“Well, now I’m bothered and I’m about to do something about it. Call Rupert and tell him to bring all of the photos he has received.” I stormed off to the locker room to shower up and get dressed. The hot water pelting my skin normally gave me relaxing vibes, but not right now. I was fuming and ready to murder a motherfucker. How dare someone tell me that bullshit! “Fags don’t fight in the MMA”! Well, this one does, bitch, and if I ever meet this guy, I’ll show him what a fag MMA fighter can do. All I could see was red and I was so enraged, I punched the shower wall, cracking the tile.
Shit, Barry was going to be pissed about that. I would replace it. I was mad as hell, but couldn’t take it out of his livelihood. I finished showering and got dressed. When I met back up with Barry, he was in his office.
“Have a seat,” he said, gesturing to the chair.
I did. “Is Rupert coming?”
He nodded. “He’s on his way. What happened to your hand?”
He nodded at my right hand, and I looked down to see that it was slightly bruised from me striking hard tiles with bare flesh. “I owe you a shower tile.”
“Damn it, kid… don’t break your fucking hand because you’re mad. Not with a gym full of shit you can beat on,” Barry complained… which made a lot of fucking sense.
“I won’t.”
“Okay, now… try to keep your calm. I like my office the way it is. This is the photo that was sent to me along with the letter.”
Barry handed me a brown envelope that looked like the one I’d seen before. I took it and pulled out the photo and letter. I read the letter first and felt the rage boiling over in me. How dare someone try to blackmail me. I refused to live in fear again. Next, I looked at the photo. It was a bit clearer than the first photo I’d seen of Aiden and me in the hot tub, but I knew it was us. Our faces were more distinct, and we were in my bedroom while I was fucking him in the window like he loved. The kinky bastard. Anyway, it was us for sure and I was ready to rip the balls off the person who had the audacity to violate my privacy then demand to be paid for it.
I tossed the shit back on Barry’s desk. “Fuck them, and fuck those photos.”
“What are you going to do?” Barry asked. Right at that moment, Rupert walked through the office door. “I was just getting our boy here up to speed,” Barry told him.
“Good,” Rupert said, taking a seat next to mine. “Here.” He handed me two more brown envelopes.
I looked at the photos inside. All recent with Aiden and me together at my house and one of me kissing him goodbye in the doorway. “I want to know who the fuck is climbing onto my private property and taking these photos. I’m going to initiate an investigation into this.”
“But what about keeping your secret?” Rupert asked.
I shrugged. “It’s a secret I’m not worried about keeping anymore. I’ve decided to come out.”
“Now hold on, Macio. Think about what that means. You could lose endorsement deals,” Rupert pointed out.
“This isn’t something I just came to the decision about five seconds ago, Rupert. I’m done hiding who I am because I’m afraid of whatmighthappen.”
Rupert shook his head. “Not might,will.”
“Look, if you want to bail to avoid what’s coming, now is the time to do so,” I said. “But I’m coming out. I will not be blackmailed. I will not be ashamed of being gay, and I’m not going to give up Aiden again just because some asshole doesn’t like us together. Fuck all that bullshit.”
The whole time Rupert and I talked, Barry was sitting there, silent. I looked at him. “Don’t you have anything to add?” I challenged.
Barry shrugged. “I knew you were going to do this when I showed you the photos. I’ve been preparing for you to come out the moment you told me you were going to try to get your boyfriend back. I told you then, kid… I’m with you for the full ride, rough or smooth… we’ll kick ass together.”
I smiled at Barry. It felt great to have his support because I respected and loved him so much. He was like the father I never had. To know that he was going to stand by me gave me even more courage to come out. I looked at Rupert, waiting for his response.
“So, are you in or not?” I asked him.
“You’re throwing your life away for a piece of ass. Granted, an attractive piece of ass, but a piece of ass all the same,” he shot back.
“Are you saying that because you’re jealous it’s not your piece of ass?” I snapped.
“Ummm what? Did I miss something?” Barry asked, looking between both of us.
“I wasn’t going to mention it, but Rupert and I got drunk one night and he made moves.”
“So much for not mentioning it,” Rupert said, frowning.
“I always wondered why you seemed to hate Aiden so much. You don’t even know him. But I’ve figured it out. You were jealous that I was fucking him and not you.”
