Chapter 28TheoAsher
Theo
Asher and I sat in a chair looking at our reflection on the phone. He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to tame his red mane.
“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Asher asked. “I don’t want to pressure you. You don’t have to do it with me—this is something I can do alone.”
I was all for it, and I was so freaking proud of Asher for suggesting the idea. It showed how far he’d come since he moved into my family’s house. Asher went from being terrified of talking about his sexuality to getting ready to post a video about our scandal on TikTok.
“I love the idea. This is our chance to speak out about what happened.” When Asher presented the idea to me, he positioned it as a way for us to take back the narrative. There were so many rumors floating around online, and I knew Asher was furious over the gossip that we’d hit on our teammates.
I was more interested in just giving him the opportunity to be loud and proud about who he was.
No more hiding, I wanted Asher to love himself as much as I loved him.
The video would be a chance for him to publicly speak truthfully about himself.
It was a major step on his journey to self-acceptance.
When I talked about the idea to my sisters, Roxy asked why I was so comfortable with my sexuality.
“It’s not that I don’t think you should be!” she frantically added. “It’s just… I don’t know. This is so new for us. You went from being a typical jock to this enlightened bisexual overnight. It’s just surprising.”
I didn’t know how to answer her at the time. It took a minute for me to process the question and realize for myself that I’d always loved Asher. From the moment I saw him, I wanted him. I just didn’t know it.
So, in reality, it was like my subconscious mind had years to come to terms with my love for Asher. I didn’t care what anyone thought about me. It didn’t matter if people didn’t like me when the love of my life was sitting right next to me.
Fuck ‘em!
Plus, I had a supportive family. Never did I imagine they’d disown me or something awful like that.
I knew how incredibly lucky I was for that.
Asher didn’t have a family who loved him unconditionally, and I wanted to be that for him.
No matter what happened, I wanted him to know that my love was stronger than anything.
He was mine, and I was his. Period.
If he wanted to climb to the top of Mount Everest to scream about how much he loved me, I’d be right there screaming along with him.
I sure as hell hope he doesn’t want to do that, though. That mountain is no joke.
“Okay. Let’s do this.” Asher leaned closer to the phone to click the red record button, but his finger couldn’t connect. His hand began to shake, and he yelled, “Fuck! Why is this so hard? I’m freaking out.”
I wrapped my arm around him and pulled him close. “It’s a big step, babe. It’s okay to be nervous. It’s also okay if you’re not ready. You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”
Asher looked at me, his green eyes locking with mine, and a look of determination washed over his face. “No. I want to do this.”
He took a breath and pressed the record button.
“Hi, I’m Asher Lachlan.”
Asher’s voice was shaky, so I decided to project as much cheer and confidence as possible, hoping it would help him. “And, I’m Theo Moretti.”
We’d discussed what we wanted to say beforehand, so I waited for Asher to continue.
“If you’re into hockey at all, you might have read about us.”
His voice continued to tremble, so it was time for me to ham it up. “You might have even seen a picture of me eating his butt.”
Asher cracked up. We hadn’t planned that line, but I knew it would shake him out of his nerves.
The giggles took over, Asher’s face turning bright red because of what I just said, so I picked up the next few lines we had rehearsed.
“We’re making this video to say that we regret doing that in the locker room.
You see, we thought we were alone. We would have never done something like that if we had known other people were around.
It was a passionate moment between two people who love each other. ”
Asher squeezed my hand, and I turned to look at him. He smiled at me in a way that lit up the entire room. He looked so beautiful at that moment that I couldn’t help myself. I leaned in and gave him a kiss.
When we parted, Asher’s entire face looked different. He wasn’t scared anymore. He was sure. Ready.
The next few lines, he said with much more confidence.
“We’d never do anything to make anyone feel uncomfortable.
That moment was the first and last time we did something like that.
We’d kept our relationship private so as not to disrupt the team dynamic.
It wasn’t meant to cause harm.” Asher spoke with his whole chest, and I was gushing.
My man was doing it, and I couldn’t be prouder of him.
“We never have and never would ask our teammates to participate in the intimate moments that Theo and I share. We were overjoyed by the win, and truly thought we were alone.”
