Slapshots {BOYXBOY}✔

Chapter Forty-Two {Smithmen}

In high school, after Henry had left. I went through my fair share of bullies. I had gone through my whole academic life thinking that everyone liked me, but once the whole gay rumour spread it was like a wildfire and everyone's true colours started to come out.

At first, it wasn't too bad, I had made sure to tell everyone that I wasn't gay and that someone was just being an asshole for targetting me. But then Harmony had come out and told the school that I wouldn't put out and that I couldn't get it up.

That was a blow to my ego because even though it was true, I didn't need the whole school knowing that. By the time graduation neared, I had maybe three friends and a school full of haters. But it wasn't that bad, once the smoke died down from the whole He can't get his dick up for girls passed I was able to find a girl who wanted to date me, of course. It was a cover on my end, but it worked, we went to prom together, a few dances, and she was my date at grad. Stephanie was a dream, she was Asexual so she didn't want to have sex with me, which was perfect because I didn't want to have sex with her either. She was pretty, smart and funny. And when we broke up after grad we stayed good friends until she moved to the UK and the time changed became too much of a struggle. But we still had each other on social media and she cheered me on sports wise.

The only person I had come right out and told I was gay after Henry left was my mom. It was a dark time in my life, and I had a lot of disturbing thoughts running in my head, and frankly, I needed someone to turn to. And she was there, she listened, she helped, she promised not to tell anyone else.

Except for my dad, who I already knew wouldn't care because he pretty much told me himself that he knew already.

But I was an adult now, I had been out of school for years, and of course, I always saw myself settling down, meeting a guy, falling in love, coming out of the closest at some point before getting married and who knows, maybe having a kid or two. That was the idea I had set out for me.

What I didn't have planned was for two guys to tell me they liked me, one of them being my high school sweetheart whom I still had strong feelings for, and fell in love with over again after the accident, The other being a player on my team who I knew I liked, I knew I had feelings for him. But, was this just all just a little crazy?

I didn't want to do this just because of the fear of the two of them being together without me if I did. Both made it clear that it wasn't going to happen, they had no desire to be together if I wasn't with them, which was flattering and terrifying at the same time.

Two people were willing to base their lives off of my answer of yes or no.

To say I was stressed was an understatement.

I thought about the fall out if something like that got leaked to the public, the three of us together. Jorden and I would lose our careers, the best case if we didn't lose our jobs we'd never be on the same team ever again. And Henry, he had a higher profile than us, sure he might be okay, but it would still take a toll on his career, being gay, and being with two men. Sure Instagram models and no name brothers of famous singers can get away with it. But just because our world was evolving to be less judgmental doesn't mean everyone was.

I was sitting alone in the bedroom I was sharing with Henry, both men had gone out, saying that were giving me space and that I could text them when I was ready to have people back.

Truth be told though I wanted them back now. I had spent the last couple of weeks with two of them hovering over me, they had become something I relied on.

Was this really a good idea?

Would we hide it from the public? Would two of us just come out, would we just not come out at all?

What about Molly? She lived with Jorden, would she move in with us? Would she be trustworthy enough not to tell the world our secret?

I was stressed out, so instead of stay inside with my thoughts, I grabbed my coat, leaving the apartment and walking outside. This time there was nobody with their phones out snapping pictures, or none that I could outright see. I was hopeful that the hype of my accident had finally subsided and people would find something else to obsess over.

I walked to the local bar just down the street and was greeted to football night, I kept my head low, not wanting any of the sports goers to recognize me right now. I sat in a booth at the far side of the bar and waited for the waitress to brought me a beer.

"Nah, the boys careers over, nobody comes back from a car crash. The kids lucky to be alive."

"Shame, he was the best center the team had."

I sighed, guess things hadn't died down yet. I shook my head, taking a large gulp of my beer.

I'd been sitting in the bar for over an hour, four beers gone when someone sat down across from me and I looked up to see none other than Joey Tents, his red hair covered by a black toque, wearing a pea coat and a bottle of beer in his hands.

"What brings you out of retirement Chandlers?" He asked, the smugness in his voice not lost to me.

"Don't you have somewhere better to be?" I asked, taking another long sip of my drink, I wasn't yet drunk, but I was far from sober.

"It's my buddies birthday tonight, I'm in the best place I can be."

"Well, then I guess I'll just take my leave."

"Why so quick to say, c-yea Matt, we're teammates after all?"

"Teammates don't blackmail other teammates boyfriends and spraypaint their lockers in high school."

Joey paused, looking me over for a minute, a small lock of shock on his face before he pursed his lips, tongue running over his teeth. "Henry told you did he?"

"Of course he did." I glared, getting sick of being near Tents.

"I was sixteen Matthew, I grew up. You should too."

"I got hit by a car because I was fighting with Henry about you. Henry moved across the country and I missed nearly ten years with him because of you. I was bullied, and almost outted when I wasn't ready, thanks to you. Sorry if it's hard to move on."

Joey glared, but it wasn't to me, no he was looking down at his hands, glaring to himself.

"I have no excuse to why I did shit like that as a kid, but I'm not a kid anymore and I guess the only thing I can do is apologize. I had shit going on that I wasn't ready to deal with."

"What kind of shit makes you target two boys that had nothing to do with you."

"You had everything," Joey growled in a low voice. "You had the captain title, you had friends, you had a boyfriend. My dad didn't care about me unless I was shooting goals, my friends only liked me because I had money and-" He stopped, pursing his lips again.

I was about to ask him what his deal was when someone came walking over to the table, a blonde haired man with tight skinny jeans on and a red shirt, bracelets on his wrists and a big smile on his face. "There you are, Joe! I thought I lost you." Oh, there was no denying this man was gay, flamboyantly gay with a hand on his lip and diamond in his ear.

"It's not a good time Carter," Joey said, looking at the man, who in turn frowned a looked at me.

Carter put his hand on the back of the booth Joey was sitting in. "This is my birthday, you promised not to do this on my birthday."

"I know — I just."

"No, Joe. You promised. So you either come on now, or you tell me what's going on."

Joey let out a huff, his head turning back to me as his knuckles turned white.

"Matt, this is Carter, we've been together now for eight years." He gulped. "We met in high school. He was in your mom's French class actually."

"Matt — Oh my god Matthew Chandlers, it's so nice to see you again!" The man said explicitly, but I was to numb by what Joey had told me to even process that Carter — Carter Smithmen from my fourth-period algebra class was dating Joey fucking Tents.