Page 2 of Play Maker

I know, I know.Poor little rich boy.But while it was true that money opened a shit ton of doors, what was behind some of them was scary as fuck. The things I knew about people in my family, no one would believe. And that had my brain working overtime. Maybe there was still a chance for me to escape? I’d do my first year at Langston to keep my family off my back, and then apply elsewhere. But I’d need an excuse. A damn good one. Or, something I could use as leverage.

“Unless I come up with a way out,” I admitted. “Do my freshman year and then transfer to another state. I’ve got time to think up a reason. One they can’t argue with.”

As my mind whirled, searching for a solution, Preston sighed and stood up.

“Okay, so, back tomyproblem, which reallyisa problem,” Preston insisted. “I’m meeting Jace in Hillington tomorrow. Can you give me a lift after practice?”

I’d never met Preston’s boyfriend, Jace Rowland. Well, not in any social context. The guy was one of the best hockey forwards in the state, so yes, I’d played against him. But that was it. Preston insisted I steer clear of Jace given their secret relationship, so I did. Jace wasn’t out either and that was no surprise. I didn’t know anyone on my hockey team, or any sports team, who was queer. I was sure there was rep somewhere, but things were slow to change in the world of sports.

I still had a hard time picturing Preston and Jace together. They’d met, funnily enough, at one of my hockey games. But Jace lived a half hour and a whole world away. While Redgewick was host to the Langston campus and affluent families, Hillington was a former factory town turned ghost walk. I’d only been there once, driving through, and I had no desire to return. Bleak didn’t even begin to describe it.

“Sure,” I replied and took another drag of my cigarette. “Wait, his place? Do I finally get to meet him? I mean, like outside of the usual ‘hey’ at hockey games?”

Preston snorted. “Maybe. But I’m warning you, his place is a dump.”

“That bad?”

“He lives with his aunt in a ratty two-bedroom apartment over a garage. It smells like gasoline and despair.” Preston shook his head, a lock of black hair falling into his eyes. “Whatever. It’s been a long week, his aunt’s out of town, and I need to get laid. Jace is hot as fuck, and more importantly, he knowshowto fuck. Shit, what he can do with his tongue and cock is just…I can’t even begin to describe it.”

Not for the first time, I was jealous. Not of Preston, since I wasn’t into guys, but of the way he talked about sex. I’d had my first time with Olivia, a classmate, a month ago. But it wasn’t exactly the life- changing experience I expected, or the kind of sex that everyone at school bragged about. Fucking was fine; I got off, she got off. But I expected…more? I don’t know. Like the way Preston talked about it. Every time he got laid it was the best time in the history of ever. What the fuck was I missing out on?

“What about college?” I asked, desperate to change the subject. “Where’s he going? Or,ishe going?”

“He got a full scholarship to some college in Vermont. I can’t remember the name.”

Typical Preston, too busy for the details.

“You still gonna see each other?”

“From across the country?” Preston scoffed. “Jace lives for hockey and I’ve got my acting career to launch.”

“So, that’s a no? What happened to being boyfriends?”

Preston shrugged. “It is what it is for now. Who knows about tomorrow? I’m a realist.”

“Does he know this?”

“Of course he does. We have an understanding,” Preston replied and stood up. “It’s all good.”

I nodded and threw my cigarette on the ground. What did I care about his boyfriend anyway? It was Preston’s business, not mine. And relationships came and went. Nothing lasted forever.

He was right, it was all good.

Until the weekend hit.

I dropped off my bestie near Jace’s on Friday as planned, but I still didn’t get to meet the guy. Preston insisted there was no point. The next day, when I picked him up, Preston was in tears. I’d never seen him cry and it shocked me. Preston confided that he’d called things off with Jace, and Jace, in turn, had flown into a rage. Preston insisted he wasn’t physically hurt, but he was trembling. I was about to tear up the steps of that crumbling apartment and show Jace exactly what I thought of his shitty treatment of my friend, but Preston held me off. My friend was shaken up and just wanted to go home.

“This isn’t the first time he’s lost his temper, but thank fuck it’s the last,” Preston admitted. “I’m so glad that’s over.”

What the hell? I was seething, but my bestie warned me to let it go. And now wasn’t the time for me to get into a fight and into trouble. I needed to get away from my family, not give them a reason to hold on even tighter.

Not that I forgot about Jace or how he treated my friend. I knew that somehow, someway, Jace was going to get what was coming to him.

Two weeks later, Preston left for California, and I headed with my family to France for our annual summer vacation. Vacation. Right. My father worked every day and night, my mom was off with her latest fuck friend, and my younger brother was either getting high or ignoring me as usual.

My best friend was gone, and I was alone with only my secrets for company.

That fall, I headed to Langston College as planned. And because of hockey, I couldn’t avoid facing off against Jace Rowland on the ice–he was, after all, Sutton University’s star forward.

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