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“He’s alright, I guess.”
“He’s into guys, right?”
Cali’s eyes snapped to mine. “Maybe. Why do you ask?”
“I think he asked Lou to marry him.”
He looked at me surprised. “Your Lou?”
“Yea,” I said with a look that said how unhappy I was about it.
“Damn. Alright. Did you want to go mess him up?”
That wasn’t a response I was expecting.
“I wasn’t thinking that. But it does sound tempting,” I said with a laugh. I wasn’t sure why, but what he said had made me feel better. “What do you know about him?”
Cali thought. “Rich guy. Transferred from Nashville.”
“He transferred from Nashville?” I asked knowing that despite East Tennessee’s string of championships thanks to Nero and his brother Cage, Nashville was a much more prestigious football program.
“Yeah. He said he liked what we had going on here.”
I thought about that. Last year Nero had proclaimed his love for his boyfriend Kendall on ESPN and then led the team to the national title. The championships before that were thanks to Nero’s brother Cage who hadn’t hidden it when he fell in love with his boyfriend Quin.
“How is he on the field?” I asked knowing why he had transferred.
“He’s our starting quarterback. He’s not as good as Mr. Rucker. But he’s okay.”
I smiled.
“He’s not your coach anymore. You can call him Cage.”
Cali didn’t respond.
“If you’re gonna join us when we hang out, you can’t call him Mr. Rucker. You realize that, right?” I teased.
Cali turned red. He might have looked like a new person, but he was the same respectful, small-town boy inside. I was going to have to look out for him. Without someone helping you through the transition, East Tennessee University could mess you up. I had been lucky to have Nero, Quin, and most importantly, Lou.
Cali and I fell into silence as I considered what I would say to Lou. I wasn’t gonna beat around the bush. I was just gonna say it.
‘Lou, I love you. I always have. And I want us to be together. Lou, I love you. I always have. And I want us to be together.’
I rehearsed the words until the heat from them didn’t make my head want to explode. It took a while but when it was time to meet Lou, I was ready.
“Good luck,” Cali said even though I hadn’t told him what I was about to do.
“Thanks,” I replied not asking what he knew.
Looking into the mirror before I left, I stared into the eyes of the shaggy-haired guy peering back. Was there any reason for Lou to choose me over the rich, square-jawed quarterback who had asked to marry him? If there was, I didn’t see it.
But Lou had to know that no one would love him like I would. I would do whatever it took to make him happy. Who else could say that? Lou had to know that that was true.
Crossing campus and approaching Commons’ big metal doors, I entered heading up a half flight of stairs to the study hall. Lou and I met here a lot. When we were in the same class, we came here to study together. When we weren’t, we came to pretend to study while Lou told me about his latest date. I hadn’t known there were so many guys who dated guys in the world much less in East Tennessee.
Spotting him across the room on the couch, I headed over. It was our usual spot. It allowed us to get close enough to whisper without disturbing others.
My heart clenched looking at him. My god was he beautiful. He wasn’t a big guy but he made up for it in personality. His apple cheeks and puckish smile always made him seem like he was having fun, even when he wasn’t. And his lightly-tipped dark hair was just long enough to run your fingers through and tug when the moment was right.
