Page 73 of Tangled Up In You
“Cor?” Hunter searched my face. “Fuck, you’re pale. What’s wrong?”
“Can you pull up Twitter?” I asked in a voice that didn’t even sound like me. It felt like a boulder was slowly crushing my chest, and my breathing became labored.
I had a good idea of what the news was, and I was close to a fucking panic attack.
Hunter—still looking worried—nodded and got out his phone. He went to the app and was quiet as he scrolled through the news. Then, he froze, and with a widened gaze, he looked back at me. His mouth opened like he was about to say something, but he snapped it shut and just handed me his phone.
With a shaking hand, I grabbed his phone and read:
Corbin Taylor, the gay quarterback!
Star quarterback and model outed!
Taylor likes balls on and off the field.
Post after post talked about it, all with witty headlines. Other posts were from people following the news, all using #GayInProFootball. Some mocked the situation, some supported me, and others spewed hatred.
I felt sick as I scrolled through them all, and when I couldn’t take it anymore, I tossed Hunter’s phone on the bed and ran to the bathroom, making it to the toilet just in time before I puked.
“Corbin?” Jennifer said in my ear. “It’s going to be okay. I’ll take care of this. Say it’s just a rumor and nothing more. From what I’ve seen, there’s no proof or anything. Just a lot of he-said she-said crap.”
“Where did it start?” I finally asked, standing up and walking to the sink. I washed my hands—which wouldn’t stop shaking—and wiped my mouth.
“The source is anonymous,” she answered. “One of the gossip magazines published it front page this morning, and since then, it’s just blown up. The article mentioned that the next issue will have the full story. But like I said, it could just be a gimmick to draw attention to their shitty magazine.”
“It’s the truth,” I said, feeling like I was going to be sick again. I fought it, though. Hunter stood in the doorway, looking just as anxious as I felt. “Fuck. I don’t know what to do. I know who did this, but I don’t know how far he plans to go with it.”
So that was what William was warning me about a few days before. The bastard had been taunting me with it.
“Okay,” Jennifer said, now calmer than before. Probably because she’d picked up on my stress. “I need you to tell me everything. Who, what, when, whatever. Got it? And then we’ll figure out how to go about this.”
I agreed and started talking. Hunter’s hand on my back helped me a lot, and I found myself leaning more against him as I told Jennifer everything.
It didn’t go unnoticed how Hunter intently watched me as I talked about William—something I’d never told him. As far as he’d known, I hadn’t been involved with anyone.
And what a fucking way to tell him.
I left out the more intimate details, wanting to tell them directly to Hunter later if he wanted to know. But I admitted how long I’d been with Will, that it wasn’t serious on my part, and how I’d ended things with him back in January.
Once I got off the phone with Jen, I felt like the walls were closing in on me. Crazy how everything could just go to shit in a matter of hours. My private life was exposed, and I was both pissed the fuck off and stressed out about what it meant for my career going forward.
Ihatedthat someone’s sexuality was such a big freaking spectacle. It never made headlines when a celebrity was straight, so why the hell should it when they were gay or bi? What angered me beyond words too, was that it hadn’t beenmydecision. That I’d been outed before I was ready.
Needing fresh air, I went out onto the balcony and deeply inhaled, held the breath for a few beats, and then slowly exhaled.
I looked at the world below me, the people on the beach who were laughing and having a great time, the ones getting into their cars to go out to eat or to return home, and the ones just walking down the shoreline, hand in hand without a worry.
How was it that everyone was going about their day, when I’d just had my whole life flipped on its axis?
Chapter 23
Hunter
I’d never seen Corbin like that before; so quiet and in his head. He was out on the balcony, standing near the rail and staring out over the ocean. After an hour or so, he moved to the lounge chair, but he didn’t talk to me.
I was still trying to process it all too, but for different reasons.
I didn’t care that he’d been in a relationship with some guy before going back to Willow. Over the years, I’d had some flings here and there too. What hurt was that he hadn’t told me about this William guy. He probably didn’t want to upset me—because let’s face it, Ididhave jealousy tendencies—so I couldn’t really blame him for keeping it quiet.
