“This is a weird-ass ritual,” Trevor called to Drew.
“Welcome to the South,” Drew called back.
“I grew up in Texas,” Trevor countered. “And this is still weird.”
A line of girls in evening gowns stood beside the stage as the president gave an impassioned speech on the glory and greatness of Bodine football.
“I think we’re being brainwashed,” Drew joked, and Trevor nodded in agreement.
Emily rolled her eyes at both of them. “Oh relax, it’s a Bodine tradition to get alums to give more money. Flaunt their golden boys, pull at their heartstrings, remind them of their youth, and then suck all their money away.”
“Ah, capitalism.” Trevor nodded. “A national pastime.”
He watched the players escort their dates up on the stage. Most of them also had their proud parents waving in the stands. He wondered if Matt’s father was in attendance. And then it was Matt’s turn.
“Up next, our quarterback . . . number twelve . . . Matt Lancaster!” the announcer bellowed into the stadium.
The crowd went wild. Girls yelled in octaves that Trevor had never heard before. He could feel the manic adoration all around him. Fuck, his boyfriend was famous. At least at Bodine. Suddenly, the weight of that hit him.
He looked down to see all the television cameras and reporters setting up for the game. Talk about pressure. How the hell did Matt deal with it all?
Matt jogged up the stairs to the stage. Jocelyn stood waiting off to the side with the rest of the dates. She joined him, tucked her hand into his elbow, and he led her to the center for the moment in the limelight.
“Matt Lancaster is majoring in environmental sciences,” the announcer went on. “His date, Jocelyn Watters, is a double major in French and history. He hails from Albertine, Alabama; she from Biloxi, Mississippi. They met in their freshman dorm. Aw, isn’t that sweet?”
The crowd ate it up, simpering along. Emily shot Trevor a worried look. He told himself not to care. The announcer was just playing to the crowd. That was all it was.
But Jocelyn was clearly loving it. She smiled and waved at the fans, then reached up, turned Matt’s chin toward her, and planted a kiss on his lips. The stadium erupted into hoots and hollers as it appeared on the jumbo screen above the scoreboard.
Trevor’s fists clenched, and he felt sick to his stomach. He turned away from the sight, yanking back into place the loose strands of hair that had fallen from his haphazard knot. Control. He needed to be back in control. He willed the rational part of his mind to take over the emotional side.
Matt had had no choice. This wasn’t his fault. This was just . . . the way things were. A football player in the deep South kissed the pretty blonde girl, not the Asian gay boy with the eyebrow piercing.
Emily squeezed his hand. “It’s over,” she said, leaning over to whisper to him.
Trevor gave a nod, turning his attention back to the field. Pretending nothing had happened. He was fine. It was no big deal—some bitch’s lips on his man. Claiming him in front of twenty thousand people.
Trevor realized he was clenching his jaw. He tried to relax. Like hell he was going to let this bother him. But Emily caught his eye and knew better. “You wanna leave?” she asked.
He shook his head. No, he was staying. Rationally, he knew the kiss meant nothing. That Jocelyn had made the move, not Matt. So why the fuck did it hurt so badly?
No matter how much he tried to rationalize it away, it still fucking hurt. It hurt because she’d been able to do what Trevor never could. Be good enough.
Trevor would never be good enough. Not for his parents. Not for the rest of his family. Not for small-town Southern politics. And certainly not for Matt Lancaster.
Matt wanted to kill her. He slammed his hand against the wet tiles of the locker room shower. What the hell had Jocelyn been thinking? But he should’ve known better. Of course she’d pull something like that. His teammates had immediately joked about her wanting a ring on her finger, an MRS degree.
Matt had practically ripped their heads off. They’d backed away. He never lost his cool. Never. Well, not until recently. No wonder people said love made them insane.
He’d been able to push his anger aside for the game, focus on the plays, focus on his opponents, focus on getting the fucking ball across the one-yard line. When he’d tucked his shoulder and slammed into the defensive lineman, the guy had gone flying. And it had felt really good to hit something that hard.
Matt slammed the faucet off, grabbed his towel, and headed to his locker.
