Chapter Text
The boys couldn’t help but sulk. The guys were all clean-shaven now, having finally removed Drapeau’s beard after much protest. It was the final nail in the coffin that their season was over. They made it to the playoffs, but couldn’t get past Boston. Now they were all gathered around in her living room, nursing injuries that didn’t get them far enough, watching the final seconds of Game Six of the Stanley Cup. Boston was seconds away from winning. Their vitriol could be felt throughout the house; especially their outright hatred of Boston’s own Ilya Rozanov. J.J. was pushing Shane around, calling him out for hating the Russian Menace the most. “Games over, boys!” Jackie calls out from the kitchen. “Foods ready, so you better be hungry.” The guys slowly get up and start making their own plates while Jackie goes into the fridge and grabs a premade plate full of macrobiotic-approved food. She throws it in the microwave quickly before taking it out and walking it over to Shane, who is still engrossed in the TV, despite the final buzzer going off over a minute ago. The screen is now showing Rozanov hoisting the cup, smiling, and screaming in Russian, with his team crowded around him. Jackie turns to Shane, and she freezes. She’s never seen such a strained look on Shane’s face. It’s as if he’s using every ounce of willpower not to cry, while simultaneously having just the hint of a smile on his face, that looks like it’s fit to burst. His eyes are transfixed on the screen. Transfixed on Ilya Rozanov. It hit her suddenly as she gasps and drops the plate, the food falling all over the dirty floor.
“Shit!” Jackie says as she bends down to pick everything up. That seems to get Shane out of his stupor.
“Jackie, are you okay?” Shane asks as he falls to the floor to help clean up the mess.
“Yes.” She responds. “But I’m so sorry, that was your plate. I’m such a klutz.”
“It’s fine.” Shane responds. “Season is over. I don’t need to constantly be on my diet right now. I can pick on some things here. Cheat day. Right?”
Jackie smiles at him as her husband comes over with some paper towels. He bends down and starts to help with the cleaning. “Thought you might be needing these,” Hayden says. “Everything okay?”
“Oh yeah. Just lost my grip. Now Shane has to slum it out like the rest of us for his meal,” she says. Hayden grins as he looks at Shane. “All right, Captain’s finally going to eat some real food. Didn’t think I’d live to see the day.”
“There are actually some nice Tuna melts that I think you can splurge on, Shane,” Jackie informs him. “High in protein, fiber, and not too caloric. A lot of fresh vegetables, and not so much mayo.”
“That is actually something I’ll have every once in a while as a cheat,” Shane confirms. “Thanks, Jackie.”
Hayden looks up disappointed as he picks up the last few crumbs. “You two always ruin my fun,” Hayden says with a smirk.
“Asshole,” Shane says evenly as he tosses a piece of broccoli at Hayden. Hayden swats it, then gets back up. Shane and Jackie do the same. As Jackie and Hayden start walking the garbage over into the kitchen, Jackie looks back to see Shane staring at TV once again. Boston; Montreal’s biggest rival has won the Stanley Cup.
Shane Hollander is enamored. And Jackie, she knows that look. It’s the same look Hayden gives her when they wake up every morning. She didn’t mean to, but Jackie Pike had learned that not only is Shane Hollander gay; he was also clearly in love with Ilya Rozanov.
*****
It was slow going. Jackie didn’t want to just spring it on Shane that she knew he was gay. Technically, she wasn’t even sure if he was. He could be bi or pan. Though she never saw him with a girlfriend. He never seemed to hook up with anyone when the guys would go out after games. She also couldn’t be a hundred percent certain about what she saw on his face when he was watching the game. Shane had always been notoriously difficult to read. He kept a lot of his emotions hidden, it seemed, and wasn’t good with social cues. Jackie was pretty sure he was on the spectrum, but she never brought it up with Hayden. Just once in the WAG group chat, which seemed to confirm it. The girls were always pretty much in sync. It was that idea that had her open the group chat after having just put the girls down for a nap.
MONTREAL WAGS
JACKIE:
So…
CONNIE:
This sounds interesting.
WILLOW:
Are we figuring out what to do for the first away game?
JACKIE:
No. I was just checking in on something.
BETH:
Jackie’s got hot goss.
WILLOW:
Spill!
JACKIE:
Not gossip, really. Just wondering what you all would think if I said I might have learned that one of the boys on the team wasn’t straight?
PENNY:
You mean Shane?
JACKIE:
…
CONNIE:
Of course, she means Shane. Who else on the team avoids blind dates like the plague?
WILLOW:
Did Hayden say something?
