Page 10 of Playing to Win

Colin swept a hand through his own sweaty hair and glanced past Andrew, up at the dancers atop a row of ten-foot-high storage containers. “Wow, check them.”

Andrew turned to look, then kept turning until he spotted a second container stacked atop the row, twenty feet tall and currently empty. “Let’s go up there!”

Colin grinned inside but shook his head. “It’s pretty high. Could be dangerous.”

“No, it’ll be brilliant!” Andrew took his hand. “This floor’s suffocating. We’ll have loads of room up there.” He laced his fingers with Colin’s. “I promise I’ll keep you safe.”

Colin took what he hoped seemed a reluctant breath, then tightened his grip.Got you, my wee butterfly.“Let’s do it.”

As they made their way over, he thought about how most lads he dated tried to rein in his madness. This lad stoked it. Andrew would come to regret it one day soon—or rather, one minute soon.

Colin scaled the lower container, aided by the dancers atop it, then turned to help Andrew. As he pulled him up, Colin saw the crowd on the floor start to point and cheer.

Youse are about to get the best show yet.With a running start, Colin vaulted up to the higher container and grasped the top edge. His feet scrabbled against the side, using the metal contours to push him up. Thanks to the extra upper-body exercises he’d been doing during his knee rehab, he hoisted himself to the top in a flash.

More cheers. The dancers on the level below helped Andrew scale the side of Colin’s container, then Colin pulled him all the way up.

Andrew straightened to stand before Colin, and for a moment, it seemed they were alone in the crowd—alone in all the world.

Then the music swelled, and Andrew began to dance with a sinuous grace the crowded dance floor hadn’t allowed. Colin joined in, mirroring Andrew’s motions. Though they didn’t touch, their hips moved in perfect sync.

The chant began, with just a few people at first, but quickly spreading. Glow sticks of all colors waved in time to the single-word call, creating a dazzling, urgent rainbow.

Andrew squinted at the crowd. “Are they telling us to die?” he asked Colin.

“They’re saying ‘Dive.’” He put his hands together and swooped them down like a swimmer. “Dive.”

Colin wished he’d had his phone ready to capture Andrew’s face as the horror took hold. But he’d remember that look for the rest of his life.

“Crowd dive?” Andrew shrieked. “At a rave? From up here? Are you insane?”

“Aye!” Before Andrew could stop him, Colin stepped to the edge, checking that the people below were ready. “See you in hell, mate!” Then he pulled his hands to his chest, bent his knees, and leaped.

For one glorious moment, he was flying, arms and legs spread. Lights streaked past his eyes, and air seemed to rush through every cell of his body. A split second before he hit, he pulled his tongue back into his mouth so he wouldn’t bite it off.

A mass of arms caught him, slippery with sweat. He thought they might drop him, but then they rebounded like a human trampoline, tossing him up into another weightless moment.

“Turn me over!” he shouted. “On my back!”

They managed it without dropping him, hands grasping, poking, wrenching his limbs. He looked up to see Andrew gaping down at him, hands to his mouth, eyes wide as vinyl LPs.

“Dive!” he called up, knowing Andrew would never dare. “Dive! Dive!”

The crowd took up the chant again, raising fists. A girl near Colin’s head asked, “Does that guy up there know what he’s doing?”

Her friend gave a hooting laugh. “Who’s daft enough to crowd dive at a rave, other than Colin?”

Nobody, he thought.I’m the bam. Nobody out-bams me.

Andrew crouched near the edge of the container, probably looking for an easy way down. But there was none, save the awkward way he got up there. He’d have to admit defeat.

The crowd’s excitement suddenly crested, and Colin was jostled so hard he couldn’t see.

“The fuck’s that guy doing?” asked the lad supporting his shoulder. “He’ll get himself killed.”

“Put me down!” Colin shouted. He was immediately dumped, and nearly fell on his arse, but managed to find his footing and stand straight.

What he saw atop the container confused him at first. Why was Andrew’s head down but his legs…up?

---