The Quarterback

by Mackenzie Blair

  They headed to the stadium and worked their way through the crowd to the entrance. Trevor had made sure he was still supposed to sit with Matt’s family, and Matt had texted back an emphatic yes. So, well, that was a good sign, right? Of course, Trevor wasn’t going solo, so maybe it wasn’t obvious that he was the boyfriend. Matt had gotten Drew and Emily seats as well. And they were great seats, but not the VIP boxes. Uncle Larry liked to be close to the field on the fifty-yard line, so he had no interest in sitting up in an enclosed box, cut-off from the action.

  Trevor, Emily, and Drew made their way into the stadium. It was freezing outside, so they’d settled for Bodine scarves and hats over their winter jackets. Trevor waved to Summer and Hope when he saw them. They squealed and raced over to hug him.

  “Whoa, uh, hi,” he said, taken a bit off-guard. He was an only child, not used to siblings and big displays of affection. But he loved it. He squeezed the girls back tightly. Their easy acceptance of him was sweet. Really sweet.

  “Hope and Summer, meet Emily and Drew,” he introduced as he pulled back.

  “Oh my god, you’re a twink!” Summer exclaimed as she hurried to hug Drew.

  “Oh my god, you’re inappropriate!” Drew sassed back as he returned her hug. Luckily, Trevor had already told Drew about the infamous Taboo game, so he didn’t really look that fazed by Summer’s comment. In fact, he already seemed pretty smitten with the twins as Hope latched on to his other arm and led them to their seats.

  “They love you,” Emily said, nudging Trevor with her arm as they followed Matt’s sisters.

  Trevor shrugged, a bit embarrassed. “They already love Drew too.”

  “Yeah, but they love you more. It’s cute. You’re family. You have in-laws,” Emily teased as she neared Aunt Sally and Uncle Larry, who were shaking hands with Drew.

  “No, I have a boyfriend that won’t acknowledge me publicly,” Trevor replied.

  “Honey, he won’t even corroborate the stories about himself. You need to relax. Seriously. I’m not taking his side, but look around. Can you imagine the pressure he’s under?”

  Trevor looked around and realized he was being an ass. Maybe he should be glad no one knew who he was. He certainly didn’t want an entire stadium looking at him.

  Emily squeezed his arm and stepped forward to introduce herself to Matt’s family.

  Trevor hesitated a moment, not sure how he should greet them. So he was relieved when Aunt Sally took the initiative and hugged him warmly. Uncle Larry shook his hand. He’d worried maybe they’d only been nice to him last time because Matt was hurt. But they seemed genuinely okay with it all.

  “You doing all right, Trevor?” Aunt Sally asked as Trevor took the seat next to her. “I can’t believe Matt’s father brought this all down on his head.”

  Trevor could. He didn’t have a great track record with fathers. Or mothers. “I think he’s okay,” Trevor said. “Did he say anything to you?”

  Aunt Sally shook her head. “He seemed nervous, but prepared. It’ll be rough for a few months but then . . .” She shrugged. “Well, I’m relieved he’s decided not to go pro.”

  “Really?” Trevor asked. It was hard to believe his family was okay with him not trying to pursue a career in the NFL. Money, fame, security. It was a lot to walk away from.

  Aunt Sally seemed to read his thoughts, and she patted his hand. “Honey, Matt’s good, really good, but probably not good enough to be anything but a second- or third-string quarterback in the NFL. He’d hate that, warming the bench, not being the one running the plays.”

  “And Uncle Larry’s cool with it too?” Trevor asked.

  “Of course, he is. He knows better than anyone that football is hell on the body. They say one in four professional players have brain damage.” She winced.

  “Shit, really?” Trevor replied.

  “Really. I read a whole study on it,” she affirmed. “But that’s not the main point. The point is the boy wants to live his life without scrutiny, without football.”

  “Which he can do,” Uncle Larry piped in, having been apparently listening the whole time. “Starting right after he wins the National Championship,” he added with a huge grin as he stuffed his face full of popcorn.

  Trevor laughed. Matt was lucky to have these people in his life.

  Why the hell hadn’t he been more supportive? He took out his phone to text Matt, but then the fight song started to play, and he realized he was far too late.

