Together, we rolled out of bed to head downstairs. It was weird having nothing to do—I guess we could have practiced hockey on our own, but I honestly didn’t want to touch my stick for another day or two. In time, I’d want to get back into the swing of things, but I needed a minute.
It was all still too soon, and I’d kind of felt like hockey had betrayed us.
As we trekked through the living room, Asher tugged on my arm and asked, “Are you okay? Do you need anything?”
I stopped mid-step to think about how to answer that question. “I’m okay as I can be. How are you?”
Asher looked at me intently, an unreadable expression on his face. “Let’s sit on the sofa and talk for a second.”
Uh oh.My gut started to coil. After everything that had happened, could Asher leave me? Was it all too much for him, and he’d sit me down on the sofa and tell me it was over?
We took a seat, and Asher laced our fingers together. “The picture…” He looked down, his throat bobbing as he swallowed. Trepidation gripped me by the throat as I held my breath and waited for whatever he was going to say. Asher finally continued, “Your face isn’t in the picture.”
I couldn’t understand what he was getting at. He must have understood by the puzzled look on my face because he explained, “My face is visible, but not yours. Why don’t I start reaching out to these outlets and tell them that it’s not you in the picture—that someone made that part up. I could make up some story that I brought a guy in there with me. Then, they’d stop printing your name. Maybe we could even tell Coach that, too. You could say you were just trying to protect me, but now that it’s a social media firestorm, you want to come clean and tell him the truth.”
A whirlwind of emotion surged within me. The first thought that came to mind was that there was no way in hell I’d let Asher face the rampage of social media by himself. The second was that I didn’t actually want anyone to think that someone else was with Asher.Iwas with Asher because he’smine.Period.
“You’re a sweetheart, babe, but I don’t want to do that. We’re in this together. I’d rather face this with you by my side than avoid it and watch you suffer alone.”
“I wouldn’t be alone, Theo. I still have you. That’s what counts.”
No, what counts is having your man’s back when the going gets tough.In sickness and in health. We weren’t married, butI felt that way just the same. We were boyfriends, partners —whatever word you wanted to use —we werethat.You don’t bail on someone you love. Ever.
“Asher, I don’t want this. Please don’t write to them and say it wasn’t me. Now that it’s out there, I don’t care what people think of me.Youare who I care about. I’d be ashamed of myself if I let you face this alone. I wouldn’t deserve the love you give me, so let’s put that idea to rest, okay?”
Asher looked somewhat disappointed, but it quickly morphed into a smile. “You’re such a good person, Theo.”
“You are, too, baby.”
I leaned in and gave him a kiss that soon turned into something more. The passion consumed us, and, before long, we were stretched out across the sofa, with me pressed on top of him. I didn’t care if we both had morning breath; I just loved him so damn much. How had I not seen it before? Why did it take me so long to realize how much I loved him? He was just so fucking perfect in every way possible. My hand traveled down and cupped his ass. His leg wrapped around my back when someone cleared their throat loudly.
Oh right. We’re on the sofa in the living room.Perhaps taking Dad up on his offer for a motel room was necessary.
I lunged back and away from Asher, wiping my mouth as my body landed on the opposite side of the couch. Asher quickly sat up and folded his arms over his chest.
Reggie stood at the doorway of the kitchen with a deadpan stare. “Dudes. Are you fucking for real?”
Asher and I both quietly apologized. Reggie just rolled her eyes and said, “Theo, there’s a phone call for you. It’s Cody.”
“Oh, okay. Can I have my phone?”
Reggie motioned to the kitchen. “He’s on the landline. Iturned your phones off after I saw you both had nearly three hundred notifications. It was giving me serious anxiety, so I shut them off.”
I honestly forgot we had a landline. I glanced at Asher, and the two of us rose from the couch and strode into the kitchen. Once there, I saw the red telephone hanging on the wall, the receiver resting on the counter.Jesus, this has to be older than me.
I picked it up and said, “Hello?”
Cody’s voice blared out of the phone. “Theo! Holy shit, man! Are you alright? Is Asher? How are you?”
It was safe to say that Cody knew what had happened. “We’re as good as we can be. You know, being the gay sluts of the NCAA is a heavy cross to bear, but we’re surviving.”
Suddenly, Rafael’s voice cut in. “Well, I for one applaud the act and applaud you for diving headfirst into the best part of the meal. Eating ass is one of my favorite activities, and I’m glad we share that in common.”
There was a part of me that wished I were on my cell so I could put the conversation on speaker for Asher’s sake. He’d get a kick out of it, and we could both use the laugh.
Cody sighed. I didn’t need to see him to know he was pinching the bridge of his nose in response to Rafael. “We have the week off, and we want to take you to my Aunt Sue’s cabin.”
“Yeah, there’s no service up there,” Rafael added, “so, you’ll be free from the lunacy of it all.”
