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“We do it as a team,” Nick announces. “Then they can’t single us out. Then, they have to confront the closet. The one so many are in.”
“Yeah,” Blair asserts, “then you become a movement. Other players will come out, too. It’ll change everything for good.”
“So what?” Beau asks like he’s ready, like it’s war. “We hold a press conference next week?”
“No,” Zar answers. “We wait. We make a plan. We work with the other group that wants to help. Legally. Financially. PR. Security and such. We get ready for the ultimate power play.”
“Then,” Nick adds, “we do it at the end of the season. We come out on the day of the Super Bowl. When one hundred million people and the league will have no choice but to see us. And to watch us win.”
Eyes turn to me and Beau.
Like they know it, too.
We’ll make it to the Super Bowl. We’ll be the ultimate example.
Half of me is fearless. I’m proud to do it.
The other half of me knows it could be like a war, where people I love can get hurt.
“Well, shit,” Beau scoffs with his cocky grin. “We got this. It’s just a game.”
The crowd laughs low, still processing the shock. Me, too.
Do we really know what we’re agreeing to?
“Look,” Zar adds. “It’s like every smart business deal or political plan. Think about it. Don’t decide now. We got three months to chew the fat, to see if this dog will hunt.”
“What my man is saying,” Nick pulls him in closer, “is let’s eat. Let’s have a good night. Let’s see how we feel in the morning… three months from now.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
“Woman, you could sell semen to seamen.”
COLTON
Ipeel a seasoned shrimp, watching Ruby do the same.
“You behind all this?” I ask.
Beau sits beside me. Blair sits beside Ruby. We’re at a table on the deck, under a white umbrella, watching the sunset while the mood of Zar’s party is darkening, too. It’s enticing as I clock people disappearing upstairs.
“In a way, yeah,” Ruby answers. “But it’s not just me. I’m like a representative.”
“So you work for someone?”
“Work? Fuck? Love?” She dances her brows at me. “It all comes together, right?”
“Any minute, I expect to see my sister walk through the door.” Blair spins a corn cob over a stick of melting butter. “That plan? That’s something she’d come up with. She studies this for a living. I know she’s in this other mysterious group.”
But Ruby won’t talk. She smiles, popping the shrimp in her mouth.
“But why do we need so much time and help?” Beau asks. “I’m ready to do this shit tomorrow. They’re right. If we do this together, it works. We’ll finally be free.”
“Because think about it. We’re making history,” I answer. “Hordes of press will stalk us. Fans will be in a frenzy. Our organizations will freak out. Then there are the haters and the homophobes. We’ll lose endorsements. And some of us have contracts up for renewal, too. Zar’s right. We need time and a plan.”
“I can’t believe you agreed that quickly.” Blair smiles in awe at Beau. “You always said you couldn’t come out while you’re playing. What changed?”
“Love,” Beau answers. “I didn’t know it’d be this good, and I don’t want to hide it. And I don’t want to be busted again like your dad did. I want to step on a field or hell, even at the fucking gas station, with my chin held high. I got one season left in me, and I’m gonna make it fucking count.”
