When he pulled up to the restaurant, Jake made sure to jump out of the car and open Allen’s door for him, smirking when he received a grumpy frown for his efforts.
Allen shrugged off his jacket and removed Riley’s jersey, leaving them in the front seat of the car before they went inside.
“Can you tell Riley that if he ever puts his sweaty clothes on me in a cold rink again, I’ll rescind my offer of friendship,” said Allen, brushing his hand through his slightly messy hair.
“Tell him yourself,” said Jake. “I’ll give you his number.”
Allen huffed a sigh and allowed Jake to lead him to the restaurant doors. The main dining room was mostly hidden, so Allen wouldn’t have to worry about what he was wearing since no one could see him.
The clink of silverware and rumble of conversation were loud despite it being so late in the evening. The host immediately brought them to their room, smiling cheerfully at Jake and hisdate, and passing them their menus once they were seated.
Allen didn’t speak until the host was gone, but Jake knew it was coming because he was watching Allen’s eyebrows raise in slow motion.
“If having a private room with a window practically hanging over the Halifax harbour didn’t tell me this place is expensive, the menu with no prices certainly would.”
Jake cringed. It hadn’t been his intention to flaunt his money, but he liked this place; the food, the privacy, and the waythe noise stayed at a low, steady murmur instead of bouncing off the walls.
He never did well in noisy, crowded spaces. There were too many voices and clashing sounds that didn’t belong together. The lights, the movement—it all piled up until his skin felt too tight for him to fit into.
And he knew it didn’t make sense to most people that he could handle hockey, but that was different. Out on the ice, the noise had order. The scrape of blades, the thud of bodies against the boards, and the rhythm of his breath allfit. The chaos became a pattern, the pressure lifted, and for a little while, he couldthink.
Jake wanted things to work with Allen, which meant he had to be upfront with him. He didn’t want to hide a part of himself from his future partner, and he wanted Allen to have the choice to back out if dealing with his…issues wasn’t something he was willing to do.
“I’m autistic,” said Jake, keeping his gaze locked onto Allen’s face so he could watch his expression. “I don’t stray from places that make me feel safe.”
When there was no shift in Allen’s playful smile, Jake figured he wasn’t put off by the revelation.
“Oh shit, really?” Allen looked around the room and then at the menu. “Okay, that makes sense. You have a routine, and you like the quiet room. Sorry, I wouldn’t have teased you if I knew your reasoning behind coming here.”
The tightness that had been squeezing Jake’s heart loosened just a little. “It doesn’t bother you?”
Allen’s head snapped up, his eyes going wide as saucers. “Oh my god, no. I figured you were either shy ormaybeon the spectrum when I had to fight to get a sentence from you, but we’re doing fine, aren’t we? If you were a fucking mob boss, thatwould be different. Hot, but not acceptable. Autism is like, not even close to a problem.”
Jake was…going to marry this man.
“I have ADHD too,” said Jake, just to make sure.
Allen turned his attention back to his menu and shrugged. “Did you attend abuy-one, get-oneevent when you were younger? Tell me what I should order; half of these options are in French.”
Jake had never felt so accepted—and so confused—in his life. The way Allen brushed off his worries and treated him like he was just as normal as everyone else was almost an art form.
“Iamsurprised you like hockey,” said Allen. “But I bet there’s so much focus on the puck that you don’t really hear the rest of it. I could see how that would work for someone with sensory issues.”
Allen’s eyes flicked up and met Jake’s. “Tell me if I’m wrong, because I have no experience with autism or ADHD. But if it was anxiety we were talking about, I think I would have you beat.”
The corner of Jake’s mouth twitched. “You’re right. Hockey makes my head quiet, but I recently found something else that works the same way.”
And Allen knew it too, if his blush was anything to go by. Jake sometimes had similar results when he was with Riley, but only when his friend was talking his ear off to the point where he couldn’t focus and went numb.
It was different with Allen. He didn’t have to talk to give Jake that same sense of calm; he just had to be nearby.
“Can you tell me why you don’t play hockey anymore?” Jake asked.
“Only if you tell me why you don’t play professionally,” Allen countered.
Touche.
“Accidentally got knocked in the head by a teammate’s knee and ended up with a concussion,” said Jake, shoving down the fear that rose inside every time he thought about that night. “I’m my father’s only child, so I’m expected to take over his business someday. He made me leave the CHL, and I had to fight to get him to agree to let me play with my current team.”