“I respect you,” he says. “Like, a lot. You’ve been doing this at a high level for a long time, and I wouldn’t want to ask anyone else.”
“Okay.” I have no idea where he’s going with this.
“I have a problem. It’s kind of a big one and I don’t know what to do about it, but I think I can trust you.”
“Yeah, of course. What’s going on?”
“I met this girl.” His face scrunches weirdly. “She’s, um, she’s great. She’s funny and smart and, um, someone I want to keep seeing.”
“That sounds great. What’s the problem?”
Andres pales slightly, fidgeting and shuffling his feet before leaning on the bar closer to me. I lean in too, very interested in what he’s going to say.
“She’s not a girl.”
He squeezes his eyes shut like a kid waiting to be yelled at.
“I’m sorry?”
Andres opens his eyes and huffs out a breath. “I lied. The person is not a girl. He’s a guy. I’ve never… I mean, I didn’t know I was…” He stops talking, lowering his head while I process this information.
Did my teammate just come out to me? And if so, why? Does he suspect that I’m queer too?
“I met him at the gym by my house,” Andres says. “He was rotating the machines with me and we hit it off. Starting talking, working out together, then meeting up outside of the gym. And then one night a few weeks ago…” He shrugs. “We kissed and it was, um… cool. I guess maybe I’m kind of into guys too.”
I nod, considering my response. “Thanks for trusting me with that. I’ll keep your confidence. What kind of advice are you looking for from me?”
“You’ve been around. You know how things are. If someone found out, it could be bad for me, right?”
I frown, wishing I could assure him it would be fine, but then I’d be a liar and a hypocrite. “I’m not sure it would be bad, but it would get attention, of course. If you’re planning to continue this relationship, I’d consider talking to Coach and Jackson in case anything leaks. The team is high profile enough this year that there’s always a chance of a fan or the media catching us on our off time.”
He stares back at me with fear in his eyes. “Do you think Coach will freak out?”
“No, not freak out. I don’t think he cares what we do outside of the game as long as it’s legal.”
“Do you think he’d have a personal issue with it? Would he treat me differently? Would the team?”
“I wish I could answer those questions, but I don’t know. It hasn’t happened on our team, but the few times it’s happened across the league, Coach seems to have a pretty neutral reaction to it. He’s more worried about drug use, domestic violence, DUIs, shit like that. Stuff that’s negative. Loving someone isn’t negative, regardless of their gender.”
“Not everyone believes that.”
“No, but the right people do.”
He chews his bottom lip for a second. “It doesn’t bother you?”
I shake my head, offering a slight smile. “No.”
“Should I tell the team?”
“Talk to Jackson and Coach first. If you really want to. Ultimately, it’s your private life and you aren’t obligated to share any part of it you don’t want to. But I think they’d appreciate the heads-up if there’s a chance it could come out.”
Andres nods. “Thanks. I knew you’d have advice. I had a feeling I could trust you.”
“I’m glad you feel that way because it’s true. Good luck.” I clap his shoulder. “I’m happy for you. Finding someone these days with what we do is challenging.”
“It really is. The last three women I dated were obviously in it for the clout, but not…” He pauses. “Not Scott. He didn’t even know who I was at first.”
“That’s great. Ready to head back?”
