Page 65 of Away Game

And then he smiled the most dazzling smile. It was a smile I hadn’t seen before. It transformed Fin into a completely new person. It was one of a carefree man who didn’t feel like he had to hide who he was or who he cared about. It was from a man who didn’t feel the weight of disapproval hanging over him constantly.

“We’ll figure out getting a job tomorrow. I’m glad you’re okay,” Oz gave Fin a one-armed hug and stepped back. “I’ll leave you two to celebrate or whatever,” he awkwardly laughed as he kept taking steps back toward the stairs.

“You don’t have to go,” Fin stepped toward him as if he’d stop him.

“I know, but I see the way you’re looking at each other, and I get it. Plus, I have some packing to do if we’re to be out of the house by the end of the weekend.”

“Thanks, Oz. For everything.” The amount of love and gratitude in Fin’s voice brought a smile to my face. I couldn’t imagine what his life would have been like without Oz in it.

“Always, bro, always.” Oz waved as he headed down the stairs, and after a few steps, he was out of sight.

“What do you say we finish what we started before we were so rudely interrupted,” Fin grabbed my hand and jerked me into his room. The door slammed, and then he promptly locked the door before his mouth was on mine in a hot, passionate kiss that had me weak in the knees.

Pre-order First Down, Oz and Lo’s story coming later this year.

Epilogue

Fin

4 Years Later

Turnsout my grandfather on my mother’s side had set up a trust for me that I never knew about. When my dad cut me off after the day he found West and me together, my mom went behind his back and called the lawyer who was in charge. I’d never been more surprised in my life. While my mom had made sure I was taken care of, she slipped back into my father’s shadow and had nothing to do with me. I hadn’t heard from either of them since.

It didn’t matter, though. I had great friends who I knew I could count on for the rest of my life and my West.

The crowd shot up and cheered as West caught the ball and ran it into the end zone, securing the win of the game. It would be a miracle if the other team caught up now. He had one more game before the NFL team he’d been drafted to made it to the Super Bowl.

We no longer lived in California, but in Pittsburg since West played for the Steelers. It was his first year, and we were still trying to get used to the cold weather since we’d both grown up in California. Pittsburg was nothing like Santa Lucia or Willow Bay, but we were slowly coming to love our new town, our neighbors, and the Steelers family that had adopted us.

Ford turned to look at me from a couple of seats away. “God, I swear he gets better every fucking time I see him play.”

“He has taken to their training like it was custom made just for him. West was meant to be an NFL player.” I couldn’t hide the pride in my voice as I watched West’s teammates slap him on the back as he ran to the sideline.

I also wasn’t complaining since West’s body had transformed into something a God would be jealous of. He was better than a Greek statue with his taut, muscular body that filled out a football player’s uniform better than anyone else in the league. I showed him as often as I could how appreciative I was of his new physique.

“You’re just figuring this out now?” Easton elbowed me in the side. He was staying with us for the weekend so he could see his brother play in the AFC Championship game.

With a playful push to his shoulder, I laughed. “I’ve known since the first time I saw him play, but each time I watch him, I’m still impressed. And you have to admit, he’s miles ahead of where he was when we were in college.”

“Are you going to be able to get us all Super Bowl tickets?” Ridley said, leaning forward from beside Ford with a hopeful look on his face.

Back in our first year in college, we didn’t know much about Ridley, but once we were all living together our second year in our own house, we found out Ridley had grown up just as poor or poorer than West had. While his scholarship paid for the football house, it didn’t pay for living off-campus, something he didn’t know when he agreed to live with us. We came to a compromise; Ridley wouldn’t have to pay rent while he lived there if he cooked for us. He’d been holding back on his culinary skills while we all lived in the football house, but damn could that man cook. He was about to open his first restaurant in LA.

“I think he gets a certain amount of tickets, but I’m sure we can swing you,” I laughed. Ridley still lived most of the time like he had no money. He didn’t really since he’d put all of his savings into his restaurant, but we all knew it was going to be the next best place to eat in LA. He’d make his money back in no time. He’d already been in all kinds of food magazines and on TV shows. Ridley was almost as much of a celebrity as West was.

With only five minutes left on the clock, we all stood for the rest of the game and cheered the Steelers, but mostly West on. The crowd around us cheered his number, twenty-three, over and over again. I swore he could hear us. He looked back with a big smile on his face. Living his dream.

Never in my wildest dreams, when I was living in Santa Lucia, did I think I’d be where I was now. After moving to Pittsburg, I started a company to help troubled youth. I didn’t want anyone to feel ashamed or as if they had to hide in the shadows about who they were for fear of what others would think. The Jackson Huntington Foundation provided a place for people to talk to therapists about everything from coming out to friends and family to bullying, help with traumatic cases of abuse and assault. I was proud of who I was, and I wanted to be able to provide that for anyone and everyone.

“I see that look in your eye,” Oz said as quietly as he could so I could hear him and everyone else in our vicinity be kept out of the know. “When are you going to ask that man to marry you?”

I only shrugged because I didn’t know. We were both so busy and happy I didn’t want to rock the boat. We’d never talked about marriage, which was strange because we’d talked about adopting once West retired from football, so that would be a very long time from now. I guess I was waiting until the time came when West brought it up.

“Are you afraid he’ll say no?” Oz joked, but he hit the nail on the head. I wasn’t sure what would happen if I did ask West to marry me and for him to then reject me. I’d hit my quota on rejection for a lifetime.

Oz’s face sobered. “Fin, come on, man. Do you really think he’d say no?”

“Maybe I’m waiting for him to ask me. Did you ever think about that? Why should I always be the romantic one?”

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