Free Driven Snow by Tara Lain

me?”
    He ran a hand through his hair. “Oh hell. My brain didn’t get that far. What do you think?”
    She leaned back, her perfect breasts pushing against her cheerleader’s sweater. “I’ve got practice tonight. How about I tell the whole squad that we broke up because you’re just not doing it for me?”
    “Oooh, harsh.”
    “Yeah, but don’t you think it will seem strange if I never once suspected you were gay?”
    “Probably.”
    “So that would explain it, and tomorrow, after the news spreads, all the girls will come running to tell me why you weren’t exactly Bradley Cooper.”
    “Okay. Yeah.” Man, this was tough. “It’s stupid for me to try to maintain my alpha male status when I come out. It’s just going to be hard, you know.” He sucked in a breath. And maybe painful.
    Courtney leaned forward. “You’re plenty of alpha for anybody, baby. You just happen to like to fuck guys.”
    “Yeah. I suppose so. It’s weird when gay guys believe their own stereotypes.”
    “As long as you realize that, you’re gonna do fine.”
    “Thanks, Court. For everything.”
    She stood and stretched, revealing the body that launched every freshman’s wet dreams. “Hey, I’ve enjoyed being the queen of the school.”
    “You’re still the queen of the school.”
    “Oh, I don’t know. Snowden Reynaldi might give me a run.” She laughed.
     
     
    TWO HOURS later he stood in front of the coach’s office, holding his breath and praying not to barf. Step one. Holy shit, he was scared.
    He walked into the outer office and found Danny lolling in the desk chair, reading a sports magazine. “Yo, Prince. How’s it hangin’, man?”
    “Good, thanks. I, uh, called the coach, and he’s expecting me.”
    “Sure. Go on in.”
    “Uh, do you work here?”
    “Nah. Just like hanging out around the coach.”
    Not much could make Riley laugh right then, but he did. Danny was so laid-back it was amazing he could stay upright. Wonder how he’ll feel about me being gay?
    He rapped on the inner door, waited for the “Yeah,” and pushed inside. “Hey, Coach.”
    McMasters nodded. “Riley. I heard directly from your physics professor. Congratulations are in order. You did it, and I’m proud.”
    “Thank you, sir. I owe it all to Snowden Reynaldi.”
    “Yeah, when that guy Erhlinger failed, I just couldn’t let it go. Reynaldi said you could learn physics, and I believed him. How did he do it?”
    “He used football.”
    “You’re kidding.”
    “No. I’ll show you sometime in case you want to use it on the team. Great stuff, actually.”
    “Well, thank God that’s behind you.”
    “Uh, yes, sir.” Riley stared at his shoes.
    “Sooooo….”
    He took a huge breath and looked up. “I want to come out.”
    “Out of where?”
    “Out of the closet, sir. I want to tell the team that I’m gay.”
    “Shit.”
    “I know.”
    “Is it okay for me to ask why?”
    Riley nodded. “I, uh, met someone.”
    “You’re in love?”
    “Well, not yet, but it’s pretty special to me.”
    The coach sighed and leaned back in his desk chair. “Is it by any chance Snowden Reynaldi?”
    “How did you know that?”
    “When I heard you’d been showing up at chess matches, I knew something was up. I guess if you like ’em pretty and very, very smart, he’s your guy.”
    “Yes, sir.” He’d never quite known he had a type until he saw Snow.
    “I don’t want you to think I’m not supportive, but I have to ask if you’d consider waiting until after the championship game.”
    Riley blew out a stream of air. “Because throwing a shit bomb like ‘your quarterback happens to be gay’ into the middle of a well-oiled machine could be bad.”
    “I’d like to think it won’t make a difference.”
    Talk about challenging his newly formed convictions. “I thought about it a lot. I feel like it’s not fair to ask Snow to sneak around with me. I want to date him. In fact, I’d like to take him to