Hail Mary

Liam

                                            MAY
                                   16 Months Later

It took Niall and I forever to save up the money to move into an apartment, and that was with some advanced graduation money from our families. Niall took a tutoring job and I did some private coaching for high school kids looking to be recruited. The result was a two-bedroom apartment that probably costs more than it's worth, honestly, but it's ours. Derek and I were both grinning ear to ear when we signed the lease. We moved our shit in after the semester ended, with some help from Mills and a few of the other guys. Now it's set up with a bedroom, a little "home gym" that's really just some space for exercise mats and kettle bells right now, a living room where we've got an old TV and his Xbox, and a bathroom and kitchen. There's a little back porch area, too, and Mills bought us a charcoal grill as an early housewarming present before he had to start getting his ass in gear for the NFL draft. Now it's furnished, mostly with Craigslist finds and a couple pieces from the IKEA in Jacksonville. Neither of us are that picky, but Ni's already warned me his mom will probably have a fit. They're coming today. His whole immediate family. Mom, dad, and brother. Everyone's in town for the graduation ceremony, and I'm already nervous as hell about meeting them. "Dude, you look like you're about to pass out. Stop freaking on me," he says, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Fuck you, I have to meet three people who'll give me shit today." There's nothing even a little bit hateful behind my words, and Niall knows it. I'm glad to be meeting his family. Nervous, yeah, but glad. And Niall has spent the past couple weeks assuring me they're going to love me. Apparently I'm all his mom asks about when she calls. "Nobody's going to give you shit," he says, and that familiar glint of mischief lights in his eyes. "Unless you start telling people that we've already broken in every room of this place." I groan at the memory. That was one of the first things we did, after agreeing it would be "good luck." Once the furniture was brought in, we decided to try for "good luck" a handful more times, just to be safe. What can I say? We're both pretty shameless. And there are days when I can't be alone with him for more than a few minutes before I want to get my hands on him. I know he feels the same about me. But today, we have to keep it in our pants. At least for a few hours. People are going to start showing up any minute, and as much as I love the hit of adrenaline that comes with cutting it close on time, I don't really want to be caught fucking by Niall's parents. Or my dad. Our guests start arriving around six. My dad's the first one, since he lives in town. He drops by right after work, and Niall sets him up with a beer on the couch. The three of us talk about the upcoming draft and who we think is going to be picked by which team. Mills is probably going to the Panthers, which isn't too bad of a drive from here, so we make a plan to drop in on a couple games if he starts. Our mutual friends trickle in after that. Mostly guys from football, but we've got a few gay friends now. Niall met Christian after the Outback Bowl, when the team came back to town. He and his boyfriend Blake have been pretty cool, and we usually end up doing the kind of double-dating I can get behind: Hanging at the Tigers' Den, watching a game and knocking back a pitcher of beer. About an hour later, Niall gets a call from his family saying they've just now hit the tarmac. Apparently the scattering of rain we've had today delayed their flight, and he heads off to the airport to pick them up. By the time he gets back, I've had a couple beers and feel a lot more mellow than I did earlier, but my heart is still pounding hard as I hear voices out in the hall. When the door opens, I expect to see Niall leading the group. Instead, a petite, middle-aged woman looks at me with wide eyes. "There he is!" Before I can even think to respond, she closes the distance between us and wraps me up in a pretty impressive bear hug for such a small woman. I think she's probably crushing about ten different bones in my body. She pulls back, lifting her hands to my cheeks. "You're so tall!" She looks around, sees some of the other guys. "Oh sweet Jesus. You are Liam, aren't you?" Niall laughs from behind her. "Yeah, Mom. That's Liam. Good to know you're just into hugging random guys now, though." "You hush," she says, and hugs me again. When she pulls back this time, there are tears in her eyes. "It's so good to meet my future son-in-law." "Maura..." A deep voice warns. Niall's dad is closer to him in height, and I can see the similarities between them. He wears glasses, though, and it's terrible that my first thought is how sexy Niall would look wearing some slick frames. "It's good to meet you, too, Mrs. Horan ." She smacks me lightly on the chest, and I look at Niall in surprise. I can tell he's about one second away from just completely losing it. "Don't you dare call me that, young man. It's Maura. And this is my husband Bobby." I extend a hand, and Niall's dad meets it in a firm shake. "Heard a lot about you," he says. "Hell of a player." My dad stands, and I introduce him to the two of them. It's worth it to see how awkward he looks when Mrs. Horan—Maura—hugs him, too. There's only one person missing... "So you're the guy who's boning my brother." Standing next to Niall is a man who's packing serious attitude into what has to be less than a 5'7" frame. Blue streaks in his hair, ripped jeans, and a t-shirt featuring a band I've never heard of pretty much complete the package exactly as Niall described. "Thank you for that, Greg," Bobby says in a voice that I can tell means 'we'll talk about this later.' "He's just jealous of me," Niall says, slinging an arm around Greg's shoulders. He rolls his eyes but doesn't shrug him off, and I can't help but smile. Once introductions are made, Niall's mom orders him back down to the car to bring in groceries, and I expect maybe a bottle of champagne or some finger food until we can get the grill fired up. But no, she bought enough groceries to cater for the entire graduating class, and she takes over the kitchen like a whirlwind. "Best to just stay out of her way," Niall warns me. "She can get pretty vicious with a spatula." "I heard that," she says, and I feel Niall cringe next to me. "Honey, this kitchen is pathetic. We're going to Kohl's first thing in the morning to get you some more pots and pans." Niall just shrugs, and I laugh, shaking my head. He was right. His family's already treating me like a son. His dad has even taken up residence on the couch near mine, and they're watching SportsCenter together over a couple beers. Greg, meanwhile, examines the contents of our fridge. He pulls out a beer, but it's quickly intercepted by his mother. "So Niall tells us you're planning to become a coach after you graduate, Liam? What level?" Maura asks. "High school," I say, and Niall threads his hand with mine, giving it a squeeze to let me know he's proud of me. "And actually... I already have a job offer. The high school a couple miles from here needs an offensive coach." "That's wonderful news!" I can't help but smile. It's fucking amazing news, and I only just heard about it this morning, so I'm still riding out the high from it. I honestly didn't expect to get a paid job right off the bat, but Coach Garvey put in a good word for me, citing my experience working with Niall, and then the up-and-coming QBs I helped over the past year, even though I wasn't part of the team. It's not the NFL, but... I'm okay with that. Actually, I'm great with it. Playing football is awesome, but nurturing a love for the game in someone else? I think I'm really going to enjoy my job. "And Niall, honey, did you ever hear back from that... What was his name? Finch?" "Yeah, Tom Finch. I'm going to shadow him for a while, then work as his assistant." I return the squeeze Niall gave me earlier. After everything he's been through, it still amazes me that he just always keeps going after what he wants. And for him, it's not a career as a professional athlete, either. He's officially finished up all of his preliminary classes, and now he just has to do his internship and pass the state test to become licensed as a physical therapist. "I'm so proud of my boys," his mom says. It's only a few words—probably something she didn't even have to think twice about. But her eagerness to just invite me into her family fills me with a warmth I didn't know I was missing in my life. Sitting in our new apartment, surrounded by friends and family, I've never felt happier. And it's all because of Niall. He took me from Payne the "star quarterback" to Liam, a guy who's recognized for more than his ability to throw a football. And even though we haven't officially talked about it yet, I'd like to spend the rest of my life thanking him for that.

                                         THE END