  “Okay, here we go,” Aunt Sally said, turning her attention to the field below. The players raced out to the roaring crowd.

  Trevor stood up and cheered, his eyes never leaving Matt, who led the team. The stadium whooped and hollered, every seat packed. This was going to be intense. God, he wanted Matt to win. He really, really did.

  The game started perfectly, in Trevor’s opinion, with Bodine scoring an early touchdown and holding off Minnesota Duluth for all of the first quarter. He didn’t see the point in a close game. He’d be happy with Bodine dominating the whole time—much less stress. But, in the second quarter, Matt’s pass was intercepted and UMD turned it into a touchdown.

  “Damn it,” Drew shouted beside him. Trevor sank down in his seat. They were tied. No big deal. Bodine would score again before halftime. He was sure of it.

  But Minnesota wasn’t letting that happen. They shut down Bodine’s offense even though Matt fought like hell for a first down. Possession returned to UMD. Bodine’s defense managed to hold them off for a while, but then it all went to shit.

  “Stop him, stop him!” Trevor shouted in horror with the rest of the fans as Minnesota’s wide receiver dodged Bodine’s defense and scored a touchdown. “Nooo!” he hollered, running his hands through his hair in frustration.

  The stadium shook with cries of dismay. The opposing team’s fans roared with approval. It only got worse when, seconds before the end of the second quarter, UMD made a field goal.

  “No, come on!” Trevor shouted with those around him, pissed at the bad call made by the refs. He wasn’t exactly sure of the penalty, but Uncle Larry seemed damned certain that the field goal shouldn’t have counted. That was enough for Trevor.

  Trevor sank back down into his seat in frustration as the last seconds of the first half wound down.

  “It’s okay.” Emily clapped Trevor on the back. “It’s only halftime.”

  Trevor nodded but felt a bit sick. Two seats over, Summer looked equally destroyed. Hope was remaining optimistic, singing out the fight song as the band played Bodine off the field.

  Matt’s uncle stood up and shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’m gonna go get a drink. Who wants a soda?” Summer and Hope scrambled up to join him, and they headed off.

  Aunt Sally shook her head as Uncle Larry and the girls made their way down the steps. She gave an amused look over at Trevor. “Have you noticed that when my husband’s upset, he’s convinced drinks will solve everything?” She rolled her eyes. “Coffee, tea, soda, juice. It’s a nervous habit of his. I guess it’s adorable really.”

  Trevor forced a smile, nodding. That had been Uncle Larry’s coping mechanism in the hospital. “Yeah, I guess he does.”

  “Don’t worry, dear,” Aunt Sally said with a pat to his knee, clearly very aware of his despair. “We’re only down by a touchdown and a field goal.”

  Right, just a touchdown and a field goal. But somehow that seemed scary as hell. When had he started caring so much about a stupid football game? Probably the same time he’d started caring for the quarterback. Which was why he was really freaking out that they were down by ten points at halftime.

  He pulled out his phone and texted Matt the only thing he could think of to make himself feel better. Because he doubted Matt would actually read it in time, but at least he’d have said it: I love you.

  He shoved his phone back in his pocket and then he started to stew and stew and overthink everything.

  He didn’t mean to say it out loud, but the next thing he kn
ew, Trevor was blurting out his fear. “Do you think it’s my fault?”

  Aunt Sally, Drew, and Emily looked at him in confusion.

  “What’s your fault?” Emily asked.

  “Us being down ten points. Is the team falling apart because of the gay rumors? Is the team not backing him up? Is that why they’re losing?” Trevor said in a rushed ramble.

  Aunt Sally snorted. “No, they’re doing fine. It’s just these Minnesota boys are huge!” She snickered. “Poor Connor looked like a tiny thing in comparison to that linebacker.”

  “Connor’s six three and built like a semi,” Trevor countered.

  “Exactly,” Emily replied, backing up Aunt Sally. “And that guy, number twenty-six, was bigger. He’s like a mutant or something.”

  Aunt Sally nodded. “But don’t worry, dear. Matt does well under pressure. Besides, he knows he has to win.” She said the last very firmly. Trevor felt his stomach churn.

  “Why?” Trevor asked, fearing the answer.

