Page 53 of Switch Hitter

Andres’ gaze sharpens. “Him?”

Kai’s eyes light up like fireworks. “OH. ARE WE GOING BACK TO THE METS GUY?”

I swear to God, if my face gets any hotter, I’m going to burst into flames.

Gael groans. “Kai.”

“Spill the tea, bitch,” Kai points. “And no skipping the details.”

I shake my head hard. “No.”

Andres’ tone stays calm, but there’s steel underneath it. “You don’t have to tell us details, Sean. But sometimes it helps to talk things out with your friends. Even if one of them is an annoying asshole.”

“I resent that,” Kai scoffs. “I’m a fucking delight.”

I look down at my hands and realize I’m clenching them so hard my knuckles are white.

Jackson leans forward slightly. “So what’s the deal? You worried about family or the world?” he says.

“Family. I can deal with the world… the world doesn’t fucking matter. But my family does.” I sigh, running my hands through my hair.

“You just have to do it,” Jackson says.

I laugh, broken. “That’s easy for you to say.”

Jackson doesn’t flinch. “No, it wasn’t.”

Silence drops in my apartment for half a second. Even Kai shuts up. Jackson’s eyes flick to Andres, then back to me.

“I was terrified,” Jackson admits quietly. “Not of the team. Not of the world. Of my dad.”

My throat tightens, and Andres’ hand slides over Jackson’s knee, grounding him.

“Granted, I don’t have the whole religion thing, but I have a very homophobic father who disowned my sister when she came out. Coming out publicly was hard. If he knows—and he definitely does—he hasn’t said a word to me about it.” Jackson gives Dre a small smile. “Dre was worth the fear.”

It shouldn’t make me ache, but it does.

Gael speaks softly, like he’s careful with me. “Whatever you were taught, faith isn’t supposed to make you hate yourself, Sean.”

They don’t get it.

Kai frowns, suddenly less chaotic than before. “And if your family has a problem,” he says, voice rougher and more serious than usual, “then that’s their problem. Not yours.”

My stomach twists. “It’s not that simple.”

Andres nods once, like he understands. “No. It’s not.”

He looks at Jackson for a beat, then back at me.

“But sometimes you have to give love a chance to surprise you,” Andres says. “You’re assuming the worst outcome because it feels safer to grieve it ahead of time.”

“You don’t know my parents.”

“I know Catholics,” Andres says dryly.

“Same.” Gael chuckles.

That pulls a laugh out of Jackson, and even Gael’s mouth twitches.