The Star (Charleston Condors Book 1)
The Star: Chapter 17

LANDRY DIDN’T THINK HE’D be particularly anxious when he and Riley cornered Coach Kelley after the walk-through on Saturday. He’d come out to his parents over FaceTime last night, and that hadn’t been particularly terrifying. They’d already done it twice before him, though, so their understanding expressions weren’t very unexpected.

They’d been a little more surprised to hear he was dating—or rather who he was dating. Riley had given him time in his room to make the call, and even though Landry had thought that was ridiculous at the time, he’d been glad Riley hadn’t been present when his father had said with shock crossing over his features, “You’re dating Riley Flynn? That’s Aidan’s younger brother, isn’t it? Really?”

“Really, Dad,” Landry had said with more patience than he’d thought he possessed.

“I always liked him,” his mom said. “And he’s a real cutie, Landry.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Landry had said, rolling his eyes.

But a few minutes later, he’d called Riley in, and the sweet way Riley had called his father, Mr. Banks, and then asked his mom for her famous brisket recipe had made him very certain that all this, no matter the embarrassment or the complication, was worth it.

Coach had seemed like a much less tough nut to crack than his parents.

But then they’d gotten here, to this moment, Riley next to him, wiping his palms on his shorts, and suddenly Landry wasn’t sure.

He was sure of Riley, of course.

Sure they were doing the right thing.

But suddenly not quite sure of Coach’s positive reaction.

“What was it you two needed?” Coach asked, clearly distracted as he sorted through some papers on the desk, barely glancing up at them.

With curfew coming up, most of the other players had wandered off by this point, and the room was almost entirely empty. There were a few players laughing all the way at the back of the hotel ballroom, including Carter, Deacon, and Jem. They were, Landry was almost one hundred percent sure, aware of what was about to happen and were totally waiting to see if Coach lost his shit at the news.

That realization didn’t help keep Landry’s blood pressure regulated.

“Well, uh, sir, we wanted to talk to you about our relationship.”

“Been great,” Coach enthused distractedly, still not really looking at them. “Two touchdowns last week, and I’m sure you’ll be just as effective tomorrow.”

Landry hoped so, too.

He reached over and grabbed Riley’s hand. Squeezing it, not necessarily for Riley’s comfort but his own.

Riley started again. There was just a hint of exasperated frustration in his voice. “I’m not talking about our relationship on the field, sir.”

Coach looked up then.

“Your relationship on the…” He glanced down, and Landry knew the moment he saw their intertwined hands.

“Oh. Oh.”

“Yes,” Riley said. “Now you’ve got it.”

Coach didn’t say anything, just stared at them.

Landry wet his lips. He’d expected this going…well, differently. Definitely better than how it was currently going. “We’re going to make sure to keep it off the field, sir, and not let it affect our practice or our performance on the field,” Landry promised. He’d thought that was a given if you knew him or Riley at all, but it couldn’t hurt to say it, either.

Coach rested a hip on the corner of the table, and the pinched look on his face relaxed. Sometimes Landry forgot how young he really was. Only a few years older than himself and in charge of an entire football team. The responsibility staggered. Landry had trouble being responsible for ordering the weekly groceries—a task he’d been more than happy to turn over to Riley.

But when Coach didn’t look worried or harried or stressed, which was almost never these days, he looked…well, young. Understanding, too, now that Landry thought about it.

“I can’t say I expected that this would happen, but you’ve known each other for a long time,” Coach said slowly. “I’m not upset about it. I’m just…surprised, I suppose? But also not surprised at all. Anyone with eyes can see the way you two look at each other. I just didn’t know it had gotten so serious.”

“You knew?” Landry couldn’t help the question.

He just shrugged. “Well, yeah. Like I said, I wasn’t blind.”

“Oh.” Landry wasn’t sure what to say.

“But I’m happy for you two. Make sure you just keep it at home. We don’t need…” Coach pursed his lips. “We don’t need a lot of additional distractions, not right now.”

Landry knew he was talking about Rex.

“Understood,” Riley said.

“Not that I’d have expected anything less,” Coach added. “You both work so hard, I wouldn’t believe anything would interfere with the effort you’re putting in at practice and on the field.”

“Thanks,” Riley said. “We’re not looking to make any big announcements or media pushes or anything. Just…didn’t want to live in secret, that was all.”

“You tell Nikki yet?”

Nikki was the head of PR for the Condors. She’d been a new hire, apparently because Mr. G hadn’t trusted her predecessor.

“Yep,” Riley said. “Earlier today.”