JACKIE:
God no. I don’t think he knows. I’m not even sure it’s true. It’s just a hunch I wanted to bring up. But… I guess I’m not the only one that thinks it’s possible?
BETH:
I try not to speculate, but it seems like it’s pretty obvious.
JACKIE:
Not to the boys. At least not to Hayden. Have any of your guys said anything?
PENNY:
Not to me, but Boiziau mostly just bitches about the amount of edge work Shane forces the guys to do.
WILLOW:
Same. Gilbert mostly talks about how long Shane rambles on when he shows the past videos before training. Apparently, he studies them every morning before getting out of bed.
CONNIE:
Honestly, Jackie, if he confided in anyone, it would be Hayden. He’s who he’s closest to. Maybe try and find an opening to ask Hayden.
JACKIE:
I was thinking that. I just wanted to see if you girls had anything first. But maybe Hayden is the best option.
*****
Jackie is just getting into bed, lowering the volume on the TV, when Hayden comes in after putting the girls down. “Have I ever told you how much of a menace Ruby is?” Hayden asks. “Seriously, I think we’re raising the next serial killer.”
Jackie laughs as he kisses her on the forehead. “Or the next hockey player.” She retorts, making her husband smile into her. He slowly reaches over, and she has to slap his hand. “Hayden! You know I’m pregnant.” She berates. “Making it that much harder to impregnate you again,” he responds. Jackie sighs and pulls herself up. “Look, I’m just too tired tonight.” She explains. “Besides, I’ve been thinking about Shane.”
“My wife is thinking about my best friend while I’m trying to sex her up? That’s a mood killer.” Hayden teases. But there’s something real in that tease that Jackie clings to like a life raft.
“He is your best friend, isn't he?” She asks. “And your his. Tell me, has he been seeing anyone lately?”
“Not that I’m aware of.” Hayden says. “You know how one-tracked-minded he is. Probably only gets a release when we play Boston.”
He “gets a release” whenever they play Boston? Jackie never knew about this. Jackie nearly jumps out of bed hearing this. Boston. Rozanov’s team. And Hayden knew? “What do you mean? ” She asks.
“You know how some of the guys who aren’t married like to have a girl in each of the cities we play” Hayden says. Jackie appreciates that he pretended only the unmarried men kept girlfriends. The two kids currently asleep in the next room over, and the third one growing inside her made it very clear that Hayden was content with what he had. Still, Shane having a girl in only one city, the city where his crush supposedly lives was interesting.
“Does she have a name?” Jackie asks, hoping not to sound like she’s that interested.
“Lily.” Hayden says nonchalantly.
Lily. L-I-L-Y.
Ilya. I-L-Y-A.
Surely it can’t be that much of a coincidence. But at the same time, it’s too obvious… right? And yet, Hayden hadn’t been able to put it together it seems. But certainly not all of the guys in the locker room could be that dense. And Ilya Rozanov was infamous for being a ladies man. He was always in the tabloids with his hands around a new woman’s waist. And every woman he surrounded himself with had a certain reputation. And even if Rozanov did swing that way, Jackie could never see him with someone so tight and awkward as Shane Hollander. The whole thing is honestly too difficult for her to wrap her head around. She decides to give Hayden one last goodnight kiss before rolling over and trying to catch some Zzzz’s.
*****
The next morning, Jackie woke up early and texted Shane.
JACKIE:
Morning, Shane. I’m making egg whites with avocado. Saved you a plate!
SHANE:
Thank you, Jackie. I kind of have a busy day though, and I don’t think I’ll be able to make it.
JACKIE:
You’re really going to make a pregnant woman beg?
SHANE:
No? I can be there within an hour.
JACKIE:
Bring your appetite.
SHANE:
Make sure Hayden is ready. I can drive him to practice since I’m heading over.
JACKIE:
You’re the best!
Shane arrived less than an hour later. Jackie greeted him at the door, and the two went to the kitchen where Jackie reheated the eggs and poured him a glass of orange juice. When Jackie brought the food over, she took the seat right next to him.
“Boston at the end of the week, huh?” Jackie asked. Shane looked up as he sipped his juice. “Yeah, first time this season.” He replied.
“And since they’ve won the cup.” Jackie added. “Haven’t seen Rozanov in a while. Must be odd having so much time away?” She noticed how much more red in the face Shane got at just the mention of his name. Hopefully, she wasn’t being too forward.
“Well, actually, we saw each other at the awards ceremony. He won MVP.” Shane said as he played with his eggs. Jackie could see that something was bothering Shane. Did something happen at the awards show?