I was still staring at him lovingly when I remembered it was my turn to speak. I shook my head, snapping out of my adoration and back into the task at hand. “We regret that the picture was taken. We regret that the picture got out, and we apologize if it caused anyone who saw it any discomfort.”
The next line was Asher’s, and he delivered.
“But we do not apologize for being together. We do not apologize for being in love. I’m done hiding who I am.
The man sitting next to me is the love of my life, and I am not ashamed to say that anymore.
” Then, Asher looked at me and said, “I love you, Theo.”
“I love you too, Asher.”
We kissed again, and I finished us out. “So, we understand why the picture was so scandalous. It’s not surprising that it became a big story once it was leaked, but we can assure you that it never happened before that moment, and will never happen again.
It’s in the past, and we want to get back on the ice and focus on winning the PCSHL Championship, and we hope you will let us do that. ”
That was it. Asher leaned in and stopped recording.
The two of us sat there, looking at the phone. We’d done it. The video was recorded. The only thing left to do was post it to the joint account we created.
“Do you want me to post it, babe?” I asked.
“Would you?”
I kissed his forehead and said, “Sure. I am so proud of you, Red.”
“I’m proud of you, too, Big Boy.”
Asher
Once the video was out, I wanted nothing to do with it. Reggie and Roxy said they’d send it to all of the hockey blogs that had printed something about the picture.
I just wanted to move on. Turning on my phone after everything went down was one of the most cringeworthy experiences of my life.
As predicted, pretty much all of our former teammates on the Vipers and everyone at Callahan texted me.
The messages ranged from horrendous to sheer elation.
It was wild to see the different responses from folks.
People who had always been friendly to me were telling me I was disgusting.
Some even said I was going to burn in hell.
Others were surprisingly sweet. In fact, several guys from the Bobcats at Callahan wrote messages of support, but I didn’t see any messages or emails from the Head Coach of the Bobcats. It made me nervous, but I wouldn’t let myself think about it.
One step at a time.
The Warriors’ Head Coach did reach out to both Theo and me to send his support.
I was genuinely touched by how supportive he was being, and it made me wonder why.
Was Coach Wilson gay? Perhaps he had a child who was a member of the LGBTQIA+ community?
Or maybe he was just a decent guy. Whatever the reason, I was incredibly grateful to have his support.
It was our first day back from the suspension, and I was dreading practice. Never had I been someone who wanted to skip practice, but I wanted to that day. Sure, I’d get the jitters now and then, but I truly didn’t want to go, and that was new for me.
Should I quit? Is this a sign that it’s over for me?
No. I wouldn’t quit. I didn’t actually know who leaked the picture, though I was pretty damn sure it was Mason, but whoever did it wanted me out of the way. Quitting would give them what they wanted, and I wouldn’t do that.
Theo parked the car and turned to me. “You ready?” he asked.
Hell no! “Yeah. Let’s do this.”
We left the car and made our way to the rink. My body was stiffer than a block of wood until Theo wrapped his arm around my shoulder. The tension instantly released, and I felt like I was soaring.
I am not alone.
We’d arrived a little early so we could get dressed in peace, but a few of our teammates were already there. Quincy is one of them.
Thank God.
“Oh my God!” Quincy cried out. “It’s the celebrity couple!” He ran over and gave us both a hug. “We’ve missed you, boys. Truly. ” Quincy had texted me that the Warriors lost all three games we missed .
Two other teammates welcomed us back, with one asking, “Are you guys like, inundated with sponsorship deals and stuff?”
“Yeah, have any athletic wear companies reached out to you yet?” another asked. “That would be freaking unreal!”
I had no idea what anyone was talking about, and I could tell from the look on Theo’s face that he didn’t either.
“Um… what are you talking about?” If I didn’t need my phone to communicate with people, I’d throw the damn thing away. While some of the texts I’d gotten were lovely, there were too many awful ones to feel good about it. Both Theo and I pretty much avoided our phones as much as possible.
“You haven’t gone to your joint account since you posted?” Quincy asked.
Theo and I glanced at each other before turning back to the group and shaking our heads, no. I didn’t even know the guys on the team had seen the video.