13. Lee

CHAPTER 13

LEE

Lee stretched for his toes, keeping one eye on the tunnel. He glanced up at the floor-to-ceiling windows of the second floor, which allowed any of the coaches, the GM, or the owner to view the field from above. He spied the Offensive Line Coach, Sean Dyers, speaking with Coach Mike, his defensive coach. Their assistants stood beside them, scribbling notes on the tablets as the coaches pointed at some of the other players already running drills.

"Ignore them," Yowie said. "The only ones here who need to worry about them are the undrafted players."

"Sorry," Lee mumbled, shifting his gaze back to the tunnel.

"Matty, pay attention."

Lee nodded and dropped to the ground with the rest of the group, getting into a butterfly stretch. Unable to see the tunnel, he inched around.

"Matty! Who are you looking for?" Yowie tossed out, exasperation lacing his tone, just as Cutter appeared in the mouth of the tunnel. "Dude, no. Oh." Yowie's booming laugh at Drew's appearance had Lee's face burning up. "Go on. You got five minutes, then I want you in rotation, catching for Addy and Cal."

Lee was already on his feet before Yowie's instructions kicked in. He turned and walked backward, giving Yowie a two-finger salute. "Aye-aye, Captain."

"Hoo-rah," Yowie barked, the team cheer echoed by the rest of the defense.

Lee jogged over, noticing how good Drew looked in his button-down and slacks. The shirt was pulled tight across his broad shoulders, and he looked at home among the other athletes as they streamed in and out of the tunnel. "Hey."

"Hey back," Drew said. "This is cool. It looks way bigger on TV."

"I know, right? The end zone looks ginormous on the television, but it's tight in real life. Pack this area with twenty-two guys, nearly every one of them over six feet tall and weighing over one-eighty, and it's hella crowded."

Lee watched as Drew took in the field size again and mentally added the players for a moment before his curiosity won out. "So…?"

Drew panned back to him and then smiled. "I got it."

"Sweet!" Lee whooped, swooping in and hugging Drew. "This is going to be awesome. I'm excited for you."

Drew hummed and shimmied, swaying his hips to a tune only he could hear, the moves doing all sorts of things to Lee's libido. "I'm excited for me. I can't thank you enough for asking."

"You're welcome but entirely unnecessary. The opportunity presented itself." Cutter scoffed and Lee caught him rolling his eyes. He jerked a thumb at the trainer. "Thank this guy."

"Already done."

"Tick-tock, Matty!" Yowie shouted.

Lee grimaced. "I gotta go. Can I… can I call you later? I want to hear how it went."

Drew frowned. "I'm heading right from here to work. I'm off all day tomorrow, though. No classes. You can call anytime."

"It'll probably be late. Full pads tomorrow." Lee frowned. Yowie had already told them to expect to go hard. Especially Anders if he wanted a contract. Lee, too, if he wanted the spot on the kickoff special teams.

"Weights in the morning, playbook, field work, lunch, and video for the first preseason game," Cutter added helpfully with a full-on smirk. "You'll be out of here by four."

"Dinner?" Drew asked. "I'd offer to cook, but my kitchen…"

"You can use mine," Lee readily offered. Goddamn! Is it hot in here? Cutter's broad grin, which matched Drew's, wasn't helping extinguish Lee's embarrassment, either.

"That works. Just us or…?" Drew ducked his head, letting the question hang. Did Lee want Mac there, or should it be just the two of them? Since Lee didn't want to lead Drew on, perhaps it would be best with Mac present.

Cutter, seeming to sense the tension between them, jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "I'll be over there when you're done." He meandered off, leaving Lee to stare at Drew who wasn't quite meeting his gaze.

"Hey. Look. I don't want to come between you two. You guys are best friends, and right now, I could use more friends. I like you." Drew's eyes snapped up to look at Lee. He looked so hopeful that Lee smiled, but he also shrugged as he continued, "I like Mac. But… I'm at practice nearly every day. I'll be gone two or three days during the week when we have away games. As much as I might want a boyfriend, I don't really see that as a possibility or even something I should want right now. My focus needs to be here, on the field, learning the playbook, and making sure I'm in top form for the games. Preseason starts next week. So yes, invite Mac. This is us: friends getting together for a celebratory dinner. Okay?"

