“Did you really kick Keith out of the room for the night so you could ask me that? Because I have to tell you, it seems a bit extreme,” I told him as I kicked off my shoes.
“No, I did it because I’m pretty sure you’re going to be on the phone half the night trying to figure out what’s going on, and it would be better if you didn’t have to explain that shit to Kevin.” Jason leaned in closer, propping his elbows on his knees. When he looked up at me, I saw concern lacing his features. “Can I give you a word of advice?”
“You’re going to anyway, so shoot,” I scoffed. One of the things I liked about Jason was that he rarely minced his words.
“If you two really want to make shit work, you’re going to have to think about how to deal with it when someone finds out,” he told me. “Personally, I don’t think it really matters who you’re with, but you know the media is going to have a field day over two players not only being gay, but being together. If you don’t take control of the situation, it’s going to take control of you.”
“Yeah, I know,” I agreed somberly. It was a relief to know that one person knew what was going on and didn’t seem to care, but it was naïve to think others would react the same way. “If and when the time comes, we’ll deal with that, but it’s way too early to even think about. Hell, he could still decide it was one night and that’s it.”
Jason chuckled. “Keep telling yourself that, buddy. I can tell you’re already falling for the guy and it’s easy to see that he cares about you as well. Now, we’re going to dive into the minibar, because there’s no way I’m going to have you pacing back and forth all night.”
“I don’t need anything else,” I insisted. The one shot churned in my stomach, which still seemed unsettled from a few nights ago in Chicago.
Jason shook his head as he handed me a small bottle of Johnny Walker Red. “You don’t have to get sloppy, but something to ease your nerves will help.”
When I picked up the phone to call Bill, figuring he’d be my best bet of getting any information, Jason pointed toward the door. I shook my head, grateful that he was offering me privacy, yet unwilling to ask him to vacate his own room.
“Sean, I wondered how long it’d take for you to call,” Bill answered, laughing heartily.
“Sorry it’s so late, but I knew he’d call you as soon as he found out what was happening,” I said, realizing that it was after midnight.
“No need to apologize,” he assured me. “I was up watching the game, so you didn’t wake me. And I’m sure you’re right that he’ll call me, but he hasn’t so far. For now, we have to assume that’s a good thing.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” I agreed. “Will you let me know when you do hear from him?”
“Better than that, I’ll make sure and tell him to call you himself,” Bill suggested. “I’m sure you’d rather have a chance to hear him tell you than have me pass information along to you.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“I’ll have none of that sir bullshit from you, Sean,” he scolded me. “You’ve been family for a hell of a long time now. And between you and me, if my choices for someone for Mason to share his life with are you or that evil bitch of an ex, I’d choose you every single time.”
I coughed as the whiskey went down the wrong pipe. Bill had always struck me as the live and let live type of person, so it was unusual to hear him so vocal in his distaste for Teresa. It was a sentiment I agreed with.
“Thank you, I think.” I chuckled because it had to be one of the most backhanded compliments I’d ever received. “I’ll let you get back to the game and I’ll talk to you later.”
“Don’t be a stranger, Sean.” Even though I’d heard those five words enough times to know they’d come at the end of every conversation, it was nice to hear. It was Bill’s subtle reminder that there was someone in the world who gave a damn.
“I won’t, sir. I mean, Bill.” After hanging up the phone, I slid back on the bed and stared at the blank display as if that would make Mason call me quicker.
8
Mason
I glaredat the brace on my right hand as if it had somehow offended me. I was pissed, and nothing anyone could say or do would lift my mood. I replayed last night’s events in my mind, trying to figure out what I could have done differently to keep myself off the disabled list. It was one of those fluke moments and no one was to blame, but it didn’t change the fact that I’d be on the disabled list for at least fifteen days.
While the rest of the team boarded the charter plane to Miami, I wound my way through the commercial terminal, heading back to Chicago. I slumped back in the hard plastic chair at the gate to wait for the crew to start boarding the plane.
The silver lining was that Sean had offered to drive down once his plane landed in Milwaukee to pick me up. That made the pain shooting from the tip of my middle finger all the way to my shoulder a bit more bearable.
I closed my eyes and considered the differences between my life before this season and what would happen after. I had always loved being on the road. In some ways, I viewed my entire life as an adventure, even though it got a bit tiring to constantly head off to a different city and have to turn on the morning news to figure out what state I was in at any given time. Now, I couldn’t wait to get home. Yes, it pissed me off that I wasn’t playing, but my injury was allowing me to spend some much-needed time with Sean.
The time in my hotel room over the past few days had given me time to consider whether I was being impulsive and reckless by pursuing a relationship with my best friend, but I kept my father’s words in the back of my head.
Teresa and I had been friends once, but that seemed like forever ago. Before she signed her first modeling contract, she wasn’t always the perfectly coifed woman most of my friends and family got to see. She’d kiss me goodbye when I got ready to leave for a road trip, and she’d be waiting for me when I got home, usually in a pair of my sweatpants that were so big she had to roll them at the waist to keep them from falling off. She looked like the girl next door with her hair pulled into a sloppy ponytail and not a drop of makeup on her face.
I told myself that the stresses and fighting were all part of leaving the person you loved behind. I rolled my eyes when the other guys dealt with their wives having nervous breakdowns while we were thousands of miles away, or when my teammates would talk about how much they missed being home. I didn’t understand it then, but now I did.
Saying goodbye to Sean ripped me apart. It may not be healthy, but now that I had this chance with him, I didn’t want to spend the better part of half of the year away from him. It wasn’t only the promise of sex, either. I wanted to sit down and play Xbox with him, watch movies, or even do housework and other boring shit.
