“Scott Hunter’s got a boyfriend.” Carter shook his head, grinning. “Man, I can’t even imagine what it’s like dating a dude that perfect.”
“It’s pretty great.”
Someone handed Carter a beer, and Carter said, “Hey, get one for my man Kip, all right?”
When whoever it was returned with a beer for Kip, Carter asked, “So what’s your story, Kip? Scott said you’re a student?”
“About to be again, yeah. Starting my master’s degree in September.”
“You play sports at all?” the beer guy—who was drinking a Coke himself—asked.
“Nah.”
“Sorry,” Carter said, “this rude asshole is Eric Bennett. You don’t recognize him because he usually has a mask over his face.”
“Hi,” Bennett said.
Kip nodded. “Nice to meet you. Congratulations.”
“You a hockey fan?” Carter asked.
“I am now, for sure. I’ve always liked watching hockey. Hadn’t been following too closely, until…”
“Until you started dating the biggest star in the game?”
“Right. Yeah.”
Carter looked at him with some curiosity. “So you’re not a Scott Hunter fanboy. You just happened to meet him?”
“Yeah. He didn’t tell you?”
“Nope. Is it cute?”
Kip shrugged. “It’s probably boring. One day he just came into the place I worked. It’s, uh…it’s a smoothie shop. Anyway. He got a smoothie, and then he came back the next day…and again…”
“That,” Carter said with a wide grin, “is fucking cute. He picked you up atwork? I didn’t think Hunter had any game!”
“He didn’t, really. Pick me up, I mean. He just kind of kept coming in. And I sort of…hinted…”
Carter shared a knowing look with Bennett. “Yeah, that makes a lot more sense. He was probably hoping you might just trip and fall on him or something if he kept showing up.”
“Maybe. It all worked out in the end, anyway.”
“You ready to be in the middle of a media storm when this gets out?” Bennett asked.
“No,” Kip said, straightening his spine. “But I’ll be there. Right by Scott’s side.”
Carter laughed. “All right, stand down, soldier. We’ve got your back. I like you, Kip. Almost as much as I like saying your name.”
“Thanks.”
Scott joined their little circle, draping a heavy arm across Kip’s shoulders. “Are these guys bothering you?” he asked with a sloppy grin. It was possible he’d had a lot of champagne already.
“We’re just trying to figure out how a guy this great ended up with a mess like you, Hunter,” Carter joked.
“I don’t know either, but I’m sure glad he did,” Scott said, and he kissed Kip on the cheek. Kip turned bright red. He glanced at Carter and Bennett, expecting them to be looking away, but they were both just smiling at them.
Scott dipped his head to speak directly into Kip’s ear. “They’re kicking out everyone who isn’t on the team, but I’ll see you at home, right?”