Page 34 of Retaking the Shot
I chuckled nervously. “Not kidnappedkidnapped, but the guy was weird as fuck. Total stalker vibe. I had to call my buddy Butcher to come rescue me.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. I was scared the guy was going to follow me home and slit my throat.”
“Where did you meet him?”
“On a dating app.”
“Which one?”
“The Click.”
He snorted a laugh. “I did the marketing for that app.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Even used it for a few weeks before …”
That night.
“But not since?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No. Been working on myself.”
“And how’s that going?”
“Good. Tonight was the first night I’d been out in a long time. Oddly enough, I saw every person I have a difficult history with too.”
“How so?”
“First, I saw Professor Foster on the TV during the Celtics game. Then at the club, not only did I run into you, but I also saw my old fraternity president. It was strange.”
“I’m glad I ran into you though,” I admitted.
“Me too,” he said after a few beats.
Everything in me wanted to reach across the console, lace our fingers together and just hold his hand as I drove, but I didn’t.
“You really came out to your team?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yeah. It was time.”
“How did everyone take it?”
“Surprisingly well. One of my teammates confessed to me he’s bi, and another told me he was pansexual. It feels good finally to be open with those around me and to know I’m not alone.”
“What about the NHL?”
“I don’t know.” I thought for a moment. “It’s not like I don’t want everyone to know, but I just haven’t had a reason to feel as though I needed to tell the world. I’m not hiding anymore, but my post-game stuff is about hockey and I don’t want the focus to be on my sexuality. Once I tell the NHL and the media, it might be all they want to talk about.”
“Maybe just for one game, but I bet your openness would help a lot of people.”
I let his words sink in and I had to agree with him. If I hadn’t come out to my team, then I wouldn’t know about Butcher and Cardinale. Surely more guys on other teams were afraid too, so maybe me coming out publicly would be some sort of inspiration for them to do the same.
I cleared my throat. “You’re right, and it seems we’re both ready to come out.”
“Yeah …”
