Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Brody
Loud snoring woke me far earlier than I had intended to get up.
Rolling over, I pushed Winnie aside so I could stretch. For such a small animal, Winnie took up the majority of my bed space. If she weren’t so adorable, I wouldn’t tolerate her loud snoring and bed hogging. But she’s my baby, and I love her anyway.
“I guess I will just get up,” I say loudly, hoping to wake Winnie, too.
Since she’s the reason I’m forced to wake up at this ungodly hour, she should at least have to be up as early as I am.
Sitting up, I reach for my phone as Winnie ignores my attempts to wake her.
It’s only six in the morning, and my alarm doesn’t go off until seven.
Getting out of bed, I make my way into the kitchen and start a pot of coffee.
Reaching for my favorite coffee mug with a picture of Winnie inside of a heart front and center, I grab a granola bar and scroll through my phone while I wait for my coffee to finish brewing.
I read through a few posts that Jamie posted last night from a wine tasting she went to.
Then, I see a few alerts I have set for the Stallions team.
As I click through pages, I suddenly stop when I see a picture of Finn.
The coffee pot beeps, and I pour myself a steaming cup and then pad back to my bedroom.
Nestling back into bed, I roll my eyes as Winnie continues to sleep soundly.
I continued scrolling through the photos of Finn from the game the other night.
Fans share their love for him, while a few ignorant assholes add some homophobic comments.
Suddenly, I get another notification, and when I click the link, I almost drop my coffee in my lap.
Staring back at me is a picture of Finn and me from last night. He’s looking at me with glowing eyes and a wide smile. I’m staring out at the river as we walk. We look happy, and that makes my heart sing.
Finn makes me happy.
And, horny as hell, too.
I read the tag with the photo—Finn out enjoying the river walk with a friend.
The word ‘friend’ has my stomach dropping a little. It’s crazy that I would let one single word make my smile fall, but it does. I wanted the world to think we were only friends.
Not lovers.
Not two guys in a relationship.
But what I’m realizing now is that I want to be more than just Finn’s friend. I want to be anything and everything to him. There’s just one little problem; I’m terrified to be open to the world.
I take another sip of my coffee as my phone rings. It’s Jamie. Why in the hell is she up at this hour?
“Hello, why are you calling me this early?” I asked, as I answer the call.
“Okay, Mr. Grumpy. Hello to you, too,” Jamie grumbles.
“I didn’t expect you to be up. Sorry.” I know she’s not mad.
“I saw that you were online when you liked one of my pictures from last night. So, how was your date?” Of course, Jamie is up early. She wants to gossip right now.
I lean back against my headboard and smile to myself. “The date was fantastic. Finn was so easy to talk to, and when a few fans came up to talk to him, he was kind and talked to them like they were old friends,” I explained.
I can hear Jamie squeal through the phone. “That’s great. When will you see him again?”
Sighing, I sipped my coffee. “I don’t know. Hopefully soon, but we have to be careful. There were photos of us on Instagram this morning. They called me his friend, but someone could have outed me.”
Jamie huffs. “Brody, I love you, but when are you going to realize that it’s okay for you to come out? You deserve to be happy.”
I know that she’s right, but it still isn’t that easy. I don’t want to risk relationships with my family and friends. I don’t want to lose my job. What if people hate me? What if they call me names?
“I know, I wish I were as brave as Finn, Leo, and Nash.”
“Brody, shut up. You are brave. I’m not friends with wimps, and you, Brody, are not a wimp. I know that when you are ready, you will do what is best for you. Anyway, tell me more about Finn. I need details about that body. God, are his abs like solid stone? How big is his dick?”
I spent the next ten minutes going over our date. It feels good to talk to Jamie about Finn. Like it’s normal, and for a few moments, I can be free.
All I want is for the feeling to never end, but something tells me that if I don’t learn how to get rid of my fears, I may never get my own happily ever after.