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Corwin
The four of us are spread out across Troy’s New Jersey hotel room. Nigel and I are sitting on the floor and Lawson is with Troy on the bed, when someone knocks on the door. Troy vaults off the bed and is across the room in two strides, throwing it open to reveal a smiling Sam. Troy takes a step back and allows him to enter, the door clicking closed behind them as they embrace. I look away, giving them some privacy. Beside me, Nigel leans his shoulder against mine.
“Hi, guys.” Sam says to the room at large, and we respond with a chorus of greetings. Lawson slides off the bed and into the desk chair, swinging his feet up onto the table and leaning back, hands behind his head.
“How was the flight?” He asks.
“Not bad.” Sam replies, taking a seat on the edge of Troy’s bed and waiting for Troy to sit beside him before resting a hand on his leg. “How are you feeling?”
Lawson grunts, frowning. “I feel fine. I could play.”
“No,” I cut in, sharply, “you couldn’t. We don’t need you separating your shoulder again.”
Lawson rolls his eyes, raising his hands in surrender. Next to Sam, Troy ducks his head to hide his grin.
“I hear we’re going to dinner.” Sam says to Nigel and I. Troy beams, and Lawson’s scowl deepens.
“Hey, I wasn’t invited to dinner.” He protests, before I can answer.
“That’s because you don’t have a boyfriend.” Troy explains.
“I could get a boyfriend.” We all stare at him in silence, and he shrugs. “Not like I haven’t already been wondering what all the fuss is about.”
“Oh my god.” Nigel mumbles, leaning his cheek against my shoulder. I press my lips to the top of his head, heart beating sporadically. Only friends in the room and yet even this small amount of PDA makes me nervous. When I glance around, nobody is watching us and I relax slightly. Nigel catches my eye, smiling softly.Only friends here.
“Yeah,” I tell Sam, and Troy smiles at me, “we’re in for dinner. You guys have a place in mind?”
“The perfect place. It’ll be a little bit of a drive, but nobody will bother us there.”
“We should go next Sunday.” Troy suggests.
“Not giving me a whole lot of time to find a boyfriend.” Lawson muses, and Troy chucks a pillow at him.
We pass the rest of the afternoon lounging in Troy’s room until Lawson is called away to see the trainer; Nigel tilts his head toward the door, questioningly, and I take the hint.
“We’ll give you guys some space, head over to my room.” I hop up and offer a hand to Nigel, helping him to his feet. He groans, dramatically.
“You good, grandpa?” Troy asks in mock concern.
“Yeah, yeah.” Nigel’s knees pop as he throws an arm over my shoulders and we walk toward the door. Behind us, Sam murmurs something to Troy, too low for the words to be heard across the room. Before we step into the hall, Nigel pulls his arm away and I shoot him a regretful grimace. One day, perhaps, there won’t be any reason to hide.
???
The end of the road trip leaves us exhausted and rejuvenated in equal measure; the playoffs loom, and our standings look more promising with every win we tuck into our belts. As we deplane, Lawson peels off to speak to Coach and I’m left walking with Nigel and Troy. I eye Troy, who was unusually quiet on the plane and hasn’t spoken as we’ve walked toward our vehicles. He’s biting his lip, eyes forward.
“You okay?” I ask, but he doesn’t acknowledge the question. I nudge him with my elbow, gently. “Troy? Are you alright?”
“Oh, yeah, I’m fine.” He replies, and Nigel and I exchange a look. He doesn’t sound fine. Before he can get into his Jeep, I grip his bicep, holding him back.
“Troy.” He’s drumming the fingers on his other hand against his thigh. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
“Nothing’s wrong. I’m just…” He takes a deep breath in, closing his eyes. When he speaks again, it comes out in one breathless rush. “I’m going to ask Sam to marry me.”
“Holy shit.” Nigel smiles, clapping him on the shoulder. “Good for you. Tonight?”
“Yes. Well, no. I don’t know. Should I do it tonight?” Troy’s voice rises and his already fair complexion turns ashen. I adjust my hand so I’m gripping his elbow. He looks like he might faint.
“Troy, do you need to sit down?”
