Page 172 of Loving the Legend
The room falls silent, tightening the knots in my stomach. I’m glad I haven’t eaten yet. Well, except for Sid’s breakfast of champions.
Kaleb speaks first. “You deserve to be happy. It’s just—damn—you and Sid King.” He shakes his head. “I need a sec to wrap my head around it. It doesn’t change anything, though. We got your back.” He looks around at the guys. “Right?”
They respond at the same time, and it’s again a mix of “Hell yeah,” “No doubt,” and “Duh, dummy.”
My shoulders drop as I exhale a rush of air.
Malik scrubs his hand over his face. “Dude—I mean, I get it. I’d go gay to be with Sid. I didn’t even know I had a shot. Damn!”
Tevin smacks his head again. “Not the time, bro!”
“I’m just saying, he’s undeniably hot. You don’t have to be gay to know that’s a sexy muthafucka. Plus, he’s like a gazillionaire,” Malik says, shaking his head.
Kaleb and I burst out laughing.
“We’re planning to come out soon. It’s only a matter of time before it gets out.”
Malik nods.
“It won’t come from us. Thanks for trusting us with this,” Kaleb says, standing and patting my shoulder.
“Yeah, it took mad heart for you to tell us,” Idris says. “Anyone gives you shit, holla at me.”
“Me too,” says Tevin.
“Since last season?” Kaleb asks, shaking his head.
“How’d y'all keep it under wraps that long?” Tevin adds.
“Ain’t easy. We’re both focused on ball. Plus, you know how crazy our schedules are. Only our close family members know…Yeah, but it kind of came to a head recently. Had to take some space to figure things out. We want to get married and have kids. We can’t do that in the closet. I had to work on myself and shit.”
“You shouldn’t even have to be in the closet. That’s whack, man,” Idris says.
“Y'all go hella hard competing whenever our teams face off. How the hell does that work?” Kaleb asks.
I shrug. “We like competing and want to be the best. We don’t really talk about our face-offs at home. I love demolishing him on the court,” I admit, grinning.
“Kinky,” Idris says, making us all laugh. “Real talk. I’ve never seen you show the Marvels or Royals any mercy.” He shakes his head. “Wild!”
“Never. I’d never do anything to hurt our team. I fought too hard to get here, and I don’t only ball for me. My parents sacrificed a fuck ton for me to be here. I can’t fuck it up.”
“We know, man,” Kaleb says, meeting my gaze.
Hearing him say it is a relief. I think I’ve proven my dedication and loyalty to our team. I’d be crushed if they doubted it.
“We don’t get initiation rings or cloaks for joining the inner sanctum?” Malik jokes.
I point to the pizza and beer. “What do you think that’s for?”
Idris laughs. “Cheap bastard.”
“Marriage and kids. Youngin’, have I taught you nothin'? Did you not hear that I escaped a shit fest? You can’t marry your first boyfriend,” Kaleb says.
“Uh, you can when it’s Sidney Fucking King,” Malik says. “If he won’t, I will.”
I laugh as Tevin raises his hand to smack him again, and then quits mid-air, shaking his head.
“Going forward, y'all are welcome to stop by and hang with us anytime. Just hit me up.”
