Afterward, we sat down and picked out the best photos, then Aiden did what he did best and got those fingers to blazing over the keyboard. Troy left after lunch and for the first time ever, I didn’t think he was so despicable. He seemed like a decent enough guy, which was odd considering he was a paparazzo.
I sat down, answering all of the questions Aiden asked me so that he could complete his short article. It was concise and to the point. I looked over his article, making only a few minor changes. It was perfect and conveyed exactly what I wanted it to. Fuck whoever didn’t like me being gay. I was out, bitches, and I had never felt such freedom or happiness.
I called Barry. “I want to get rid of Rupert,” I said as soon as he answered the phone.
“Hold on, what the fuck… what’s going on?”
“You’re right. I’ve got a lot to tell you. First off, I’m coming out in a blog post on Ringside Magazine at five this evening.”
“Holy shit, kid. Is this what you call giving me a heads up?”
“Yeah.”
“Remind me to put you through extra hard training when you get your narrow ass back to Vegas. Okay, so you’re coming out tonight. I might close the gym up early to avoid the media sharks. Now, what is this bullshit about Rupert?”
“This motherfucker has been playing us.” I told Barry about what Rupert had done and he was pissed.
“That lowdown, dirty son of a bitch!” Barry roared. I let him rage for a few minutes because I knew how pissed he was. I was just as pissed when I found out. “Let me deal with Rupert,” he said finally.
“I don’t care about the contract I had with him. If he wants to try to take me to court on that shit… I’ve got some dirt on him that might give him cause to not make a big deal out of us parting ways,” I said.
“Luckily, the endorsement deals he worked out with you won’t be affected. That was one thing I was always adamant about. It’s probably why he was trying to get even closer to you. I can’t believe this shit,” Barry stated.
“I know. Listen, I have to call Kathy and let her know. I just wanted to keep you updated.”
“On some last minute shit, yeah. Be careful, kid.”
“I will.” I called Kathy next, but got her voicemail. I left her a message letting her know that I was coming out. I also sent it via text. I turned to Aiden and he was closing his laptop.
“Okay, the story has been sent and we just have to sit back and wait for it to post,” he said.
I was looking at him and loving everything about him. I felt so close and connected. Last night, being out on the town with him, not afraid of who might see us, was the best night of my life. That and the night he took me back.
“Well, we have dinner at my brother’s tonight. What do we do with ourselves until then?” I asked with a wiggle of my eyebrows.
Aiden laughed and leaped into my arms, wrapping his legs around my waist. It took me by surprise, but I grabbed him and made sure to have my way with him on the sofa again, then we took it back to the bedroom for round two. After a short nap, we both woke up ready to see our article on Ringside’s website. Aiden got his laptop and we refreshed the page over and over until it popped up.
“Holy shit… this is really real,” I said, beaming. I felt all kinds of butterflies fluttering around in my body because this was the biggest and most important thing I’d ever done publically. It didn’t take long for the hits to start coming or the comments. Some were very positive, actually most were… but then there were plenty of haters making their opinions known. Still, an hour after the debut of the article, it had over a million hits and over three thousand comments. I was finally out.
My cell phone started ringing as well. I climbed out of bed and looked at it. “Hey Barry.”
“Shit’s hitting the fan, kid. Ask me why I decided to be your manager and head coach again?”
“Because you’re a great guy with one hell of a soft spot.”
“You give me more gray hair than my daughter—naw, I’m not going to tell that lie. But you’re up there.”
I laughed. I knew why, too. It was because he loved me like I was his own son. “So, what’s going on, Barry?”
“I just got a phone call from the president of ETC. He’s not happy that his Light-heavyweight Champ came out publically without giving him a heads up. I had to tell him you were impulsive and just barely let me know. I did let him know I had tried to warn him on your behalf, but he probably didn’t listen to the message. Anyway, he’s been filtering calls from the media about it since the article posted.”
“Is he okay with it?” I asked. I mean, I cared because it was my livelihood, but I didn’t care, because I was happy to be out.
“Ehh, hard to tell at this point, kid. He’s just frustrated right now. He’s probably concerned about how he’s going to market your upcoming fight against Martinez.”
“I’m sure a lot of gay men watch MMA,” I said.
“Oh, no doubt. Watch and participate, but it’s just not widely known… or accepted. There’s a lot of testosterone in this sport. However, you knew that already. Just keep doing what you’re doing. Keep training and we’ll wade through it all. I just wanted to let you know to expect the media to be in your life a lot more, at least for a little while.”