  “Because,” Aunt Sally replied simply. “Otherwise, they’ll say he lost because he’s gay.”

  “Oh my god, I’m gonna throw up!” Trevor warned, hanging his head between his knees.

  “Okay,” Drew said, scooting over between Aunt Sally and Trevor. “You two are not allowed to talk to each other anymore!” he admonished with a heavy sigh. “The weight of the gay community does not hang on Matt freaking Lancaster.”

  “You’re sure?” Trevor asked, but he was starting to smile. Drew did have a point.

  “Um, yeah,” Drew replied drolly. “There are way more important things to the gay community. Like cock rings and dildos, Broadway musicals and equal rights, butt plugs and flog—”

  Emily slapped a hand over Drew’s mouth. “You’re disgusting!” Emily exclaimed, but she was laughing. “I’m sorry Matt’s aunt, Drew has a filthy mind and filthy mouth.”

  Drew managed to get free of Emily’s muffle. “I’m honest!” He shrugged. “It’s no big deal. It’s just a game.” He looked firmly at Trevor and Aunt Sally until they both nodded in agreement.

  But as halftime ended and Bodine took the field once more, Drew stood up and screamed, “Kick their asses, Lancaster!”

  He sat back down and caught Trevor’s smirk. Drew brushed aside his long blond bangs. “What? I still want to win.”

  And so, apparently, did Bodine. They must have had one hell of a halftime pep talk, because within the first five minutes of the second half, they scored a touchdown. Matt made a beautiful pass to Damian, who ran it into the end zone.

  “That’s it, Lancaster! You the man. You the man!” Drew cheered down to Matt.

  Trevor could only shake his head. Life had gotten so weird.

  The rest of the third quarter, both teams struggled to break through each other’s defenses. No one scored. It was freezing outside, but Trevor was sweating like crazy. He looked over and Uncle Larry and Aunt Sally seemed equally tense as the fourth quarter started.

  The other team had possession of the ball, but so far Bodine’s defense had been holding strong. UMD was facing another third down, fighting to get the yardage they needed. Trevor scanned the sidelines, looking for Matt. He found him sitting on the bench, hunched over, watching the game. Damian sat next to him, looking equally focused. They needed to find an opening when they took the field again. Matt had had to throw the ball out of bounds twice, because the defense was all over Damian.

  Long minutes later, Bodine regained possession. There were only six minutes left on the clock. Matt headed back out onto the field.

  “It’s enough time,” Emily said, reading his mind “They’ll score.”

  Matt ran for eleven yards on their first down, and Trevor jumped to his feet with the rest of the crowd. “Go, honey, go!” he shouted.

  The fans in front of him gave him a weird look at the endearment, but then shrugged it off. Emily and Drew laughed as he awkwardly sat back down.

  “Shut up,” he said, before they could comment.

  “You’re like the prettiest head cheerleader with the dreamy quarterback,” Drew crooned.

  “Shut. Up,” Trevor hissed. The rumors might be flying about Matt, but nothing had been confirmed or denied. He sure as hell wasn’t going to officially out his boyfriend.

  Luckily, Drew’s attention was back on the game. Matt threw a pass to Damian, who fumbled the catch, and the crowd groaned in protest. And that was the beginning of the fight to score. Matt kept saving Bodine on their third down, making incredible plays, but still, UMD wasn’t making it easy. They remained ahead by a field goal.

  Trevor watched as Matt made a fake pass, then swiveled, found an opening between two of Minnesota’s linemen, and made a break for it. Trevor jumped to his feet again and shouted as Matt made it twenty yards before being tackled.

  “First down!” Uncle Larry shouted.

  Close. They were so close.

  Matt stared up at the sky, taking a moment to just lie on the ground. The wind had been knocked out of him. Again. And his arm hurt like hell. Fuck.

  Three plays ago he’d finally gotten past UMD’s defense for twenty yards. It had felt like the game was back in his control. He could do it. He could win them the title.

  And then Minnesota hadn’t let them gain more than a few yards since.

  Ryan came into his line of sight and offered his hand to yank Matt up. Matt took it and called a time-out as the special team took the field. It was time for a field goal. It would tie the game. With only seventeen seconds left on the clock, they’d go into overtime. Matt hoped like hell he could pull out the win then. But that last hit had wrenched his shoulder like hell.

