Page 49 of Script
Lorenzo offered us some beer, which we politely refused, citing our athlete/actor status. He laughed, then sat in a chair in the shade of a rollout sunshade.
Teresa brought out some iced tea for us, and then, possibly sensing something big was brewing with the males, went back inside. The soft feminine sounds of the two women speaking in Spanish drifted out an older jalousie window. It reminded me of home here in some ways. Yes, my parents had more disposable income, but the sounds of a loving family were the same no matter how many zeroes one had in their checking accounts.
Manuel glanced at me after several moments spent talking about sports rolled past.
I cleared my throat, looked right at Lorenzo—a handsome man with thick dark hair and a fashionable goatee—who met my gaze with slight confusion.
“Your son would like to tell you something,” I said as an opener, before I shifted my attention to Manuel.
The lad fell in on himself for a moment, the weight of what he wished to say a heavy one, but one slow word at a time, he told his father his story. Lorenzo’s attention whipped back and forth from his son to me, now sitting with my hand on Finn’s knee in an open and possessive way. I hoped to be able to touch him all the time as soon as we figured out how to proceed. But for now, this was enough.
The women grew silent indoors as Manuel talked. His father, a proud man, began to tear up when his son told him that he feared he wouldn’t love him if he knew he were gay. Then, thank all the gods, Lorenzo opened his arms for Manuel. Finn’s lower lip wobbled as father and son hugged it out, and even though this was not our moment, I felt a large part of it. Sitting back, trying to be unobtrusive, we smiled at each other when Manuel’s mother and grandmother came through the back door to join in on the hugs.
Sensing it was our time to leave, we stood, thanked them for the food and drink, and slipped out of the front after leaving one of my business cards on the kitchen table. The family would be my guest at the Storm Pride night next season.
Stepping out into the bright LA sun, I glanced over at Finn. He looked as if he were ascending to the heavens his glow was that bright.
“That was amazing,” he said as a bike delivery guy rubbernecked as he passed by, almost running into the back of a sanitation truck idling at a red light. “I can make a difference, Cam.Together, wecan make a difference.”
“Yeah, baby, we can.”
I held out my hand, and he took it. We walked back to my car discussing our plans for our future. I liked the wordourquite a bit. I planned to use it often from this point onward.
Chapter17
Finn
“Ready?”Atlas asked for the tenth time. My statement had been ready an hour ago, but lawyers calling in, keen to avoid any negative implications for theRapidmovies, had demanded to sign off on everything I said. I’d wanted to tell them to go fuck themselves, but refrained given the way Atlas made a slicing motion across his neck as their demands echoed over the phone speaker.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
The statement was going live on all my social media, on the studio socials, plus more importantly, it was going to be backed up by Byrnes-Rose and the teams on theRapidmovies, plus River Grierson and his team onThe Cupproduction. It spoke about courage and authenticity, but my courage was more like manic fear. I couldn’t stop tapping my fingers on my knees, I couldn’t sit still, the room was too warm, then too cold, the sun too bright, then thunder clouds too dark. In the first draft, Atlas had used words such as talent, charisma, and dedication, but I’d nixed them all. No one wanted to have toappreciate the newfound understanding of my authentic self,nor that my statementcame after a period of self-reflection and personal growth. I wanted it to be simple. I wanted to add my love for my family and my friends, and I wanted it done.
“Cameron?” Atlas asked, as Cameron took my hand and laced our fingers. He’d wanted to add a line about our new relationship, and even though I wanted any fallout to be just on me, I agreed. Seems like this really was love because I wanted his name entwined with mine forever.
“It’s okay, Finn.” Cameron squeezed my fingers.
“It should feel better than this,” I murmured. “It’s what I want, so why am I so nervous.”
“What’s the worst that can happen?” he asked, and I wished I didn’t have a huge list of worries. “Your family loves you; I love you, and I’m not going anywhere.”
“I was going to wait until afterThe Cupwas released,” I said once more, just to hear the words.
“You can still pull the statement,” Cam said, and leaned his head on my shoulder. “Doesn’t change a thing between us, or with whatever understanding you have with River Grierson and his new movie.”
“But it could change things for kids, ones like Manuel.”
“Yeah.”
I nodded at Atlas. “Do it.”
He pressed a button to begin the process, and that was it.
I was out in Hollywood.
And I had a hockey player for a boyfriend.
Comingout was a mass of public statements, private messages, family support, expressions of support and love, but along with it came the hate. A lot of hate.