“You okay?” Connor asked, coming to stand beside him.
Matt just shook his head.
“Your dad’s out there,” Connor said, leaning in so the others didn’t overhear the warning.
“Fuck.” Matt could not deal with his father right now.
“Did you see him . . .?” Connor asked.
Matt nodded. “Yeah, I saw him.” Matt had definitely seen his dad heading into an expensive VIP box with Ryan’s dad, probably pitching his latest get-rich scheme, throwing around money he didn’t have to appear successful. “Did Ryan tell his dad to ignore him?” Matt asked, embarrassed as hell.
Connor slapped him on his back. “Yeah, don’t worry about it, man. Ryan doesn’t care.”
But Matt did. These were his friends. And his father was trying to take advantage of them, of their families.
Matt hurriedly dressed, wanting to get the confrontation with his father over with. He wondered how many whiskeys his dad had tossed back during the game. Probably too many. Matt headed out of the locker room. The coach hated giving interviews, but the Dean of Athletics was happily chatting away with a reporter who was doing a piece on the team. Following them all the way to the championship game. If they made it that far.
Matt was glad that normally he just had to give a quick sound-bite after the game. He wasn’t good at bullshitting for long.
Matt scanned the area and saw his father indeed latched on to Ryan’s rich dad. And standing next to him was Jocelyn, laughing along to whatever they were saying. Matt froze, wondering if skipping out on all of them was an option.
But then Ryan clapped him on his back with a warning. “Don’t freak out, okay?”
Matt turned to him. “Shit, what did my father do?”
Ryan shook his head. “It’s not your dad.” Ryan looked over at Damian, who had an equally worried expression on his face. Uh-oh. His roommates were never worried.
“It’s the school twitter feed, man,” Damian said, holding out his cell phone. Lancaster Snatched Up was the headline. And then there were photos of the kiss, and fuck, he was trending. The entire campus actually gave a shit where he put his dick. There was a hashtag: #Mattlyn. And another one: #LANCASTERTAKEN.
“Seriously?” Matt asked.
Ryan shrugged. “You haven’t dated anyone in almost four years. Guess people noticed.”
“So much for you two making me into a slutty playboy.” Matt’s shoulders sagged.
“Hey, we tried,” Damian replied. “I even started this one rumor where you banged two Delta State cheerleaders after they lost the game.”
“You’re a pig,” Matt said with a sad laugh.
“To be fair,” Damian said, leaning in, “I never said they were female cheerleaders.”
“Lancaster! Get on over here!” Matt heard. He looked over to see the Dean of Athletics beckoning. The dean stood with Matt’s father and Ryan’s dad. The reporter stood next to them.
“Let’s go,” Ryan said, giving Matt a nod of encouragement. He had his back no matter what shit-storm was about to be unleashed.
Matt pasted a smile on his face and headed over.
“So, Matt, this is your little lady?” Dean Warner wrapped an arm around Matt’s shouldesr like a good ol’ boy.
What a sexist bastard. But Jocelyn didn’t seem to mind; she bestowed a glowing smile on Matt. “That’s me,” she said sweetly.
“She’s a catch, son
,” his father said with a wink that bordered on lewd. This was not fucking happening.
“How long have you two been together?” The dean nodded to the reporter. “On the record for Miss Richards here. She said people don’t know enough about you. She’s writing a . . .”
“Human-interest piece,” she said with a tight smile. Matt could tell she hated the dean almost as much as he did.
“Matt, here, is a great athlete, a great son,” his dad asserted with his patented charm and confidence. Even Ryan’s dad seemed touched by his father’s pride—but Matt knew this was just part of his dad’s public persona, and he hated being complicit in it.
“That he is,” the dean agreed. “Mr. Lancaster, tell Miss Richards about Matt’s high school days.”
Matt tuned out his dad’s answer, having heard the spiel many times before. Instead, he quickly scanned the sea of orange and white and spotted Trevor almost immediately. He was waiting just like all the other friends and families. Matt had made sure they had VIP passes. Why had he done that? Why had he thought he could be like all the other players? He just hadn’t wanted Trevor to feel not good enough.
