Page 43 of Finders Keepers
“The Locomotives signed me because I’m gay.”
A long silence ensued and then, “I’m sorry, what? Are you shitting me?” Her voice echoed with disbelief.
“That’s gross, too. And no.”
“What the hell?”
“Right? Apparently once the word got out Portland was looking to trade me, the Locomotives had me investigated. Weren’t deterred by those fucking pictures. They want to affect change, they said, and needed a presence in the locker room.” He laughed again. “Well, they got one. Jesus Christ.” He swiped a hand down his face.
“How’d you find this out?”
“By fucking being that presence in the locker room. You know Tomlinson, the wunderkind D-man?”
“Yeah.”
“He’s a real piece of shit. He trash-talked Wesley last week, and I threatened him if he talked that way in front of me again. Well, we had a scrum yesterday and afterward, in the dressing room, guess who started spouting bullshit about gays?”
“Um, Tomlinson?” Amusement laced her tone.
“Gee, how’d you guess? So I jacked him up, I mean physically. Right up against his stall. The other guys were stunned. You know as well as I do that there’s a players’ code. High on the list is that new guys stay in their lanes. And I sure as hell didn’t.”
“Oh my God, were you fined or what?”
“Called up to the executive office and given—drum roll, please—a slap on the wrist. A letter in my player file and a promise from me, quote-unquote, that I won’t do it again.”
“What the hell?”
“Right? No, they want to change the culture, top down and bottom up, so I’m the guy in the room.” He kept silent about Montgomery and Boudreaux, of course. First of all, that was classified info. Second of all, he’d never out someone.
“So, like, keep an eye on that guy and call him out?”
“Pretty much, yeah. And get this—they don’t care if I date men.”
“Really?”
Nate snorted. “Yup. Said they weren’t the relationship police.”
“Oh, my God. That’s great.”
“If I wanted to come out, it is. Which I’m not sure about. There’s a guy in Portland out to the team, but he’s in a committed relationship, and he and his partner keep it pretty quiet. I don’t know that the league as a whole really knows.
“And I really don’t know how the rest of the guys here feel about queers in the dressing room. Nader and PawPaw seemed to like Wesley, but accepting gays in general and having them in the room are two different things.” Thoughts raced through his mind.
“Oh, and get this— After the official meeting with the brass, I had a one-on-one with the captain. He basically said that the whole team was glad someone finally called Tommy on his bullshit.”
“You’re kidding?”
“Nope.” Nate waited for the automatic gate to his building to open and rolled into the parking garage.
“Therearegays in the room somewhere. More than you realize. You’re a prime example.”
“No, I know, percentages and all that shit. But no one’s talking, and for good reason. But until I get a read on the rest of my new teammates, I’ll just have to lie like a rug. Say my heart was broke back in Oregon when I left and they’ll leave me be for a while.”
Which wasn’t a lie. Only the team had broken his heart and not a romantic partner. But no one would look past the surface of his words.
“What about Wesley?”
“Speaking of Wesley, I’m home. Other than that, I’m still pondering. As stupid as this sounds, he fills something in me. I’ve felt like a complete person since he’s been staying with me, and it feels real fucking good, Claire. But I don’t know if I’m ready to be the poster boy for You Can Play.”