  Matt’s eyes narrowed in confusion as Fischer took the field instead of Jamal. And then he realized what Coach Boyd was up to. This was a really bad idea.

  “Let me guess: LSU?” Matt said to Fischer as he neared. Coach Boyd loved to watch the tape of that play.

  Fischer nodded as he joined the huddle.

  “Seriously?” Ryan replied, clearly shocked.

  “At least I’ve run it. Jamal never has,” Fischer snapped back.

  Matt gritted his teeth. At the end of the day, it was still up to him to make the call. It was a risky play. One they’d never tried. But, fuck, his throwing arm was done for. Coach Boyd had seen the hit. Knew he didn’t have a lot left in him. This might be their only option. But how the hell could he trust Fischer of all people?

  “Don’t be a pussy,” Fischer said. “Let’s do this.”

  “Really, asshole?” Ryan ground out.

  Fischer seemed to realize what he’d said. He shook his head, then met Matt’s eyes. “Look, I don’t care if you’re the pussy or the dick, I just want to win this fucking game, okay?”

  Matt considered him for a long moment. Fischer was a bigoted ass, so for him to say something like that, maybe he really wouldn’t fuck this up. Maybe he wanted to win that badly. Embrace thy enemy and all that.

  So Matt nodded. “Okay, let’s go.” He confirmed the play to his team and took his place. He had to be out of his mind. Matt was going to let the hateful homophobe try to win the game for them.

  Well, that sounded about right.

  Matt almost smiled. This was fucking nuts.

  Matt set the ball on the turf. Fischer prepared as if to kick, then he ran forward, and at the last second, Matt lifted the ball and passed it to him. Fischer took off at a run, the ball clutched close to his chest. He headed to the far right, which was relatively undefended, shocking the hell out of Minnesota. Yup, Bodine’s kicker was making a run for it. Matt ran behind him, blocking the pursuers as they figured out it was a trick play.

  But Fischer wasn’t fast enough. Two UMD players were gaining on him, and he still had ten yards to go. Matt was faster. He saw an opening and took it, running toward the goal. Fischer was about to go out of bounds or get tackled. He caught Matt’s eye. Matt slowed so he wasn’t ahead of Fischer. They were only a few yards away from each other. An easy pass. Fischer
threw it high, over the Minnesota defense, and Matt snapped it out of the air.

  There was no one in his way . . .

  . . . and ten yards later, he was in the end zone. Fuck, he was in the end zone!

  A minute later, his offensive line was jumping on his back, whooping in congratulations. They’d done it. They’d won!

  With only a few seconds left, they let the play clock run down. Then their teammates and coaches stormed the field, followed by band members, cheerleaders, and a swarm of students who overtook security.

  Coach was waving his hat around like a madman, congratulating everyone. Security apparently gave up and let the Bodine fans celebrate on the field. It made for better television anyway. Matt watched as Danielle pushed her way through the crowd and into Connor’s arms for a massive kiss. Damian and Ryan were kissing random girls he’d never seen before, but they all seemed pretty damn happy.

  Matt shook hands and gave manly hugs. A cheerleader he’d known for years raced toward him. “We did it!” she shouted, and then planted a smack on his lips. She pulled back with a grin and winked. “Knew you couldn’t be gay.”

  “Actually . . .” Matt said, scanning the crowd, hoping, searching . . . and finally spotting Trevor. Matt barely registered that his sisters were also standing nearby, jumping in excitement, because in that moment, he had only one mission. He stalked toward Trevor.

  And Trevor could clearly see the determined look in his eyes.

  Trevor shook his head, backing up. “No. No, no, no, you don’t have to do this—” he stammered.

  “Yes, I do.” Matt yanked Trevor forward by his orange scarf and planted a kiss on his boyfriend’s lips. In front of his teammates. In front of fifty thousand fans. In front of live cameras.

  Because his football career had officially ended. He was out of the closet. And maybe Trevor was right. Maybe he could do something for all the other gay athletes out there. And now . . . well, now, he’d won. He’d done it. A gay quarterback had won the Division II Championship.