by Shane Morton
What kind of person was I? Who would offer someone love and then think about taking it away for a fucking pigskin? I was my father’s son, that was for sure. He wasn’t the most loving of dads or husbands. He worked too hard for his own good, and by the time he got home, all he could do was eat and go to bed after watching the news. He rarely had a kind word for any of us. But he never missed a game. It was all we had, and when I won, he was so proud of me. It became the only thing that mattered until I came here.
I had grown. I had become my own man, and I thought I was proud of what I had become, what I had achieved over the last few years. Then I met Calvin, and he showed me what a real man was. What silent strength really looked like… Fuck, he was so in my head… His smile and that laugh… His ass…
I stood up and decided it was time for me to go home. It had to be after midnight now. I stumbled as I hauled myself to my feet. Shit…
If I get behind that wheel. I mean, it isn’t that far, really…
I pull out my phone and call the one person I knew I could count on.
“Elder? Yeah… I know… Yep, I am drunk as shit, man… Hey, can you come and get me… Yeah, I know… thanks… I’m laying down in the middle of the football field. Okay, I will wait here… I don’t think I can get up anyway.”
The field felt as if it were starting to spin around me. I looked at the bottle and realized that I had drunk about half of it… shit. This was really going to hurt tomorrow.
I remember Elder waking me up, and I think I broke something in the hallway as he tried to get me to his car.
The next morning, I woke with Elder’s arm wrapped around me.
My head was pounding in a way that I had never experienced before.
I sat up and realized that I was naked. I looked over at Elder, and he was too.
What the fuck happened?
I shake Elder and watch his eyes flutter open.
“Morning handsome… Damn, McKendrick, you are fucking hideous in the morning, dude.” Elder scoffed, sniffing his breath in his palm. Yeah, that was weird.
“Why am I naked?” I asked slowly. “Actually, why are you naked? We’re both naked in your bed, Elder. What the fuck happened?”
He sat up and laughed deeply. “Don’t worry, son. I didn’t like… fuck you or anything. I sleep nude, and you didn’t have any underwear on, and the thought of trying to pull your pants back on your drunk ass was just too much. Fuck, man… I don’t care. Your ass was a great resting place for my cock, though. It was very warm.”
“Holy shit, I thought we… I mean, we’re naked.”
“No, dude. I’m just cool with it. I mean, it’s just two guys cuddling nude in bed. I bet you’re great to sleep with when you’re not a raging drunk. God, man… I can smell your stank breath over here… Go rinse or something and let me look at that hot ass again.” He teased me and slapped my ass as I got out of bed. I turned to stare at him. “By the way… How did I not know that you were carrying around a fucking monster of a dick! Holy shit, dude. Your little guy let you stick that up his ass. I am impressed.”
“Stop being a dick,” I managed. Thank god I was sober. There had been a few nights when I woke up drunk still the next morning, and that would have been very bad for me today. Still, it was not going to be easy.
“Do you want to talk about it, brother? You said some things last night… About Calvin? Do you want to talk about it?” Elder asked from his bed. His muscular chest rising with each breath he took. They were like mountains. Bit it didn’t turn me on the way Calvin did. It was just Elder.
“I think I really fucked things up… I told him that I couldn’t deal with all of it right now, Elder. I said that I needed some time. His last relationship was really fucked up. It was with a straight guy who strung him along and broke his heart. I… yeah… I fucked up.” I looked at myself in the mirror. Fuck, I looked like death. I wasn’t sure there was enough greasy food in Moray to get me through this day.
“Let’s got to the Pig for some breakfast today, my treat, Mason. And as for your boy… You love him, don’t you?” he asked, surprise heavy in his voice.
“I think I do.”
“Then there is nothing else more important in the world than that. Cherish it and hold onto it. What do you have to do to make it okay?”
“I don’t know…” I unscrewed the cap and swished some mouthwash into my mouth. Now even I could smell the death that was my breath.
“Mason… Have you ever heard of a grand gesture?”
We went to breakfast, and Elder helped me to see what it was I needed to do. I just hoped I was strong enough to do it.
Seventeen
Calvin
“Do you guys want a beer?” Chad asked as we walked by the concession stand. The line wasn’t long, so I nodded. I really needed a fucking drink. Not talking to Mason for the last couple of days had really raked me over the fucking coals.
“I am not a guy, in case you haven’t noticed,” Gina piped up, slapping Chad on the arm. “But I would like one too. Make it the large one, please.”
Chad grinned at her. “Sorry, ma’am,” he said as he tipped his baseball cap t her.
She grinned back at him, and Mike wrapped his arm around me and whispered. “Are those two ever gonna get their shit together and go on a date? It’s starting to get depressing.”
“Don’t worry. I think Gina has started to realize that if she doesn’t steer the bull, she’s never going to get a ride. When did he get so timid?” I replied. Watching the two of them fumble around each other was amusing. However, it was also like watching two blind people trying to find the light switch in a house they had never been in. In other words, it could end badly, fast.
