“You’ve got a whole plan, huh? And are you gonna track down this guy at the bar and lead him on too, or…?”
Isaac shook his head. “No, of course not. He seemed like a nice guy, I’m not planning on hurting him, but… I know that to sell this I need a boyfriend.”
“You sound like you’ve got someone in mind.”
Isaac wet his lips. “Julian texted me this morning. Said he was proud of me.” He smiled wryly. If he felt guilty for any of this, it was that Julian was going to be disappointed when he found out the truth.
But that was also why Isaac wanted to do it. He remembered what it was like for Julian to feel alone in the world. He couldn’t do much to help him then except hug him while he cried, but now…
Now he could make alotof kids like Julian feel less alone. Who wouldn’t take the chance to do that?
And all he had to do was tell one tiny, little lie. If it was for a good cause, it was okay, right?
His mom lit up at the mention of Julian’s name. “Oh, how is he? I was thinking about him the other day.”
Guilt twisted Isaac’s stomach again. He’d fallen out of touch with Julian, and he regretted it. He’d been surprised Julian cared enough to text him.
But now that he had… well, if this also gave him the chance to get to see his best friend again, that sounded like a bonus. He missed Julian. He’d just been afraid that Julian wouldn’t want to talk to him after everything.
It was Isaac’s fault they’d fallen out of touch. He’d gotten caught up in his career and the fame that came with it. And then he’d thought it was too late to change anything.
Getting Julian’s text had made him happier than he had been in a long time.
“I don’t actually know,” Isaac confessed. “I haven’t responded to him yet. I wanted to run this by you first.”
“I don’t like it,” his mom said, pursing her lips.
“Mom…” Isaac sighed. “I’ve had a reputation for being kind of an asshole since my career started taking off. And I deserve most of it, too. This… this is my chance to make up for that. To do somethinggoodwith having the spotlight on me. I don’t wanna walk away from this career wishing I’d had the balls to make a difference. I wanna walk away proud of myself. This is my shot at that.”
His mom’s face softened. Hope bloomed in Isaac’s chest.
“Well, I could never stop you from doing whatever you wanted anyway, so you might as well do it with my blessing,” she said. She didn’t sound all that upset, though.
Isaac had expected her not to like the lie, but he was glad she wasn’t opposed to the gay part.
Well…
“You can’t hope to convince people you’re gay,” she said, as if on cue.
“Right, sure, but bisexuality is a thing. I could totally be bi.”
His mother smiled wryly. “You really have thought of everything, huh?”
“Not even close.” Isaac laughed. He didn’t have a backup plan if Julian said no. He had no idea what he was going to do or say.
But those things seemed like minor details. Julian would help him, and he’d figure out the rest as he went along.
“I just need you to get me into the tournament. The lineup’s already been announced, but you’ve always been able to work magic with stuff like that.”
“I’ll get you in,” his mom promised. “But you need to get cleared by your doctor first, because I’m not risking making your shoulder worse before the pro season starts.”
“I’ll get cleared,” Isaac said. “I’m sure I’m fine.”
His mom nodded. “Okay, then. This is the plan going forward. I’ll get to work, and you need to respond to Julian. He’s a good boy.”
Isaac grinned. He’d known Julian’s involvement would be a selling point to this whole thing.
All he had to do now was figure out what to say to him.