Drew caught his bottom lip between his teeth for a moment before nodding. "You're right. I should be focusing, too, right now. I still have classes for another two weeks, so that means finals, and Dr. Rosie wants my capstone ideas ASAP."

"Matty! Now!"

"Fuck." Lee startled and started walking backward. "I gotta go. Talk to Mac and text me later." He waved before spinning around and jogging back to the group.

"Come here," Yowie ordered when Lee reached them.

Lee leapt to his side, brow furrowed as to why his captain wanted him. "Sorry about that. What's up?"

Yowie sighed. "I need you to turn around, face your teammates, and put an end to the last five minutes of speculation. Whatever you say is your truth." He glared at the other players. "Understood?"

"Hoo-rah," his teammates cheered quietly, every one of them waiting to hear what Lee would say.

Hot damn, Lee hadn't been planning on coming out to them just yet, but it seemed like it was best to just rip off the bandage and let the chips fall where they may. Besides, he knew he had Yowie in his corner, and Garrett Stevens, the Aussie punter who had made the news when it came out he was dating the owner of Bathtubs and Blossoms. Lee gazed around the circle of defensemen, praying he wasn't making a mistake, and said, "I haven't been in the closet since high school, and I don't plan on going back in. I'm gay. And yes, I've dated girls, but it's guys that do it for me."

Jakes raised his hand, and Yowie snickered as he called on him. "Yeah, Jakes?"

"I'm straight, but my brother's gay. I've got your back. Anybody messes with you, they'll have to deal with me, too." Jakes pounded a fist into the palm of his other hand.

Anders cleared his throat. "I'm pan. I like 'em all." He smirked as he peered around the circle.

And on it went, with a few peeps passing or mentioning their wives or girlfriends. Several of the veterans had kids. It was a team-bonding experience like none Lee had ever had before, and frankly, it choked him up.

Once Yowie went last, telling them all how much he liked ladies with sass, they had gone full circle, a new voice cut in. "Hi, I'm Coach Mike. I'm happily married to a wonderful woman named Wendy and we have two littles underfoot at home. Thank you all for sharing, but could we please get on with the drills? Coach O is about to blow a gasket." He pointed discretely toward the sideline where the head coach, Emilio Oliveira, and their GM, Jared Fitz, stood with their arms crossed.

"Yikes," Yowie muttered. "On it, Coach." He clapped his hands. "You all know where to go. Hop to. Hoo-rah!"

"Hoo-rah!" Lee replied, sprinting to join the cluster of receivers, who pushed him to the front of the line, ensuring they got an additional breather. Addy and Cal were firing on all cylinders and running their offensive lineman hard. They went easy on the tackles, who wouldn't be catching more than a five-yard blooper or a crazy ricochet on a blocked pass, but long on the wide receivers, forcing them to run twenty or thirty yards downfield.

Safeties like Lee had to stand in the middle of the field and watch for tells to gauge where the QB would throw the ball. Lee prided himself on making the right call seventy-five percent of the time. When they started offense versus defense drills, Lee picked off his teammates enough times that Coach Mike had to tell him to lay off. Offensive Coach Dyers scowled at him, but Lee preened when Coach Oliviera gave him an approving nod.

Later in the locker room, Cal sidled up alongside Lee. "You did great out there today. Coach is on my ass now about giving away my throws."

"Sorry, not sorry," Lee shot back with a lopsided grin.

"Meh. It's alright. Sometimes you need your butt handed to you to improve your game, but…"

Lee side-eyed Cal, waiting to hear what he would say.

"Who was the hottie with Cutter?"

"Uh…" Hello? What the—? Another one? "A new friend." Lee figured he better go with the safe answer no matter what his dick wanted. He needed friends more than he needed boyfriends, just like he'd told Drew.

"Right." Cal drew the word out, winked, and then laughed as he walked away.

Yeah, Lee knew he wasn't fooling anyone, but he'd sure as hell keep trying.