Page 3 of Sidelining the Safety

Drew rolled his eyes even as a huge smile bloomed across his face. God damn it. That smile! Mac was doomed. He compared everyone he met to Drew, and not a one so far had measured up.

Mac turned away only to look at Lee, who was staring at Drew with something like awe on his face. No, no, no… He couldn’t have competition. What the actual fuck. Not like it mattered, though. Mac shook his head. Lee was probably straight anyway, like most pro ball players. Except that wasn’t one hundred percent true anymore. Damn… Over the last few years, he’d heard about a few players who’d stepped out of the closet and made headlines with their boyfriends.

Austin always had plenty of rainbow flags flying, and he’d seen Pride flags and queer stickers on the market backdropping the Trooper logo. Was Lee one more to add to their LGBTQIA+ roster? Was he looking for a boyfriend to bring to team parties and fundraisers? Did he want Drew, too?

Lee grinned at Drew, his head cocked at a jaunty angle, and Drew gave him a flirty quirk of lips in return. Mac had to nip this budding romance fast.

“So, Lee, I gotta say, we don’t get many Troopers in here.”

“Mac,” Drew interrupted, “food? I gotta get to class soon.”

“Right, right. Sorry. With the place this jammed, you wanna just do a bagel? It’ll be the quickest.” Mac half slid out of the booth, disappointment sitting like a cold lump in his gut. “Jeffe might have some bacon I can snag.”

Drew chuckled. He always did when Mac called Jeff, the head chef, Jeffe, Spanish for “chief.” “Yeah, that sounds good.”

Mac stood and gazed down at Lee. “Can I get you anything else? More coffee?”

“Nah,” Lee said, ducking his head a little. His cheeks pinked, and Mac wondered why. “I’m good. Maybe the check?”

“You sure? We don’t mind the company, do we, Drew?” He stared at his best friend, whom he caught staring at Lee.

Drew jolted, snapping his head toward Mac. “Umm… no… yeah, it’s cool. I’ve never met a professional football player. My focus has been on baseball players. Shoulders, elbows, knees.”

“I’ve got those,” Lee deadpanned, totally missing Drew’s physical therapy joke.

Mac laughed as he strode for the kitchen. No matter what Lee said, he was bringing the guy more coffee and seeing if he could get his phone number to boot.

CHAPTER 3

LEE

Lee swiveled to watch Mac head off, his sight lingering on the gorgeous dirty blond until a throat clearing reminded him he still had company. His face heated, and he ducked his head.

“He is hot, so no worries.”

Lee grabbed his mug with both hands just to give himself something to fiddle with. He peeked at Drew and swallowed, putting it all out there… Putting himself out there. Heck, he’d noticed the two men before they’d even sat down. He’d seen them walking outside and his libido had shot sky-high. “So are you.”

Drew smiled as he leaned back. “Yeah?”

Nodding, Lee tried to take a sip, only to remember his mug was empty when he put the cup to his lips. Sheepishly, he put it down on the table. Drew snickered, and Lee kind of wished a hole would open and swallow him whole.

“Can I ask you a question, and you can tell me to shut up if you don’t want to answer?”

Lee shrugged, more or less confident he knew what Drew was going to ask. “Sure. Go ahead.”

“Are you out? To the team?”

Offering only a single shoulder shrug, Lee stared out the window. “I’m not in the closet.” He glanced at Drew to see the other guy’s lips twist.

Drew scoffed lightly. “Whole lotta ‘not in the closet’ on the Troopers.”

“I know, but I’m also the new guy. Not sure I wanna rock the boat.”

Drew drummed his fingers on the tabletop, appearing lost in thought as he looked across the diner. When he seemed to be staring at something in particular, Lee turned to see what had caught his attention. “I know all about ‘not rocking the boat,’” he whispered.

Lee’s heart lurched when he found the subject in question. Mac stood behind the register, smiling broadly as he chatted up a paying customer. “Wish I had some advice for you, but I’m about as useless as a screen door on a submarine.”

Drew’s gaze cut toward him. “A what?”

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