Long Pass Chronicles 01 - Outing the Quarterback (24 page)

“Really.”

“Sure, baby. I’d love to make this right. I know you always paid me extra for keeping my mouth shut.” His voice got a little lower. “And I always liked you, baby.”

“Thanks, Rainbow. I’ll be in touch, okay?”

“Sure, baby. Anything for you.”

He hung up and looked at his father.

“What’s the story?”

“Hascomb tricked him and threatened him with jail if he didn’t tell the story on video.”

“Perfect.”

“You know the reporters are going to ask him if he gave me oral sex. He’ll have to lie.”

“We’ll pay him handsomely for every lie that comes out of his perverted mouth.”

Will looked at his hands. “He’s a nice guy.”

“I’m sure.” He stood up. “This is the way it’s going to be, Will. I’ll get my lawyer to threaten this Hascomb kid until he can’t shit straight. We’ll pay your
nice
prostitute to lie to the press. You’ll do whatever you have to do to keep Evangeline fronting for you, and you’ll make lots of lovey-dovey appearances with her until all this shit blows over.”

Jesus, he half believed his father could make this go away.

He stepped toward Will. His father wasn’t as big a man as he was, but right now he seemed huge. “In return, you will owe me big time. You’ll stay so far in the closet you’ll have mothballs in your shorts until at least the end of the school year. You’ll focus on football and getting great grades and you’ll never, I repeat never, see that fucking waiter again. Is that clear?”

His eyes widened. His chest froze. “What difference does it make now?”

“What the fuck? How can you ask me that? As you’ve discovered the hard way, you can’t run and you can’t hide. These guys suspect you and they’ll watch your every move.” He stepped even closer and looked down at Will. “But most of all, you’ll do it because I say so. What you do on your dime is your concern, but when I’m paying the freight, you’ll do as I say. Clear?”

“Crystal.”

“E-mail me Hascomb’s contact information and the phone number for your prostitute. We’re going to have ourselves a press conference. You call your girlfriend and make sure she’s ready.” He walked to the door, then turned. “Did you get all that?”

“Yes, sir.”

He walked out the door.

It was stupid, but Will jumped up and closed the door after him. Too late to keep the bogeyman out. Will made such a minor league liar compared to William Elliott Ashford Junior. The power must deplete with every passing generation. Had his grandfather been the champion liar?

He sat back down and held his shaking hands between his knees. Dear God, the man owned him. Of course, he always had. Will’s little efforts at rebellion had always been a load of crap. Look what they’d come to. No Milton. No Noah.

Hadn’t he said that painting and Noah were the only two things that ever made him happy? So that defined his future. Being unhappy was just your regular, but he’d never lost Noah before. Or painting. He wrapped both arms around his body to keep from screaming. Pain like he’d never known itched at his skin from the inside. If he looked at it, it would eat him.

Deep breath. Another.
You didn’t lose anything you had. You lost the Milton already. Noah hasn’t called. He doesn’t want you either
. Sweet crap, that hurt.
Breathe.

His father could have thrown him out, disinherited him, refused to support him for another year. That’s what he had expected. He gasped. Was that what he’d wanted? It would have been so easy to have his father make the decision for him.

No, no, that was crazy. His father had been way more incredible than Will deserved. His father’s help was all he had. He’d been thrown a lifeline. He better grab it.

W
ILL
SAT
in the car staring at his hands. Did that a lot lately.

Ev put her hand on his arm. He could feel the warmth through his suit jacket. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

He looked up into her dark brown eyes and tried to smile. “I totally get if you want to back out. This is too much to ask of anyone.”

“Hey, I’m not talking about me. I don’t have to lie, really. I actually like you, so that’s no lie. No one is going to ask me point-blank if I fuck you, and if they do, I’ll tell them to fuck off. But I’ve never seen you so unhappy. Maybe this isn’t worth it to you.”

He shrugged. “Whether I do this or not, I pretty much lost what I wanted already. My dad gave me a way out of the shame. I’d be dumb not to take it. We better get in there.”

“Hang on. What the fuck do you mean by shame? Are you ashamed of being gay?”

