…a familiar face. Not just a familiar face, but a famous face. It was Craig Blackmon, a retired NFL running back. He had been an All-Pro, but was forced to retire early due to bad knee injuries. Luckily for him he wasn’t one of those athletes who wasted his money, and had since become a motivational speaker and started a successful fitness company. I knew he lived in my city, but I never thought I’d see him.
He was holding something against my head and asked me if I was alright. As luck would have it, he was in the bar that night. He saw the drunk accost Marissa, and was also about to do something. I happened to get there first and receive the drunk’s attack. I was told that as soon as the drunk hit me with the bottle, Craig hit the drunk with his fist. He was down with that punch. Craig and Marissa picked me up off the ground just in time to see the cops haul the still unconscious drunk out of the bar.
Craig commended my bravery but commented that maybe I wasn’t the best person to play hero. I told him I had to protect my friend and that we couldn’t all be super strong former football players. He chuckled and said it took balls to say that. He invited me to come to his gym in town. He said that if I truly wanted to play the hero, he could help me. I was going to say no but Marissa encouraged me. Since I was still acting like I wasn’t gay, I couldn’t say no at that point.
So I reluctantly went to Craig’s gym. To my surprise, it was closed. But Craig greeted me at the door and told me to come in. He said that he admired my spirit and determination and figured that he could help me get in better shape. I wasn’t in bad shape, like I wasn’t overweight or anything, but I wasn’t exactly fit either. Physical activity exhausted me very quickly. Exercise was a dirty word for me. Craig told me that he knew that just by looking at me. He said he wanted to put me on a training regimen, so long as I’d stick with it. He said he would work with me personally and not charge me. He also said if my father wanted him to do any promotional work for the company, he’d be glad to do that, too. I knew my father always wanted that kind of promotion, so I couldn’t say no to him.
Over the next six months, I went to Craig’s gym three times a week. For two hours a day, he gave me personal instruction and supervision in all facets of exercising and working out. There were so many times I wanted to quit. I just couldn’t stand it. But Craig wouldn’t let me. Instead of being one of those drill sergeant types, he was completely encouraging. He assured me I could do anything he wanted me to do. After a few weeks, I actually started to believe him. I was noticing changes in my body and started to feel more confident in myself.
However, I was still pretty miserable professionally. I still hated my job. Then about four years after my mother died, my father abruptly resigned from the company and left my brother in control. This was quite shocking to everyone. My brother soldiered on with the support of the people who had worked for my father for years. He gave me a more important role in the company as well. I was both flattered and scared at this promotion. Fortunately I liked this job better than my old one. But I still didn’t feel like it was meant for me.
Meanwhile, Craig and I had become very good friends. We began to hang out with each other outside of the gym. He invited me to parties and introduced me to his friends. His friends all looked at me suspiciously at first. Since I was some non-descript white guy and they were all black, I guess that was to be expected. I didn’t feel comfortable around them at first either. But after some time, we all dropped our defenses and got along pretty well.
About eight months after we’d first met in that bar, Craig invited me to his house for dinner. I assumed it was another group get-together. It was also the first time I’d been invited to his house. I was in awe of the place as I drove up to it. It was quite the mansion. Even though my father was a successful businessman for years, his house was nothing compared to Craig’s house.
To my surprise, I found out that I was the only person invited to Craig’s house that night. We had a very nice dinner, throughout which I tried to hide the fact that I felt a little unsettled, and then went into his living room. We began to discuss things like family and I innocently asked Craig why he didn’t have a family of his own. He looked at me funny, chuckled a bit, and then told me he was gay.
I burst out laughing until I realized he was serious. I just couldn’t believe it. How could this big time athlete be gay? Guys like that weren’t gay. He told me that he was and he was quite comfortable with it. He said he wasn’t completely open about his sexuality, but that was only because he was waiting to meet the right person. Then it dawned on me that I was that right person. It dawned on me because he kissed me full on the lips. I tried to force myself away but couldn’t. I even briefly found myself returning his kiss. As soon as I realized that, I was able to pull myself away from him. I angrily told him that I was not gay and before he could say anything else, I ran out of the house. I drove away with tears pouring out of my eyes.