Asher King's life has revolved around putting up an involuntary mask to hide his true self. With successful parents boasting about his 'pretend' success, Asher feels as though the life he is living was never his to begin with, and a home of happines...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Four years later...
When the final second of the game hits, the crowd is drowning in a mixture of outrage and happiness.
I throw my helmet off my head. The chaos and confusion around me brings such a bright smile to my face.
I did it. I fucking did it. I just won a Super Bowl Title.
Some of my teammates hug me and clap me hard on the back. I run over to my coach, throwing my arms around him and internally thanking him for the opportunity.
Within a few minutes, dark green and yellow jerseys are only left in sight. Not a single one of the red San Francisco 49ers jerseys can be seen from the opposing team. The stadium is showered in confetti. The screams only seem to roar louder.
This feels so fucking great.
Without warning, my hair and jersey are soaked in blue Gatorade as my teammates dumped the bucket over my head. An elated laugh bubbles out of me as I still can't believe this is reality.
At the ripe age of twenty-five, I will have a Super Bowl ring.
After a few more minutes, when I've gone around and congratulated everyone on my team and staff, I see the camera crew rush toward me. I can't even be mad about it at this moment.
A short brunette woman sticks a microphone in my face while the camera operator at her side focuses on me.
"Leo Gaines!" she addresses. "How does it feel to win a Super Bowl?"
"It honestly feels so amazing," I laugh. "I thank the Green Bay Packers every day for allowing me to have this chance."
"Mr. Gaines, you are the youngest player in history to be awarded both the AP NFL MVP as well as just being awarded the Super Bowl MVP. How did you do it?"
I laugh, feeling slightly embarrassed by the question but very honored nonetheless. "I would say to stick true to yourself. Believe in your dream because nothing is impossible. It also helps if you have someone special to encourage you," I wink, knowing that when Asher sees this, it'll make him blush.
She smiles, "You are now the only player in history to be awarded these honors who is openly bisexual. You are inspiring LGBTQ+ athletes everywhere, now including in the world of football. Any words to your young fans who look up to you?"
"Um..." I actually hesitate for a second. "All I will say is that it's definitely hard to be someone like me in this career. I'm glad I'm such a big representation of my community, but that doesn't make it any easier. You have to be strong if you want to survive. Lucky for me, my husband is my biggest support and probably one of the only reasons I made it this far."
Her eyes widen and a broad smile graces her face.
"Husband?" she questions.
The media jumped on the news that Ash and I got engaged about a year ago, but I never told anyone besides my close family and friends who attended the wedding, that we had already tied the knot.
