Page 41 of Trick Play (Playing the Field #4)
CHAPTER
FORTY
Zeke
Now
Officially dating Micah is by far the best thing I have ever done in my entire life. Better, even, than my Super Bowl wins or previous record-breaking stats. Being Micah’s boyfriend in secret was nice, but being able to flaunt him to my friends, family, and fans is incredible.
I’ve taken Micah to all the events Gael was supposed to attend with me. Jessica was skeptical at first, especially since Gael’s agent was dead set on selling our “romance,” but Micah won her over within the first two minutes of meeting. We’d decided to meet up at a local trendy coffee shop, and while Micah and I were waiting in line to order, a mother of three in front of us was doing her best to juggle her purse and baby carrier while appeasing the slightly older siblings with the fruity lemonades they begged for. She had only fumbled once before Micah stepped in and tapped his cell phone to the register, paying for her drinks. Then, he’d helped carry them to a table as she corralled the kids, thanking him in that flustered way only a mother can fully understand. I’d completed our order while he chatted with the mother, and when I turned with our two drinks in hand, my gaze met Jess waiting patiently in a booth in the back corner. She was wearing a classy, business-style pantsuit and a small grin as she watched Micah with a comforting fondness everyone seems to adopt around him. Then, once we’d joined her at the table, Micah complimented her attire down to the specific collection within whatever expensive couture brand her pantsuit came from, and I knew she was hooked—just like me.
Tahegin and Hendrix were happy for us. At least, I know Gin was. Rix and his constant scowling is still an enigma for me, but Micah assured me that he was supportive. It came out that I’d discovered Micah’s night job and harbored no hard feelings about it other than the fact it took so long to get to where we are now. Tahegin, however, had apparently not been roped in by his boyfriend and took slight offense to the secrecy. The argument—if it could even be called that—lasted a total of sixty seconds in which Gin informed Rix that he was hurt by the omission of truth but that he understands Hendrix’s loyalty to his best friend. He also mentioned that there are secrets between the two of them that Micah and I don’t know—which I have a feeling are almost all sexual and am glad to be in the dark about them—so it all evens out.
My parents were ecstatic, and I think my mom even shared a wedding-inspired Pinterest board with Micah. Seriously, I swear she likes him more than she likes me. I got revenge by texting Micah’s dad some lame weather stat of the day with a “p.s. I’m officially dating your son” attached at the end. Not even five minutes later, his mom called to tell us how she knew it all along.
I don’t think I’ve stopped smiling since. Not when the Allied Players Association became an officially recognized organization in the NFL, thanks to our amazing agents and lawyers. Not at Friday’s red-carpet event, where I debuted my boyfriend and my new organization. Not at Mischief on Saturday as Micah danced onstage in front of countless men who will never know what it’s like to touch, hold, kiss, or cuddle him. Not at night when I hold him in my arms and whisper sappy sweet nothings in his ear that slowly turn dirtier and dirtier until we’re grappling each other to be on top. I spoiled him with designer purses, tops, skirts, and lingerie until he had to start storing things in my guest closet after the one at his apartment filled up and the empty one in my bedroom, reserved for a partner, began to overflow as well.
The past few weeks have been perfect, and we’ve lived in this wonderful bubble of happiness that seems impossible to burst.
Until, like every good thing, it ends up going ass over tits.
? ? ?
Los Angeles Rubies quarterback, Ezekiel “Kiss” Aleks, ditches beloved Hollywood sweetheart Gael Knox, for . . . a man of the night? Anonymous sources have a lot to say about “Mickey.” It’s been confirmed that the effeminate man seen pictured with Ezekiel Aleks on more than several occasions over the past two years and recently declared Aleks’ dating partner is none other than show-boy “Mickey” from local strip club Mischief. Sources say Mickey has been a dancer—and maybe more?—at the club for several years, which begs the question: Does newly reinvented “responsible” Ezekiel Aleks, founder and president of the newly legitimized NFL Allied Players Association, know who he is getting in bed with? Does he know? Does he care? Or has he been made a fool? Either way, it’s one thing to be a queer role model who kisses any fan he meets, but it’s another to allow young, easily influenced kids to look up to a man dating someone who moonlights in near-illegal—possibly fully illegal?—activities. We’re monitoring the situation closely and waiting for responses from both Aleks and the Los Angeles Rubies, who just might be regretting allowing such a scandalous player captain and represent their team.