Chapter 20 #2
We straighten ourselves up the best we can.
I slip on the sweatpants I wore on the way to the airport and shove my feet into slides.
Luc ends up taking his t-shirt off and using it to wipe me down, and then the leather seats.
He puts his jacket on to hide his bare chest, zipping it up to his throat, then puts the balled-up t-shirt in his pocket.
When we finally open the door and step out of the vehicle, Cory is nowhere to be seen. The basement entrance is deserted aside from us. I open my phone to a text.
Cory: Mr. Martín’s bags are in your room, and I’ve taken the liberty of asking Mr. Lester to distract the others in the rec room until you give the all clear.
ME: You’re the best.
He responds by liking the text, and nothing else. Double bonuses this year, I think.
“Come on, baby. Let’s get you upstairs and in the shower so you can stuff me full of your cum again.”
It’s nearly an hour before I pull Luc out of the bedroom. His palm is warm against mine, and he looks composed, but I can tell by the way his jaw ticks that he’s considering how many escape routes there might be to get out of this.
“I told you, it’s going to be fine.” I squeeze his hand both in comfort and in warning. I’m not letting him run away. “They already love you.”
He doesn’t say anything, just follows me down the hall, giving me a side-eye that says he’s humoring me for now, but I should be on alert.
I’d meant to warn him that my bandmates would be here.
We usually share the penthouse suite. I’d only requested my own so we could be alone on our first date, but now I really want the most important people in my life to meet each other.
The next time we have a break that coincides, like maybe Thanksgiving, I want to take him home to meet my mom.
It wasn’t intentional to surprise him with meeting the guys.
In my defense, the moment he slipped into the car, I lost the capacity to think past getting as close to him as humanly possible.
Once we arrived, it felt like getting him relaxed before springing anything new on him was the right move.
Plus, we had to talk about what happened in the car so I could reassure him that I’m negative and not sleeping with anyone else.
The rec room is loud when we step in. Music, laughter, and the clack of pool balls fill the space.
This suite is bigger than the one I had in Dallas.
It has five bedrooms, a full kitchen, formal dining and living rooms, a screening room, and this rec room.
It’s an open space with a fully stocked wet bar along one wall, pool and poker tables, plus a large, plush sectional surrounding a wall-sized television.
Opposite the bar is a stunning view of Seattle at night.
“Well, look who finally decided to join us,” Will drawls, leaning one hip against the pool table. He gives us a slow once-over, a smirk tugging at his lips. “I worried you might stay in there forever.”
Luc stiffens. I cut Will a sharp look, reminding him to be nice.
He raises his hands in mock defense, grinning mischievously. “I’m just kidding.”
Ari doesn’t say anything, and remains sitting on the edge of a bar chair with a wide, appreciative smile that makes my skin itch.
I know he’d never make a pass at someone he knows I’m serious about, and I made it very clear just how serious I was when I discussed bringing Luc here during his bye-week, but I still don’t like his eyes on him like that.
I glare at him until he drops his eyes, still grinning like the cat who ate Tweety Bird.
Naz, bless him, saves the night from getting too awkward before it even starts. He pushes up from his seat at the bar, crosses the room with a light, easy smile, and offers his hand to Luc. “It’s good to finally meet you,” he says. “We were starting to wonder if Jesse was making shit up.”
Luc chuckles, shoulders relaxing a little.
The tension leaks out of me all at once, chest loosening as I watch the two most important men in my life get to know each other for the first time.
The other two, once they’ve met their quota of bullshit, join in on the easy conversation.
The guys thank him for contributing to the fundraiser.
Thanks to his donation sparking a chain reaction among his NFL friends, we raised almost double what we did last year.
Over four hundred thousand dollars was distributed among several local and national LGBTQ+ organizations.
Luc’s cheeks flush, insisting that it was his friend AJ who set the chain of donations in motion.
He even admits to them that his was supposed to be an anonymous donation, but that AJ and a couple other close teammates were watching the live-stream of the concert at a bar together and saw Luc’s name flash across the screen.
“I, uh, kind of have a complex about publicity. I’m a very private person, so they knew something was off, and all decided on the spot to donate right away so it would look like a team effort. AJ and Dez would have donated anyway, but I’m not sure about the others. It worked out for the best.”
The guys laugh at Luc’s blunder and cut glances at me over his shy demeanor. Ari puts a hand up to shield his face and mouths, “OMG he is precious!”
“I know right?!” I mouth back.
Naz is the only one who seems to temper his excitement, and I can tell he’s deep in thought about something. He still worries about Luc not being open about his sexuality.
I squeeze Luc from the side and whisper in his ear, “Do you want anything to drink?” He shakes his head, and I kiss his cheek before walking over to the bar to pour us both sparkling waters. Naz follows me.
“Alright, Naz, out with it. Lay it on me.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Your face did it for you.”
He lets out a huff of laughter and looks back at Luc, who is chatting amiably with Will and Ari despite not saying much, and is clearly keeping me in sight.
“I don’t think I realized how serious it was,” Naz finally says. “Not just how deep in the closet he is, but how deep the feelings are.”
“He’s not in the closet,” I say defensively.
“He’s not out of the closet, either.”
“His teammates know he’s gay. He told them. It’s just not something he feels comfortable broadcasting to the world, and I think that’s fair.”
“I don’t disagree with you, Jess. What I’m worried about is how closely we’re being watched right now, how much effort is being put in to discredit and expose us for any perceived drama.”
Our fundraiser-protest concert did well.
Really well. Maybe too well. Ever since our live-streamed protest, we’ve been trolled by conservative news outlets and even called “lame” and outright threatened by the president of the free world on his social media accounts.
He’s promised to shut us down–that by the year’s end, there won’t be a venue or record label willing to work with us.
And wouldn’t you know it, two of our concerts at the end of the year were cancelled because the parent companies that own the venues bowed to the pressure of conservative media outlets and threats of violence at our shows.
Not that we’re backing down in any way, shape, or form.
In fact, we’ve doubled down on our media presence, sharing photos of us shaking hands with the CEOs of the organizations we donated to, as well as making appearances at LGBTQ+ centers, shelters, and food and blanket drives in the week since the charity concert.
These are things we’ve always been involved with, but we’re being a lot more public about it, to show the contrast between the hatred and threats being thrown by the religious “right”, and the good we can do to counterbalance it.
We aren’t even reacting or responding. We’re simply leading by example, and other celebrities and companies are starting to do the same.
After all, what better show of protest is there than love?
Naz is right though, we’re under a lot more scrutiny than usual, which could put Luc’s privacy at risk. We need to be extra vigilant.
“I’m just worried about what would happen if he got outed because of his connection with you. There are already rumors.”
“There are always rumors.”
“Would your relationship survive if it were to get out?”
The truth is…
I don’t know.