Football and Ballet - Jason Collins Page 0,62

and sound. Now, as I looked up at the dark blue night sky, things were coming into focus once again, my heartbeat thumping in my ears, its loudness matching the cadence of my breathing.

“We did it, mother fucker! We did it!” Tristan was now standing over me, his arms held high above his head. “Hell yeah! That’s what the fuck I’m talking about!”

“You fucking caught it! Holy shit!” Roger soon joined him, the two of them breaking out into an elaborate handshake in the endzone, a celebratory measure that lasted as long as it took for me to get off the ground.

“We won?” I asked, my breath still pounding inside my head. “Fuck. Did we really win?”

“Fuck yeah!” Tristan shouted. “Bring it in, mother fucker!”

Tristan held out his palm, waiting for me to join in with the handshake. But I quickly shook my head before I replied, “I need to get off the field.”

“Shit. Are you hurt?” Roger asked.

“No. I just need to get away from the cameras—fuck.” I noticed a group of sports reporters rushing toward me even as I spoke, their cameramen following right behind them.

And then I saw Dakota excitedly rushing the field. She looked as beautiful and put-together as ever, everything about her seeming both timeless and effortless, like she was born to work the runways of Paris and Milan.

Maybe in another life, Dakota and I could’ve been happy together. Maybe when I looked at her and saw how gorgeous she was, I would’ve felt something in my heart that really wanted me to bend down on one knee and ask her to spend the rest of her life with me.

But even with all of her beauty, there was only one person on my mind.

And by the time Dakota made her way to me, playfully jumping into my arms, I realized that I needed to tell her the truth.

“Dakota…” I held her close to my frame as I spoke straight from the heart. “Dakota, I can’t go through with this. I can’t ask you to marry me. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to say sorry to me, Hunter. I totally get it,” Dakota replied, her voice light and welcoming.

“I should’ve been honest with you from the start,” I murmured. “There was never another girl. His name is—”

“I know.” Dakota lightly chuckled.

“You know? How?”

“I told you. You’re just too much of a gentleman, Hunter Perry.” Dakota hugged me even tighter. “I’ll miss you, though. You really were the best relationship I’ve been in, in a very long time.”

Dakota then pulled away from me, but not before she offered me a kiss on the cheek.

And then, she bounded back toward the other side of the field, her excitement just as present as it had been when she’d first come down from the stands.

“Why the hell are you in my office?” Lou asked as he looked over at me. “Shouldn’t you be out with the rest of your team celebrating? Or having a nice dinner with your girlfriend?”

“I just wanted to talk to you about something,” I murmured before sliding down into the seat in front of his desk.

“All right,” Lou continued, his attention going back to a stack of papers in front of him. “What did you want to talk to me about? If it’s about a raise, don’t worry. After your performance tonight, you’ll definitely be able to renegotiate your contract to whatever you want it to say—”

“I’m gay, Lou.”

“You’re what?” Lou’s gaze snapped right back to me. “What did you just say to me?”

“I’m gay,” I repeated. “And I… this whole time when I was talking about having issues with Dakota, I was really talking about having issues with the guy I’m… in love with.”

“Oh.” Lou’s face went blank before he began to slowly nod his head. “Okay, then.”

“Okay, then?”

“Yeah. Okay, then.” Lou smiled at me from across his desk. “What the hell do you want me to say? Congratulations? It’s not like you’re getting married.” Lou then let out a light laugh as he went on. “But I’m happy for you, son. It’s always a good thing when you can find someone to love.”

“You’re being really calm about this…” My words were drenched with suspicion.

“Why wouldn’t I be calm?” Lou shrugged. “Did you think I was going to kick you off the team or something? Ask you to turn in your number and get the hell off the field?”

“Yes.”

“Holy shit. You must think I’m some kind of Neanderthal.” Lou laughed again. “I’m not a complete asshole,