AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Zachary scrubbed both hands over his short hair and sighed. “I suppose that’s up to Coach.”
“They won’t ask you to leave.” Lucy sounded certain, but I couldn’t help the doubt creeping in. “It’s no different than my advocacy. What we do in our time is not relevant. I know you want them to approve, but you can still play even if they don’t.”
“Unless your dad says it’s causing too much controversy.” I had to get everything out in the open. We all needed to take a cold, hard look at the truth coming our way. We were about to challenge society in a way I wasn’t sure they were prepared for.
“We’ll talk to Dad and get his thoughts, then talk to the team.” Lucy feathered her fingers through my hair. She hadn’tlet me go this whole time, and I loved her for keeping me grounded even as I showed her all the ugliness. Her head tipped to the side and she gave me a tiny smile. “So, what do you say? Are you willing to stand up in front of the world and tell them what we’ve been doing?”
33
LUCY
Were we really doing this? I sucked in a sharp breath and let it out in a rush. Yes. Yes, we were. A united front. We were going to tell the world we loved each other, and they could all go fuck themselves. In a nicer way, of course. Nerves jangled in my gut and I pushed them down before my hands started trembling. The press conference was scheduled in an hour. The reporters would meet us at the rink.
In the meantime, we had to tell the rest of the team.
Lennox was right. The team deserved to hear about this first, and directly from us.
“It’s up to them,” Dad said from behind me. His hand settled on my shoulder, and he looked Lennox, Justin, and Zachary in the eye. “Tell them the truth and let them decide. If they want you off the team, we’ll talk about a contingency plan.” A tiny smile teased one side of his mouth upward. “Trust your team.”
Lennox nodded and the tightness in his shoulders eased. “Coach is right. We know these guys. All we have to do is go in there and be honest.”
Honesty was the best policy, but it was also the hardest. Some people lied as easily as they brushed their teeth. Wecouldn’t do that here. We’d tell the truth and see if it tore the team apart.
“I made a good team.” Dad slapped each man on the shoulder. “I talked big about what would happen if any one of you made a move on Lucy. I said it would destroy the team. That wasn’t my real fear. My fear was that she’d get hurt again.” He eyed Zachary a little harder than the other two. “Even though last time wasn’t your fault.”
Zachary’s lips flattened into a thin line. “I’ll never regret that night, but I do regret not finding Lucy sooner.”
Everything could have been different.
“Let’s do this.” Justin rolled to his toes and back to his heels while rubbing his hands together.
I’d known he would be the one most excited about this. Justin almost seemed to live for the thrill of it all. I didn’t mind right now. He could take the lead with the team.
Dad nodded. “Everyone is in the locker room. I told them I had an announcement and that Lucy would be coming, so they should be dressed. Want me to check?”
“Yes.” I barked out a short laugh. I did not need to talk to a bunch of half-naked men about my love life with their friends and teammates.
Chuckling, Dad opened the door and stepped inside. He waved us in behind him.
“Ready?” Lennox took my hand and laced our fingers together.
I squeezed tight and nodded. “Let’s do this.”
We walked into the room as a united front.
Every head turned our way and fear snaked down my spine as they all took us in. I didn’t know if they’d figure it out right away or not, but Justin jumped into the fray without hesitation.
“Alright, guys. Here’s the deal.” He moved to my left and draped his arm around my shoulders.
Zachary stood behind me, his tall stature offering him a view over my head and a place for me to lean if I needed the extra support. Damn it. If I was this shaken up now, how was I going to handle the press conference? I fortified myself with a sharp breath and focused. I would do this. I had to. We all deserved to have the love we wanted.
Justin’s hand moved up and down on my arm, and I hooked my arm around his waist. “We ignored Coach’s orders to stay away from Lucy. We’re all three in love with her, and she’s okay with that.” He spoke with a deep passion filling his voice and didn’t hesitate for a minute. “We have what’s called a polyamorous relationship. Coach has decided that he can live with it. What about you?”
Shocked expressions met Justin’s question. A few of the men grinned and elbowed each other, which was a better sign than outright disgust or anger.
“Why’d you bother telling us?” A man off to the left asked.
“Because we’re holding a press conference later today. Thanks to my work in advocacy for women’s sport, there’s a lot of drama going on in the papers about me.” I lifted my voice and kept it collected but firm. “We’re going to go public with our relationship, but it only seemed fair to tell all of you first.”