“Then I’m probably just repeating her, but if you don’t want to answer a question about your personal life, then you don’t have to. It’s not the media’s business unless you want to make it their business. I don’t care either way, though, of course I’d rather you keep the focus on the football, but you need to do what you feel is right.”

“Understood,” Landry said. He reached out his other hand. Coach shook it. Then shook Riley’s. “We appreciate the support.”

Coach’s face broke into a smile, dimples emerging on both cheeks. He looked young now, and even though Landry knew he was single, he wondered if Coach had ever wanted something like what he had with Riley. If he’d ever been tempted to just reach out and grab it even if the timing was crap and the circumstances were terrible.

“Well,” Riley said as they walked away, “I think that went okay. He was a lot more understanding than I expected.”

“You mean, he already knew,” Landry corrected. He was torn between embarrassment and relief. Had they really been that obvious?

Apparently, yes, if Coach’s words were anything to go by.

“Oh,” Riley said, grinning, “I didn’t even worry about that. I always assumed everyone could see my crush from space. Just considered myself lucky that you didn’t.”

Landry leaned down and pressed a kiss to the side of his head. “Maybe if I had, this would’ve happened even sooner.”

“Maybe.” Riley seemed to be considering the possibility as they approached where Carter and the rest of the guys were loitering near the exit. “Or maybe it happened at exactly the right time.”

“So, are you two in biiiiig trouble now?” Carter asked, waggling his eyebrows with a ridiculously exaggerated movement.

“Sorry to disappoint, but no,” Landry said dryly. “He actually knew.”

“You weren’t exactly subtle, at literally any point,” Deacon teased. “I had you two pegged from the moment you both showed up.” He nudged Landry. “I think I even told you a few times that you should make a move.”

Riley laughed. “I’m glad he listened.”

“Imagine wanting to have sex with the same person for the rest of your life,” Carter said mournfully. “Even someone as hot as you two are.”

“Thanks, I think?” Riley said, chuckling.

Landry hadn’t told anyone this was for forever—not even Riley—but clearly Carter was right on the money because nobody looked shocked. Not even his boyfriend.

Maybe he should be more surprised that it wasn’t a surprise, but instead, Landry just felt…calm and at peace.

“Everyone ready for tomorrow?” Jem asked.

Carter grumbled. Riley looked vaguely nervous. But Landry nodded with confidence he wanted to feel but didn’t quite believe in. “Sure, the Riptide won the Super Bowl last year, but that doesn’t mean we can’t come to their stadium and surprise them. Every team is capable of losing every game.”

“That’s right,” Deacon said, nodding approvingly. “We’ve got this. Even without Rex.”

“Even without Rex,” Carter echoed, though he didn’t have any of Deacon’s certainty. “Desmond almost stopped me in practice yesterday.”

Nobody wanted to say that on his best day, Carter was almost as good as Chase Riley.

“Hey, we’re always looking for a challenge, right?” Jem asked and looked around at each of them, meeting their gazes one by one. “Playing last year’s Super Bowl champs without our starting corner isn’t going to be easy. But if we wanted easy, we wouldn’t be here, doing this. We wouldn’t be on this team.”

Jem’s words turned out to be painfully true.

If they’d wanted easy, playing the Riptide, who’d won the Lombardi trophy for the second time in four years, with their high-powered offense and without one of the Condors’ best defensive players, wasn’t it.

“Well,” Riley said matter-of-factly as his butt hit the bench midway through the third quarter, “this sure could be going better.”

He could’ve sounded despondent—the fact that they were down by three touchdowns would’ve made anyone feel despondent, honestly—but he didn’t.

“Hey, we scored on our last drive,” Charlie reminded him, settling down on Riley’s other side. “That pass was a beaut. We’re not going to just roll over and play dead. Not yet. Not ever.”

Riley met Landry’s eyes for a moment. He knew Riley had wanted to throw it to Landry and get him another touchdown, but Landry had been pressed into service as a blocker all day because not only did the Riptide have one of the best quarterback-receiver combos to ever play the game, they had a dominant defensive end in Spencer Evans, who was currently making Riley’s life difficult on every single play. As a result, Evans was now making Landry’s life difficult on every single fucking play because the offensive line had struggled with keeping him contained almost from the very beginning of the game.

Which meant Landry was way less available to catch passes.

This last touchdown had gone to Carter.

Landry had to give the guy credit. He might’ve toned down the celebration because they were currently losing 31 to 10, but he hadn’t. He’d showboated like they’d just scored the go-ahead touchdown.