Was he? “Maybe a little. I’ve been taught my whole life that it’s wrong, unmanly, all that shit. But I meant the shame of lying and hiring a prostitute.”

“Lots of people do it, gay and straight.”

“I guess.” Tell that to his father.

“What did you want that you can’t have?”

Hell, why not tell her
. “I wanted to be a painter.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope. I’m pretty good at it. That’s how I met Noah. But I tried for a scholarship that would have given me full tuition to art school next year. I lost it. Even worse, I made Noah lose it. And then I lost Noah.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry, Will.”

“Me too.”

“Isn’t there some other way to be a painter? I’d think you could do anything you put your mind to.”

“I guess. But right now I’d have to throw away three years of college, quit football, find a place to live, get a job, save up money for a year, and lots more.”

“Yeah.” She grinned at him.

She was so brave. He was a weak-assed pussy. “Maybe I’ll do all that next year, but right now, this works for me.”

She just looked at him. He squirmed in his blue suit. She shrugged. “Okay, if this is the only way, let’s do it up right.”

He got out and helped Ev out of the Ferrari. He’d parked in back of the country club where his father scheduled the press conference. All the better to wine and dine the reporters, his old man said.

By the time they got to the meeting room in the hotel, a few of the reporters had already snapped pictures and yelled questions at him. Ev smiled, hugged his arm to her boob, and looked pretty amazingly convincing as the affectionate girlfriend. The party had been going on for an hour already, and obviously lots of booze had been poured to warm the hearts of the press. Who would be impolite enough to drink Ashford liquor and then sell Ashford the Third down the river? Yeah, well, some would, but not all.

They walked to the table his dad had set up on a small platform at the front. A big screen stood behind it. His dad made a big show of kissing Ev on the cheek and slapping Will on the shoulder. Ev sat and his father stepped up to the microphone with his arm around Will. “Hi, everyone. I think you all know I’m William Ashford Junior, the second, you might say. And this of course, is William Ashford the Third. You know him as Will, the quarterback of the SCU football team. I think you also know that my son has been the subject of some scurrilous accusations and lies focused on him by a jealous student whom Will called on some racist remarks focused on Will’s girlfriend, Evangeline Jones, sister of Jamal Jones. Will says he was pretty kind about it, but apparently the young man was offended and decided to fabricate some stories to get even. Having spoken to the Ashford family lawyer, he has seen the error of his ways. Obviously, the most damning of the so-called evidence against my son were the statements of a gentleman we’ll call Rainbow, since that is his professional name.” His father grinned and a couple of reporters chuckled. “Will knows Rainbow. In fact, he helped him with some money once when he was in a jam, and he’s been grateful to Will ever since. He agreed to be videoed and to tell you what happened to cause him to make the statements he did about Will.”

The image of Rainbow dressed as conservatively as he got in jeans and a dress shirt flashed on the screen. Will’s dad had decided Rainbow was too much of a loose cannon to be interviewed live by the press. Will glanced at the screen.

Rainbow looked at the camera, his pretty eyes and lips made up just slightly. “I just want to say how sorry I am that I said those things about Will. Will’s my friend. But this asshole—sorry—lied to me and then threatened to call the police and have me arrested. I knew that would be really bad, especially for someone like me.” He fluttered his lashes. “So I lied and I’m terribly sorry. Will has always been kind to me, and I never wanted to get him in trouble.”

The screen went dark. His dad had wanted a lot more, but Will refused to let Rainbow lie outright or make himself more of a focus for the cops. As it was, most of what he said was true. They were friends, sort of; Hascomb had threatened him; and he was sorry. Had he lied on Hascomb’s video? Not exactly, but that was the only real glitch.

His father smiled. “All right, we’ll take questions now.”

Race Jaston raised his hand. His father nodded. “Will, are you gay?”

Well, shit
. That was the kind of direct question he’d practically prayed he wouldn’t get. He took a breath—

Ev hopped up beside him and wrapped her arms around him. “You really want to know?”

