Long Pass Chronicles 01 - Outing the Quarterback (20 page)

Will’s mouth filled with bile and his fists tightened….

“This reporter just happened to be in the right place at the right time this week in order to verify a certain, shall we say, ‘friendship,’ which had been described to me by said hotter-than-hot cheerleader. It seems our boy might have eyes for—well, you be the judge.”

The screen filled with Will and Noah horsing around in the restaurant. Not still shots. Fucking video. Will smacked Noah, Noah giggled and smacked Will back, and then Will grabbed Noah’s wrists. But worst of all was the look on their faces. Man, most girls couldn’t look that flirtatious. He smiled and simpered like some love-struck teeny bopper.
Jesus fucking Christ.
Is that how he looked? The screen froze on a still shot of Will’s face, smiling and batting his eyes at Noah. At a man. Crap, he wanted to throw up.

Dennis came back on, smiling. “Not that there’s anything wrong with it.” He laughed as he quoted the famous line from the old Seinfeld show. “So that’s the story, SCU-ers. I’m sure our boy will have a winning season, one way or another. See you next time with more of the inside scoop.”

Will stared at his phone.
Shit!
He threw it at the wall. It bounced on the curtains and fell to the hardwood. Why him? Why did that asshole have to be in that restaurant? Did some cosmic joker have it in for Will?

The phone rang. So much for William the mobile destroyer. He couldn’t even wreck a phone and make it stick. It had to be Jamal. He crawled to the edge of the bed and grabbed the phone from the floor. “Hi.”

“Jesus, Will.”

“Yeah. How the fuck did that guy find me in an out of the way Mexican restaurant at 10:00 a.m. on a Thursday?”

“Your car.”

“What?”

“I’ll bet anything he drives around town looking for your car. How many blue Ferraris are there in the world?”

Will fell back on the bed. “Keee-rap. Doesn’t he have anything better to do?”

“Not really. That guy survives on dirt. I’m guessing Tiffany got him all worked up over some guy you were hung up on in Laguna, and old Dennis has been trolling the place ever since.”

“Troll is the right word.” He shuddered.

“But the cat’s out of the recycle bag now, my man.”

“Maybe no one will see it.”

“Yeah, right. I’m calling you because two people called me.”

“Sheee-it.” What the fuck could he do? “Is Evangeline there?”

“Yeah.”

“Is she coming to the game tomorrow?”

“I think so.”

“Ask her if she’ll help me do some damage control.”

“I’m sure she’ll help. But you think that’ll do the job?” He sure didn’t sound convinced.

“If we lay it on thick and Hascomb lets go of this bone.”

“Whaddya think the chances are?”

Will sighed. “Maybe 50 percent. But if I make light of it, it could go away sooner.” Man, he wished he believed that.

“I’ll ask Ev. See you tomorrow. Be careful, okay?”

“Yeah. See ya.” He hung up. Funny how the trip to Laguna didn’t sound quite as great.

He took another shower to wipe Hascomb’s crap off him, dressed, and walked out to his car. He stared at the Ferrari. He should borrow one of his dad’s cars, but then he’d have to come up with some reason why. Just one more lie. He was choking on them.

Fuck
. He got in the car and headed toward Laguna. The late evening traffic wasn’t too bad and he made it in twenty-five. Outside Noah’s place, he slowed and looked around the front house to the apartment to see if there were lights. There weren’t. He sped up. A couple of blocks away, he found a parking space on a side street, got out, and walked back to Noah’s, looking over his shoulder a couple times along the way.
Crap!

He paced outside the dark apartment. Every time a car went by, he’d stare at the street, imagining he saw Hascomb. Finally, he heard footsteps.

Noah saw him, smiled, then glanced back and frowned. “Where’s your car?”

“Long story. I’ll tell you inside.”

Noah’s eyes got wide. “You weren’t in an accident?”

“No, nothing like that.” It wasn’t accidental at all.

He followed Noah inside and sat on the edge of the couch while Noah took off his backpack and kicked off his shoes. He looked over his shoulder at Will. “Hey, relax.”

