Lee included at first, but that’s okay. We haven’t sat down like that in a long time. Holidays, phone calls, it’s all surface stuff. Now that I can talk to them about this part of my life, they’ll understand.
At the airport, Lee takes his bag out of the back seat while I get out and walk around to the side. A hyena in uniform starts to tell us to move along, then gets distracted as another car tries to stop in the middle of a moving traffic lane. Lee takes advantage of the chaos to slip his arm around me, a one-armed “guy hug” that we hold a bit longer than buddies would. He looks up at me for a moment before pulling away.
“ Fox,” I say, “I really want you to come.”
A smile breaks over his muzzle. “Okay,” he says. “Come stay with me the night before and we’ll drive out there Tuesday.”
My tail curls as I let him go, my smile getting wider. “Deal.”
We stand there for about ten seconds just smiling at each other, until he says, “You need to get to practice.”
“ See you in a week.” I squeeze his shoulder and he manages somehow to pat my butt while making it casual and not a big deal, and nobody around seems to have noticed. Fuck, he’s good at that. I watch his own rear moving below his swinging tail, and lean against the car.
“ Hey!” The hyena barks at me. “You can’t stay there.”
I raise a paw, get back in, and drive on. I already miss him. I want him to be at the apartment when I come home from practice, but I can’t ask him to leave his job.
The sun’s staring me full in the face as it comes up, all the way from the airport down to Hughes Stadium. I pull into the players’ lot just as another SUV pulls in behind me and parks to my right. Carson gets out, the other linebacker who starts with me and Gerrard. A leopard about my height, he’s faster than I am, but not as bulked. He wasn’t around the locker room for my big moment yesterday, but the only thing I’m worried about is if he thinks coming out will distract me from playing football.
When he walks up beside me, he aims a punch at my shoulder like he always does, and grins when I swat it away. We mock-spar for a few seconds, and then he says, “New week, new game.”
His eyes glint at me. “I’m ready,” I say. “Bring it on.”
“ Damn straight.”
If it were anyone else, I’d think that was a subtle dig at me. But Carson doesn’t glance to see if I get it, he doesn’t act self-conscious or smug; he just walks in with me and heads to his locker, a few over from mine. I glance around at the rest of the team. Everything looks normal.
My coming out wasn’t news to any of them; I told them a couple weeks ago in a private meeting. The guys who had a problem with me Sunday still have a problem with me on Tuesday. I spot Colin, the fox who’s risen to backup cornerback in his rookie year, dressing on his side of the locker room. He doesn’t look my way. Some of the guys dressing near him do, suspicious glares more pointed than they had been before the press conference.
I ignore them as best I can, but it occurs to me that I should go thank the guys who did stand behind me. So once I get my uni on, I walk over to Ty Nakamura, the fox who’s already starting for us as the third wideout. His nickname in college was “Fish,” which he never explained, but because Fisher already uses that name, I just call him “Ty.”
Half-dressed, he looks like a bigger, more muscular Lee. But that’s not enough to turn me on. Never has been. I give his arm a punch. “Hey, I never said, but thanks.”
“ Ah.” He waves the thanks away. “Next time you’re gonna come out on TV, let me know and I’ll wear somethin’ more fashionable.”
I grin. “Once is all it takes.” I jerk my head over to Colin and his crew. “What’s with them?”
“ Whatever. Fuck a hundred girls and it’s cool, but one guy and suddenly it’s all...” He rolls his eyes.
“ Seems worse today.”
He shrugs. “Who knows
At the airport, Lee takes his bag out of the back seat while I get out and walk around to the side. A hyena in uniform starts to tell us to move along, then gets distracted as another car tries to stop in the middle of a moving traffic lane. Lee takes advantage of the chaos to slip his arm around me, a one-armed “guy hug” that we hold a bit longer than buddies would. He looks up at me for a moment before pulling away.
“ Fox,” I say, “I really want you to come.”
A smile breaks over his muzzle. “Okay,” he says. “Come stay with me the night before and we’ll drive out there Tuesday.”
My tail curls as I let him go, my smile getting wider. “Deal.”
We stand there for about ten seconds just smiling at each other, until he says, “You need to get to practice.”
“ See you in a week.” I squeeze his shoulder and he manages somehow to pat my butt while making it casual and not a big deal, and nobody around seems to have noticed. Fuck, he’s good at that. I watch his own rear moving below his swinging tail, and lean against the car.
“ Hey!” The hyena barks at me. “You can’t stay there.”
I raise a paw, get back in, and drive on. I already miss him. I want him to be at the apartment when I come home from practice, but I can’t ask him to leave his job.
The sun’s staring me full in the face as it comes up, all the way from the airport down to Hughes Stadium. I pull into the players’ lot just as another SUV pulls in behind me and parks to my right. Carson gets out, the other linebacker who starts with me and Gerrard. A leopard about my height, he’s faster than I am, but not as bulked. He wasn’t around the locker room for my big moment yesterday, but the only thing I’m worried about is if he thinks coming out will distract me from playing football.
When he walks up beside me, he aims a punch at my shoulder like he always does, and grins when I swat it away. We mock-spar for a few seconds, and then he says, “New week, new game.”
His eyes glint at me. “I’m ready,” I say. “Bring it on.”
“ Damn straight.”
If it were anyone else, I’d think that was a subtle dig at me. But Carson doesn’t glance to see if I get it, he doesn’t act self-conscious or smug; he just walks in with me and heads to his locker, a few over from mine. I glance around at the rest of the team. Everything looks normal.
My coming out wasn’t news to any of them; I told them a couple weeks ago in a private meeting. The guys who had a problem with me Sunday still have a problem with me on Tuesday. I spot Colin, the fox who’s risen to backup cornerback in his rookie year, dressing on his side of the locker room. He doesn’t look my way. Some of the guys dressing near him do, suspicious glares more pointed than they had been before the press conference.
I ignore them as best I can, but it occurs to me that I should go thank the guys who did stand behind me. So once I get my uni on, I walk over to Ty Nakamura, the fox who’s already starting for us as the third wideout. His nickname in college was “Fish,” which he never explained, but because Fisher already uses that name, I just call him “Ty.”
Half-dressed, he looks like a bigger, more muscular Lee. But that’s not enough to turn me on. Never has been. I give his arm a punch. “Hey, I never said, but thanks.”
“ Ah.” He waves the thanks away. “Next time you’re gonna come out on TV, let me know and I’ll wear somethin’ more fashionable.”
I grin. “Once is all it takes.” I jerk my head over to Colin and his crew. “What’s with them?”
“ Whatever. Fuck a hundred girls and it’s cool, but one guy and suddenly it’s all...” He rolls his eyes.
“ Seems worse today.”
He shrugs. “Who knows
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