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I pass the ball to him. Josiah bounces it a few times before making an impossible shot from a few feet behind the three-point line. He steps closer to me. "Things are about to change for you, my friend."
"They already have." I motion toward the man dressed in all black standing at the edge of the court. "Meet Charge. My newly assigned bodyguard."
"Charge?" Josiah frowns. "That's his name?"
"I'm assuming. The guy doesn't seem too keen on chit-chatting, so I haven't gotten a chance to clarify that yet."
"Have there been any more threats?"
I shake my head. "Not this week."
We're silent for a moment. "You probably won't be able to come here anymore," he says softly.
There's noprobablyabout it. The movie studio has already added it to the list of things I can't do. I just haven't worked up the courage to tell my best friend that. No time like the present, I suppose. I turn to face him. "Today is going to have to be my last visit here." I sigh. "Movie studio's stupid orders."
A reassuring hand grips my shoulder. "I figured this was coming, and I totally understand. You've helped out so much over the years, and I'm grateful for everything you've done. The kids are going to miss you, though."
"Yeah. I'm going to miss them, too."
"But hey, don't think about that. Focus on all the good things ahead of you. I am thrilled for you."
I can tell he is, but it still doesn't quell the tug of emptiness in my gut. It's not just that I won't be able to come to the center anymore. My whole life is about to change. Completely.
"This is it, man. You finally got your big break," he continues enthusiastically. "And you did it without compromising who you are."
"Yeah, and it only took me seventeen years to achieve it," I reply dryly.
"That doesn't matter. You stuck with it. Persevered through the hard times. You never gave up. That's going to inspire millions of kids, people, all over the world. You didn't hide who you are or take the easy route."
"Would it have been easier, though?" I challenge. "Staying in the closet and having to live a double life is its own type of torture."
Josiah's expression clouds over. "That is very true."
When I arrived in LaLa Land all those years ago—a tall, lanky, and clueless Aussie kid with stars in his eyes and dreams of making it as an actor—I knew one thing for sure. I wasn't going to lie about my sexuality.
I was ready to make it as an out and proud gay actor.
Unfortunately, Hollywood in the late nineties wasn't as ready.
For seventeen years, I worked my butt off and sacrificed everything. Friendships. Romance. Having a life. My whole existence was about one thing and one thing only—making it big.
Being publicly out about my sexuality meant I missed out on so many roles I lost count. I scraped by on bit parts in TV shows, tiny background roles in movies, a few cringeworthy PSAs, and some even cringeworthier TV commercials.
Until finally, I got a break. The role of a lifetime.
Zak Steel.
It's James Bond meetsMission Impossible'sEthan Hunt…but, you know, gay as fuck.
The movie opens in less than a month.
It'll be the first major studio action film with an openly out lead character played by an openly out actor.
I'm not saving lives or doing anything remotely as important as Josiah, but the plan—depending on box office receipts—is to turnZak Steelinto a big movie franchise to rival the Marvel movies.
Which means queer representation on a massive, global scale. And thatdoesmatter.
The downside of visibility, though, is attracting unwanted attention. Since the trailer premiered two months ago, I've received threats (hence my new friend, Charge), certain media outlets are already running with the bullshit 'Hollywood's latest attempt to brainwash kids and turn them gay' narrative, and a very lovely person who is extremely satisfied with their own life has started an online petition to boycott the movie.
