Us (him, #2)

The novel picks up several months into the relationship between Ryan "Wes" Wesley, a gay rookie forward for a Toronto team in the National Hockey League, and Jamie Canning, his bisexual boyfriend and longtime best friend from hockey camp. The couple lives together in a Toronto condo, but Wes has not come out publicly, and they hide their relationship from teammates, media, and fans to protect Wes's breakout rookie season.

Wes returns from an eight-day road trip eager to see Jamie, who has cooked dinner and grown a new beard. Their reunion is interrupted when Blake Riley, a gregarious third-year teammate who has moved into the same building, arrives with a six-pack. Jamie retreats to a guest bedroom staged to look like his own, since he cannot risk Blake seeing them share the master bedroom. Wes sneaks in later and they reconnect physically, but Blake's constant, well-meaning presence becomes a recurring source of tension.

Jamie works as an associate coach for the Wildcats, an under-17 team in Canada's elite major junior hockey league. His co-coach, David Danton, routinely uses anti-gay and racial slurs around the teenage players, and Jamie worries about the effect on any player who might be questioning his own sexuality. Jamie has reported the behavior to their boss, Bill Braddock, who told him only to try to rein Danton in. Meanwhile, Wes deals with his own pressures on the road: a cold email from his emotionally distant father and Blake's persistent curiosity about Wes's personal life.

During a rare stretch of home games, Blake shows up at eight in the morning wanting coffee and later volunteers Wes for a black-tie charity benefit, ruining the couple's date-night plans. Jamie sees an Instagram photo of Wes dancing with a model from his college circle and goes out alone to a bar with coworkers. Wes, unable to abandon a teammate whose wife has just asked for a divorce, ends up at the same bar with his group. Forced to pretend they are mere acquaintances, Wes follows Jamie into a restroom stall where they share an angry, desperate kiss. They go home in tense silence, and Jamie goes to bed claiming a headache.

The tension deepens. Jamie fears Wes will keep pushing back the timeline for coming out. Wes worries about Jamie's attraction to women after glimpsing a notification from Jamie's ex-girlfriend. Jamie's sister Jess urges him to communicate honestly, but Jamie keeps postponing the conversation because their brief periods of harmony feel too fragile to disrupt. Wes buys an expensive massage chair to replace an armchair Jamie hated, but Jamie sees it as a superficial fix for deeper problems.

Channeling his frustration into a game against New York, Wes scores a hat trick, a three-goal game. Snowed in at a hotel afterward, he and Jamie have their first Skype sex session, which restores some emotional connection. Jamie almost opens up about what has been troubling him but holds back, saying it can wait.

The crisis comes when Jamie's worsening headache turns into a high fever and he collapses at his team's rink. Danton finds him and calls Wes. Blake drives a panicking Wes to the hospital, where Jamie has been quarantined to rule out the "sheep flu," a fictional, deadly flu strain that has already killed at least 16 people. Wes calls Jamie's mother, Cindy Canning, who calms him and authorizes the hospital to grant Wes access. Inside the isolation room, Wes rips off his protective mask so Jamie can see his face, tells the nurse they share a bed, and kisses Jamie.

Someone inside the hospital photographs the kiss through the quarantine glass. TMZ publishes the image, outing Wes publicly. He is also quarantined for potential exposure, but Jamie's test comes back positive for a common flu, not the dangerous strain, and Jamie is moved to a regular room. Wes's father texts: "You're a fool." The online reaction is mostly supportive, though pockets of anti-gay sentiment surface. The Canning family rallies around both men.

Frank Donovan, the team's head of public relations, who already knew about the couple, pressures Wes to return to practice so the public can see his position on the team is secure. Wes agrees to skate but refuses to fly to Tampa without backup care arranged for Jamie. Cindy sends Jess to Toronto, and Wes rejoins the team on the road. In the locker room, his teammates surprise him with casual acceptance, and Coach Hal Harvey offers supportive remarks to the press.

Jamie is released, but his cough worsens into pneumonia and he is readmitted for another week. After his second release, Jamie sinks into depression, snapping at Wes and resenting his dependence. Braddock emails to apologize for not addressing Danton's slurs and urges Jamie to file a formal complaint. Jamie visits his team's arena and watches them win without him. Feeling unnecessary, he encounters Danton, who insists his slurs meant nothing. Jamie slams him against the wall; Braddock witnesses the altercation. Jamie flees and books a flight to California without telling Wes, who comes home to find him packing and fears they are breaking up. Jamie insists it is just a visit to his parents.

In California, Jamie's mother puts him to work with physical chores and family time, helping him stabilize. Wes struggles through road games but receives a heartening call from Reggie, his father's former driver, who reveals he was never paid to cheer at Wes's childhood games and nearly lost his job for leaving the car to watch. Wes sits for a televised interview with Dennis Haymaker of Sports Illustrated, speaking candidly about his parents and Jamie. Asked about marriage, he says he would marry Jamie immediately. Jamie watches in California and realizes how alone Wes is.

Inspired by the interview and a tradition from their hockey camp years of exchanging boxes of small, meaningful tokens, Jamie enlists Jess to help him craft a proposal ring out of purple Skittles. He flies to Dallas and, after Wes's game, kisses him in the hotel lobby in front of reporters and teammates. In the hotel room, Jamie presents the ring and proposes. Wes accepts immediately. They talk openly for the first time in weeks: Jamie confesses the Danton situation, and Wes advises him to file the formal complaint. They agree to stop splitting expenses, with Wes's inherited trust fund covering their rent.

Back in Toronto, teammates visit with food to celebrate the engagement, and their wives warmly welcome Jamie. Jamie returns to work and learns that his entire team of teenage players filed an eight-page complaint against Danton, who has been suspended. The disciplinary committee resolves Jamie's own incident with only a written warning. Braddock asks Jamie to speak to the coaching staff about anti-gay prejudice as part of new diversity training, and Wes volunteers to join him. Jamie reunites with his players, who reveal their winning streak was motivated by wanting to ease his worries during his illness.

The novel closes with a team dinner for Wes's birthday. One by one, every teammate leaves the private dining room and returns wearing an identical copy of Wes's bright green checked shirt, the same one they teased him about earlier in the season. A group photograph of the entire roster in matching green is later framed on Wes and Jamie's living room wall. Wes reflects that the photo captures everything he ever wanted: the man he loves and the teammates who accept him.