Free Good Together by Valentina Heart Page A

already had a course of action planned, and was not willing to just blow away another opportunity. No matter how much of a nice man Adam was, no one could just forgive and forget over and over again.
    So I walked to his table and even as he stood up, so obviously nervous, I just thrust my hand forward and introduced myself. "Hi. My name is Troy and it's very nice to meet you."
    Adam smiled, seemingly relieved and at least somewhat happy, because he took my hand in his and went with the flow. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Adam."
    We sat down, Adam grinning goofily, and I matched his enthusiasm despite my blush.
    "Programmer, a bit of a recluse, very insecure but often direct. Oh, and undoubtedly gay," I continued with my open and honest policy. I was in for the long haul this time, my demons be damned.
    "Tattoo artist who often craves company, confident in my accomplishments and capabilities but not always secure enough to express my wishes and wants. I would say bisexual, but the truth is, most of the time I fall for the person not the gender." Adam confessed. I could work with that even if he still seemed too good to be true. I would just have to learn to deal with it.
    "Why a tattoo artist?" I wanted to know more and Adam seemed more than willing to oblige. "It wasn't my first career choice. As a child and later on, I lived for hockey. It's the kind of game that consumes you if you love it enough and days consist of practice, game plans and diet. But even with all my hockey buddies I was sociable enough that I had a school crowd on the side. It helped, especially after the season was over and in my younger years. I would doodle constantly, in school, later in buses and planes when I wasn't sleeping. But before going pro and in the off season I hung out with my friends and I had a hand for tattoos. After I got injured and had to stop playing, I just went back to that. It took a while to get back the skill, but eventually I managed. I don't think I could have handled the loss of hockey without it."
    "I'm sorry, I don't know the first thing about hockey. You were a professional? And what injury?" It was irrational to worry about something that must have happened years ago, but it still twitched in my chest when I imagined him hurt.
    "It's all right. I don't mind you not recognizing me. It would be awkward if you'd asked for an autograph in the middle of a date." Adam chuckled and I smiled with him. "I hit the boards with my knee, had surgeries, rehab. Got back in shape, then quarter of a season later I injured it again, had more surgeries. I tried working through it, and succeeded to a point, but I was never the same and my game suffered. Eventually I just had to hang my skates. My body couldn't handle the strain and another hit like that might have left me with a permanent limp and a high lack of mobility."
    Adam's expression seemed both sad and bitter, and it was so easy to see he didn't give it up easily. So I tried to change the subject even when I wasn't completely comfortable with my choice of the next topic. "Bisexual, huh? God, I bet you got laid as a pro athlete. Come to think of it, you can't be falling much behind with that biker image and amazing artist reputation." I huffed at him, making him laugh. Mission accomplished.
    "I have some experience." With those vague words he smiled at me, then he asked, "Why so insecure?"
    It was my turn to face my fears and failures and I stared at the table as I picked and discarded my words. "I was…" I hesitated. "I was bullied for the bigger part of my school years. It left scars."
    "I'm sorry to hear that." Adam reached for me right away, and it reminded me of our first time in this place, where holding hands was the best comfort possible and one I couldn't have anticipated even with making the first move.
    "It's not your fault." I nudged his knee with mine under the table, trying to tone down the tension and it worked because Adam winked at me and despite my unavoidable blush,