“Didn’t know you spent time with him off the rink.” She inquired. “I know he’s an asshole, but I hope you were nice enough to at least congratulate him.”
“Yeah.” Shane said quickly. “Of course. I mean, nothing crazy. I just told him he deserved it. We didn’t really talk much after that. Or hang out at all, really.”
Jackie hides her smile with a sip of coffee. Shane was blushing fiercely, and she could imagine why. It was all but confirmed that they were hooking up. Putting everything she knew into context, it really made it simple to see how these two supposed rivals were actually screwing each other. Yet again, she was amazed by the thickheadedness of hockey players. How could no one from either team not see what was right in front of them? It didn’t help that besides Shane, Hayden was probably the most intelligent player on the team, and even he hadn’t been able to put anything together. Was hockey really so homophobic that it wasn’t even possible for other players to even think about the possibility of one of their teammates being gay? She was going to have to talk to Hayden about this at some point. She needed to know Hayden wouldn’t just abandon Shane if he came out.
“Anyway, where’s Hayden?” Shane asks .
“He just got out of the shower.” Jackie says. “He had to dress the girls this morning. Which meant he let them dress themselves first.”
“Jackie…” Shane badgers her.
“I know. Believe me, I know.” Jackie relents. “But I just was so groggy this morning. And he hardly ever gets to help them get ready for school. I couldn’t help it.”
“Everything turned out fine.” Hayden says as he walks in. He goes over to Jackie and gives her a quick kiss before high-fiving Shane. “Honestly, Shane, you would have been proud of Jade. She went to school wearing your jersey that your parents got her for Christmas. She couldn’t stop gushing about it.”
Shane blushes as he finishes his food. “That’s a bit embarrassing.”
“No. What’s embarrassing was watching Hayden trying to get Ruby to wear his jersey, and her outright refusing to.” Jackie says as she picks up Shane’s plate and brings it to the sink.
“We better get going, bud.” Hayden says, pointedly ignoring Jackie’s comment. “You don’t want to be late to your own scheduled practice.” The boys get up, Shane hugs Jackie while thanking her for the eggs. Hayden gives her a quick kiss.
“You know, I was thinking of going to the game this Friday.” Jackie says.
“You want to go to Boston?” Hayden asks.
“Well, Lexi texted me.” Jackie starts to explain. “You guys remember Lexi, right? She dated Sammy for a time. They broke up, but she and I still text occasionally. She just moved to Boston and asked if I was going to the game. Thought it’d be fun.”
Hayden walks up to her and kisses her on her forehead. “That sounds fantastic. I love having my girl on the road with me.” He says, smiling at her.
“Awesome.” Jackie says. “I’ll call the babysitter. And we can all go out afterwards. Sound good, Shane?”
Shane freezes, deer in the headlights. “Oh, would you really want me to come along?” He sputters. “I mean, you’ll have a night with no kids, best to make the most of it, right? Don’t want to be a third wheel.”
“Nonsense.” Jackie replies. “You know how much I love having you with us. Not to mention it’ll be nice surrounded by someone who doesn’t drink.”
Hayden slaps Shane on the back, making him jump. “It’s Boston, babe.” He explains. “Shane’s probably already has his hot date with Lily set up.”
“Lily!” Jackie says a bit too excitedly, as if she only just remembered the name. “I remember Hayden saying you had a girl in Boston. Why don’t you have her come join us? It’d be so fun. Not to mention a WAG I’ve never seen or talked to. Seems unfair.”
Shane’s face goes entirely red, and Jackie can’t help but notice. It would honestly be pretty funny, except she noticed how stupidly oblivious her husband was.
“I don’t know what Hayden told you, but there really isn’t anyone named Lily.” He says all too quickly.
“Dude, I literally see you text a ‘Lily’ almost every day after practice. It’s not a secret. And if it is, it’s the worst-kept one.” Hayden says.
“She’s just a friend.” Shane tries to defend. “And what makes you think she lives in Boston?”
“Because whenever we go to Boston, you make a lame excuse to leave the hotel for a couple of hours. Hayden points out. “And when you come back, you’ve always got a big dopey smile on, and you play the best hockey ever. And I know she comes here to all the Boston games because you let us leave practice early and have that same smile plastered on your face when I see you in the locker room before the game.”
“I didn’t know you noticed.” Shane says a bit defeated.
“Dude, how could I not?” Hayden says. “It’s a bit too obvious. Jackie giggles beneath her breath. The boys look at her concerned, but she waves them off. “Ignore me.” She says. “Hormones.”
