Page 12 of Playing to Win

“All right?” he asked Andrew.

“I’ll be fine. If we could possibly sit.”

“There’s nae seats here.”

“Floor will do nicely.”

Colin helped him stumble to an empty space not far from the bar, where they sank down against another dusty storage container. Andrew’s brain swooped as though he were still airborne.

“That was amazing!” Katie said as she and Danielle rushed toward them. The two girls dropped to their knees before Andrew and began mock-bowing.

“You could’ve both died,” boomed Liam’s voice. The strapping ginger towered over them, arms crossed. Beside him, Robert matched his disapproving pose. Siobhan lurked in the background, pale and frightened, looking even more faint than Andrew felt.

“What if you’d hurt your knee?” Robert asked Colin. “When Charlotte finds out, you’ll be off the team.”

Andrew felt a pinch of regret. Though he’d never met the Warriors manager, he’d heard stories of Charlotte Atchison’s ruthless demand for player discipline.

“How will she find out?” Colin lifted his arms. “Naebody uploads pictures at raves. It’s a rule. It’s how we stay secret.”

“They’ll make an exception for Tom Daley here.” Liam pointed to Andrew, who felt amused at the comparison to the champion British diver. He’d have to ring Tom tomorrow and tell him. “Everybody was taking pictures and videos. By now they’re probably all up on Twitter and Instagram, conveniently geotagged so the police can find us.”

“No, Colin’s right,” Danielle said. “People know to wait until they’re home to upload rave pics. They’re not stupid.”

Liam sighed. “More than I can say for these two.”

“Aw, get tae fuck,” Colin said, “and gonnae gies a drink while you’re at it?”

“Get it yourself!”

“I would, but I cannae walk the now.” Colin elbowed Andrew. “How about you, mate?”

Andrew gazed at him. “I may never walk again.”

This started them laughing like hyenas. Andrew’s adrenaline was beginning to ebb, leaving behind a delirium higher than any he’d ever felt from drink or drugs.

When he could finally open his teary eyes, he saw the others had headed to the bar, all but Katie and Siobhan, who were standing several feet away. Katie was hugging her girlfriend, rubbing soothing circles on her back.

“I don’t think Siobhan enjoyed our dives,” Colin said. “Heard she’s got a massive fear of heights.” He pressed his thigh against Andrew’s, aligning the rips in their jeans. “You completely outdid me, but I don’t care. That was amazing.”

The hunger in his gaze stoked Andrew’s own. He started to reach for Colin, then realized his own hands were shaking. “My God, look at that.”

Colin took one of Andrew’s hands and rubbed it between his own. “Your skin’s fucking baltic, mate.”

Andrew started shivering, despite the warehouse’s oppressive heat. “This happened after I bungee-jumped in New Zealand. The drop was something like—” He swallowed, his throat going dry. “—I don’t know, five hundred meters.”

“You fell half a kilometer? Off of what?”

“A bridge. It was…” He gazed at the edge of the storage container from which they’d just plummeted. “…not as thrilling as this.”

Colin began to laugh again, this time a deep, burbling delight. He tugged Andrew’s hand to press it against his chest. It was still heaving, and so, so warm.

God, I need you,Andrew thought.I need you now, while we’re still insane.He tucked his fingertips inside the collar of Colin’s ragged black T-shirt. “Come home with me.”

Colin’s head jerked back, and his eyes turned guarded again. “I cannae leave my mates. We come together, we leave together. That’s how we all stay safe.”

“You think I’ll hurt you?”

“No,” Colin said, too quickly to be believable. “But you’ll keep me up late. I’ve my first full practice session tomorrow with the Warriors.” He started rubbing his left arm, over the unicorn tattoo. “If I’m not at my best, Charlotte’ll think my knee’s worse than it is, and then it’ll set everything back, and I might not start the first match. I need to start, I need—”

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