Page 33 of The Poster Boy (Love The Game #3)

Jay

Six Months Later

“ H ow do I look?” Marek fussed with his tie in the mirror, trying to straighten the knot. Walking up behind him, I reached around and batted his hands away. I fixed the knot of his tie for him and kissed the shell of his ear. Our gazes met in the mirror.

“You look amazing.”

“Why am I so nervous? It’s not like I haven’t given a million of these interviews before.”

“Because it’s a big deal. You’re allowed to be nervous.” I turned Marek around, and I cupped his face in my hands. “You’ll be great.”

“Says the guy who hated me because of interviews like this.”

“Says the guy who hated himself for being a chickenshit and took it out on you.” I pressed a kiss against Marek’s mouth to stop him from replying to me. It was the truth, even if it was uncomfortable. “Thankfully, I got over myself.”

I still wasn’t out to the rest of the world, but I was working on it.

The league had been made aware of it. There weren’t a lot of out players, even ones like me who weren’t out to everyone.

The closet in sports was a deep one, and if being in the closet was something someone wanted, there was nothing wrong with that.

But I had long ago started to realize that people didn’t want to be in the closet.

People didn’t want to be hated for who they were.

Hockey players just wanted to play hockey without all the other stuff cluttering up their headspace.

Marek slid his arms around my waist. “Thank you for coming with me.”

“As if you could’ve kept me away.”

“People might guess that you’re here with me.”

“They’d guess correctly.” I still had a lot of doubts about coming out. A lot of fear to unpack around it, but men like Marek showed me day after day that it was okay to be out and play a sport. It was okay to live your life the way it made sense for you.

“What if they ask questions about you?”

“Then you answer them. I trust that you know what you’re doing.”

“Did you see that I’m on a panel with Camden Crawford?”

“I did. In fact, I googled the people you’ll be up there with, and I think we need to start watching rugby. They definitely wear less gear than a hockey player.”

Marek laughed and pulled me closer to him. “Did we go into the wrong sport?”

“Fuck no. Ice is life. I was just saying those shorts… those thighs. How have we not discovered rugby before now?”

The timer on my phone went off, telling me that it was time to get Marek out of the hotel room and down to the ballroom where they’d set up for the panel .

He let out a sigh. “Do I have to go?”

“Yes, you do. You’ll be fine. And remember, after this, there’s a vacation with our name on it. Just you and me, and a cabin with a hot tub and no one else.”

“Heaven.” Marek kissed me again, and I could feel the slight smile on his lips as he pressed them to mine. “You’re good to me.”

“I plan to be good to you for a long time. Get used to it.” My phone chimed again with another alarm. “That was the final bell. We really have to go now.”

Marek pulled away and smoothed his hand down his front, straightening his tie. “Okay. I’m ready.”

Downstairs, I was ushered to a seat in the crowd while Marek was taken to the platform with the other speakers.

If I hadn't googled them ahead of time, I wouldn’t have known who any of them were.

It struck me then how important things like this were.

These guys were all out and proud, and though Marek hadn’t come out willingly, he’d embraced the chaos that had come with it.

It upended his life, but he’d managed to land on his feet.

With a little help. He still struggled with things off the ice. He still lived by the chime of a phone alarm and relied on housekeepers and meal deliveries to keep his life from falling into shambles the minute he stepped off the ice.

I hoped that we could soon share those costs together.

There was no reason for Marek to keep living apart from me.

I wanted him with me all the time. I loved having him around all the time, and I’d even started to join him on his volunteer days.

I loved how he’d find a rink or a game of street hockey and just jump in.

He’d spend time signing autographs and talking to the kids.

And even the most aloof kid, the coolest, quietest, angriest kid, couldn’t resist his charm .

The panel opened with introductions of each of the players and some basic facts about what position they played in their sport.

And then the questions started. The first one was directed at Marek, and I watched the way he furrowed his brow as he concentrated on every word of the question lobbied at him.

“It’s no secret that you were outed. How did that affect your life, and do you wish things would have happened differently?”

Marek smirked. “I’ll say right off the bat that wishing things were different doesn’t change the reality of what happened.

So I don’t bother making wishes like that.

Being outed was difficult. It was horrible.

It could have been dangerous for me like it’s dangerous for a lot of people.

It would have been nice to be able to come out in my own time, even though my experience with that is just as uncomfortable.

Coming out has always been a catalyst for change in my life. ”

Marek had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand as he talked about how he first came out and his parents disowned him.

He praised Kelsey, his sister, who took him in after and made sure he got to stay in the sport.

All of this was common knowledge now, but Marek acknowledged her support and sacrifices whenever he could.

“I have a great team behind me. They’re a good bunch of guys, and I’m one of the luckiest players in the league.”

The questions then shifted to the other players.

The attractive rugby player next to him, Camden Crawford, talked about his own struggles in his sport and his own triumphs.

His team was in the US for some reason, and he was happy he’d been able to make time to speak at the panel while he was over here .

It felt like the panel dragged on forever, but that could have been my impatience to have Marek alone.

Then the inevitable question came up.

“Marek, are you seeing anyone?”

Marek should never play poker. He blushed and ducked his head a little as he leaned in toward the mic. “Maybe.”

Very nonsuspicious of him.

The rugby player next to him laughed, which started the rest of the room.

“Is your boyfriend out?” the reporter asked when the laughter died down enough to be heard.

“If I had a boyfriend, I’m sure he’d be out to the people who mattered.” In an ocean of onlookers, Marek’s gaze met mine and softened. “And if I had a boyfriend, and he wasn’t out, I hope that I’d be patient with him and that he’d forgive me if I wasn’t.”

It was the perfect answer.

I didn’t know when I’d be ready to be out to the whole world, but I did know that when I was, Marek would be there next to me.

The End.