Page 77 of Provoking the Punter

TWENTY-SEVEN

Garrett was starving by the time he got in his car. He was one of the last to leave and he hadn’t seen James for the rest of the day, and while a few of the guys had given him an odd look, no one had said anything, which he assumed was because of Addy.

Caitlin had sent him an email detailing what she wanted and telling him she’d sent the same to Chester. There were some questions that she wanted them to answer together, which would be a lot easier if Chester wasn’t ignoring him.

Asshole.

He wasn’t going to call again, nor would he drive around and knock on his door, even though that’s what he wanted to do. They usually got together on a Monday night because Tuesday was an easy day for him. The rest of the week was ramping up to game day. He knew his schedule sucked during the season, but plenty of people made relationships work. Or at least thought they were making it work.

He checked the time in Sydney, then called his brother to warn him about the situation as he drove to the hotel. The last thing he wanted was an Australian journalist picking up the story and speaking with his brother and father and making a bigger mess. He should’ve called them this morning, but he hadn’t known what to say. He still wasn’t sure what to say.

Andrew picked up on the second ring. “Hey… Are you in jail? How much money do you need?”

“Hilarious. I just wanted to give you a heads-up about a story that’s happening… and to ask if you can speak to Dad. If you could both avoid speaking to the media, that would be great.”

“Are you in some kind of trouble or is your team about to win big?” Garrett stared at his phone for a moment, wondering how his brother knew so little about football despite growing up around it. It was like dealing with Chester.

“I told you I changed teams.”

“Yeah.”

“I was traded because…” That wasn’t the important part. He didn’t need to mention Harrison, and his brother didn’t need to know. “The story breaking is that I’m gay.”

“And?”

“What do you mean and?”

Andrew laughed. “No one is so dedicated to football that they don’t have time for a girlfriend. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want Dad making your life any harder.”

Garrett sighed and slumped into the car seat. “You could’ve said something to me.”

“You would’ve denied it. I had friends in the same situation. Sometimes it’s better to say nothing.”

A little support would’ve been nice.

“So you were traded because you were gay? That seems a bit shit.”

“No, that’s not the reason. And I can’t discuss the real reason.” Caitlin’s words about not discussing the Harrison situation were loud in his ears.

“And if I don’t know, then I can’t tell anyone.”

“That, too.” Garrett agreed.

“What do you want me to tell Dad? You should know I haven’t spoken to him in about three weeks. When was the last time you spoke to him?”

“The last time I was in Australia.” He had nothing to say to his father.

“Right…”

“Don’t start on me. Today’s been an absolute fuck fest, and it’s not going to be any better tomorrow.”

“I know he was a dick after the acci?—”

“He blamed me for not driving that night. And I have never lived it down. I am not calling him up to tell him a damn thing. I’m asking you to warn him, so he isn’t blindsided, because I’m not an asshole.” He sounded like one with the snarl in his voice.

“He’s not the same as he was when you left. I spent Christmas with him and his new…”

“I know he remarried. I saw the photos.”

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