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Bennett: Would you want to meet my friends?
He didn’t miss a beat in answering, which made me smile. He must have been waiting for me to text him.
Dex: Of course. Just say when.
Bennett: How about right now?
I included a grimacing emoji and a screaming emoji for emphasis.
Dex: Now? It’s short notice, but I think I can probably step away from number crunching for the night. When and where?
I responded with the address of Jock Strap and gave him a rough estimated time we’d be arriving.
Bennett: Let me know when you get there. I’ll meet you in the parking lot so you don’t have to walk in alone.
A half hour later, the team crowded around several tables on the back patio of Jock Strap, laughing, drinking, and celebrating our win. True to his word, when he arrived, Dex texted me from the parking lot and I hurried out to meet him so I could walk him inside. In the parking lot, he kissed me quickly before taking my hand and following me into the sports bar.
“I’m nervous,” he whispered as I guided him through the bar and toward the patio.
I turned to him and gave him what I hoped was a comforting smile. “You’ll be fine. Don’t even worry about it. They’ll love you.”
“And if they don’t?”
“I can’t imagine a world in which that happens, but if they don’t, we’ll figure something out. Promise.”
He nodded. “Thanks.”
I led Dex outside to the tables my friends and I had camped out at, and the group fell quiet as we arrived.
“Guys, this is Dex.” They all waved, and I introduced everyone by name, including Parker’s husband Travis and our newer members, Ethan and Archer.
Dex nodded politely. “Thanks for inviting me to join you all.”
“Yeah, we’re glad to finally meet you. Bennett sure talks about you enough.” Theo laughed and gestured to the seat I’d been at. “Why don’t you two have a seat?”
We did, and a few moments later, the server came by to take our orders. Dex tried to decline, but the table heckled him into ordering a beer, which he politely nursed while the team—mostly led by Jared—continued to analyze our game, despite the fact that we were on a five-game winning streak.
“Tell me about your kickball team,” Dex requested during a lull in the conversation.
That sent Jared into a long monologue about the gay kickball league we were a part of. “And that’s where Out and Kickin’ comes in. We all met right around the time most of us were graduating college, and have been playing together since. There’s the core six of us, and a few who come and go.”
“Like me,” Ethan piped up.
“So you’ve been playing together for eight years or so?”
“I’m the new guy,” said Archer. “I just joined this season. It’s a shitload of fun though.”
“Sounds like it.” Dex sipped his beer.
Theo put his glass down. “You should come see a game sometime. I mean, you know, if Bennett doesn’t mind.”
“I’d love to have you there. I just don’t want you to feel pressured. I know how busy you are.”
Dex shook his head. “I’m not too busy for you. Trust me.”
I smiled, cheeks heating with pleasure as I went back to the nachos, attempting not to give away how much it meant to me he wanted to come to a game. “Thanks. That’s really cool of you.”
After he’d finished his drink, Dex interrupted the idle chatter to announce he had to leave. “It’s been great. Thank you so much for letting me crash your post-game time. I need to get going, though.”
