Page 22 of Cross the Line

Alec takes a shuddering breath, schooling his features into what he hopes is an authentic smile. This is exactly why he can’t talk to either of his parents. They sacrificed so much for him and while their privilege as an upper middle class family meant the costs of all of Alec’s training, gear, and special leagues wasn’t a huge monetary sacrifice, the time was. His parents missed family dinners and weekends at home, taking turns traveling with Alec to all-star games out of town. They’d both worked on cases on the sidelines, making sure at least one of them watched every single practice and game Alec ever played.

There was never a doubt in his mind that his parents loved him and he owes them everything. His mom isn’t into sports like his dad, but she’s no less supportive, and he sees the look in her eye when she talks about Alec’s prospects of going pro. He’s just never corrected either of them that it's their dream. The opportunities he has are once in a lifetime, the kind his abuela used to whisper about in her hushed Spanish when she’d hold his hands at night and pray over him, promising him he’d had a better life ahead than she did. She came to this country for a better life, and the weight of that responsibility isn’t lost on Alec.

The MLS combine isn’t until January. He’s got six months to figure his shit out without burdening the people he loves before the MLS SuperDraft. He just needs to get his head on straight and figure out a way to deal with this.

“Thanks, Mom,” Alec mumbles, suddenly. “I’m just, uh?—”

“Nervous,” she finishes, moving past Alec. She presses a kiss to his cheek and he breathes in the familiar scent of her perfume.

He’s always been a bit of a momma’s boy, and the hardest part of living on campus is definitely only seeing her on weekends. It being so difficult is exactly the reason he’d pushed himself to live on campus, despite having parents who offered to let him live at home and commute to classes. Desperate to forge his own path and learn how to live on his own, he’d declined their offer and spent the first two years miserable as fuck. Last year he’d finally got to room with Antonio, which had made all the difference, but he still hated the cramped noisy dorms. This year is going to be different, though. He and Antonio were lucky enough to secure one of the senior apartments on campus, meaning they’re going to have a shit-ton more space and privacy this year.

“Nervous, yeah,” Alec echoes, finding it easy to agree. He just wants to make his parents proud of him.

“I gotta get going. You sure you can handle move-in day on your own? Say the word and I’ll call your dad at the country club.”

“You don’t need to call dad,” Alec says. “He’s playing with a client today. You know how important that is to him.”

“You’re right,” she agrees, kissing Alec on the cheek. “I don’t know how we’re all gonna cope when you’re off playing for real and we only see you a few times a year.”

The knot in his stomach turns to lead. Yet another reason he doesn’t want to play professionally. He doesn’t want to leave Santa Leon or his family. He loves his life here, his family, and the idea of moving away from it all makes him physically ill.

“I am playing for real, mom.” His voice sounds small and he forces a smile on his face.

“Of course you are. You know what I mean, sweetie.” She ruffles his hair, making it hard for Alec to be annoyed. He knows she means well, both his parents do. They just think he has so much potential and talent, that not pursuing a professional career isn’t something that’s ever been an option for Alec. He used to think he was okay with the life they’d mapped out for him, but things change. Alec changed. Or maybe, he thinks as his throat tightens, maybe he hasn’t changed at all but no one bothered to look hard enough to see if this was what he really wanted.

“I could cancel my book thing and help you move furniture.”

Alec bites back a snort. His mom is even smaller than him, barely five-six in heels, and looks like she could be knocked over by the wind. She might be able to take down guys three times her size in court, but she can’t help Alec move furniture up three flights of stairs.

“I told you it’s fine, Mom. Someone is gonna help me.”

“Someone, huh?”

There’s a question in her tone that Alec isn’t in the mood to answer. He doesn’t want to tell her Theo offered to help, partly because he was drunk when he made the offer and partly because Alec feels embarrassingly possessive about it. It’s the first time Theo’s agreed to do anything with Alec alone since he was a kid, unless you count his birthday. But Alec doesn’t count that, no matter how much fun he had. Especially not since Jason put Theo up to it. Learning that tidbit had stung more than Alec wants to admit. Thankfully Jason and Theo were too drunk to notice how the jokingly-made confession had nearly made Alec cry. He’s pretty sure he would’ve driven himself across the border and never come home if they’d realized how devastated he was to learn Theo only spent time with him as a favor.

“You’re going to be late, Mom.” Alec puts his hands on her shoulders and turns her towards the front of the house. “You should leave. Right now.”

Her smile grows. “Oh, is this someone helping you a boy?”

“Nope,” Alec answers, pleased at his straight face. Usually he can’t lie for shit, but this is not technically a lie. Theo isn’t a boy, he’s a man. Alec was raised by two lawyers and if anyone can argue semantics until they die, it’s him.

“Alright, alright. I’ll get out of your hair. You know, I am looking forward to book club this week. Minnie picked a steamy book. There’s a man without a shirt on the cover and?—”

“Stop talking,” Alec groans.

“I forgot I’m supposed to be celibate and have my four sons through immaculate conception. My mistake.” His mom grins. “I’m going.” She laughs, offering him one quick wave before departing.

Alec waits until he hears her BMW pull out of the driveway before he grabs his phone off the charging station in the corner, sighing heavily when he sees there are no missed calls or texts. He’s not sure why he’s surprised. Theo was pretty drunk at his birthday and he hasn’t mentioned his offer to help Alec move since then. Not that Alec has seen him or anything, but he’d casually tried to weasel Theo’s weekend plans out of Jason when he came over for dinner last night, and Jason had been no help at all. It was a crapshoot whether that actually meant Theo had no plans, or whether Jason forgot them. He had the world’s best long-term memory, yet the short-term memory of goldfish.

There was also another possibility that maybe Theo still intended to come help Alec and hadn’t told Jason about it, but that seems highly unlikely. He’s pretty sure they probably tell each other when they take a shit. He’s never met a pair of best friends with less boundaries than those two, which had made Alec really fucking jealous when he was younger. There’d been a period where he was sure Theo and Jason must’ve privately been fucking. He’s pretty sure now that never happened, since Jason has never indicated he wasn’t straight to any of them and he’s kind of an open book. But maybe they had been together at some point, and Theo asked him to keep it quiet. Maybe Theo’s been secretly in love with Jason since he was a teenager.

“Fuck,” Alec groans, slumping against the kitchen island. He hates this side of his brain. This is why he doesn’t like being alone, why he keeps himself busy and never stops moving, because the second he does, he thinks too much and hurts his own feelings.

Stomach churning uncomfortably with emotions he is not in the mood to examine, he swipes open his group chat with Antonio, Logan and Hunter. Initially he and Antonio had hoped Riley and Logan might share with them. Logan was on the swim team and Riley didn’t live in the frat house so it seemed like a no brainer. Last minute, Riley’s parents had asked him to stay at home another year to help out with his younger siblings, leaving them one roommate short. Hunter was also a senior and a friend of Logan’s and while Alec had only met him once in passing, he seemed cool. Or at least Alec hoped.

Alec: anyone want move-in day breakfast burritos

Not a minute later the replies come in.

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