“Look, it’s not a bad thing.” Hayden says. “It’s good that you’re getting some. Honestly, some of the guys still think you’re a virgin.”
“I’m not!” Shane says.
“Well, I know that!” Hayden exclaims.
“Look, it doesn’t matter.” Shane pushes back. “She’s not really my girlfriend. It’s nothing serious. And we don’t really hang out.”
“Maybe this can be a way to start.” Jackie offers.
“Can we please just let this go?” Shane begs.
Hayden and Jackie exchange glances, having one of their famous talks inside one another’s heads. Jackie nods and Hayden sighs. “Yeah, dude.” Hayden says softly. “Of course. It was only an idea. Let’s get to practice.” Shane nods, waves to Jackie, and the two boys head out.
Jackie goes back to cleaning the kitchen. She knew it was a long shot to get Shane to agree to letting them meet Lily, especially if Lily was actually a guy, and especially if that guy turned out to be none other than Ilya Rozanov. Still, there was still time to confirm her suspicions. She just had to see them at the game.
*****
A few days later, she was in Boston with Hayden and Shane. They had a nice lunch, Shane disappeared for a couple of hours to be with “Lily,” and the three of them met outside the stadium, outside the visitors’ locker room. Because she was there, Hayden was able to give her all his possessions without worrying about keeping them in the lockers. He handed her his phone, wallet, and keys. Jackie took a glance at Shane. It was a bit disarming. He was smiling while looking down at his phone, engrossed in his messages. He was obviously texting Lily, and yet again, Jackie had to wonder if Shane knew how in love he actually was. She knew he said that he and Lily were nothing serious, but the look on his face couldn’t be farther from the truth. And if they were just fooling around, was it because he was keeping Lily at a distance? Or was Lily keeping Shane at a distance?
“Shane, you want me to hold your stuff to?” She asks nonchalantly. “This way, nothing gets lost.” She really hoped that Shane’s want to keep his private stuff safe won out, and he would hand over his things. More specifically, his phone. Shane looks up at her and then down at his phone. He was clearly struggling with this decision. Finally, he powers down his phone and hands it to Jackie.
“That’d be great.” He says. “Thanks.” He hands her his wallet and keys as well, and Jackie tosses it in her enormous purse. She kisses Hayden on the cheek and pats Shane on the shoulder.
“Go out and kill them.” Jackie tells them. She walks out, goes into the stadium proper, and finds her seat. She takes out her phone and Shane’s phone.
MONTREAL WAGS
JACKIE:
Okay. I have Shane’s phone.
PENNY:
Jackie!
CONNIE:
And?!?! What did you find?
JACKIE:
I haven’t turned it on.
WILLOW:
Not to mention it’s probably password protected.
JACKIE:
I know his password. It’s his father’s jersey number when he played for McGill, and his number with it.
CONNIE:
AWWW! That’s actually really sweet!
BETH:
So why haven’t you turned it on then?
JACKIE:
It’s just such an invasion of privacy. Not just for him, but this Lily person.
PENNY:
About that…
I can’t be the only one that finds it weird for Shane’s “girlfriend” to be named Lily, and lives in Boston, right?
CONNIE:
Who happens to travel with the Bears when they come to Montreal?
WILLOW:
I know. But isn’t it a bit too obvious? Certainly one of our guys would have figured it out by now.
JACKIE:
Unless the League is so homophobic that it can’t even cross another player’s mind that a teammate could actually be gay.
CONNIE:
God, that’s heartbreaking.
BETH:
But probably true.
PENNY:
If anything, maybe this is a reason to reach out to “Lily”. I’m certain they would like to talk to someone. Maybe not exactly what they’re going through, but just someone to vent. Isn’t that what being a WAG is all about?
BETH:
Yeah, but if our assumptions are correct, Lily is a player, not a WAG.
JACKIE:
Technically, they could be both. They play on different teams, and they’re dating. Which means Shane could be a Boston WAG.
WILLOW:
Oh, I wonder if he is! I hope the Boston girls are nice to him.
PENNY:
Wait! Aren’t you with Lexi for the game? Ask if Rozanov has a WAG.
JACKIE:
That’s a good idea. I’ll do that.
CONNIE:
And make sure you get Lily’s phone number off of Shane’s.
JACKIE:
Alright. I will. Don’t know when I’ll get back to you guys. Stay vigilant.
Jackie puts down her phone and looks at Shane’s. She turns it on and puts in his password. He still hadn’t changed it. Typical. She hovers at the messaging app for a minute before tapping it. The last batches of texts are from ‘LILY’. Jackie really thought she could just tap on the messages quickly to get to Lily’s contact info, but she couldn’t help looking at the last few texts. It’s clear that Shane deletes them regularly as there are only a few messages in the thread and it starts off from a previous conversation.
