AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Um, whenever. I think everyone’s coming over around 6, so maybe like, right before then?”
“OK, so I think I’ve got everything covered. Beer’s in the fridge, food, plates and shit.” She wandered around the kitchen aimlessly, with Ryan eventually putting a hand on her shoulder.
“Hey. Stop stressing. It’s gonna be fine,” he told her, as she slumped down onto one of the stools.
“I can’t help it. I’m so nervous.”
“You guys really like each other, right?”
“At this point, I’d say that.”
“Then you have nothing to worry about. If he likes you, he’s not gonna care.”
Amara sighed.
Tonight was the night she was finally going to introduce Jake to the two parts of her life she’d successfully squelched for nearly two months. It was January 16th, and also Ryan’s 24th birthday. Having learned his lesson from the Hayes birthday debacle, when Amara asked what he wanted to do, he’d opted for a quiet night at the apartment with some of the guys, some Chel, and some food and beers. She planned and picked up everything, except the cake, which she left in the hands of Ryan’s boyfriend.
That’s right.
Boyfriend.
Having fought it as hard as he had, there was nothing else Ryan could call Hayes at this point, as nearly everyone knew what was going on between them.
When Ryan had gone home for Christmas, he sat with his mom, Luke, and Shannon at the kitchen table the first night, just drinking, shooting the shit, and catching up. A lot of things had come up during the course of the conversation, and then it happened.
“So, stud. You got a girlfriend out there yet, or you still ‘Bang ‘Em and Bolt Baylor’?” Shannon had asked him.
He felt himself getting nervous, but he figured these were the people, besides Amara and Hayes, with whom he could be the most honest. “Dude, my mom’s right there!” he joked, taking a deep breath. “And, uh, actually, I am…seeing someone.”
“That’s awesome, honey. What’s her name?”
Ryan looked at Luke, who gave him a nod. “So, um, well…his name is Tyler, or Hayes, as I call him. And he’s…my teammate.
He’d waited for the shocked looks, the disappointed faces, the inappropriate comments, but they hadn’t come. Everyone had just started asking questions about how long they’d been dating and what he was like, much to Ryan’s pleasant surprise. Although, explaining what Hayes was like to anyone who’d never met him was always a challenge in and of itself.
He’d been getting ready to go to sleep that night when his mom knocked on the door of his childhood bedroom.
“Hey, Mom,” he said, opening it for her. “What’s up?”
“I just wanted to let you know, about what you said tonight…”
“Are you disappointed in me, Mom?” he interrupted sadly, fighting back tears.
“Oh, Ryan. I’ve never been disappointed in you a day in my life,” she said, hugging him, as he fell apart in her arms.
He pulled away from her after a bit, wiping his eyes. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I’m so sorry.”
“For what, falling in love? Ryan, I’m your mother. You don’t think I already knew? All those girls, but somehow, none of them ever made the cut? Listen, take it from me. Life’s too short and unpredictable to worry about what anyone else thinks. The only thing I want for my son is for him to be happy. Does this Hayes make you happy?”
He nodded. “Very.”
“Then I hope to meet him sometime soon. I love you, Ryan. Not a damn thing could change that.”
“Would Dad have said the same?”
“Of course he would have. He loved you more than anything. He’d be so proud of you.”
The teammates were surprisingly accepting, as well. Hayes and Ryan had gone on somewhat of a “just wanted to let you know we’re dating” locker room tour, starting first with Osi.
