Sharp Edges by L Eveland

JOEL
I don’t skate for beauty. I skate to win.
I learned young how to control everything—my body, my career, how to hurt people who deserve it. Nothing gets through unless I let it.
Then a red-haired hockey player walks into my rink, and I want to take him apart.
He’s closeted. Careful. Thinks he’s hiding what he wants.
He’s not.
I should leave him alone. He can never be seen with me, will never introduce me to anyone who matters.
I keep putting my hands on him anyway. Some things are worth ruining yourself for.

RED
I’ve spent my whole life being told I’m too small.
Too small for the NHL. Too small to hit back. Too small to want things that would swallow me whole.
Then I meet Joel Coffey, and I stop being careful.
He’s out. Untouchable. When he looks at me, I forget every rule I made to survive.
For years, we find each other in borrowed beds and cities where no one knows my name. He chases gold. I claw my way through the league. We leave marks on each other that I check for long after they’ve faded.
It was never supposed to last. We keep choosing it anyway.