It’s humiliating, Jake letting him off because he knows the answer’s embarrassing. Of course it’s embarrassing. It’s David, so it must be embarrassing.

He doesn’t know if he’s angry or not, doesn’t quite understand how he feels, everything tangled up in him, but there’s a stab of vindication running through him when he types out It was you., since that’s actually the truth, because Jake said first ‘real’ kiss.

He sends it. It disappears almost immediately, but the humiliation lingers, and David turns his phone off so he doesn’t have to look at what Jake says, doesn’t have to see if Jake doesn’t say anything.

He turns his phone on the next morning, because not knowing may be worse than whatever Jake says, though David isn’t sure of that. His phone is silent as it starts up, and his stomach’s sunk into the floor before a message pops up a minute later, like Jake put off the answering as long as David did.

ur the only guy whos ever fucked me, it reads. idk if its the same.

It blindsides him. Maybe Jake wasn’t fucking every guy he calls ‘buddy’, but he was far from inexperienced, it was obvious, and David just assumed at the time, and after. Thinking about the way it was that night at the NHL Awards, his first time but apparently Jake’s too, David’s mouth acrid with defeat, taking it out on Jake — he’s ashamed for the first time in awhile. Ashamed enough that he sends, Sorry I was a dick about it. within the minute, not even caring if that makes it look like he was checking his texts constantly.

i like u ne way :), Jake sends back ten seconds later, and David smiles all the way to practice, only managing to school his face when Kurmazov starts giving him strange looks.

*

David’s getting ready for practice when his phone rings, and he looks at it askance. His parents should both be at work, and neither call him anyway. His teammates text, and Dave’s assistant always emails to arrange a convenient time for Dave to call him. He can’t think of anyone it would be.

He isn’t any less confused when he sees Jake’s name, because Jake’s never called him before.

“Hello?” he answers, cautious, because it could be a teammate of Jake’s prank-calling if Jake was dumb enough to use David’s full name as his contact information.

“Hey,” he hears.