Romance: Sports Romance: ON SIDE (Secret Baby Pregnancy Football Romance) (Contemporary New Adult Fiction) (24 page)
Authors: Raven Monet
Chapter Fifteen
The only way that I would be absolutely free to be with Jason without fear of reprisal by the team or its sponsors or any other negative feedback that would occur when they found out that their number one money maker was gay was for me to hold a press conference. Telling the press about my sexuality instead of letting them stumble onto Jason and I together was better in the long run, not only for myself but Jason, as well. It wasn’t fair to him to have to hide that he was in love because I knew that I wanted to scream from the mountain tops that I was happy with him and it was unfair of me to ask him to hide such joy from others. I called Francine and told her to get the coach, owners and anyone else that was relevant to the fact that I was about to drop the bomb on the team so that I could rip the bandage off all at once. Jason and I would go to her office beforehand and go over what it was I wanted to say then she would advise me on precisely how to do it so that it was tasteful and respectful.
I hoped that I could keep my job the way that it was and that my team would understand that I never meant to lie to anyone but it was a secret that I had to keep for the sake of so many others. Surely, they were open minded and understanding enough to realize that I meant no harm. As Jason and I made our way across town, he reached across the seat and placed his hand on mine with a smile and said,
“I’m so proud of you, I hope you know that.” I did know that he felt pride in the fact that I’d finally been able to face the biggest fear of my life, met it head on and walked away with my dignity. He was not proud of the fact that my mother was convinced I was going to hell and she raised a failure but we would have to handle my mother’s broken heart at some other time. Telling her was the hardest thing I’d ever done but coming out to the entire sports press held a very close second place. We pulled into the parking lot of Francine’s agency and as I looked to my right, I took in a deep breath and released it as Jason held my hand. “You can do this.” He nodded and I raised our hands to my lips, kissing him gently on the knuckles as I said,
“Yeah, I can do this.”
Francine advised me that I should just come out and say that I was gay without a big side story, not go into the unaccepting parents and focus on the support of the fans. Don’t stray from her speech and don’t go into a remorseful tone or seem like I was ashamed or embarrassed in any way. I agreed that I could do that and was doing a pretty good job of following her words to the letter until I looked up and saw my mother’s face. She smiled at me as if I’d just won the largest trophy ever and she couldn’t be prouder, which surprised me since I knew that I’d broken her heart with the same news that I was delivering to the press. My father stood at her side and held her hand as they stood against the back room of the wall, watching as I did the bravest thing in my life and they had nothing but love for their son on their faces. I saw no disappointment, shame or disdain of any kind and when I finished up with what ended up being a stuttering, on the verge of tears version of Francine’s speech, I walked past the flashing cameras and microphones shoved in my face to stand before my parents.
“I’m really glad you showed up, it means a lot to me.” I said as I hugged my mother, who returned my embrace with her warm, maternal grip. When I stood and saw the tears on her cheeks, she sobbed as she took my hand.
“I’m so sorry that I reacted so badly. You are my son and I love you and there’s nothing in the world that would make me love you any less.” As she gripped my hand, I felt as if I may shed a few tears of my own but I managed to choke them back and tell her that I was so happy to hear that she’d come around and I loved her. “Now, your soul is your own business but I sure hope that the good lord will look past this one indiscretion and still let you come home.” Smiling, I realized that this was as good as it was going to get from my mother and I took her words to heart. Beside her, stood a man that had never seemed more proud of his son and without words, his face told me that he was happy to finally see me live my life how I see fit. His outstretched hand met mine and his strong grip and nod affirmed that he was honored to be my father. Jason had crept up behind me and stood back as I had my reunion with my parents but when I saw him out of the corner of my eye, I waved him to my side.
“Mom, Dad, you remember Jason, right?” My parents greeted him warmly and to my surprise, my mother even hugged him with a smile. After shaking hands with my father, Jason slid his hand into mine and I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Margaret Drake winced a bit as she saw her firstborn son kiss another man but she said not a word as she gripped my father’s hand in an attempt to draw strength from him. I knew that it would take some time for her to completely come around to the fact that I would have a boy on my arm instead of a girl but her slight facial expression was better than breaking down into a fit of tears. As we left the conference room, I looked forward to a new season, a new lease on happiness and a new life with Jason. I was finally getting everything that I always wanted but never knew was possible but now that I was out and the only person that seemed to be affected by it all along was me and the undue stress that I’d caused myself by stressing over living my own life. My mother surprised me by her unconditional love and once I knew I had her on my side, I felt as if I could accomplish anything under the sun. With my upcoming season and new boyfriend, life was finally everything that I expected it to be and once the wins started coming in for the year, everything would be absolutely perfect and I’d finally be able to celebrate properly after games. Long gone were the nights of bringing home random women that I had no intention of sleeping with and I was done hiding in the shadows while love passed me by for another. I’d finally been given the chance to live my life and love whomever I choose with the love and support of my family, friends and team. Eventually, I’d even convince my mother that my eternal soul wasn’t doomed for hellfire but I’d cross that bridge when I came to it. For the time being, I would love Jason, win championships and attend family barbecues with the man in my life and that was enough for me.