Looking around the room and seeing these wonderful guys made me realize that I’d rather live my life authentically than be a hockey star.
It was time to take control of my narrative, and that would start by setting the record straight.
Chapter 28
Theo
Asher and I sat in a chair looking at our reflection on the phone. He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to tame his red mane.
“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Asher asked. “I don’t want to pressure you. You don’t have to do it with me—this is something I can do alone.”
I was all for it, and I was so freaking proud of Asher for suggesting the idea. It showed how far he’d come since he moved into my family’s house. Asher went from being terrified of talking about his sexuality to getting ready to post a video about our scandal on TikTok.
“I love the idea. This is our chance to speak out about what happened.” When Asher presented the idea to me, he positioned it as a way for us to take back the narrative. There were so many rumors floating around online, and I knew Asher was furious over the gossip that we’d hit on our teammates.
I was more interested in just giving him the opportunity to be loud and proud about who he was. No more hiding, I wanted Asher to love himself as much as I loved him. The video wouldbe a chance for him to publicly speak truthfully about himself. It was a major step on his journey to self-acceptance.
When I talked about the idea to my sisters, Roxy asked whyIwas so comfortable with my sexuality.
“It’s not that I don’t think you should be!” she frantically added. “It’s just… I don’t know. This is so new for us. You went from being a typical jock to this enlightened bisexual overnight. It’s just surprising.”
I didn’t know how to answer her at the time. It took a minute for me to process the question and realize for myself that I’d always loved Asher. From the moment I saw him, I wanted him. I just didn’t know it.
So, in reality, it was like my subconscious mind had years to come to terms with my love for Asher. I didn’t care what anyone thought about me. It didn’t matter if people didn’t like me when the love of my life was sitting right next to me.
Fuck ‘em!
Plus, I had a supportive family. Never did I imagine they’d disown me or something awful like that. I knew how incredibly lucky I was for that. Asher didn’t have a family who loved him unconditionally, and I wanted to be that for him. No matter what happened, I wanted him to know that my love was stronger than anything.
He was mine, and I was his. Period.
If he wanted to climb to the top of Mount Everest to scream about how much he loved me, I’d be right there screaming along with him.
I sure as hell hope he doesn’t want to do that, though. That mountain is no joke.
“Okay. Let’s do this.” Asher leaned closer to the phone to click the red record button, but his finger couldn’t connect.His hand began to shake, and he yelled, “Fuck! Why is this so hard? I’m freaking out.”
I wrapped my arm around him and pulled him close. “It’s a big step, babe. It’s okay to be nervous. It’s also okay if you’re not ready. You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”
Asher looked at me, his green eyes locking with mine, and a look of determination washed over his face. “No. I want to do this.”
He took a breath and pressed the record button.
“Hi, I’m Asher Lachlan.”
Asher’s voice was shaky, so I decided to project as much cheer and confidence as possible, hoping it would help him. “And, I’m Theo Moretti.”
We’d discussed what we wanted to say beforehand, so I waited for Asher to continue.
“If you’re into hockey at all, you might have read about us.”
His voice continued to tremble, so it was time for me to ham it up. “You might have even seen a picture of me eating his butt.”
Asher cracked up. We hadn’t planned that line, but I knew it would shake him out of his nerves.
The giggles took over, Asher’s face turning bright red because of what I just said, so I picked up the next few lines we had rehearsed. “We’re making this video to say that we regret doing that in the locker room. You see, we thought we were alone. We would have never done something like that if we had known other people were around. It was a passionate moment between two people who love each other.”
Asher squeezed my hand, and I turned to look at him. He smiled at me in a way that lit up the entire room. He looked sobeautiful at that moment that I couldn’t help myself. I leaned in and gave him a kiss.
