & Joshua Harwood [Taylor, Ryan & Harwood, Joshua]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wainscott Press
Published: 2021-10-28T16:00:00+00:00

10

Cleevs

“You ready?” Drew’s voice trembled, but it was bright with excitement. The interview would be on in fifteen minutes, and planning to watch it together, we’d just connected on Skype.

“How were the guys when you told them?” I asked.

“They took it well. Almost everyone was supportive, and no one said anything bad. A surprising number already knew.” He laughed. “So much for being discreet.”

“You know they all love you, babe. How did the others you called take it?”

“No problems. Everyone wished me well.”

“Did you call your mom?” Drew’s mother was a warm, loving woman who had encouraged him to come out for years. She knew about us and couldn’t have treated me any better since the day we met. From what Drew told me, his dad had been fine with him being gay but had always urged him to err on the side of caution. He’d been afraid coming out would ruin Drew’s career.

“Mom was fantastic. Told me she was very proud of me, and said she was going to bake a cake and invite all her friends to come over and watch.”

We said little while the interview ran. During a commercial, he asked how I thought it was going, and I told him it was excellent. “I hope Parker’s this nice on Sunday.”

“Mike’s great. He’s not afraid to ask hardball questions, but he never tries to catch you off guard or screw you.”

“Do I get to screw you on Sunday?” I was trying to make him laugh, which succeeded, but it was a serious question too. We needed to make the most of every opportunity.

“You better. I can’t—”

The interview came back on, and we let that hang.

Drew’s phone started ringing as soon as the broadcast ended, but he was selective about which calls he answered. He put his phone on speaker so I could hear, and the Ice’s GM soon had him laughing.

“I wish you hadn’t waited so damn long, Drew. Do you think I’m some kind of homophobe? I gave that up years ago, around the time I quit smoking.”

“It wasn’t that, Bert. I was—”

“Tell you what, Cherry and I had a big laugh after you called us this afternoon.” Cherry Adams, years ago one of the toughest enforcers in the league, now owned the Chicago Ice. “He told me a long time ago he thought you were gay and wished you’d come out. He didn’t want to push you, though. Said it was none of our business. This was a few years before the Johnson incident.”

I was happy Drew was getting good feedback. His brave front notwithstanding, he must have been nervous. I’d broken out in a cold sweat last fall when I told the Barracudas in the locker room, and here Drew had just come out in front of millions. The thought made my stomach flip, and I opened a beer.

When the calls slowed down, we combed through social media. The news was everywhere. There were some haters—there are always haters—but most of the reaction was positive.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.