“What? You all decided to have a party and didn’t even invite me?” I ask with a Colt Stackfordesque smirk as I walk up the room. The press is going positively insane, snapping pictures of me and shouting out questions. I finally make it up to the podium where I see Julianna look at me - there's hurt in her eyes. And for the first time, pain.

Then I look over at Colt and see something I never thought I’d see. Fear.

Well, I better remember their faces being like this.

“Ethan,” Julianna says and for a moment there, I’m worried she might actually start crying. Poor little rich girl. Miss Bad Girl. Now that would be a sight, wouldn't it? The one woman that can tame any man – that tamed Colt, that tamed me, and that brought us both to heel – starting to cry on national television.

“Bro,” Colt says, taking a step towards me. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“What's wrong?” I say to him, and give him a smile. “Don’t want me to hog up the spotlight? Should be trained on you?”

He literally jerks back. Julianna looks at me like I’ve gone batshit crazy too. I think it’s the smile. Why would any sane person be smiling during a moment like this?

But I have good reason to smile.

You’re probably wondering what that reason is, aren’t you? Wondering if I’m the douchebag that threw both of the people I love under the bus so I could keep playing as defensive end and finally get one over Colt that he’d never be able to come back from.

Well, short answer – yes.

But wait, before you roll your eyes in disgust.

The long answer is a bit more complicated.

And I’m going to tell it, now.

I turn towards the podium and Colt gives me some space.

“AJ,” I say into the microphone. “You want to sit down for a second? Julianna gave you guys chairs for a reason?”

There’s a wave of nervous laughter that goes through the entire room. Christ, AJ has them riled up and ready to fucking tar and feather someone. And I think I know who.

“Let me start by saying something real slow, and I’ll repeat it if you need me to, because you know, it might take multiple times,” I say and the room quiets down.

“I Ethan Blake, love Julianna Heaton.”

And the crowd goes wild. They begin taking pictures and all of a sudden they have a more delicious twist to the story than they could have imagined. This is turning into one crazy sex scandal, isn’t it?

God, I feel so good. I haven’t felt this good in years. There’s something about letting go and being a bit more like Colt that does wonders for the disposition.

“But I’m not done, yet,” I say into the microphone and people quiet down, wondering what’s going to come next. They’ve stopped normal television programming by now and cut into it with the news conference. We must be great ratings.

“I also love Colt Stackford,” I say and leave it at that because this time the room goes absolutely batshit crazy. Reporters are scrambling. Some of the older ones might end up having heart attacks.

Only AJ is sitting there with a darkening scowl on his face. Christ, I’m going to have to face him sooner or later.

It’s not like I missed what was happening. I tuned in at the very beginning of the press conference. I watched Julianna stay strong and defend the honor of the team.

I mean, it’s not something that's hard to understand – she got to the point where she couldn't just take the media trashing our names anymore. And she realized that the longer our names were out there, getting dragged through the mud, the closer and closer we came to both having to depart her lives forever.

She didn't want that. And neither do I.

My dad was a fucking idiot. I still love him, but he never understood me. And I’ve been letting his prejudice affect since childhood. It’s colored everything in my approach to life. It’s colored how I’ve treated women. And it’s colored how I’ve treated Colt.

My concern over what other people thought of me have gotten me to the point where I didn’t realize how great a thing I had, until it was almost ready to go away.

My bias is what led me to sit back and listen to Larry Summers hatch AJ’s plan, not realizing that I was hurting those that I loved by my absence.

But I know that. It’s time the world knows that. And its time I defeat the forces that stand against us.

It’s just like football, in a way.

AJ stands up, “Ethan, thank you for that. I’m sure it’s heartfelt and all, but I still maintain that you were coerced…”

I cut him off before he can say anything more. This man is a cancer poisoning American football. And I’m going to cut him out of it.

“AJ,” I say and pause and people move their heads back and forth to see what the latest matchup will bring. “AJ you’re basing your statements here today on the words of Larry Summers, who worked for me for a grand total of one day,” I say out loud and there are murmurs. “And he was working for me at your behest,” I finish.

Now there are more murmurs and I smile.

All of a sudden, AJ looks sick.

“I know this, because Larry Summers told me point blank that you would be running with what he told you, and that he’d be telling you the sexual assault and coercion story. In fact, that you’re the one that came up with it yourself, back when the first tape came out of Julianna and I.”

AJ is frozen. People are starting to take his picture now. “He told me how you’ve had a stick up your ass about the first woman owner in the NFL since the day Julianna bought the damn team,” I continue. “And I’ve checked. Since Julianna bought the team, you’ve never had a good word to say about the Nailers – even when they’ve won. Now that’s ironic for newspaper based in the same city as the team, don't you think?”

