Page 148 of Hiding in the Outfield

“Hold up. One sec, Chuck. Let me put you on speaker.” He taps his screen. “All right, there we go. Frankie’s here.”

“Obviously.”

Chuck laughs. “Morning, Frankie.”

“Morning, Adonis.”

A dimple flashes in Jackson’s face as he fights his smile.

“So, you wanted me to call to go over how the meetings went?” Jackson fidgets with the sheets, and I rest my hand atop his. Both support for him and me.

“Yes. I met with the GM. She wants to meet with you today before your game and officially welcome you to the team and give her personal vouch of support. They are extremely excited to have you, Jackson. Berkeley is a young team, and they don’t have the budget that a lot of teams have. What they do have is an incredibly smart scouting team who saw your talent being shadowed by a full outfield on the Jetties. I hadn’t even brought up anything personal, and I was getting assurance left and right that they want you for the long haul.”

I squeeze his arm. One that’s stiff as stone, like his entire body has been petrified. Overwhelm is hitting again.

“That’s amazing news,” I say. “Right, Jackie?”

“Yeah,” he says automatically.

“Now, as for you coming out to the team. The words were barely out of my mouth before she made it vehemently clear that Berkeley is an inclusive franchise and the only thing they do not tolerate is intolerance. She has a meeting set up at five tonight for us with the PR department. They’re here to support you in any way you require.”

Jackson lets out a slow breath. My heart is threatening to beat right out of my chest. This is good. This is so, so good for him.

“Damn,” he whispers.

“Yes.” Chuck’s smile is evident in the word. “It went really, really well, Jackson. She does want you—the both of you—to be prepared for this to get out. If possible, it’d be great to have Frankie in on the PR meeting. These decisions all affect him as well.”

“Of course. I’ll be there,” I say quickly and shoot Jackson a reassuring smile.

I think he might be a bit in shock. It’s probably best I’m there just to make sure he doesn’t slither onto the floor into a heap of unconsciousness.

“Excellent. The PR meeting is merely a safety net. If things go public, we’ll have a play-by-play plan to handle anything that comes our way. But otherwise…Jackson, it’s in your hands. However you want to handle it with your teammates is up to you.”

He nods, frowning. “I actually told my captain yesterday after the game.”

My eyebrows fly up. I didn’t see that coming.

“How’d that go?” Chuck asks.

“Good. His brother was hitting on me, and it kind of felt like as good a time as any to put that out there.”

I cock my head and squint at him. “When a queer man is hitting on you, it’s the perfect time to let him know you’re gay and available?”

His lips twitch. “That came out wrong. I mentioned that I’m gay and had a boyfriend waiting for me back at my hotel.”

I kiss his cheek. “Much better, dolcezza.”

“That’s great, Jackson. It’s a huge start that your captain is an ally. The team will look up to him, so hopefully he can shut any hate and negativity down if needed. I do want to note: you don’t have to tell your teammates. If they see you with Frankie, they can find out that way.”

Jackson’s blue gaze meets mine. “All right. I’ll think on that.”

“Sounds good. If you want any advice on that end, I’m happy to give you my professional opinion. Just holler or shoot me a text or email. I’ll see you both after the game. I’d like for the three of us to chat briefly before we meet with PR.”

Jackson nods—which is extremely unhelpful.

I lean over. “Yes, we’ll see you then.”

A chuckle rings through the speakers, then cuts off. “Oh! I almost forgot—Jackson, you obviously get comped tickets. There’s a reserved family section behind the dugout, and they also have a private suite. I can’t make the game because I need to catch up on some of my other clients. But if Frankie wants to attend, I made sure his name is already on your list.”