“You want one, Mike? I know Cal does. He’s so pent up he’s about to explode, hoping his boyfriend might make it onto the field today,” Chad laughed, and Gina slapped him on the arm again.
“Damnit, woman. That hurts,” Chad pouted as he moved up in the line and ordered. He handed all of us our beers as he paid. He was that kind of friend, and for all his rough parts, Chad made sure that Mike and I never went without.
We sat down in the stands, and my phone buzzed. It was crowded today, and we had seats higher up than we normally were. I was a little agitated because that would make watching Mason, harder.
I pulled my phone out and read the text, my eyes bugging out of my head. “Y’all, Billy and Gwen are here, and they saved us seats right in the fucking middle, front row.”
Chad stood right up. “No, shit! Mother fucker that’s amazing. Let’s go.”
We wound our way down and around until I saw Gwen waving at me. Her hair was dyed blue for our team today, and she waved at us like a crazy woman.
“I saved you guys some seats. Those ladies behind you didn’t think you all actually existed. I thought I was gonna have to get in a catfight.” She stared them down, and they all made faces at her. My money would have been on Gwen. She was a wildcat.
The speakers blared to life, and the players all rushed onto the field, standing at attention as the National Anthem was sung by a music major with a bad warble. Seriously, it was painful. Everyone erupted into cheers, and the band played the Moray fight song. The audience sang along as the cheerleaders flipped and flopped and shook their moneymakers.
The announcer came on, and the game began. There was number thirty-two out on the field leading his team. It looked like he glanced up at me, and I had to stop myself from waving at him.
“Dude, is that? Holy shit! McKendrick fucking started! I bet that makes your balls blue, don’t it, Cal?”
I didn’t answer. I felt like I was holding my breath as I watched him make play and after play. The boys were doing well and running the ball, even Chad was impressed. We got it in field goal range, and somehow, maybe it was with my sheer will, Doughty actually kicked a field goal. We were ahead.
Our defense was in top form today, and the opposing team could barely move the ball. The twins sacked the quarte
rback twice, and eventually, the only option they had was to kick.
That meant Mason was back in. He called the play and feigned right before spinning around and going left. He looked like a dancer out there, and the other team could never get a grip on him. He threw the pass, and it was caught by one of the wide receivers, and he ran the fuck out of the ball. They got him within twenty yards of our goal.
Electricity shot through me as I watched Mason call the next play. The ball hiked to him, and he found himself out there alone with no one open, so with a quick surge of power, he vaulted over the other team’s defense, and before anyone could blink, he had run the damn touchdown himself.
All of the players hugged him and slapped him on his ass as he made his way back to the bench. It was nine to zero as halftime was called.
“He looks good in those pants, doesn’t he? How does he look out of them?” Gwen whispered into my ear.
I could feel myself blush, and I glanced over at Chad and Gina, who were chatting away to each other. Maybe this would be good for them. They looked like they were sitting closer than they ever had before.
“So, what did he tell you?” I whispered back, as the band started the halftime show.
“That’s for me to know and for you to find out. He does love you, Calvin. Of that, I have no doubt.” She bumped her shoulder into me. The thought of him talking about me made me smile, even if it were only to Gwen. Well, there was also the twins. He was trying, maybe I had been too harsh?
“I don’t get it,” Billy laughed. “It’s like wrestling with a ball. I just don’t get it.”
Mike moved over to him, and they started talking about the rules. Billy listened, and as the teams took the field for the second half, he stayed there so he could help Billy understand what was going on.
The second half of the game happened in a blur. Mason went down hard a couple of towns, and I stood up every time, looking to see if he was okay. He always was. The score hadn’t moved, and our defensive team was playing their best tonight. Moray hadn’t had a shutout since I could remember. There were only five minutes left, and Mason moved the ball quickly down the field. Before anyone could blink, he threw a pass, and it was caught and ran in for another touchdown.
Fuck, he was amazing. What pressure he must feel out there. What kind of pressure he must have felt from me.
I was a fucking monster, wasn’t I? How could you make someone do something they weren’t ready for? Sure, I could blame what I went through with Eric for my feelings about Mason coming out, but that wasn’t really fair to him. He wasn’t Eric, and I had tried to turn Mason into him.
I watched Mason come back to the bench, and he glanced up at me and saluted. I held onto my heart and stared at him. He was inspiring… I had to give him the time he needed. He was worth the wait, and so was I. I owed it to myself to not throw love away.
I could feel tears sliding down my face as I came to this realization. Love doesn’t come with guarantees, nor should it come with demands. Love should run free.
The buzzer sounded, and before I could even catch my breath, the team rushed the field and started clapping each other on the shoulders. They lofted Mason up into the air, it looked like he was sitting on the shoulders of the twins and they were coming this way. They stopped right in front of us, and Mason pulled his helmet off and threw it into someone’s waiting arms.
