“You’re sure he’s okay with you being a guy?” Aidan wondered.
“Cam’sgay.And from anything he’s ever said about his dad, he’s like the most supportive.” Dawson sighed, pretty sure it wasn’thimthat was the issue, but it was hard to say, because Cam hadn’t once invited him to hang out with him and his dad.
He’d seen Shane a few times in passing, around the practice facility. Once Shane had gotten the green light to spend time there, Cam had even stopped carpooling in with Dawson.
He’d tried to explain it away, to excuse it, because of course Cam would want time one-on-one with his dad. But it didn’t matter how subtly Dawson hinted that he wouldn’t mind getting to know his dad better, nothing had happened.
“Then what’s the deal? I thought you guys fixed this,” Aidan said absently, seemingly way less worried about this particular drama than Dawson was.
“I just . . .it’s weird, isn’t it? He was all-in before. Patient and supportive and shit. And then Shane gets here and it’s like he’s pulling away.” He’d already said it sucked, but he wassotempted to add that again.
Aidan shot him a look. “Have you talked to him about it?”
“Of course not,” Dawson blustered. He tugged on a beanie and grabbed his helmet. “How would I even ask?Hey, Cam, does your dad think I have cooties?I don’t fucking think so.”
“You are actually the worst communicator on the planet.”
“Says the second-worst communicator on the planet,” Dawson complained.
“Exactly. I’m qualified to say just how shitty you are. Just fuckingaskhim, Daws. You’re in love with the guy, how hard is it possibly to say to his face,I’d like to get to know your dad while he’s here. You want to be serious about the rookie? This is your way to do it. Not fucking him every night.”
Dawson made an outraged noise. “I—that’s ridiculous, coming from you.”
“Is it though?” Aidan asked smugly. “I’m just saying, I knewmyboyfriend’s parents forever. Long before we started dating. I got this in the bag. You’re still trying to figure out where the bag evenis.”
“I hate you,” Dawson complained.
Aidan patted him on the shoulder. “The truth hurts, bud.”
Dawson made a face. He knew he was going to have to say something, but right now, he needed to put this problem from his mind and find his focus. Sure, this was a different issue than what had potentially distracted him last week, when he’d missed that long kick, but he wasn’t willing to take a chance, either.
However he was going to deal with this situation would have to happen after the game was over.
Maybe the crap with Ackerman was difficult, with no easy fixes to be found, but he had to believe that he and Cam could figure out how to coexist, in a relationship, with Shane around.
But Dawson shouldn’t have worried about tonight’s game.
The offense, which had been stymied last week by the Bills’ suffocating defense, didn’t have issues at all with the Jets.
“Thank God they traded Sauce away,” Mo mentioned during halftime. He was up to a season high 125 yards receiving, with two touchdowns already, with nobody on the Jets able to cover him, once they’d traded away their best corner in Sauce Gardner.
Dawson had kicked three extra points and a single thirty-four-yard field goal, which the Thunder had only settled for because Acker had had a holding penalty and they’d run out of chances to get the first down.
Robertson had felt good going into half with a twenty-four-to-three lead, and nobody could really blame him.
But of course that meant that Dawson had barely had any reason to push himself. He was partly annoyed, partly relieved.
“I’ve only punted once,” Cam said to him as they sat in front of their lockers.
“A killer punt though, rook,” Dawson pointed out with a smile. “And hey, are you actuallybitchingabout that?”
“No, just . . .I’d ratherdosomething,” Cam said. “And it’s not like I didn’t hear you complaining to Marty about three extra points and one . . .what was it? Onemeaslythirty-four-yard field goal?”
“Practically an extra point,” Dawson said.
“Exactly,” Cam said, chuckling under his breath.
“I just want a chance to prove I can do it,” Dawson said, leaning in so only Cam could hear him. “I wanna prove to everyone I’m not that guy who missed last week.”