No, it was more than that. For once in his life, Matt had wanted the one person who really mattered to see him win. To see him do well.
“Mr. Lancaster?”
Matt realized the reporter had asked him a question, but he’d totally missed it.
“I’m sorry. Could you repeat that?”
“How long have you two been together?” the reporter asked again. Matt looked at her blankly. The reporter furrowed her brow, probably wondering why he looked so thrown by the question.
“We’ve been friends for years,” Jocelyn interjected, wrapping her tiny hand around his arm. “But recently it’s become something more, right, Matt?”
Matt was trapped and he knew it. The reporter was looking at him expectantly. The dean had made it clear he wanted Matt to paint a nice, rosy, all-American picture of bliss. Apparently, the entire fucking school had been wondering about his sex life for years.
So he managed a nod and shy shrug. “It’s new. We’re seeing where it goes.”
“Do you think your girlfriend is your lucky charm?” the reporter asked. “Today was quite a game. One of your best.”
Finally, Jocelyn started to look a bit uncomfortable with the line of questioning. Well, good, she knew damn well they weren’t an item. Did she think she could push him into a relationship? Or had he actually misled her? Or was she just playing along with the reporter?
“Oh, I probably didn’t have anything to do with it,” Jocelyn said on his behalf, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Matt’s always been great.”
“Yes, but today felt different,” the reporter pushed. “Did you play harder knowing she was in the stands?”
Matt couldn’t believe this was happening. He had played harder. Just not for her. For Trevor. But he couldn’t say that. So instead he nodded and heard himself say, “Yeah, maybe I did.” The lie made his heart drop.
Matt didn’t look around to see Trevor’s reaction to his words. Even if Trevor hadn’t heard the interview, it would probably be trending within mere moments all over campus. Matt had publicly claimed Jocelyn as his girlfriend. How the hell could he undo that? He couldn’t.
Matt didn’t see his boyfriend walk away. But he felt it.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Matt yelled at Jocelyn as he stormed into the common room of his suite. “Why the hell did you say all that?”
Jocelyn was sitting on the sofa with Danielle. She looked up in surprise as he entered. She’d left the stadium with Danielle while Matt had seen off his father. He’d held it together long enough to get back to the dorms, but Matt couldn’t believe the mess he was now in. And according to Connor, it was partly Danielle’s fault. She was convinced that Jocelyn was perfect for him. Apparently, she wanted everyone to be in love now that she and Connor were back together. Well, it was none of her damn business. So he turned to glare at her as well. “And why are you encouraging her? You can’t just force me to date someone!”
“I was trying to help,” Danielle helplessly replied, glancing over at Connor for backup. “There’s clearly something between you two, right, honey?”
Connor shook his head. “Oh no, I told you to leave it alone.” Connor moved over to stand next to Ryan and Damian, out of the line of fire.
“Matt, relax.” Jocelyn jumped in, trying to diffuse the situation. “It’s no big deal. Everyone loved the kiss. And that reporter wanted a human-interest piece. I guess maybe it got a bit out of hand—”
“Out of hand? You lied. I told you were we going as friends. But what? You needed the attention? Needed everyone to think you’d landed the quarterback?” Matt snapped.
“I was your date,” Jocelyn said defensively, but there were tears in her eyes.
Matt knew she was about to cry. But he couldn’t handle her manipulations anymore. It wasn’t like she was innocent in all this. She had taken full advantage of the situation. “As my friend! I have told you no how many times? But you just won’t listen. So listen now: I’m not interested in you!” he shouted.
Jocelyn flinched back from his rage, and Danielle stood up, putting herself between her friend and Matt.
“Stop yelling at her,” Danielle warned. “She messed up, yes, but you don’t have to be such a jerk about it!”
“No, it’s fine.” Jocelyn wiped away her tears. “I got carried away. I shouldn’t have said what I said, and especially to a reporter. I’m sorry, Matt.” She stood up and headed for the door, brushing past Danielle, who tried to comfort her.
