Role Model

After moving to the Ottawa Centaurs for calling his former friend and teammate Dallas Kent a "piece of shit rapist", Troy Barrett is miserable, hiding from the backlash while secretly grieving the recent engagement of his secret ex, actor Adrian Dela Cruz. Centaurs team social media manager Harris Drover finds Troy incredibly hot but notices he's constantly sad. In the team head shot photoshoot, Troy's smile “not only did it not meet his eyes, it barely met his mouth”. Troy's first game with the Centaurs has no goals and stone cold reception from fans. Harris has been treating Troy like a new friend, and Troy begins to feel guilty for his coldness toward the warm, friendly Harris.

Troy unexpectedly visits Harris's office to apologize for being a dick. He agrees to film a Q&A video. Harris asks Troy harmless questions about Mario Kart and favourite ice cream flavour. At a game in Vancouver, Troy is drinking heavily at the hotel and he gets an unexpected visit from his awful, misogynistic father, who's on the side of Dallas Kent. Troy continues to struggle on the ice, playing poorly and getting called a 'traitor' by other teams. In a fight, team captain Ilya Rozanov steps in to diffuse the situation, and show his support, albeit reserved, to Troy. Meanwhile, Harris visits his Drover family apple farm, where his family expresses skepticism about Troy.

Feeling bad about a blunt text, Troy brings Harris an eggnog latte and three Christmas cake pops. Troy is charmed vey Harris's silliness. Harris drives Troy to Bood’s BBQ night in a Toyota pickup. Troy is struck by the warm, openly accepting team dynamic - a huge contrast to his old team - and notes how no one says anything homophobic about Wyatt sister's and her wife. Under the firelight, Troy thinks Harris he's handsome and thinks he's single because he would've brought his boyfriend to this friendly gathering if he has one. Harris tentatively invites Troy to a Fabian Salah concert.

Harris brings Chiron the puppy to the locker room, capturing a rare, genuine smile from Troy, which Harris posts on the team Instagram and fans thinks he is adorable and sexy. Troy starts hanging out more in Harris's office, confessing his guilt over being a "complete fucking asshole in Toronto". During a team hospital visit, Troy connects with the kids while Ilya charmingly trash-talks everyone after winning Mario Kart ("Undefeated!"). Watching Troy, Harris realizes his crush is past the point of no return, and they share a prolonged goodbye where Troy's gaze drops to Harris's mouth.

Troy keeps visiting Harris's office, awkwardly probing into Harris's gay dating life before accidentally blurting out: "You're, like, nice. And not, y'know, ugly." Later, the night before the dreaded Toronto game, Troy is a panicked wreck in his hotel room. Harris texts to check on him and takes him driving to look at Christmas lights at Taffy Lane, wearing a festive green scarf and bringing warm apple cider made in his beloved slow cooker. In the safe space of Harris's truck, Troy opens up about his toxic dad and Dallas Kent, mourning the loss of his former best friend but knowing he believed the victims immediately. Watching Harris cheerfully sing along to a Mariah Carey Christmas song, Troy fights the urge to kiss him, realizing just how hard he is falling for Harris and wanting him for his own.

In a hostile Toronto arena, Dallas taunts Troy with homophobic slurs until Ilya tackles and punches him. "You were my friend!" Dallas yells to Troy, which he replies, "you're disgusting, Dallas." The next night in New York, Ilya takes Troy to the gay bar that's owned by Scott Hunter and Eric Bennett - Kingfisher. Meeting Hunter and Bennett (as well as their partners), Troy realizes he has been hanging out with the wrong group of friends. Troy buys a Pride rainbow apple pin for Harris. On the walk back to the hotel, Troy comes out to Ilya, who also reveals that he is bisexual. Troy starts piecing the puzzle pieces together of the fact that Shane Hollander is gay and they are close, which Ilya quickly shuts it down afterwards: “That is enough sharing for tonight, Barrett”. Back in Ottawa, Troy gifts Harris the "Big Gay Apple" pin, sharing a lingering hug before saying 'Merry Christmas' to each other. On Christmas night, they text back and forth for over an hour with some light flirting.

On a team flight to Tampa Bay, the plane loses an engine and drops. In absolute terror, Troy tightly grips Harris's hand while Harris tries to distract him by talking about the cookie dough ice cream he's going to get when they land. After landing safely and arriving to the hotel, Ilya tells Troy that "what you wanted on that plane. Go for it". Later that night, Troy surprises Harris by buying him cookie dough ice cream. With all the intimacy and tension building over a long time, this night it finally breaks after such a traumatic event that they experience together. They finally kiss for the first time, ending in a passionate, messy handjob climax without even taking off their t-shirts. After cleaning up, Troy decides to stay the night with Harris in the same bed.

Waking up holding Harris, Troy’s self-loathing quickly takes over. Feeling like a selfish "monster" who took advantage of Harris, he bolts from the room. Looking to take their minds off the plane scare, the team heads to the beach. While Harris keeps his shirt on to hide his chest scars, a shirtless Troy completely mesmerizes him. They go for a swim together, flirt in the ocean, and Harris playfully brushes his foot against Troy’s leg, making Troy scream about deadly jellyfish. Later that day, Troy finally comes out to Harris and opens up about his painful, closeted relationship with actor Adrian. Terrified of his growing feelings, Troy throws his emotional walls back up, and lies to Harris about their night together being just a "convenient" physical release. On a tense flight back to Ottawa, Harris calms the team down with a funny story involving his sister and a skunk (did he actually put the skunk in the truck?) Back in his office, Harris learns that Troy has taken a massive step by updating his Instagram bio to "I believe victims of sexual assault". Before playing the top-ranked Admirals, Ilya delivers a passionate, empowering locker room speech because he is tired of losing. Inspired, Troy scores a brilliant breakaway goal; Centaurs ends up winning 4-2 against the Admirals. At the celebratory dinner, Troy apologizes to Harris for bolting, and admits their night together was a big deal. Troy then leaves the bar with Harris and goes to Harris's place.