Suddenly, here he was. I glanced over at Gwen, and she was beaming at me. Mason held onto the railing as the twins boosted him up, all eyes were on us, and his teammates were chanting his name as he grabbed me by my hands and pulled me out of my seat and into his arms.
“I love you, Calvin,” he said breathlessly as his lips gently found mine.
Never in the history of the world had there been a kiss like this. Yes, I know… I just Princess Bride’d myself. But it was true. Here for all the world to see, Mason Fucking McKendrick, gave me his game-winning kiss.
Everyone else faded away until there was only him and me as we stared into each other’s eyes. His teammates cheered below, and my friend’s jaws were on the floor. Guess I had some explaining to do.
Mason had made up his mind.
I had made mine up too.
Eighteen
Mason
It’s been a fucking wild semester.
Hawkins got his grades up and wasn’t put on probation. He also wasn’t given back his spot. I stayed the starting quarterback, and somehow, by the grace of God, maybe, our record is the best it’s been in years. We’ve won eight of our ten games since I started playing, and Coach has even forgiven me for the stunt I pulled that night.
He wasn’t happy that I turned that win into my coming out. Of course, the guys all knew. I think that’s why they played so fucking hard. So that I could get that moment with Calvin.
Oh yeah…
I passed Art Appreciation. I even got a fucking A, can you believe it? I couldn’t. But when your boyfriend, I still can’t believe I get to say that word, is your tutor… Well, let’s just say he is the best fucking tutor in the world. Of course, he’s not going to stay my tutor next semester. Even though that’s what I would have preferred, I mean, now that we’re moving in together, we could have done it in the living room.
Yes, you heard that right. I asked Calvin if he might want me to move in, and he was as happy as a clam about it. I was too. It would be nice to actually have a place that we could make ours. Besides, I was getting really tired of dorm living. I wanted to fall asleep every night with him in my arms.
I would make sure that nothing ever hurt him again.
He was my future. Fuck… He was my everything.
“Mason,” he mumbled as he walked over to pour some coffee into his mug. “You’re up early.”
“Well, I thought it would be nice to go over and make sure I got everything out of the dorm. You have any plans today?” I asked as I busied myself cleaning up the dishes from last night.
“Thought I might go over to the farm and see the family. If you want, I could come to the dorm with you and then you could go visit with me. Mom always loves when you come over.” He sat down in one of the wooden chairs at the small kitchen table.
I moved behind him and let my hand rub gently down his torso, his lean body responding with chills as I bent down and kissed him on top of his head. “Sounds fine. You think your momma made any of her cookies.”
“If I tell her you're coming, I’m sure she will,” he laughed.
This was everything. This was home.
The journey to get here was long, but he was worth the wait.
“Hey, you think the libraries open?” I asked, a sudden inspiration coming over me.
“Yeah. I don’t think it closes until Christmas Eve. Are you sure your family isn’t gonna be mad that you’re not coming home? Eventually, I’m gonna have to meet them, you know.” He said gently.
“I do. My momma can’t wait. Hell, my sister says she’s gonna come and see us sometime soon.” I replied, my hands gently rubbing circles over his chest. The light fur there twirling in my fingers.
“And your daddy?” he took a small sip of coffee and then blew into the mug. “Jesus, that feels nice, Mason.”
“We’ll see, baby. Now about that library. I think we should drop by.”
He leaned his head back and stared up at me.
“Why the hell would you want to go there?” he looked at me incredulously.
“Well, no one’s around… Have you ever fucked a quarterback in the library before?”
He shook his head. A wide smile crawling across his face. “No, that I can say I have never done.”
“I have a plan…”
The End
Read More By Shane Morton
THE POINT PLEASANT HOLIDAY SERIES (A Hallmark-(ish) Romance Series)
The Rites of Spring Break- (a second chance romance) Releasing March 20
Second chance at love!
Spring Break Shenanigans!
And a very hot fire
fighter!
mybook.to/SecondChanceRomance
Something Borrowed Something Boo (Fall wedding/Hollywood star in small town) Out Now!
Halloween? Check.
Halloween Wedding? Double check.
Falling in love unexpectedly at the Halloween wedding? Totally Inconvenient!
mybook.to/gayhallmarkish
A Very Merry Princemas (Hidden Prince at Christmas) Out Now!
A hidden Prince in a small town.
An event planner overwhelmed with the Christmas Ball.
Will love overcome? Most definitely!
mybook.to/Princemas
Cupid, Draw Back Your Beau (Age-Gap Valentine) Out Now!
A young man wishing for love.
A single dad hoping to love again.
A wild round of Speed dating! It must be Valentines day!
mybook.to/ValentinesGay
About Shane K Morton
Shane lives in Studio city with his husband and their fur baby, Slayer. His novels include: The Trouble With Off-Campus Housing, Private Waterloos, The Year of the Cock, Fault Lines and The Point Pleasant Holiday Series. His Dark Romance books, written under Sean Azinsalt, include: It’s in My Blood as well as Dark Eros. When not writing, Shane can usually be found at a film festival or performing cabaret in a dark dive bar.
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