Page 63 of Crew
“Not at all,” he replied.
“I didn’t know what you all were drinking, so I figured this was a safe bet.” Gage held up a six-pack of a local IPA.
“Beer always works.” Crew chuckled. “I’ve got a variety in the fridge too.”
Once we all had a drink in hand, our group moved into the living room. Crew sat next to me, but not too close. We didn’t necessarily feel the need to keep our distance, but this was all still new to us.
“I guess we should just tell you why we invited you over.” Crew took a long sip of his beer and then stretched his arm along the couch behind me. “Knox and I are together.”
Matthewson cracked a smile. “Kind of had a feeling since you two seem attached at the hip.”
“And the way you looked at him in the hallway on Knox’s first day. I never looked at my former teammates like that. Well, except for this guy.” Parker squeezed Rockland’s hand.
“We didn’t want to make a big deal out of it,” Crew explained. “But we figured it was time to let you guys know. Especially if the media picks up on it.”
“Does anyone else know?” Parker asked.
“Not that we’re aware of, although it’s obvious now that we haven’t been as sly as we thought. As far as me being gay, that’s never been a secret.”
Matthewson looked at Crew. “What about you?”
He let out a sigh. “I’ve never told anyone I’m bi, so it might end up getting more attention than we intend.”
“And you’re okay with coming out?” Gage addressed Crew, concern lacing his tone.
“Yeah. I’m not going to do a press conference or anything like that. But if people catch on, that’s fine. Hopefully, they’ll keep their opinion to themselves if they have anything negative to say.”
Rockland rested his hand on Parker’s knee. “A couple of guys acted like dicks when our relationship became public knowledge, but way more people in the sports world had zero problems with us.”
That was a relief. I’d dealt with my fair share of homophobes since coming out when I was a teenager, but I wanted to shield Crew from that shit if at all possible.
“You might get a couple of comments here and there,” Parker added. “But it won’t be tolerated in our clubhouse. I’ve made it a priority to build a team that’s inclusive, and I intend to keep it that way.”
“We appreciate the support. It means a lot to us,” Crew replied. “We’re going to talk to our families first so they don’t find out through the media, and then see how things play out after that.”
“Just one more thing.” Parker leaned back in his seat. “Keep any relationship drama out of the locker room. If I end up having to play peacemaker between you two, I’m going to make it super awkward for all of us,” he teased.
“Got it.” I snorted.
They stayed for a little while longer, discussing what we expected in the last few weeks of our season.
When the door finally closed behind them, I grabbed Crew’s hand and pulled him to me.
“That went well, don’t you think?” I trailed a line of kisses down his neck.
“It did,” he breathed. “I have to admit, it feels good knowing we won’t be sneaking around anymore.”
“You know what else feels good?” I waggled my eyebrows.
He barked out a laugh. “Let me guess. It involves us getting naked?”
“Can’t think of anything better. Can you?”
26
CREW
I hadn’t beennervous telling Parker, Matthewson, and their husbands about my relationship with Knox. I knew they’d accept it. The only hiccup I’d anticipated would have been because we were teammates, and keeping the team and the relationship separate could get tricky. But seeing as Parker and Rockland had been teammates when they first got together, I also knew it would be hypocritical of them. I just felt as though telling them was the right thing to do because the more days Knox and I spent together, the harder it was for me not to touch him in public, or just have the biggest grin on my face when he was in the room.
