Heated Rivalry (Game Changers #2)(89)

“Okay,” Shane said as he parked behind his father’s car. “Just...let me do the talking.”

“No problem.”

“Fuck, maybe you should wait in the car.”

Ilya raised an eyebrow at him.

“No,” Shane said. “No, never mind. Come on.”

He exited the car and Ilya followed. Shane wondered if his parents were watching them through a window.

He didn’t bother to knock. He never did, with them. He opened the door and said, as calmly as he could, “Hello? It’s me. It’s...Shane.”

His parents stood from where they had both been sitting on the couch. It was clear that his dad had told his mom what he’d seen.

“Shane?” his mother said. She said it like she’d never heard the word before.

“Mom. Dad. I...I think we should talk.”

“We forgot to buy dishwasher tablets,” Dad said. He sounded shell shocked. “I just wanted to see if I could borrow some. I didn’t know you had...company.”

“Dad, it’s okay. I’m sorry. You...shouldn’t have found out that way.”

“Found out what, exactly?” Mom asked. Her eyes were locked on Ilya, just over Shane’s shoulder.

“Well, I...I’m gay. Which I was going to tell you. Soon. I just...sorry. I wish I’d told you.”

His parents didn’t say anything. They were both looking at Ilya like he was a mountain lion that was about to attack.

“Um, and this is...Ilya. Rozanov. You probably know that.”

“Hi,” Ilya said.

“And he’s been...visiting. He’s...we’re, um...”

What were they, exactly? It occurred to Shane that he and Ilya hadn’t even figured out what label they were comfortable with.

“Lovers,” Ilya offered.

Fuck, way to choose the grossest possible word, Ilya.

Well, there was no going back from that word. Shane could only wait for the aftermath.

“But...you hate him,” Mom said.

“No, I...I don’t. I mean. Sometimes I do, kinda. But mostly I...love him. Actually.”

“You...what?”

Shane’s heart was racing. “Can we just...sit, maybe? I’m sorry. I know this is a lot at once. I didn’t want this to be how I told you. At all.”

No one said anything for a moment, then his father nodded and gestured to the living room furniture. His parents sat together on the couch. Shane and Ilya sat in separate chairs facing them.

“Shane...” Mom began. “I think we both...suspected...that you might be...gay.”

“You did?” Shane had not been expecting that.

“Yes, well. We didn’t know for certain, obviously. We just thought it might be a possibility.”

“Geez. I had no idea you thought that.”

“We know you pretty well,” Mom said. She gave him a small smile, and that one tiny gesture made Shane want to weep with relief.

“What we did not suspect,” Dad added, “was that you were...friendly...with Mr. Rozanov here.”

“Ilya,” said Ilya.

“Ilya, then.”

“It’s...a long story. And it doesn’t even make sense to us,” Shane said.

“None,” Ilya agreed.

“When did this happen?” Mom asked. “Wait, was it the All-Star Game? You were on the same team—”

“No,” Shane said. “It was...already going on then.”

His father blew out a breath. “You sure fooled us. And...everyone else.”

“So when?” Mom asked. She seemed desperate to figure out the timeline of this thing. Shane could see her mentally replaying the past several seasons in her head.

“Since, um, our rookie year,” Shane mumbled.

He didn’t think his parents could possibly look more shocked than they already had, but they definitely looked more shocked at this news.

“You can’t have been...since your rookie season?” his mother gasped.

“No,” Ilya said. “That’s not right. Was before that.”

Not helping, Ilya.

“Before that?” Mom asked.

“A little before,” Ilya clarified. “Summer before.”

“You’ve been...in love this whole time?”

“No!” Shane said.

“God no,” Ilya said at the same time.

“But then...” Mom started. “Oh,” she said. And blushed. “I see.”

“Anyway,” Shane said. He was blushing even more than his mom. “The point is, we’re...together. Sort of. Or we’d like to be. If it wasn’t basically impossible.”

For the first time, the looks of shock left his parents’ faces and shifted to something like sympathy.

“I just don’t understand,” his mother said. “How could this have even happened between you? Weren’t there any nice men in Montreal, Shane?”

“Probably,” Shane muttered.

“Do your teammates know about...this?” Dad asked.

“No! No, no one does. No one. This is top secret, all right?”

His father stood up. “Would anyone like a beer? I could use a beer.”

“Yes,” said Ilya.