She grabbed his head and pulled him down toward her parted lips. Will caught on quick and kissed her. She responded by giving them a glimpse of tongue and wiping some bright red lipstick all over him. Just sexy enough to deflect the question, he hoped. Shit, it was a kiss of pure gratitude.

His father took the next question. Something about the football season. Exactly the kind of questions they wanted.

Race raised his hand again. “Will, what’s your relationship with the young man in the restaurant video?”

I love him. I miss him. My heart breaks because I can’t have him.

His father smiled. “Let me answer that if I may. My son’s secret passion is fine art. He’s loved it since he was a boy.” Will’s heart stuttered. What did he know? “He met this young man as a result of admiring his art. He’s a painter. They became friends.”

One of the guys called out, “He works in a restaurant.”

“Yes, he’s a very hard-working boy. He’s putting himself through school holding three jobs. Most admirable.”

Could he barf? He wanted to kick in his father’s teeth for using Noah’s story to pander to the press.

Race spoke softly. “The relationship appeared to be affectionate.”

Will stared at the reporter.
Yes, it was affectionate until you guys showed up, asshole
.

Will’s dad made a funny face. “Actually, the young man is gay, so you might have seen that affection related in the video.” He gave Will a rough hug. “Can’t blame him, can you?”

Some of the guys chuckled and a female reporter made a purring sound. Everyone laughed.

Another reporter raised his hand.
Enough of this shit
. Will stepped forward. “I want to thank my dad for setting this up. But I want you to know that you now have quite a lot of detail about my personal life. I’m a quarterback, not a movie star. My girlfriend and my friends aren’t really your business. So if someone goes online next week and claims I’m a werewolf, I’m not going to be commenting. And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t either. I hope you’ll all be at the game tomorrow. With that said, I need my sleep before that game. Go Lions!” He turned to Ev. “Ready?”

A bunch of questions flew at him. He ignored them, smiled, and walked through the group to the door as the flashes followed them. The reporters didn’t let up until they were in the Ferrari and pulling out of the parking lot. Will waved. Ev waved.

Finally, only the rumble of the engine broke the silence. “Shit!”

“Yeah. That wasn’t a heap of fun. But if convincing the press you’re straight was the goal, I think you did about as well as could be expected.”

“You think it worked?”

“I think a lot of them are convinced, and some aren’t but probably won’t say so until they have more ammunition. They don’t want to take on your father. He’s a scary-ass dude.”

“Welcome to my world.”

“So what’s your plan? Finish school, play out the season, get your degree, and then what?”

Then what? The two words sat there like a load of crap in a diaper. “I don’t know. I applied for the one scholarship, but going for more will be tough. I have to get a PO box so my father doesn’t see the correspondence. I guess I’ll get a job somewhere, find a place to live, and study art.”

“No big business job, no pro football?”

“Hell, no.”

Quiet. Rumble, rumble, rumble.

“Will?”

“Yeah.”

“What are you doing it for?”

“What?”

“The degree, the championship. If it has no meaning beyond this year, why are you doing it? I’m not harassing you. I honestly want to know.”

“Maybe I can be the manager of the fast food place where I work?” He laughed, but it sounded choked.

“Seriously.”

He stared through the windshield at the lights of the cars on the freeway. White to the left, red in front of him. Red meant stop. “Can I let you know the answer to that later?”

N
OAH
STOOD
in front of the bar, staring at the screen.

Penny wiped the bar in front of him. “Funny, you never struck me as a sports fan before.”

He smirked. “Yeah. Weird, isn’t it?” He looked back up at the sports roundtable discussion.
Come on
. He needed to get to his customers.

One commentator finally said the words he’d waited for. “SCU quarterback Will Ashford has one dedicated father. The man held his own press conference to dispel the rumors that his son is gay. The promising young star with the golden arm stood beside his father, with his beautiful girlfriend behind him, and pretty much let Ashford senior do the talking.”

A video started. Man, side by side, Will’s father looked like him, except smaller and a whole lot meaner. They played a couple of seconds of some drag queen denying he’d had sex with Will, or that was the implication. Then a reporter asked about the video of Will and Noah.