Page 59 of Dibs
He wriggled his eyebrows. “I can’t wait.”
I leaned in and gave him a peck. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Tyler was in the shower when I got to the room. Once he was finished, I brought up the one thing I was curious about. “Why did you want to know if your mom knew about me and Chase?”
He shrugged. “I’ve heard some things she and Miguel have said, and I don’t think she’ll be happy that you’re dating a guy.”
Given what Chase had told me about his time playing with Miguel, it didn’t surprise me my son had picked up on their attitudes toward same-sex couples. I wanted to tell Tyler I didn’t give a damn what Lisa had to say about my relationship, but I also didn’t want him to feel as though he had to defend us to her, either.
“Don’t worry about your mom. When the time comes, I’ll talk to her.”
I only hoped I could maintain my cool if she or her boyfriend talked shit about my personal life.
19
CHASE
My hand itchedto grab Gage’s as we waited for the elevator to take us down to breakfast. The most important people in my life knew we were together and I no longer wanted to hide it, but after the run-in with the Lewandowskis at the restaurant, I wasn’t sure if holding Gage’s hand would be okay since that was what had been the catalyst for our night to go haywire.
The doors to the elevator opened, and Jase and Dylan rushed in. My feet faltered as I saw the Lewandowskis standing in the back of the lift. I noticed they had their luggage with them and Nathan, the kid on my team, looked as though he’d been crying.
“Morning,” I greeted. “Ready to win today?”
“We’re going home,” Kurt, Nathan’s father, clipped as the elevator doors closed.
“Why?” Jase asked as Gage and I shared a look.
“You need to ask your father,” Kurt spat.
“Kurt, please,” his wife, Tammy, begged.
The doors opened to the lobby and Kurt pushed past us before roaring to his family, “Let’s go!”
“Dad, please!” Nathan whined. “I don’t want to go home.”
A few other team members and their families were within earshot of the commotion, and they turned and stared.
“Kurt,” I called out.
He glanced at me and then at the other parents in the vicinity. “You should all know that Coach Matthewson is a fa—”
“I dare you to finish that sentence.” In an instant, I saw red. Gage reached for my arm to hold me back. I’d never been in a position where I had to think before I acted in public because of who I was dating. Given my position as the head coach for the Mavericks, I knew my relationship status might matter to some.
I remembered when Aron and Drew had had their relationship outed and that had been a shitshow. It had also shown Santiago’s true colors because he had been the main person who’d had a problem with them being together.
“See?” Kurt argued. “You want a guy like him to coach your sons?”
Gage stepped around me before I could respond. “This guy is Chase Matthewson. He is overqualified to coach this team but loves the game so much that he didn’t bat an eye when I asked him to step in for me.”
“Because you’re fucking him.”
There were audible gasps in the lobby, and before any more was said, I cut in. “Our dating life has nothing to do with this team.” I turned to address everyone who was watching. “If you’re not comfortable with your son being coached by me, then I’m not going to stop you from leaving, but most of you were with Coach Statler before I arrived, and he trusts me with this team.”
“He’s right.” Gage squeezed my shoulder. “There is no one better suited for this position than a three-time Major League All-Star, two-time World Series Champion. Coach Matthewson has also won four Gold Gloves and one Silver Slugger award. And he did all of that in the span of a twelve-year career.”
Everyone was stunned into silence, including me. I had no idea Gage knew my stats like he’d rambled off.
“I don’t fully understand what’s going on,” Will, another father, said, “but are you saying the Lewandowskis are pulling Nathan from the team because you two are dating?”