Will shook his head. “Sorry, I’m kind of stressed. I can’t actually stay long, but I didn’t want to cancel.”

Noah crossed and sat next to Will. He took his hands, which felt kind of nice. “What’s wrong? Tell me.”

“I have to go because of my dad. He’s pretty much monitoring to be sure I get enough sleep before my first game. I can’t think up enough excuses for being out all night.”

Noah nodded, but he had to think it was lame. Hell, he lived his own life. How could he imagine Will’s father having to tuck him in?

Will puffed his cheeks and blew out slowly. “I’m stressed because of that asshole who took pictures of us this morning.”

“No shit? You’re worried?”

“No, confirmed. He posted it all over his YouTube show. Lots of implications about how I like you and don’t like Tiffany. He pretty much says I’m gay.”

Noah nodded again. “I’m really sorry.” But his expression said
been there, done that.
“So what are you going to do?”

“At the game tomorrow, I’m asking Ev to really do a number. Hang all over me. I’m going to smile and deny.” Right after he barfed.

“I see. Guess there’s no chance you’d want to smile and confirm?” He grinned.

Will frowned. “What? Hell, no. You can’t even imagine how much shit gay athletes get, especially in football. It’s ugly, man.”

“But then, you’re not really a gay athlete, are you? You’re a gay painter, and they hardly get any shit at all.”

Couldn’t breathe. “No. For now, I’m the quarterback of a really important football team.”

Noah’s expression could have been that of a second grade teacher. “And nobody else is fit to do that job, right?”

“No!” Shit, Noah didn’t understand. How could he? Different world.

Noah held up his hands in front of his chest. “Okay, okay. I get it. Football matters. I’m so glad you’ve got Ev. She seems like a really nice girl. I guess being the one you can take out in public isn’t such a bad job.”

What the hell did that expression mean? “I’m sorry if I’m giving you less than you deserve. That’s kind of the description of everything in my life.” He stood up, clutching his hands. “I should go. I’m sorry. I just need to go.”

Noah stood up, faced him, and put his hands on Will’s cheeks. “Calm down, sweetheart. We can get through this together. I’m not saying I don’t want to be with you. Sure, I wish things were different, but I love our time together.”

“Yeah. Me too. But this guy is actually stalking me. Jamal thinks he found me by looking for my car. That’s why I parked two blocks away.”

“Jesus. He must want to out you pretty bad.”

“He does. Jamal and I embarrassed him and he’s a real gossipmonger.”

Noah held his shoulders. “Jesus, you’re shaking.”

“Sorry. I’m just not used to it.” He rubbed his hands up his arms.

“It’s gonna be okay. You’re a popular guy. Show up with your pretty girl and people will forget about what this asshole nerd said.”

“You think?”

“Yeah.” He smiled and kissed Will gently on the mouth.

Will wrapped the slender body in his arms and held him close. “Thank you so much.”

“For what?”

Will held him out at arm’s length. “Being so great. I better go. I know how fucking lame this whole situation is, but it’s not forever.”

Noah gave a lopsided smile. “Okay.”

“Watch the game if you get a chance. It’ll make me play better.” He smiled.

“You’ll play great without me. I have to work.”

“Of course you do.”

Noah shrugged. “I guess I’ll see you in class, then.”

“I’ll call you.”

“Okay.”

Will kissed those sweet lips. Noah kissed back. Sort of.
Damn
.

Will brushed a strand of silky hair from in front of Noah’s scar. “Sorry, I have to go.”

“Me too. I had big plans for your ass.”

Will chuckled. “You know how to hurt a guy.”

Noah grinned but it didn’t quite get to his eyes. “So do you.”

Shit
.

C
RAP
,
HE
was jumpy. Had to get the nerves under control or he’d blow the game. Will pushed open the door to the locker room. The smell of sweat spoke more about game jitters than exertion.

Jim Sawicki looked up from his place on the bench by his locker and smiled. “Hey, Will. Good luck today.”

