Monday, October 05, 2009

A good result

It was a simple plan. Go to the team picnic and be Bradley’s boyfriend. No big declaration of any sort, just show up and be us. That’s Brad’s style all the way, and I really admire him for it. Before we left for the event I was pretty nervous about how people were going to react. I get extremely protective over my man and if anybody acted negative towards him there was a huge chance I’d be forced to kick their ass. Especially because I am still so drained from my trip that I just wouldn’t have the energy to curb my emotions. Just before we walked out the door Brad took my arm and turned me to face him. He looked into my eyes and he told me that he was so grateful I came because he needed me and he wouldn’t be able to do this without me. There was so much emotion both in his voice and in his eyes that I almost cried, cuz I am a bitch like that.

We got to the beach and I put my game face on ready to be Mr. Awesome and the life of the party before Bradley and I started gaying things up with all our gayness. I was introduced to all the guys and their lady friends, and then we settled into a rowdy game of ultimate. After an hour or so, we were all pretty chummy and getting hungry for some food. The burgers and hotdogs were grilled and then we settled down around the fire, cue the gayness. My “Babe, can you grab me a soda” got a couple of raised eyebrows, but I think it was the kiss on the lips as a thank you that really sealed the deal. I could tell these guys were surprised, but nobody really acted like an ass or anything and things went on with only marginal awkwardness.

Everybody had a million questions and I could totally see it on their faces, but nobody wanted to be the prick who asked, so everybody just pretended that things were normal. FINALLY one of the guys made the decision to point out the big ol’ gay elephant by asking Brad how long we’ve been “together”. That kind of opened the floodgates to a 15 minute Q&A session for Brad and I getting all sorts of questions thrown at us. They were genuinely curious and by the end of the evening I was cautiously optimistic (The real shit talking and negativity isn’t going to start until they’ve all had a chance to let it sink in and then have a chance to talk about it behind Brad’s back) that things were going to work out fairly well for Bradley.

They had an informal practice this morning and from all accounts Brad thinks yesterday’s bombshell hasn’t left any damage on his reputation. Good team cohesion and communication during the scrimmages, same amount of locker room nakedness, and guys not treating him like a leper. I am really happy for him. I still think it’s a little early to be completely out of the woods with this issue. But for now this was a very positive experience for both Brad and myself and I am honored and humbled he chose me to be a part of this.

3 comments:

XicodeCadoro said...

Good for you both. Change happens through courage and exemplary behavior, or, as my buddy George Bernard Shaw would say:
"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable one."

Mike said...

Damn, I was hoping for some name calling and maybe even a fight. Too bad. Maybe next time. :)

Trevor said...

Does this mean you are back with Brad? If so, does this mean you are not coming home anytime soon? Just so you know, I hear that Brad's school has so many STD's going around that they have their very own strain of herpes! Is this really somewhere you want to live?