Page 17 of Sidelining the Safety

“Fuck.” Lee startled and started walking backward. “I gotta go. Talk to Mac and text me later.” He waved before spinning around and jogging back to the group.

“Come here,” Yowie ordered when Lee reached them.

Lee leapt to his side, brow furrowed as to why his captain wanted him. “Sorry about that. What’s up?”

Yowie sighed. “I need you to turn around, face your teammates, and put an end to the last five minutes of speculation. Whatever you say is your truth.” He glared at the other players. “Understood?”

“Hoo-rah,” his teammates cheered quietly, every one of them waiting to hear what Lee would say.

Hot damn, Lee hadn’t been planning on coming out to them just yet, but it seemed like it was best to just rip off the bandage and let the chips fall where they may. Besides, he knew he had Yowie in his corner, and Garrett Stevens, the Aussie punter who had made the news when it came out he was dating the owner of Bathtubs and Blossoms. Lee gazed around the circle of defensemen, praying he wasn’t making a mistake, and said, “I haven’t been in the closet since high school, and I don’t plan on going back in. I’m gay. And yes, I’ve dated girls, but it’s guys that do it for me.”

Jakes raised his hand, and Yowie snickered as he called on him. “Yeah, Jakes?”

“I’m straight, but my brother’s gay. I’ve got your back. Anybody messes with you, they’ll have to deal with me, too.” Jakes pounded a fist into the palm of his other hand.

Anders cleared his throat. “I’m pan. I like ’em all.” He smirked as he peered around the circle.

And on it went, with a few peeps passing or mentioning their wives or girlfriends. Several of the veterans had kids. It was a team-bonding experience like none Lee had ever had before, and frankly, it choked him up.

Once Yowie went last, telling them all how much he liked ladies with sass, they had gone full circle, a new voice cut in. “Hi, I’m Coach Mike. I’m happily married to a wonderful woman named Wendy and we have two littles underfoot at home. Thank you all for sharing, but could we please get on with the drills? Coach O is about to blow a gasket.” He pointed discretely toward the sideline where the head coach, Emilio Oliveira, and their GM, Jared Fitz, stood with their arms crossed.

“Yikes,” Yowie muttered. “On it, Coach.” He clapped his hands. “You all know where to go. Hop to. Hoo-rah!”

“Hoo-rah!” Lee replied, sprinting to join the cluster of receivers, who pushed him to the front of the line, ensuring they got an additional breather. Addy and Cal were firing on all cylinders and running their offensive lineman hard. They went easy on the tackles, who wouldn’t be catching more than a five-yard blooper or a crazy ricochet on a blocked pass, but long on the wide receivers, forcing them to run twenty or thirty yards downfield.

Safeties like Lee had to stand in the middle of the field and watch for tells to gauge where the QB would throw the ball. Lee prided himself on making the right call seventy-five percent of the time. When they started offense versus defense drills, Lee picked off his teammates enough times that Coach Mike had to tell him to lay off. Offensive Coach Dyers scowled at him, but Lee preened when Coach Oliviera gave him an approving nod.

Later in the locker room, Cal sidled up alongside Lee. “You did great out there today. Coach is on my ass now about giving away my throws.”

“Sorry, not sorry,” Lee shot back with a lopsided grin.

“Meh. It’s alright. Sometimes you need your butt handed to you to improve your game, but…”

Lee side-eyed Cal, waiting to hear what he would say.

“Who was the hottie with Cutter?”

“Uh…” Hello? What the—? Another one? “A new friend.” Lee figured he better go with the safe answer no matter what his dick wanted. He needed friends more than he needed boyfriends, just like he’d told Drew.

“Right.” Cal drew the word out, winked, and then laughed as he walked away.

Yeah, Lee knew he wasn’t fooling anyone, but he’d sure as hell keep trying.

CHAPTER 14

MAC

Dinner at Lee’s tomorrow. I’m cooking.

Mac stared at the message from Drew. Dinner? He scrambled to check his schedule. Oh, thank fuck.

I’m free.

Great. 6 PM. I’ll group text for the address. He lives south of the diner somewhere along Lamar.

Damn, that was more information than Mac had. Just how much had his bestie been texting with Lee? His elation upon hearing Drew’s good news regarding landing the internship took a decided nose-dive. He needed to up his game… fast.

He toggled to Lee’s contact.

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