18. Xander

Xander

A barrage of notifications assaulted my senses as I awoke. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I squinted at the blinding light of the screen. Instagram, X, Facebook – each platform ablaze with chatter about me. My heart hammered against my chest like a wild drum as I tapped on the first notification. Confused, I opened the message. It was from Jester.

"Dude, have you seen this?" he'd sent, followed by a link.

Clicking the link, I was taken to a social media post that had gone viral. It showed a picture.

Of Ry and me.

Oh God.

I remembered the moment well. It was a few weeks ago and we'd been at a public park where they set up big screens for community movie nights. Ry and I were sitting close, laughing. Nothing explicitly romantic, but looking at the photo objectively, the intimacy between us was undeniable. Neither of us had noticed someone snapping a photo.

Ry"s voice slipped into my panic-stricken thoughts, groggy from sleep. He shifted in bed beside me, his hair a mess of curls from when I'd grabbed them last night while I was fucking him from behind. His eyes met mine with curiosity and concern.

I wordlessly extended my phone towards him. He took in the picture, his face hardened into a mask of disbelief.

He cursed under his breath before sitting up abruptly. "How did this happen?"

"Looks like we photobombed someone"s selfie," I said, feeling anxiety gnawing at my insides like some ravenous beast. "I don"t think it was intentional... but it"s out there now."

Ry ran his hand over his face with a sigh. "We knew this could happen."

I nodded in agreement as thoughts whirled around in my head like leaves caught in a storm. "What do we do now?"

"We need to talk to Coach and management." Ry reached for his phone.

The seriousness of our situation hung heavy between us as we showered and got dressed in silence before heading out to meet Coach at the arena.

In the car, I found myself staring out the window in an attempt to steady my racing heart. Ry"s hand found mine, his fingers intertwining with mine in a reassuring squeeze. "We"ll get through this, Sunshine. Together."

Arriving at the arena, we headed straight to Coach"s office. Coach was waiting for us, looking concerned but supportive. "Come in, boys. Let"s talk."

We told him about our relationship. Coach listened intently. "This isn"t ideal," he said finally. "But we need to handle it with care. Let"s get the management team involved and come up with a plan."

I released a breath I didn't know I was holding. Although I didn"t voice it aloud, I'd worried that one or both of us would be traded.

The management team was quickly assembled, and we sat down in a conference room. It was surreal, like we were discussing someone else"s life. But this was our reality now.

"We need to address this publicly," the PR manager, Fiona Campbell, said. "A controlled media interview would be the best approach. It allows you to tell your story on your terms."

Ry nodded, his hand still gripping mine under the table. "We want to be honest but also respectful of our teammates and the organization. We don"t want this to become a distraction for the team."

"Understood," the PR manager said. "Let"s work on crafting your statements. We want to make sure you"re comfortable with what you"re saying."

Over the next couple of hours, we worked with the PR team to prepare for the interview. It was grueling, but we knew it was necessary. When we were finally done, I felt a strange mix of exhaustion and relief.

"We"ll arrange for the interview to be aired tonight," the PR manager said. "You"ll have our full support throughout this process."

Back in the locker room, the atmosphere was tense. Our teammates had obviously heard about the picture and the impending interview. There was an awkward silence as we walked in.

Jester was the first to break the ice. "You okay?" His gaze flickered between Ry and me questioningly.

"We"re dealing with it." Ry"s response was calm and collected – always so damn composed even under pressure. "We"re going public with our relationship tonight."

Tank, his massive frame a comforting presence, stepped forward. "Let us know what we need to do."

Maestro clapped me on the back. "Proud of you guys."

Looking around at everyone in the room, Jester declared, arms crossed, "If anyone has a problem with Xander and Ry, you'll have to deal with me." Then he fixed Tank with a mischievously wicked stare. "And Tank owes me pepperoni pizza because I knew you guys were hooking up."

I said, "How–" at the same time Ry said, "Who–"

Tank flipped Jester a pair of birds.

The support from our teammates was overwhelming, a wave of relief washing over me – except for Sam and Landon, who looked like they"d just swallowed lemons.

But they were the minority and I found solace in that. With each word of support, the gnawing anxiety that had been my companion all morning began to dissipate.

That evening, we sat down for the interview. Ry and I found ourselves under the harsh glare of studio lights, cameras trained on us like predators. The imposing setup was enough to make anyone feel small, yet with Ry beside me, his solid presence a reassuring anchor, I felt fortified.

The woman who sat across from us was Eva Garcia. She'd interviewed me on several occasions. My mind transported itself back to the first time she'd interviewed Ry and me. We'd recently become teammates and were still virtually strangers. Who knew we would be interviewed in this kind of situation tonight?

She warmed up with some mild inquiries about our backgrounds before launching into the heart of the matter.

"So," she began, her gaze flicking between us. "There"s been a lot of speculation about the nature of your relationship. Can you clarify?"

Ry's hand slipped into mine – an unspoken pact cemented by intertwined fingers, but this time our hands rested on the table for everyone to see, unlike this morning when we had them beneath the table. This small difference mattered so much to me. "Yes," he stated firmly. "Xander and I are together. We have been for some time but chose to keep it private to prevent any distractions for our team."

Eva's face remained impassive as she absorbed this information before posing her next question: "Why did you decide to come out now?"

I took over then, my voice steady despite my racing heart. "It wasn"t exactly our decision," I admitted. "A picture of us surfaced online and we figured it was best to address it openly rather than let rumors run wild."

"And how do you think this will affect your team and your careers?"

Ry's brow furrowed as he considered the question thoughtfully. "The League has had openly queer players for years now," he said optimistically. "We hope for support from our teammates and fans alike. We know it won"t be easy but we"re ready to face whatever comes – together."

Eva"s eyes shifted back to me, curiosity etched in their depths. "Xander," she probed gently, "how do you feel about all this?"

The corners of my mouth lifted in a small smile as I squeezed Ry"s hand. "I"m relieved," I confessed. "It's terrifying but liberating at the same time. We just want to live our truth and find happiness in it."

The remainder of the interview was a blur of generic questions about our future plans and aspirations. By its end, we were both emotionally spent yet oddly light-hearted. We had done it – wrested back control of our story.

The aftermath was a whirlwind. Social media erupted with reactions ranging from supportive to downright hostile. The management stood by us through it all, though, their support making all the difference in our tumultuous journey into openness.

As soon as we exited the conference room, the team was there to greet us – sans Sam and Landon.

"Extra drills tomorrow, anyone?"

Tank"s teeth flashed in a wolfish grin. "Need to bulk up if we"re going to shield our star couple."

Laughter boomed through the room. Their solidarity was as clear as crystal; it wrapped around me like a warm blanket, flooding my veins with relief.

I stole a glance at Ry. Our eyes locked and his lips curled into an intimate smile – an unspoken promise that we were going to weather this storm together. We had each other; we had our team. What else could we possibly need?

When everyone left, Ry tugged me into a secluded corner. "You were phenomenal today."

My heart pounded against my chest as I leaned into him, my lips brushing against his earlobe. "We both were… I"m so proud of us."

His lips pressed against my forehead, his touch gentle and reassuring. "We"ll get through this, Sunshine. Like I said before, one step at a time."

"Yeah, one step at a time."

As we walked to the car, hand in hand, I felt a sense of peace. With our relationship out in the open, I had a new sense of freedom. We could hold hands in public, share a kiss after a game, and just be ourselves. It was liberating and brought us even closer together.

We still had to juggle our professional commitments with our personal lives. Practice was intense, games were demanding, and we had to stay focused. But now, we had each other's support openly, making it all more manageable.