AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Then there were his new teammates. They’d gone out of their way to welcome him. Even some of his old teammates had reached out, expressing how sorry they were for the way he, Cole, and Ava had been treated.
“Thank you for coming,” Hayden announced. He tilted his head, motioning for the three of them to leave. They filed out to claps on shoulders and a few ruffles of Liam’s hair. “On behalf of the team, I’m reiterating our press release and extending it to Mr Masters—we are all 100 percent supportive of both Bryce and Liam and their partners. They’re brilliant players, but more importantly, they’re part of our football family and they matter to us. We don’t believe in paying lip service to equality. We believe in living it. Please stay tuned for an announcement in relation to LGBTQIA initiatives the team is undertaking to demonstrate our ongoing commitment.”
Bryce followed Liam through the door in a daze, beyond relieved that the press conference was over, but also riding a high that he’d been able to express himself so genuinely. Voices surrounded them—the team filing into the room. The volume reached a crescendo, until he heard “Excuse me,” in a sweet voice. It was Adelaide, pushing through the swell of men surrounding them. “I’m so damn proud of you, Lee,” she said, wrapping him up in a hug. King was there, too, taking both his partners into his arms and kissing Liam’s forehead.
“I knew it!” someone shouted at Liam and King, as Cole nudged his shoulder, brushing the backs of their hands together and Ava curled hers around his forearm, squeezing his arm before letting him go. Bryce knew they were respecting his boundaries, unsure whether they could engage in any form of PDA now they were out.
But Bryce had done enough worrying about it to last a lifetime. He needed them, needed their grounding touch and their love. If he was going to be out to the media—and no doubt the subject of many more photos—he was going to be himself in front of his new teammates too.
Bryce wrapped his arms around both Cole’s and Ava’s shoulders and pulled them tightly against him, breathing in their familiar scents and taking comfort from their touch. Standing there in a three-way embrace, their arms curled around one another’s backs, Cole nuzzled his face into the crook of Bryce’s neck, exhaling slowly.
“You’re so brave,” he breathed. “I could never do that. I’m in awe of you.”
Warmth flared through his chest, and he held onto both of them a little tighter. He couldn’t believe Cole was saying he was proud of him when what he’d been through paled in comparison to Cole’s coming out. All he’d done was do a damn interview.
“I love you both. I’m sorry the journos were dicks.”
“We’re having an impromptu barbecue at our place if you want to join us,” King offered, siding up next to them. “Liam thought it might be good to spend some time together with the team.”
Bryce looked to his partners, grinning when they nodded. “Yeah, we can come for a few hours. Cole and Ava’s flight home isn’t until later tonight.”
“You staying with your parents until you can get a place here?”
“Yeah.” Bryce nodded, pursing his lips. “Not sure what I’ll do yet though.”
“I’ve got the perfect place for you. Little furnished granny flat above our friends’ garage. Sweet spot near the beach, and garage parking too. I’ll hook you up with them.”
Twenty-one
Ava
I
t was the first night they’d spent apart in months. Ava hated it. She was comfortable lying in Cole’s arms, but she missed Bryce’s big body behind her. She missed his playful bouncing on the bed when they hopped in, and the laughter that seemed to light them up when he was near.
He was their sunshine, the bright spark in their day.
They’d facetimed Bryce, talking through their options for the future. Now that his playing contract was sorted, they had the breathing space to figure out where Ava and Cole would be long-term. Cole had asked the ninety-nine-dollar question: “Do we need to stay in Sydney?”
Ava hadn’t hesitated, knowing in her gut that she wanted them to be together. They just needed to find a way to do it without losing too much money.
Bryce had started to drift, eventually falling asleep. The day had finally taken its toll on him, and it was as if the sun had set when his breathing had finally evened out. “He’s exhausted, the poor bugger,” Cole murmured.
“I don’t blame him. Today was crazy, and we were just spectators.”
“Yup.”
Ava snuggled into Cole and sighed. “Are you okay after everything that’s gone down? We’ve all been focussing on Bryce, but you were in those pictures too.”
Cole grumbled under his breath, and Ava couldn’t help but smile. These last few days had seen the return of Cole as a hissing cat, but even with it, he was still so different. A year had changed him. He still wasn’t a fan of people in general, but the only ones who got his hackles up had hurt or upset Ava or Bryce. “I’m fine.”
Ava propped herself up on her elbow, looking down at her lover. His dark eyes pierced into her with their intensity, but there was a melancholy there, a hurt that Ava wanted to scoop up in her arms and protect him from. She brushed her thumb over his bare chest and took solace in the steady beat of his heart under her palm. “Hey, it’s okay to be upset, to feel angry or even violated. Someone was spying on you,” Ava whispered.
He curled his hand around hers and nodded, slowly blowing out a breath. “I feel dirty. Not because of what Bryce and I did.” He looked at her with wide eyes, pleading with her to understand.
She did. Nodding and smiling gently at him, Ava pressed a kiss to his chest, encouraging him to continue.
“I’d been teasing him. I wanted it so bad. I was completely on edge, and he knew.” Cole smiled wistfully, the sadness in his eyes never leaving. “He made me feel so good. He looked after me, gave me everything I needed and more. Every time he sank into me, he did that thing with his hips.” Cole shivered and Ava didn’t miss the way his breathing hitched.
