Page 6 of Provoking the Punter

All he wanted to do was lick it, sweat and all.

He really should have got that out of his system at college, but back then, he’d been concerned with his grades and keeping his scholarship because without it, he wasn’t going anywhere.

And staying was never an option.

He put his laptop away, showered, brushed his teeth and put his retainer in the same as he did every night. Then he turned out the lights and sprawled in the middle of the bed, staring up at the ceiling, waiting for sleep.

He lay awake, his thoughts full of football players, one in particular.

Stevens wasn’t the only one keeping secrets.

While everyone in Austin viewed him as an out and proud, successful, self-made businessman and a role model for queer youth, if the wealthy business owners knew the poverty he’d come from, they’d shun him. But there were two different types of self-made men. Those who came from a middle-class background were respected, and then there were those like him. He’d literally made himself the man he was today by clawing and fighting for every step forward.

He’d learned fast that some things were acceptable to talk about, and some things should never be mentioned. It all depended on who he was talking to.

Sometimes it was easier to just keep his mouth shut.

CHAPTER

THREE

While the rest of the team did their Friday pregame run-throughs, Garrett spent the morning with the assistant strength and conditioning coach. Then, after the other players had cleared out, he sat with his special teams coach, Coach Jaxson Ross, or Coach J as he preferred to be called.

Even though he’d seen the locker room yesterday and seen his name written over his stall, that didn’t make walking into a room full of his new team members for the first time any easier. These guys had been playing together for half the season already. They had done all the preseason training together and survived the cuts. And there he was, swanning in and filling a spot that should’ve been taken by someone else.

It took a moment for his brain to process the busy locker room, because the colors the team pulled on were all wrong.

Some players stopped and stared at him, as if he didn’t belong. A few gave him a nod and got on with whatever they were doing.

“Hey, you’re Stevens?” The guy finished taping his wrist and stood to offer his hand.

“Yeah.” He dropped his bag in front of his locker, making it rather obvious who he was. His locker contained all his gear: T-shirts and sweats and such in the team colors.

“When do they have you doing bathtub duty?” another guy called out.

Garrett blinked and turned as if someone had just told him they were all heading out to play ice hockey. “Say what?”

Another player pulled his shirt on, his voice half muffled as he said, “You know, when you sit naked in a bathtub for an interview. We’ve all done it.”

A few of the others laughed.

“Ignore them. There’s no nudity involved, and the bathtub is a restaurant.”

Garrett groaned. He’d seen the name on the email Caitlin had sent this morning confirming the day and time. “Bathtubs and Blossoms.” The meet and greet charity dinner, the team had all new players on the team do. “That’s on Monday.”

He was not looking forward to making polite conversation with donors for an entire meal.

“Hulme, long snapper. You’ll be spending a lot of time looking at my ass.” He turned and slapped his butt as he walked away. “So get used to it.”

Garrett shook his head. If they knew… how different would things be?

A man with a tablet walked in and scanned the room. His gaze landed on him. “Stevens, with me.”

“Do you want me to bring anything?”

“Are you dressed to work out?”

“Yes.” He’d arrived dressed to train and had a change of clothes for after in his bag.