Page 27 of Love On Deck
Casey frames his face with her hands. Her thumbs are soft on his cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Connor. I don’t care who you love. As long as sh—hemakes you happy.” She situates them on the bed and takes his hand. She snorts softly. “That certainly explains the lack of girlfriends. I just thought that between trying to get good grades for a scholarship and being as good as you could at baseball, you just chose not to. Why are you telling me now, bubba?”
Connor looks at the ceiling again and sighs. “I met someone. Someone I like a lot. Someone I want to keep seeing.”
Her eyebrows arch. “Here on the ship? That’s fast.”
“You met Will on this very ship—or one just like it—two years ago. And now you’re getting married.”
Her grip on his hand tightens. “I guess that’s true. But we got lucky both living in Austin. You live in Ardmore, Oklahoma, of all places. The chance of meeting someone else from there has to be astronomical.”
“He lives in Austin.”
“Oh.”
“Where we live isn’t the problem, Casey. The issue is that he’s not in the closet, and he refuses to live that way again. And I would never ask that of anyone.” Connor lets out a deep breath. She’s okay with him being gay. He’s so relieved, he feels wrung out like a wet dish towel. “So. That’s why now.”
“I still don’t follow.”
“He thought you knew I’m gay, but when he found out you didn’t, my coming out was a stipulation of us being together.”
“Ah, gotcha. I can’t say as I blame him.”
“Nor can I.”
“But how can you be out? You’re a professional ball player. Announcing that could be career suicide. Even I know that.”
“Oh, fuck, no, Case—he’s not asking for that. Just that I tell you and Will.”
“God, your language, bubba.” She shakes her head and bumps his shoulder with her own. “So what’s this guy’s name?”
“Andrew.”
“Andrew, huh? Just like—”
Connor arches his eyebrows and tilts his head.
Her eyes go round as baseballs. “You can’t be serious.”
Connor nods and shrugs. “I picked him up in the bar the first night out. I took him back to my cabin and we—”
“Okay.” She lifts a hand. “I don’t need details. Not those kind anyway.”
“Sorry. Aside from being great in bed—”
“Connor. God. TMI.” Her face is about as pink as the watermelon they ate every summer as kids.
Connor laughs. He’s breathless and dizzy and suddenly he wants to tell her everything because he’s had no one to confide in all these years. Maybe if he’d told her ages ago, he could have. Since he hadn’t, they’d have to work up to it. “He’s smart, attractive, funny—all the usual things people look for in a potential partner. He likes baseball.”
Casey rolls her eyes. “Telling me isn’t exactly coming out. How’re you going to date?”
“We’ll figure it out as we go. And I might just come out to the world. Who knows? He just didn’t want things to be awkward at the holidays or to have to hide our relationship from you and Will.”
“Well, I appreciate that.”
The door opens and Will enters, hair damp with sweat and his tee shirt sticking to his torso. “Hey…” His gaze slides between them. “Everything all right?”
“Connor came by to talk.”
Connor stands. “I came to tell Casey that I’m gay, and that Andrew and I have hooked up.”