And why shouldn’t he? Moving the ball down the field and into the end zone wasn’t all that easy, considering who the Condors were playing.

“Of course not,” Riley said. “We’re going to come back, next drive, and do everything we can to try to even it up.”

He didn’t say that coming back from three touchdowns down was basically unheard of. Or that it would probably be four touchdowns because, smartly, the Riptide had targeted the receivers Desmond was covering—or trying to cover—pretty much every play.

“We need a new corner,” Landry said.

It was a common refrain he’d heard about a dozen times today already.

“Right now, we’re focusing on this game,” Charlie reminded them and pulled out his tablet, flicking through the last series. “That’s a problem for Monday morning.”

On the field, Deacon made a tough stop, evading the center and reaching through the line, tackling Sam Crawford before he could throw another pass—and probably another touchdown—to Chase Riley.

“Come on,” Charlie said, “I think I’ve got a way we can maybe get you another second or two, Riley.”

“You got another tight end up your sleeve?” Riley joked.

He had a surprisingly positive expression on his face as Charlie went over the game plan for the next drive.

Of course, it wasn’t like there were many people who believed the Condors were going to win this game. Even if Rex’s leg had remained unbroken and his gambling unexposed, they would probably have lost.

But they’d come here and put on a good show anyway.

With another touchdown in the remaining quarter and a half of play, maybe two, even Riley’s stats would be undeniably impressive.

It wasn’t as good as a win, but it might mean he’d get more chances.

And Landry was all about giving Riley every chance he deserved.

“Yeah,” Landry said as Charlie finished. “I think that might work, actually.”

“Let’s give it a shot,” Riley said.

They jogged onto the field for their next drive.

Deacon, Jem, and Beck looked exhausted on the sideline. Exhausted and undeniably grim, yes, but they also didn’t look like they’d given up.

If they hadn’t given up yet, then Landry wasn’t going to either.

Riley wasn’t giving up. He was still holding his head high, ready to finish this game out, despite the score and all the odds stacked against them.

He called out the play.

Landry took his spot on the line. At least this down, he didn’t have to try to grapple with Spencer Evans. Carter and Darius had the joy of getting to do that during this particular play design.

Landry knew he wasn’t going to get a lot more chances to catch the ball, so he needed to make the most of this one.

The whistle blew and Cole snapped the ball to Riley, and Landry pushed off, driving hard down the field, legs working, lungs bellowing with the effort as he sprinted down the sideline.

He didn’t normally run these deep routes, but Charlie had said he was hoping to take the defense by surprise.

They looked surprised, all right. The safety changed direction and started crossing over to try to intercept Landry’s route, but he kept churning. Ten yards down, twenty, thirty, then he crossed mid-field, and then he turned, watching as Riley unloaded the pass.

The ball arced through the air, and Landry caught it mid-stride, instinctively tucking it away right before the safety attempted to tackle him. He pushed out his arm, catching the other player on the chest, and he shoved him down, continuing to keep running.

Only five yards til the end zone. Landry’s lungs burned, and his legs were so exhausted the best way he could describe them was numb, but he crossed over the line, adrenaline surging through him.

One last touchdown for Riley’s stat line and another one for them to share.

Riley caught up to him then, laughing behind his helmet, and jumped up in his arms again, the crowd going wild, even though they’d just scored against their home team.

Everything, Landry decided, wasn’t terrible after all.

Even if they lost.

Football and Riley combined could never be terrible.

Half an hour later, the pain was finally over, and Landry met Chase at mid-field to shake hands and, since this was Chase, hug.

Carter was already there, hanging back, and the two players eyed each other before finally giving in and sharing one, too. It was quick because it was Carter, but Landry thought it was good he’d done it.

Landry knew Carter would rather die than ever admit it, but he both hated and loved being compared to the other receiver.

I’m nobody’s best version except my own, he’d boast, but Landry knew he wouldn’t bring it up if it didn’t sting somewhere deep down.

“Great game,” Landry said when he reached Sam Crawford. They shook hands, then Sam laughed and pulled him into a quick hug. He didn’t know Sam well, but he’d always admired him.

Sam nodded. “That TD in the fourth was a thing of beauty. Give you guys a year or two together, and you’re going to be blowin’ up all my records with Chase.”

“I don’t know about that,” Landry said, though he actually loved the sound of it.

“Rough luck about Rex,” Sam said but didn’t exactly sound torn up about it. “You guys goin’ after another corner?”

Landry just shrugged. “I guess we’ll see.”

“Y’all really should,” Heath Harris said. He was the quarterbacks’ coach for the Riptide and also Sam’s longtime partner.