LILY:
You don’t have to criticize every simple misstep!
SHANE:
I’m just trying to help you. You can definitely use it before tonight.
LILY:
Please! We will crush you. You won’t even be able to score one goal. Watch.
SHANE:
Big words.
LILY:
Yes. And then you will have to reward me. Like the awards ceremony. Maybe I get a lap dance this time.
SHANE:
You wish! And if I win?
LILY:
Same thing ;)
SHANE:
No. If I win, I don’t want it like it was during the MVP awards. That’s not me. Sorry.
LILY:
No. It’s okay. I understand. No reason to be sorry for it. If you win (big IF), then whatever you want.
SHANE:
I won’t lose. And I have to go. Hayden’s wife is with us tonight. Giving her my phone and turning it off.
LILY:
Still can’t believe Hayden Pike has a wife. She must be very stupid or horribly brainwashed.
SHANE:
She’s extremely smart, and her wit could rival yours. You’d like her.
LILY:
Can’t imagine liking anyone that’d willingly choose to marry Pike and have his kids.
SHANE:
I can’t have you being difficult right now. Did you find a hotel tonight?
LILY:
Yes. Same as last time. Right across from yours.
SHANE:
That’s so obvious. You need to be more discreet. Gotta go.
Lily:
Okay. Bye.
That was their last text. Jackie honestly felt sick. Lily lives in Boston, but they still meet up in hotel rooms? Do they not go over to each other’s houses when they’re in town? And Lily clearly did something at the awards ceremony that Shane didn’t like. Was Lily abusive, or was it something that just made Shane uncomfortable? God knows there are a lot of things Shane doesn’t like. But looking at the texts, Jackie can see that Shane likes talking to Lily. Whenever anyone else texts him, he’s usually short and polite. It’s not so much flirting and competition. And it is competitive. This is definitely a player, even if it’s not Rozanov.
Jackie goes into Lily’s contact info and adds it to her own phone before turning Shane’s back off.
Lexi plops down next to her and gives her a kiss on the cheek. “Jackie!” she says. “I’m so happy you called and said you’d be here. It’s been too long. I hope you don’t think I’m too much of a traitor switching Voyagers to Raiders.”
“Never.” Jackie responds. “Not when black suits you so well.”
“Can’t argue with that.” Lexi says as she points to the ice. “Looks like they’re about to get started. Rozanov is already trying to get into Hollander’s head, it looks like. I wonder what he says to him?”
Jackie looks down and sees the boys facing off, waiting for the puck to drop. Shane has a small smile on his face. The puck drops, and Shane gets it. “Whatever it was, it didn’t seem to work.”
“He probably hasn’t seen his Montreal girl yet.” Lexi says. “He always plays better after seeing her.”
“Montreal girl?” Jackie snaps her head to Lexi.
“Yeah.” Lexi says. “It’s Ilya Rozanov. He’s got girls everywhere. Though according to Cliff, his Montreal girl is special. She’s the only one who texts him even when they’re not in the same city. Can even get him to blush apparently.”
“Does this girl have a name?” Jackie asks.
“Jane.” Lexi says as if this isn’t the most interesting revelation ever.
JANE. Of course, it’s Jane. It’s just too ridiculous. Lily and Jane. Jackie looks back down at the two hockey players. Always so close to each other. Never letting one or the other out of their sight. These boys. These stupid, stupid boys. How are they so stupid? How is everyone around them so oblivious? Jackie can’t help but laugh, which gets a side-eye from Lexi.
“Sorry.” Jackie says. “Hormones.”
Montreal won 4-2. Shane scored a hat trick. Hayden got his own goal, which made Jackie beam with pride. Especially when he looked right up at her after scoring and blew her a kiss. The win also made Jackie realize Shane would get to dictate the reward he was going to get after their game.
*****
The next morning, Jackie waits for Hayden to go take a shower before she takes out her phone. She saved the number under Lily. She hits the messaging app and hovers for a few minutes. How did she even want to approach this? She knew Shane wasn’t with Rozanov anymore. He came back to the hotel around midnight. They didn’t even spend the night together. She wondered if they ever have. Hayden congratulated him on his hookup, which Shane properly refused to acknowledge. After several minutes looking at a blank screen, Jackie finally starts to type. Something short and simple. A way for Rozanov to back away if he wants. Still, she looks at it over and over. Finally, after much deliberation, she hits ‘send’, and waits.