“Thanks, Jim.” He smiled back. Sawicki was a great guy. Had it all. Talent, brains, and good looks. He outweighed Will by a good twenty or thirty pounds and was fast as hell. Plus he was so nice you couldn’t even hate him. He should be first-string quarterback. Not a fake like Will.

He crossed to his locker. Voices to his right made him look up. Three of the defensive players stood in a circle talking quietly. One of the guys, a huge linebacker named Craig, saw Will and made a gesture with his hand to the other guys. They all got quiet. Will nodded and Craig nodded back, but the guys’ expressions gave Will goose bumps. Half amused and half pissed.

Forget it. You’re imagining it
. He stripped and started pulling on his pads.

Harvey, the equipment manager, stopped beside him. “You got all your gear?”

“Yeah. I’m good.”

“Feel good to be back in uniform?”

“Great. Thanks.” Smile for the birdie. He finished his pads and pulled on the jersey.

Harvey gripped his shoulder. “Don’t be nervous. Your practices have been really good. I know Coach is impressed.”

That earned a genuine smile. “Thanks so much, Harvey.”

The man walked away.
Wish that was all I’m worried about
. Jamal came over. In full gear, he was one giant, gorgeous titan of a man. He grinned. “How you doin’?”

“Good.”

“Hey, Ev just texted me. She’s outside and wants to give you a kiss for luck.” He winked.

Wow. In a pinch, the Joneses came through. Will hurried to the locker room door, threw it open with a flourish, and smiled at Evangeline, who waited outside the door with a couple of guards hovering around her.

She cocked a hip, flashed those pearlies, and threw her arms around his neck. It was a good thing he liked her, because she laid a kiss on him fit for a porno flick. A couple of flashes went off. If you could grin in your heart, Will did.

She pulled back. “Play great, Will. That’s for luck.”

“Thanks, Ev. Enjoy the game. See you after.”

She smiled at Jamal. “You play good too, bro. Protect your quarterback.”

She strolled away with enough sway in that booty to stop large trucks on the I-5 freeway. It was one great performance. Was it enough?

Jamal pulled on his arm. “C’mon. Coach is starting.”

Will turned and walked back into the locker room for the coach’s pep talk. Craig stared at Will with narrowed eyes. Had he bought it?

While the coach gave them inspiration, Will just kept breathing deep.
Don’t get paranoid
.

Coach worked up to a big finish. “You’re playing well as a team, you’ve got a great quarterback, and I’m expecting a winning year! Get out there and show the world what they can expect from the Lions!” They all put their hands in the middle, yelled “Lions!” and cheered as they ran to the lineup.

Outside, the announcer was already introducing the players from the opposing team. California University was a top rival, so even though this game didn’t count, people watched to check out the teams. Will sucked in air.
Don’t fuck it up
.

The defensive team started out, each one getting applause from the crowd and special cheers from the squad. The offensive team headed out from the tunnel. When they got to Jamal, the noise reached a crescendo and the cheerleaders went berserk. Finally, the announcer’s voice called him.

“Annnnnnd now, the quarterback of Southern California University, the man with the golden hands, Willllll Ashford.”

The crowd screamed and stomped and the band played as he ran out on the field. The cheerleaders stayed silent. Not a pom-pom flickered. He understood, but it was still major bitchy.

The captains formed at the center of the field for the coin toss. The visiting captain called heads. Heads it was. He opted to defer to the second half kickoff.

Will nodded. They’d receive. No big surprise.

He trotted to the bench as the kickoff team came on the field. His eyes drifted toward the stands. Was Hascomb up there?
Focus, dammit
.

The Cal U kicker sent it soaring straight into the hands of SCU’s kickoff return man. Nice one. The guy chose to run it. Will held his breath. The guy made it to the thirty-five before he got flattened. First down. The crowd yelled and cheerleaders egged them on.

Showtime
. He bounced up with Jamal beside him and ran into formation. He called the play. The wide receiver pass they’d practiced yesterday. “Hut. Hut.”