“Tell Will we said hello and congratulations on winning. We’re going to go get dinner. I assume you’ll stay with Will, but text us if you want to meet up?”
I nod. “Sounds good, thanks for coming with me to watch.”
“Of course, go get your man!” Josie encourages, as she and Carrie get up to leave.
Porter
Coming!
I walk down the bleachers and see a bunch of people standing around one area that I assume is the locker room, so I text Will as I join them.
Porter
I think I’m right outside. Should I wait here or?
What feels like only moments after I send the text, Will is opening the door with a huge smile lighting up his face. “Hey, babe! I’m so glad you came. Come in here for a sec, I want to show you off to the guys.”
He grabs my hand and leads me into the locker room of half-dressed athletes, and my stomach drops.What the fuck is he doing?
“Listen up, assholes, I need to tell you all something,” he shouts, still holding my hand.
Okay, looks like Will is going for another dramatic coming-out moment in front of a bunch of his teammates. Neat.
Hopefully this one goes as well as the speech in class, it’s kind of insane that only yesterday I thought we had no chance of a future and now I’m walking into his locker room as his boyfriend.Will loves me,I remind myself for at least the hundredth time today. I didn’t say it back yet. Honestly the shift from unrequited crush to boyfriend has been a lot to wrap my head around, but I know I’ll tell him soon. I think I’ve loved him for a while now. I was just trying my best not to.
I don’t have to hold myself back anymore.
Will clears his throat, and I try to focus on him, but I’m a little nervous with all the jocks in here. I know I’m stereotyping again, and Will definitely proved not all athletes are homophobic, but my nerves are not logic-based.
“’Sup man?” one of his teammates asks. Everyone slowlystops their conversations and what they’re doing, turning to look at Will and me. He’s still holding my hand, so I’m sure some of them are putting some of the pieces together. It’s obvious they respect him. Is that going to be enough?
“This’ll be quick,” he assures them. “Some of you know I’ve been hanging out with Porter.” He smiles at me, and I can see a few of the guys nodding. “Well, he’s my boyfriend now. You guys are my friends, so I want you all to know and to meet him if you’d like. I don’t expect anyone here to be an asshole about it… but if me being in a committed relationship with a man makes you feel weird, that’s your problem to deal with. I’m still the same person I’ve always been.”
I hold my breath as I wait for any sort of response. I never dared to imagine a moment like this would ever happen—that Will would so publicly claim me. Twice. It makes me so fucking happy, even if I’m also so nervous about the response. In the end though, even if these guys don’t react as well as Will is hoping, we’ll get through it together. He’s assured me he doesn’t want to hide what we are, and him doing this in front of everyone just proves it all over again.
A few seconds pass while they process before someone lets out a low whistle.
A guy mutters, “Cool,” before turning back to his locker.
Then, “Never thought I’d see Will Carter in a relationship.”
“Okay,” the teammate who asked what was up tells him, clapping him on the shoulder. “Good for you, dude.”
“Happy for you, man,” a very tall man adds.
Holy shit. I think they might all be okay with it.
“So does this mean we can finally be friends?” one of the guys closest to us asks hopefully.
I bite my lip to stop myself from laughing. “I’m guessing you might be Cam?”
He beams. “Yeah! You know who I am? That’s great. Will’s been very insistent that he keep you all to himself.”
I realize everyone else around us has gone back to getting ready or to their previous conversations. I know that there’s a chance people are keeping any negative reactions to themselves, but I’m beyond happy no one came at either of us with homophobic remarks.
Across the room, I catch one of his teammates watching me. He’s quiet, expression unreadable, jaw tight. He nods slowly and looks away.I wonder what that’s about.
Will hurries to finish getting dressed. His hair is wet, so I’m assuming he snuck in a shower before I made it to the locker room. He properly introduces me to his best friends: Cam, who I’d met first, Nathan, who was the one staring at me, and Decker. I’m pretty sure that’s a last name, or at least I hope it is.