“Trust me, I’m trying to convince our new owner,” Deacon said as he walked up to their group.

“You like the guy?” Sam asked. “I know, well, I know the last guy was a piece of shit.”

“Understatement,” Deacon said.

“Yeah, we really like Davis around here,” Heath said casually, but there was an undercurrent of dead seriousness in his voice. An intensity that hadn’t lessened from when he played and had competed against Sam for the starting quarterback spot on the Riptide.

It was clear which side he had come down on when it came to the old Condors team.

“I do, too,” Riley said.

He’d been chatting with Chase Riley, and he reached out to shake hands with Heath. “Good to meet you,” he said.

People were always telling Riley that he shouldn’t meet his heroes; that he’d be inevitably disappointed by how regular they were.

But it seemed like Heath Harris was a pretty cool guy in real life, not just in the rare sound bites and interviews he gave anymore.

When Riley had been growing up, it had been easy to idolize him because Heath had been incredibly good at everything he tried. He’d seemed so in-control and in charge of the game. Like it always ran at his speed and not anyone else’s.

Then had come the year when Heath had battled a lingering injury, the Riptide had traded for Sam Crawford, they’d battled for the same starting spot, and then to everyone’s shock, they’d ended up coming out at the Super Bowl by kissing over the Lombardi trophy. Nobody had quite believed it could be true, not about Heath Harris. But Riley had only admired the guy more after that. Even more when he’d retired to coach Sam, replaceing the best version of himself.

Riley wanted to replace that version of himself, too, and more than anything, he hoped he was on the path to replaceing him.

Heath and Sam had even invited Riley to hang out at their place, but he’d already planned on meeting Paige.

It turned out some heroes were just as cool as you’d always assumed they were.

“I can’t say this place makes the best tacos in the city,” Riley said as he brought a tin bucket full of beers and ice to the table Landry was already sitting at, “but it’s convenient to the place Paige works.”

“It seems nice,” Landry said, spreading out his legs under the booth table.

A week ago, Riley had asked Coach if he could stay behind for a night in LA and take a flight home Monday to see Paige while he was in the city, and Coach had agreed. Landry had decided to stay, too, when he’d found out that Riley was meeting Paige.

He’d wanted to meet her, too.

“Maybe she’ll tell me some really embarrassing stories about you,” Landry had teased.

No doubt she would tell him all about Riley’s very embarrassing past crush, but then Landry already knew most of that, anyway.

“So, how did you two meet?” Landry asked.

“We went on a date. One single, terrible date,” Riley said. “Some mutual friends thought we’d be the perfect couple.”

Landry looked surprised. “Why?”

“Because we’re the two prettiest people they knew.” Paige appeared at the head of the table, and yep, Landry’s jaw fell a little. Because Paige was gorgeous. Riley could admire the way she looked because he liked beautiful things, but he’d never been attracted to her. And he knew her feelings enough to know that had been mutual.

She sat down and continued, “Unfortunately for them, we didn’t hit it off well enough to have two point five stunning children and a very aesthetic Instagram feed.”

“I think,” Landry said, reaching out to shake her hand, “I’m pretty grateful for that.”

“Me, too,” Paige said with amusement. She let go of Landry’s hand. Riley could see her cataloging every inch of him, from the carelessly pulled-back hair, to the warm, kind eyes, to the big build barely concealed by the tabletop. “Though I guess we can’t say now that Riley settled.”

“Thanks,” Riley said dryly.

“Hey, just speaking the truth,” Paige said. “Honestly, it’s great to meet you, Landry. Riley’s only been telling me about you for…well, only for five years now.”

“Only,” Riley muttered.

“Yes.” She fixed Riley with that steely-edged dark stare. “I’m sure if I’d known you when you were fourteen, you could’ve been waxing rhapsodic about this one for far longer.”

Landry laughed. “I like you.”

But Paige eyed him speculatively still.

That was Paige’s way. She took her time making her mind up about people and wouldn’t just approve of Landry because Riley loved him.

“And yet you also like Aidan,” Paige said.

“That’s true,” Landry admitted, reaching over and grabbing a beer from the bucket. He popped the top off, and to Riley’s surprise, set it in front of him instead of taking it for himself. Then he proceeded to do the same with a second and placed it on the coaster in front of Paige before going back for a third bottle, which this time, he kept, taking a long drink.

Paige’s eyebrow shot up as she observed Landry’s actions.

Yep, Riley thought smugly. He’s totally a gentleman. He’s thoughtful and kind and always putting me first.

