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Chris
Honestly, Chris’s first day talking to Matt had been a relief. Not only was he friendly and had a good sense of humor, but they had also managed to face the issue of deliberate controversy head-on. Maybe it was foolish of Chris to believe Matt, but his instinct told him that he could trust the journalist’s answer.
He was right, after all. Of course it was an ethical issue too – but even just on a professional level, it was stupid. Writing articles like that was short-sighted. How many top-grade athletes would agree to be profiled by the guy if he left a trail of shame, anger and destruction behind him?
That being said, they hadn’t officially taken a seat and done a formal interview yet. They were just beginning to get the measure of one another. Maybe things would change later on – but Chris didn’t think so. Maybe the next three weeks didn’t have to be such a painful process after all. He was still feeling positive about it as he headed into practice the next day, right up until the moment Darren took him aside.
“Jesus man,” said Darren, shaking his head. “You’ve got to be fucking careful.”
“Wait, what?”
This warning seemed a pretty extreme one to come out of nowhere. Was something happening? He looked around him, but Darren’s voice pulled him back.
“That fucking reporter. I told you he’d be all over you.”
“What do you mean? He’s not here.”
Darren grunted in frustration, leading him further away from the rest of the group to speak privately. He lowered his voice, as though this was the most serious thing that had happened to them in months. “Yesterday, I’m talking about. When you were in the gym.”
“Yeah?” said Chris, utterly confused. “What about it? He seemed pretty nice.”
“Oh, he did? What about when you weren’t looking – when you were lifting?”
Chris shook his head, brow furrowed. “What do you mean? Were you...?”
“I came along to make sure,” said Darren, his eyes as serious as his tone. “I could tell he was up to something when he let you go off to shower on your own, like it was nothing. I knew he’d be looking some other time, so I came to watch, and I was fucking right. Soon as you were distracted with the weights, his eyes were all over you.”
“I...”
Chris wasn’t really sure what to say. He couldn’t deny it, as he really hadn’t been looking – but at the same time, was it really such a crime? He wasn’t into Matt, and the journalist hadn’t said anything inappropriate or made a move. Honestly, it was more of a combination of embarrassing and flattering than anything else. But Darren seemed completely enraged.
“Look,” he said. “I know you don’t like confrontation. I’m not saying you’ve got to kick the guy’s ass every time he looks at you – but he’s going to get ideas if you let him get away with that shit. I’m telling you, man.”
“I don’t know if it’s all that bad.”
Darren shook his head. “Chris. Listen. You’re a good guy. You’re like my brother; you know that.”
“Of course.”
“Then will you trust me on this?” His eyes were sincere. Clearly, whatever threat he perceived from Matt was one that he took very seriously. “Just... imagine it, alright? All it takes is for him to get some dumb idea. He makes a move on you when you’re alone. That’s bad enough, but... what if it gets into the profile? Or worse, what if someone sees it? The story leaks. Your career is fucked, man.”
Chris had never really thought about it like that. It seemed like such an extreme escalation of events – but then, he thought back to what Matt had said about perceptions of gay people in sport yesterday, and he realized it probably wasn’t far from the truth. Right now, he was the Rangers’ star player. The eyes of the sports world were on him. If they all suddenly thought he was gay, would things change for him?
He’d worked so hard for this. It was wrong, but if it happened...
He looked down at the floor. Darren squeezed his shoulder.
“I get it, Chris,” he said. His voice was kinder now. “You’re a good guy. You think the best of people, and that’s a good thing. I love you, man. But I don’t want this shit getting on you. It sticks; you’ll never get rid of it. You hear me?”
“Yeah,” said Chris, processing it all. “I hear you.”
Darren slapped his back again, taking a few steps away. “Just practice hard. Think about it. You don’t have to be an asshole to him if you don’t want to. Just... keep an eye on it. Yes?”
Chris nodded, watching his friend disappearing back into the fold of the group. The more he thought about it, the more the threat seemed to hang over his head. Matt had seemed nice, but if Darren was right and he had some kind of crush on Chris, then things could easily go wrong. Matt had already said that believed there were lots of athletes in the closet, afraid to come out.
Did he think Chris was one of them?