But Jocelyn paused at the doorway, looking back, her lip trembling. “But really, Matt, who are you waiting for? Or do you just like screwing around with anyone you want? You’re discreet, I’ll give you that, but I’ve heard the rumors. You just use women, don’t you?” she accused, looking righteously hurt for women everywhere. Apparently, all the alleged women he’d screwed, including two rival cheerleaders. If Matt wasn’t so pissed, he’d have laughed at the absurdity of it.
“I can honestly say,” Matt said, crossing his arms, “that I have not found a woman I’m interested in having a relationship with. Not a single, solitary one. I’d rather be alone.”
“You’re such an asshole.” Jocelyn slammed out of the room, leaving silence in her wake.
Danielle was the first to move. She marched over to Matt and shoved him, hard. “What is the matter with you? You’re being a dick! We’re not just—just blow-up dolls for you to fuck when you feel like it, then toss aside. We have feelings.”
Matt threw up his hands in defeat. “Oh for god’s sake, Danielle, have you ever seen me treat a girl like shit? Bang her and move on?”
Danielle opened her mouth to fight back, but then closed it. Because he knew she hadn’t. “Well, what about Jocelyn?”
“I’ve never had sex with her!” Matt snapped.
Danielle scrunched her face up in confusion. “You haven’t?”
“No.” Matt flopped down onto the sofa.
Danielle stood there in shock, and he watched her trying to reconfigure the facts. “But she said . . .”
“Lots of women say a lot of things. But I haven’t fucked any of them.”
Danielle sank onto the sofa next to him. She shot a confused look to Connor. He shook his head and tried to urge her up and into his room. “Honey, that’s enough for today.”
“No,” she said, refusing to budge. “Are you—are you telling me you’re a virgin?” She stared at Matt.
Oh hell, why had he said so much? Matt looked down at his hands and gave a small laugh. Was he a virgin? Now that the adrenaline of the day was wearing off, his emotions were way too close to the surface. He was raw, open, exposed. “I don’t know. I’ve blown my boyfriend, and he’s blown me. But we haven’t gotten to penetration. So am I virgin?”
The room froze.
Nobody even breathed.
“You’re gay?” Daniel
le finally whispered into the silence.
Matt nodded, not facing her. Wishing he’d kept his damn mouth shut. Talk about oversharing.
“That is . . .” he heard Danielle hesitate, and he braced himself “. . . so fucking hot.”
“Babe!” Connor said, indignantly.
“What?” she said, throwing her hands up innocently. “It is!” She grabbed Matt’s biceps and waggled her eyebrows at him. “So. Fucking. Hot.”
“You’re a freak,” Matt said, laughter causing his whole body to shake. “A total freak, Danielle.”
“Hey, babe, I’m honest. Two guys kissing is sexy.” Danielle leered, causing Connor to give her a horrified look. “What? You guys like to watch two chicks make out,” she pointed out defensively.
“I don’t!” Matt exclaimed, and this made her bust out laughing.
“He really doesn’t,” Connor affirmed.
She whipped her head to Connor. “Wait, you knew? Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked, clearly piqued at being left out.
“Oh no, don’t blame me,” Connor said. “This was Matt’s secret, not mine.”
“He didn’t have to tell Danielle he had a boyfriend. But why not us?” Ryan asked, obviously annoyed that he’d been left out of the loop as well. “We already knew his secret.”
Damian nodded in agreement, his Afro bopping in vehemence. “Yeah, we already knew you were gay, man.”
“You did?” Danielle asked, her eyes jumping to each of them. “All of you knew?”
Damian, Ryan, and Connor looked at each other guiltily before finally nodding. They were definitely terrified Danielle was going to kick their asses for keeping this from her.
Instead she simpered, “Aw, you guys!” Tears suddenly streamed down her face. She rushed over to yank them all into a bear hug. “You’re the best!”
“What’s happening?” Ryan mumbled, trying to lean away from Danielle’s death grip.
Connor hazarded a guess: “I think she’s proud of us for our progressive thinking.”
“Hey, my family’s always voted Democrat,” Damian replied.
Ryan shrugged sheepishly. “Technically, we’re fiscal Republicans but social Democrats.”
The Quarterback Page 18