Making it to Harris's apartment, they share incredible, passionate sex where Troy tops, with Harris insisting Troy not treat him like he's fragile despite his long scars from his heart surgery. The next morning, Troy wakes up next to a battered stuffed giraffe, "Mr. Neck-Neck" and learns about Harris's childhood heart surgeries. When they shower together, Troy finally discovers the reason why Harris smells like apple all the time - his apple-scented shampoo (and his laundry detergent). After another round of sex in the shower, Harris makes Troy oatmeal breakfast. Even though Troy panics at the unfamiliar domesticity with Harris, he stays for breakfast. He tells Harris he needs time to figure his shit out and asks to stay friends, leaving Harris disappointed but understanding.

The Centaurs are riding a massive nine-game winning streak while Troy actively uses his Instagram to support sexual assault victims. However, Troy receives an intimidating phone call from NHL Commissioner Roger Crowell, who heavily pressures him to stop posting and indirectly threatens him. Troy mentions the call to Harris, and he is furiously protective, fiercely validating Troy and telling him to ignore the threats. Troy also slips the news to Ilya, who is equally furious and orders Troy not to back down. Troy and Harris go on their first proper date to a Fabian Salah concert. High on the incredible performance, Troy holds Harris's hand in the dark. He even spots Ryan Price in the crowd and comes out to him, sincerely apologizing for mocking Ryan's fear of flying now that he understands the terror. Returning to Harris, Troy surprises him with a public kiss in the crowded club, admitting, "I don't do things I want to do very often. I like kissing you." They rush back to Troy's bland apartment and eagerly tear their clothes off. Harris is still in disbelief ("Jesus. You can't be real"), which Troy answers by guiding his hard cock to Harris's lips ("Is this real?"). After incredible, passionate sex, they lie in bed giddy and laughing. Troy bravely uploads a photo from Fabian's concert to his public Instagram, captioned: "An incredible night."

Troy plans a surprise "Lovebird Getaway" to a romantic spa in Quebec, which is a massive step for Troy as he books it using his real name and openly implies to a stranger that he's gay. They spend the trip getting pampered with hot tubs, facials, and stone massages. Harris constantly moans about how comfortable it all is, leaving Troy incredibly charmed. In their private log cabin, they share amazing sex (where Troy kisses every part of Harris's body, and Harris rims Troy) before eating room-service salmon and chocolate cake in their bathrobes. Feeling bold, Troy tells Harris he doesn't have to keep their relationship a secret from his family. Soon, Troy is at the Drover family farm for Sunday dinner, getting warmly welcomed by Harris's mom, Marlene, who flusters Troy by noting it's been a long time since Harris brought someone home he was "sweet on". Troy visits Harris’s Centaurs-themed childhood bedroom and has an easy dinner with Harris's warm family. On the drive home, Troy contemplates what it would take to keep this wonderful life with Harris. Despite Harris's gentle warning that the upcoming Pride Night is against Dallas Kent's homophobic Toronto team, Troy makes a massive decision: "I want to come out. Like, all the way out."

Troy nervously calls his mom in Hawaii to come out. She cries happy tears, thankful Troy isn't turning into a toxic, cruel man like his father or Dallas Kent. She is proud of Troy. At the rink, Troy braces for punishment when Coach Wiebe calls him in, but instead receives full backing from the coach, management, and owners, who tell him to keep posting and that Crowell can't actually do anything. Back in the locker room, after Chiron the puppy fails therapy dog training, Ilya essentially orders Harris to adopt him. Riding a wave of confidence, Troy steps onto a locker room bench and delivers a highly efficient coming-out speech: "I'm dating Harris. We're together. I'm gay." before stepping down to kiss Harris. The next morning, Troy learns the news that five women have officially pressed charges, and Dallas Kent has been arrested and will therefore miss the Pride game. The short-lived relief is shattered when Troy's awful father shows up unannounced, calling Dallas a "poor kid" and making homophobic remarks about the team's Pride shirts. With Harris appears behind him, Troy refuses to back down, takes Harris's hand and looks his dad in the eye: "Harris is my boyfriend, Dad. I'm gay." His stunned father walks out. Back in Harris's office, Troy breaks down crying from the sheer relief of letting go. Even through Troy looks like a mess from crying, Troy couldn't help but say "I love you" to Harris for the first time. Without waiting any longer, Troy posts his professional coming-out video with a simple caption: "This is me." alongside emojis of a rainbow flag, a heart, and a hockey stick.

On Pride night, the whole Centaurs team wear rainbow jersey and plays with rainbow taped hockey sticks. Troy proudly kisses Harris in the hallway before taking the ice to massive fan support. Banners that say "We love you, Troy", "Proud of Troy Barrett" are all over the arena. He plays brilliantly, scoring two goals. He takes the ceremonial opening puck drop alongside LGBTQ+ activists and is later named the first star of the game, receiving a long standing ovation from the crowd. After the game, Troy bravely kisses Harris in front of the press cameras. He is then shocked by a surprise visit from his mom Julia and her boyfriend Charlie. After their teary reunion, Harris reads Troy some of the supportive comments from online, including other NHL players like Scott Hunter. Troy takes a selfie of them together, posting it to his Instagram account to publicly announce his relationship with Harris. At the end of the book, with Harris asking "So you like Ottawa now?" Troy answers honestly "There's nowhere else I'd rather be."