Josiah glanced at the tablet again, swiping. “Hmmm.”
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing.” Josiah grinned. “Only, you andDamien, I mean, Coach Banning, seem to have a glaring contest going on.”
“Hilarious.”
“OMG, is that Selwin Kirkland from Chicago?” Josiah squeaked.
“It is. Thank God we didn’t know ahead of time. He stepped onto the ice afterwards to congratulate us and everyone on the team went nuts,” I explained. “I got to shake his hand and talk to him. He’s friends with Banning. They used to play together.”
“That’s so cool.” Josiah paused. “Wait, you mean Banning, as in the defenseman for Chicago who wrecked his knee five years ago?”
“Yeah. That’s him.”
“How did I not know thathe’syour coach?”
“I think of him as Coach,” I muttered.
I was such a liar.
“Now that it’s spring and my health is stable, can I finally come with you and meet the team? Like, before you graduate?” Josiah smirked.
Sarcasm was a family trait.
“I think I can arrange that. In fact, we have a rally tonight. You can come for an hour.”
“Yes!” Josiah turned to my dad. “Look at that. Si’s going to be playing pro one day with guys like Kirkland.”
My dad nodded and brought a shaky hand over to tap mine, then he motioned for the tablet, so Josiah put it in front of him. Dad slowly tapped on it, typing slowly. Once he was done, he looked up at me.
Proud of you. Both.
I smiled back at him. “I’m proud of you too.”
CHAPTER 9
SILAS
After our visit with Dad, Josiah and I said our goodbyes and headed for home.
“Is there anything you want to talk about?” I asked Jo as we hit the highway.
His comment about Damien being “hot” had me wondering. And worrying. Josiah had several close friends, guys and girls, but he never mentioned crushing on anyone.
He would tell me, wouldn’t he?
I wanted him to know that I supported him. Loved him no matter what. Then I thought about the fact that I hadn’t even told him I was gay. I’d known for years and still, I kept silent. When would I finally stop hiding? Guilt gnawed away at my gut.
“Anything personal?” I continued.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, your comment earlier—” I paused, uncertain about how to phrase it.
“We talked about a lot of stuff this aft, Si, you need to be more specific.”
I quickly glanced at him and then back to the road ahead of me.
