“I-I don’t think Axel would want me to give you his address.”
His face falls. “You’re probably right. I’ll ask Coach.”
I furrow my brow. And people think I’m strange.
I want to tell Cal all about it. I wonder what he thinks.
I can see him tonight.
I frown.
Why did Cal promise me he wouldn’t tell anyone? Does he think I want to keep him a secret?
But of course. He must think that. And don’t I?
For a moment, air flows into my lungs, straightening my shoulders, and steadying my pulse. Dad won’t know. Gramps won’t know. Team management won’t know.
But if I came out... Well, Coach or my teammates wouldn’t mind.
Do I want to sneak around with Cal?
Because the thing is... I don’t.
Unfortunately, the only option I have is to tell everyone. Which is embarrassing. They’ll probably say I had internalized homophobia and maybe all those stories with my hookups will come out again.
But there are worse things than embarrassment. The island taught me that. I wasn’t completely sure Cal and I would be rescued. Maybe if Rex hadn’t personally flown down, we wouldn’t have been. I shudder.
I pull out my phone and stare at it.
“Larvik! Bellanti! Come to the locker room!” Coach roars.
We scramble back to the locker room.
“I have a new announcement,” Coach says, his voice gruff. “As you know, the team’s masseuse was rarely here. Some of our players were sneaking into the room to do... non masseuse activities.”
“Seriously?” Troy asks.
Finn and Noah’s faces are way redder than they were before. So is Luke’s.
Huh. I had no idea.
“I shouldn’t have to remind you that the massage room is strictly for massage,” Coach says. “No happy endings.”
“Sounds kind of sad,” Troy says.
“Our new massage therapist starts tomorrow. Please don’t give him a hard time.” Coach’s eyes narrow.
For some reason, he’s looking at me.
Wait. “Is he gay?”
Groans sound. Coach’s eyebrows shoot up. Disappointment flashes on my teammates’ faces.
“That’s none of your business,” Coach says.
“I-I don’t mind!” I stammer. “If he is. Just so you know. I have no problem with that at all.” I sweep my head around. “With anyone who is in a same-sex relationship. Or who might be thinking of one-day having one! Like if Troy decided to fall in love with a man, it would be no big deal.”
Troy’s face reddens. He starts to cough. “Why me?”