AJ is shaking in his shoes at this point. Even from where I’m standing I can see beads of sweat start to form on his brow. I press on, “Larry Summers also told me that all I needed to do was go along with the story he was concocting with you about this and I’d have a spot on the Nailers forever, that none of this scandal would tarnish me, that people would keep me on long past after I’m done being the best.”

“Th-That’s a lie,” AJ tries to fight back and all of a sudden the tables are turned. As Colt would like to say, ‘the tables have fucking turned’.

“Actually, AJ, I think it’s not,” I say and people start to turn from me to look at AJ. “You’ve hated Julianna because she’s a woman. You’ve made comments about women in the past, calling them pigs, dogs, farm animals…”

“Only about the ugly ones,” AJ tries to defend himself and that’s when I know I’ve won the news conference.

“AJ, last year at the ESPY’s you completely ignored me,” Julianna pipes up, understanding where I'm going now.

“And AJ, you used to call me the golden child that you’d defend to your last breath when I played for the Devils, but all of a sudden I’m a sexual predator now?” Colt chimes in too.

AJ looks at me. Then he looks at the three of us.

See, by ourselves or individually, the world might try and tear us down. And they might very well succeed.

But when the three of us stand next to each other, when we’re shoulder to shoulder, there’s nothing in the world that can keep us down.

Colt gets that. Julianna understands that.

And now, I get that too.

AJ tries one last defense. He runs his hands through his hair and looks at us, and then focuses on me. “Maybe I was wrong about you, Ethan,” he says. “Maybe you’re not the victim, but part of a wider problem at the Nailers…”

“No, AJ,” I say, ready for this to be over. “I’m not. I think you’re the problem here with your conspiracy to destroy the team.”

AJ is shaking visibly now. People sitting next to him move away while others start training their cameras on him.

As if understanding that he’s walking a very slippery slope now, he turns red but manages to get one last sentence out, “You’re lying!”

I got to hand it to him – he put more effort and emphasis on that than I gave him credit for.

“Even if I was, AJ, I don’t care,” I say and AJ goes from looking terrified to confused. “And neither do they – the most important people in this.”

I point to the door. In walks the New York Nailers special team’s unit. All geared up. Following them is the offensive line. And the defensive line after that. All suited up in their pads and holding their helmets. With a grim expression towards the press.

All standing around the room, stoically showing support for their teammates. All declaring to the world that they didn’t care what we did in the privacy of our bedrooms, as long as we were good people.

That’s right. I did some advance planning. Think Colt could have pulled this off? This is classic Ethan Blake.

What? I like the guy, but let’s keep it manly, huh? I’m still gonna bust his chops whenever I can.

Don’t believe me?

“Ladies, and gentlemen,” I say. “Let me show you what I really want to do with Colt.”

For the first time in his life, Colt’s eyes open up in surprise as I grab his hand and pull him a few steps closer to me. I hold his face and bring mine closer and our lips meet as I kiss him.

He’s surprised. He should be. But in a moment, he relaxes and his mouth opens.

Our tongues dance as our eyes are closed.

I can hear clapping and applause from the room. I can hear whistles from my team. I can feel flashlights.

But for once, I don’t care.

It’s several moments later that we pull apart. I look over to Julianna, and she looks like she could take her clothes off and fuck right now. It’s not noticeable to anyone else - only to me.

I turn around to the audience.

And now for the metaphorical trump card, as they say. As if this wasn’t enough.

“And, AJ,” I say again and reach into my pocket, pulling out my phone and hitting play on the voice recorder and holding it to the microphone. Larry Summers’ voice comes on and I look out at the group as he speaks, “AJ has the whole thing planned out and there is an exit strategy for you, Ethan,” Larry says. “He doesn't want to take you down. Just that cunt bitch Julianna that thinks she can do a man’s job and own a team.”

The room explodes. Literally people are out of their seats.

AJ falls back to his seat and looks like he just got hit with a MAC truck. I hope he doesn’t have a heart attack or something. I want him to be alive for what’s coming next.

“Is Larry Summers still here?” I ask, trying to be heard over the commotion, but it looks like the guy has quietly left.

No one is listening to me. They’re swarming AJ.

There’s a momentary lull where Larry’s voice gets through over the microphone, “AJ thinks if you play along then that bitch’ll be out on the street having her pussy licked by the hobos in a week, tops. And you’ll have the entire contract to yourself once they kick Colt out too.”

Ever hear about pouring gasoline on a fire?

Yeah, that.

Only worse.

I take a moment to admire my handiwork and then look over at Julianna and Colt. She looks at me and smiles.

“Come on, guys,” she says to each of us and wraps her hands in ours. “Let’s go win a game.”

I don’t think the media folks even realize as we walk out the door, heading out into history.