“It’s that simple for you?” he asked.
“Yes,” I nodded. “It’s precisely that simple for me.”
I talked to Jerry the following day, and as I suspected, he had no problem with me working from home – my new home in Vegas. I began making plans to move immediately. Step one was to break it to my family and friends and step two was to put my house on the market. My announcement shocked no one and listing my house turned out to be easier than I imagined. My neighborhood was an up and coming one for families with kids and the realtor thought I’d sell it quickly and for a hellacious profit.
Macio and I were in L.A. the following weekend, sorting through my things to see what I wanted to move to his house and what I wanted to sell or give to charity. As much as I had grown to love Macio’s house, I thought he could use the warmth that my furniture would bring.
It was a good fucking thing we were in L.A. and not Vegas when Macio found out what Rupert had done behind his back. We thought going public with our relationship would be the end of Rupert and his need to humiliate Macio, but we were terribly wrong.
“Holy fuck,” Seth said as soon as I answered his call late Saturday night. “Macio must be fucking furious.”
I looked over at my guy who was standing at the refrigerator naked as the day he was born, looking for something healthy to nosh on. “Nope. He’s definitely not furious. I’m curious as to why you’d think so.”
“Haven’t you seen the latest article on The Daily Spew?” he asked.
“Why the hell would I read that shit and why are you? They make Dirty Laundry Magazine look like child’s play,” I told Seth.
“Okay, you found out about my dirty little secret. I like to read gossip and shit, but man, I hate to be the one to break this news to you guys,” Seth said hesitantly.
“Wait a sec,” I told him. “Babe,” I called over my shoulder to Macio, “Seth stumbled across something on The Daily Spew that he thinks we should know about.” Macio came over with a scowl on his face and I hit the button to put Seth on speaker.
“What’s up, Seth?” Macio asked. He smiled when he saw the way his no nonsense voice affected me.
“Hey, Macio,” Seth said timidly. “Damn, I hate that you’re hearing this from me, but I guess it’s better coming from a friend.” He took a deep breath, then blew our world apart when he said, “Your former manager, Rupert, told The Daily Spew that you weren’t as squeaky clean as you’d like people to believe. He told them that, prior to meeting Aiden, he and your coach provided you with gay escorts after every fight. He even got a few of the escorts to share their story, but the magazine graciously used fake names to protect their privacy. It’s pretty steamy and damaging stuff,” Seth said softly.
Macio looked like he was going to be sick and my head went into spin mode so we could turn this around to our advantage somehow. In order to do that, I had to know what was being said, even if I really didn’t want to hear the play-by-play account of some of the escorts. I thanked Seth and hung up the phone.
“Don’t, baby,” Macio pleaded with me. “I don’t want you to read those things, Aiden. I’m not at all proud of who I was until I met you.”
“Then that’s what you tell people. First, you need to read if the things they said were true. If not, you could sue Rupert for defamation of character or something else.”
“Baby, he broke his Non-Disclosure Agreement, so his ass is mine, figuratively mind you,” he said when I scowled at him. “I’ll let Barry know right away. Damn, I need a new publicist in the worst way. I have to make that a priority,” Macio said.
“There are several PR agencies in L.A.,” I told him. “Maybe you need to find someone outside your normal circle going forward. You don’t really need them in your face 24/7, so having one based in Vegas isn’t really a necessity, you just need them to act in your best interest.”
“True.” Macio took a deep breath and pulled the website up on his tablet and we read it together.
“He liked it I when I called him Champ,” Christopher said. “It really revved him up and kept him fucking for hours.”
“He was a fucking machine,” Nicholas added. “I was sorry to hear he was off the market.”
The interviewer went out of his way to try and get Rupert to admit that Macio didn’t just have sex with the escorts in Vegas where it was legal, but also in other states where it wasn’t. It could’ve been his self-preservation in full swing, but the dirty bastard refused to admit anything of the sort. He was quoted as saying, “No, no. Escort services were only purchased through legally licensed companies and never outside of Vegas. No laws were ever broken.” When asked why he was outing his former client, Rupert said, “He’s out there pretending to be this upstanding guy who wants to help teens accept who they are and to give them hope for a bright future where they’ll be accepted. That’s not who Anamacio De Niro really is, though. He’s a user, a man who purchases the services of escorts and only walks tall and proud when he thinks he’s going to lose the tight ass he wants to plow.”
“Whoa,” I said out loud. First, I was angry on behalf of Macio because he really did want to give encouragement to teens who thought there was no hope for a happy life. He wanted to be a beacon for kids like himself and Rupert’s comments really made me angry. Then there was the comment about me, as if he still had no clue about how in love we were with one another. I said nothing about either of those things though, because I honestly didn’t think anything I had to say would make Macio feel any better. “Sooo, you want me to start calling you Champ?” I asked instead.
“Aiden,” Macio said, his voice was equal parts horror and humor.
“Babe, there’s nothing really that damaging in that stupid article. The whole world now knows that you’re a fucking machine and I’ll once again have to read comments about how you’re wasting your time with a guy like me, but I’m tough enough to take it.” I meant every word I said to him, too. “Macio, if you aren’t proud of the fact that you used escorts, then that’s what you tell people. If you feel like you owe people an apology for letting them down, then you can say that too. If you don’t want to say anything at all, then that’s the road you choose. Know this,” I reached for his hand and tugged him closer, “I’ll be by your side every step of the way. Do you hear me? This changes nothing between us. Except that I know to call you Champ now.” I just couldn’t resist adding that in.
“Aiden, I don’t even know what to say to you right now.” He stood up and paced in front of my coffee table. “How can you even love me? I’m a guy who kept you hidden, broke your heart, and now I’ve embarrassed you in front of your family and friends.”
“How have you embarrassed me?” I wasn’t following.
“My past deeds impact how people see me, which extends to you by default,” Macio said. “Your mom, sisters, your coworkers, and your friends are reading this and wondering why you’re wasting your time on a loser like me.”
“Macio, you’re the furthest thing from a loser I know,” I said. “I think you’re a winner and not just in the fucking octagon, either. Throw out everything we know about you as a fighter and let’s talk about Macio the man – the one I’m head over heels in love with.” I rose from the couch and walked to him. “You are a man who speaks the truth from your heart. You are a man who had been raised to hate who he was, but rose above it. So many kids give up on themselves and life before they even have a chance to experience it. Not you, because you’re a fighter to the very marrow of your bones.” I linked my fingers through his. “If anyone asks why I’m with you, I’m going to tell them that those are just a few of the reasons why I’m blessed to be the one you love.”
“Damn, baby,” Macio whispered, lowering his forehead to mine. “I crazy love you.”
