Breaking the Ice

Synopsis

After years of hiding his relationship from the hockey world, Finn Adler never imagined he'd find a kindred spirit at the most miserable gala dinner of his life, least of all in Maksim Orlov, the Veskan star his boyfriend Grant Whitmore has spent a decade despising. But when Maksim slides into the seat beside him and immediately starts making catty, impossibly gay-coded jokes, Finn realizes he's found something rare: a fellow insider in the closet of professional sports. What starts as a single night of shared snark blossoms into an unlikely friendship. Between Castaway bets, museum photo requests, and late-night text threads, Finn teaches Maksim how to chirp properly, and Maksim teaches Finn that even the most stoic Veskan can be a softie underneath. When a rookie drops a very personal item on live television, Finn, Grant, and Maksim form an ad-hoc gay hockey protection squad. When Maksim and Cole Weatherly are forcibly outed in the most brutal way possible, Finn and Grant are there to help pick up the pieces. As the seasons pass, Finn learns to balance being himself with being a public figure. He goes from TA to fellow, learns to skate, and discovers that chosen family found in a gay bar called the Lantern, a Stonegate apartment covered in coasters, and a locker room in Harrington might just be the best kind there is. But when Maksim calls in one last favor, Finn will have to prove that the loudest voice in the room can also be the softest place to land.