Even if he was friends with Aidan before we ever hooked up.

“I suppose I should explain that Aidan used to be different, but then I have a feeling you already know that,” Landry said. “Just as you know how much shit he’s given Riley over the years.”

Paige leaned back in the booth, still acting aloof and like she wasn’t even remotely convinced by Landry’s words, but Riley knew her better than that.

He could see the astonishment lingering in her dark eyes.

“I certainly do,” Paige said. She turned to Riley. “Did you order for me?”

“I sure did,” Riley said. “Your usual.”

“Ah, good.”

“So Riley said you work near here. What do you do? On a…” Landry paused. “A Sunday night?”

Paige tapped her flawless nails on the table. “I work on one of the big soaps in the costume department. Yes, yes, it’s ridiculous. But it’s a job in LA and good experience. We were filming a movie late tonight, so I had to be on set.”

“Glad you escaped so I could see you,” Riley said, reaching over and squeezing her hand. He’d missed her. Phone calls were good and all, but it wasn’t the same.

“Same.” He caught a glimmer of how truly happy she was to see him, in the upturned corner of her lips, in the joy she wasn’t quite hiding in her eyes.

He knew her better than to accept the walls she put up for everyone else.

“You tell Aidan to fuck off yet?” she asked archly.

Riley chuckled. “Well, about that…”

He and Aidan hadn’t talked since their phone conversation two weeks ago. But soon, their enforced silence would come to an end, with a few million people watching, when they met in Toronto a week from today.

Riley was both looking forward to it and dreading it in equal measures.

“No,” Landry inserted with a tough look in Riley’s direction. “No, he has not.”

“And you want him to?” Paige really sounded surprised now.

“I told you, he was different when we met, and I’ve been…not exactly ignoring how he could be because I called him on his bullshit plenty of times, but I wasn’t aware of how crappy he was to Riley until now.”

“And now?” Paige asked.

“And now I told him I didn’t like it, and I’m encouraging Riley to set some healthy boundaries,” Landry said. “I want Aidan to know the kind of guy his brother is, and I want Aidan to show Riley his true self, the one he keeps under wraps. But I can’t force that to happen. I can only encourage him to be the better man.”

Paige shot Riley a look. It said, Holy shit, keep this one. He’s not only gorgeous, he’s literally ride-or-die for you.

But while Riley was glad of Paige’s approval, he hadn’t needed it to fall in love with Landry. He’d done that all on his own.

“In fact, we’re planning on telling him about us next week,” Riley said casually. Even though Paige would know that was not going to be a very casual conversation.

She knew he’d never introduced a significant other to Aidan before; he’d never even wanted to.

Of course, he didn’t really need to introduce Landry. But it was still a very big deal that he was prepared and ready to tell Aidan the truth about what his relationship with Landry had evolved into.

“That’s a big step,” Paige said.

Landry’s expression was open, and he didn’t seem particularly bothered by the fact she kept testing him. “When something’s right, it’s right,” he said firmly. He reached down beneath the table and squeezed Riley’s knee. “And I know Riley’s the right person for me.”

“Speaking of that,” Paige said crisply. “Congrats on coming out.”

“Thanks.” Landry paused. “You gonna ask me next if Riley’s just an experiment or a detour?”

“I wouldn’t do you the disservice,” Paige said. Her expression had softened considerably. Maybe Landry didn’t know what that meant, but Riley did. “After all, we’re all queer here. I know how tired I get of being asked if dating a woman is some kind of temporary, passing interest.”

“I guess I have that to look forward to,” Landry said.

She raised an eyebrow. “Guess you do. Besides, if I thought Riley was an experiment for you, I’d have already flown out to the east coast and beat some sense into you.”

“Not just kicked my ass, huh?”

Paige’s gaze narrowed. She leaned forward. “No. I’d make sure you understood the situation. You two are right for each other, and if you didn’t see it, you wouldn’t need an ass-kicking to scare you off. You’d need me to remind you of what you had.”

Riley was surprised. He shouldn’t have been. But he was.

“Seriously?” he asked incredulously.

Paige just shrugged. “Listen, I’ve been hearing about Thor crossed with Superman over here for years. I already knew you were waiting for him. It was only a matter of time before he opened his eyes and saw what was right in front of him.”

Landry’s hand squeezed his knee harder. “Wish I’d seen it earlier.”

“Nope. You saw it at the perfect time,” Paige said, and there it was—her approval. Usually so hard-won and stingily dished out, she’d given it as easy as that.

Like she’d already approved even before this moment.

And Riley had a feeling that maybe she had.