Trade Deadline - Avon Gale Page 0,60

sports fan. “I can’t believe the fans were booing their own team.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty bad, but maybe it’ll help.” Tabby made a face. “I can’t imagine how, but you never know.”

Micah tried to imagine if it would help if he got booed at work, and couldn’t think of a single situation in which it would do anything positive. But he wasn’t a sports player, so maybe the rules were different? Still, constructive criticism was one thing. Visceral, verbal displeasure was another.

Tabby hugged him and kissed him on the cheek, and Micah went down to wait with the other friends and families of the players. They were a somber group, and the players came out one by one, freshly showered and half dressed, and looking as if they were heading toward a funeral. Daniel was one of the last to appear, wearing his suit pants and his dress shirt, but sans jacket and tie. He smiled tiredly when he saw Micah.

Micah immediately wanted to kiss him, or tell him a joke, but he didn’t want to do the wrong thing. He took his cues from the others and fell into step with him, thinking of what to say. He’d never in his life had feelings about the result of a sporting event before. “You okay?”

“Oh, yeah. Game sucked, but it’s over.” Daniel glanced down at him. “Sometimes that’s all you can really say, you know? We played like shit and I can’t even blame the fans for booing. That’s basically what the coach said. He said he was booing us, too.”

Micah made a face. “I didn’t. Neither did Tabby. Just so you know.”

“I probably wouldn’t blame you if you did,” Daniel said, voice grim. “Hey, would you mind if we just didn’t talk about it? I’ll have to deal with game tapes and all that shit later, but I’d really like it if we just sort of, you know. Let it be.”

Micah felt weird, like he was being chastised for doing something wrong. But then he reminded himself he was new at this, and he honestly did appreciate Daniel laying out how to deal with this in clear, easy-to-understand terms. “Sure thing,” he said, smiling. “I’m looking forward to introducing you to the crew, and if it helps, they probably didn’t watch the game.”

Daniel stared at him, blinked, and then said, “Oh, that’s—that’s right. I forgot we were going to do that. It’s kind of late, are you sure they’re still there?”

“Yeah, it’s trivia night, everyone usually hangs around until the late-night happy hour ends at eleven.” Micah was getting some weird vibes, here. “Is it still okay if we go?”

“I think I should probably go home, to be honest. I’m not in the greatest headspace right now, and I’d hate the first impression I made on your friends to be me in this mood.” Daniel did look pretty grim, with none of that boyish charm and friendliness that seemed so much a part of him.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Micah asked, a little carefully. He didn’t necessarily want to bail on his friends, but he did want to be a supportive boyfriend.

“I—” Daniel sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I know it probably seems like I’m being ridiculous, but it was a tough game. I do want to meet your friends, and I do like your company, but I think tonight I should probably head home.”

Micah understood that while this was just a game for him to watch, it was Daniel’s job. And he’d had bad days at work, hadn’t he, even though it was his dream job. He’d missed Quinton’s birthday party one year, because they’d lost a dolphin calf and it had really upset Micah. Enough that he’d gone home and curled up with his cat and a book, choosing some good old-fashioned self-care over socializing. Quinton had understood, because having a bad day at work was a universal experience, right?

And again, no one ever booed him at his job, so. Micah understood, and he also knew that Daniel was disappointed his former teammates had to immediately leave after the game and couldn’t even hang around past the usual media availability to chat for a bit.

“Sure,” Micah said, but he felt a little unsettled. It was important to him that Daniel meet his friends, but not if he was in a bad mood. No one would enjoy that. “I’ll go for a bit, then, and tell them they’ll have to meet you later.