Page 151 of Game Changer
“Thanks, Coach.”
“Come on,” Kip said, sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. “I’ll pay you back in the shower.”
“The shower?”
“I’ve gotta multitask! I’m already late!”
“I’m a distraction.”
“The best kind, though. Come on.”
* * *
As soon as their plane took off from New York, Scott’s confidence splintered.
They had just won the two games in New York, tying the series at 2–2, but he couldn’t forget how terribly he had played in the first two games in Detroit.
But now he and Kip were back together, and he was going to make sure they stayed that way. And that meant being brave and making good on his promises to the man he loved.
That night, Scott lay on top of his hotel bed, worrying about what would happen when he came out. It had been his most closely guarded secret for so long, he almost couldn’t imagine life without having that burden to carry.
He needed to clear his head, so he left his room and wandered around the hotel a bit until he ended up at the pool. There was no one in there, so he sat sideways on one of the lounge chairs and enjoyed the quiet.
Gazing at the still water of the pool, he let himself focus on something other than fear. He thought about Kip. Kip, who was being so patient with him. And Scott knew he had asked Kip to wait until the playoffs were over, but suddenly that seemed too far away. Scott didn’t want to push their relationship out of his mind during the playoffs; he wanted their relationship to make himstronger. To make him a better player.
He thought about making a home with Kip—making alifewith him. He thought about Kip’s adorable dimples and the way he put his hand over his mouth when he was reading. He thought about waking up with Kip every morning after he retired, and traveling the world together. Going to restaurants and museums and for walks in the park without caring if people knew they were together. Maybe evenwantingpeople to know they were together.
The desire for all of that burned so bright inside him that he was overcome with the need to get started on making it happen. He knew what he had to do.
It was time.
* * *
“Jesus, Scott,” his agent griped into the phone. “It’s almost midnight here!”
“I know. It is here too. I’m only in Detroit, you know.”
“Is something wrong?”
“No. Not exactly. I was going to wait until I was back in town but I don’t want to wait.”
“Wait for what? Hold on... What the fuck? After all these years you’re just going to—?”
“No,” Scott said quickly. “You’re not fired, Todd. Nothing like that. Of course not.”
“Well, then?”
Scott sat down on the bench in the empty locker room in the hotel fitness center. He had no idea how he was going to word this. As usual, his brain had made a sudden decision and he was going to go with it.
“I’m thinking about making an announcement,” he said.
“An announcement? What, you’re retiring? Scott, you’ve still gotyearsleft—”
“No. Not that. A...personal announcement.”
Todd sighed. “Look, Scott. It’s late. You wanna just cut to the chase here?”
Scott glanced around the locker room one more time, just in case. He was alone.
