Risking the Shot (Stick Side #4) - Amy Aislin Page 0,105
to talk to him about it when he gets here.”
Tay bit his lip, gaze flying to Dakota’s. “What do you think?”
Dakota winked at him. “Might be good for kids to read about what it’s been like for you guys.”
Out in the Field was the LGBTQ sports blog that had done Tay’s coming out article. Based in Toronto, they were a small shop owned by a married couple consisting of a former women’s soccer star and the former CFO of a national bank. They worked out of their own home, but in order for the interview to feel more authentic, Tay had invited Roseanna Johnson—the former soccer player who was also their writer—into his apartment. Dakota had sat next to Tay on his couch and held his hand because—well.
Where else would he be but at the side of the man he was going to spend the rest of his life with?
After dinner and Mason’s subsequent departure back to his hotel, Dakota sat outside with Tay, Andy, and Stanton—the latter of whom Dakota and Andy had gotten to know much better in the last few months. The summer sun was still high in the sky, and the breeze was warm on Dakota’s skin. He sat on the deck stairs next to Tay.
Andy leaned against Tay’s knees, gazing down at the phone in Tay’s hands. “What are you doing, Tay?”
“I’m getting my post ready,” Tay said. Mason had given the phone back to him only after extracting a promise that Tay would leave his social media notifications off until the scrutiny died down and that he wouldn’t answer calls from unknown or private numbers.
Stanton loomed behind Andy, nursing a beer, squinting against the sun behind his thick glasses. “You sure about this? Sharing your comic with the world? I mean, you only told me about it, like, two months ago.”
“Even if I wasn’t sure, it’s too late now,” Tay told his best friend. “I already posted on my personal page that it was coming.”
Something new is coming! Tay’s Instagram post had declared this morning. Launching tonight at 7pm EST is my comic about three water witch brothers as they attempt to protect their small town from an ancient magical threat . . . and fall in love with the men of their dreams in the process. Check it out @TayDraws3.
His followers on that page had shot up from a couple dozen to several thousand in only a few hours.
“Well, sure,” Stanton muttered. “Doesn’t mean you can’t delete that post and pretend it never happened if you change your mind.”
“I’m not changing my mind.”
Where Tay had been nervous about sharing his comic several months ago, now his shoulders were drawn back in confidence and he bit his lip in anticipation. Blowing out a breath, Tay sat back and turned to Dakota, a grin taking over his expression and stealing Dakota’s breath.
A ball formed in Dakota’s throat at how damn proud he was of him. Arm coming around Tay’s shoulders, he kissed his temple. “Ready?”
“So ready.”
Tay hit Post and sent his comic out into the world for everyone to see.
AND TAY MAKES TEN
By Roseanne Johnson
It might seem like LGBTQ hockey players are the new normal, but it’s still a big deal when one publicly comes out. Such is the case with Toronto forward Taylor Cunningham, who, earlier today, was the 10th NHL player to come out of the closet, announcing his bisexuality via an Instagram post advertising his boyfriend’s bakery.
I sit with Tay in his living room, and right off the bat, I’m comfortable in his presence. Tay is charming and easy-going, and while his boyfriend, Dakota, who sits in on the interview, is a bit more somber and less easy to smile than Tay, Tay assures us it’s out of concern for him and that Dakota is usually much less reserved.
“He’s just worried about me,” Tay says with a soft smile at Dakota that makes me envy their connection, even though mine with my wife is just as strong. There’s something about how Tay and Dakota fit that screams #couplegoals.
When I ask if he came out for his boyfriend, Tay chuckles. “Not one bit. It’s something I’ve been thinking of doing for the past few months, since before Dakota and I met, even.”
He wanted to be true to himself, he says. Dating women is easy. No one blinks if you’re heterosexual. But also being attracted to men meant he was purposefully burying a part of himself.