Page 58 of Just for Me
“I won’t,” Luke said. “Sorry, but I’m not exactly tempted by you lot.”
Some laughter at that, and Henry said, “He’s our skipper. He makes the right calls, and nobody empties the tank more out on the field. Not the chattiest bloke, but that doesn’t bother me.”
“Yeh,” somebody said from the back of the group, “but do you want to take a shower with him?”
Henry waited a moment, and Luke thought,This is it, then.When Henry went on, though, he said, “You know my little sister, right? Aisha? Plays Sevens?” They nodded, and he said, “She’s a lesbian. Married to a woman. You don’t know that, even though it’s no secret, because her teammates aren’t bloody idiots, and they aren’t worried that she’ll grab them in the showers because she can’t resist their fat, hairy arses. So they go out and play the game instead of spending their time obsessing about what kind of sex she has. I don’t want to think about what kind of sex any of you have, so I don’t do it. None of my business.”
“But you’re Nigerian,” Oscar said.
“I’m English,” Henry said, with the kind of flat stare that would make most men take a step back.
“Well, but your parents,” Oscar persisted, possibly because of the drink.
“What, they should’ve tossed her out?” Henry asked. “Because they’re from Nigeria? I don’t think they’re the ones with the problem here. If anybody has anything to say about my sister,” he went on, folding his arms and giving them all the benefit of his hardest look, “they can say it to me. And if you want to say anything about the Skip, too. Here’s your chance. Come on. Say it to me.”
Some muttering, some shifting of feet. And somebody else stepping forward. Dan Foster, the first-five, who actuallywasgood-looking and charismatic and all of that, saying, “This is a load of bollocks.” Luke’s heart sank, and he felt sick. Then Dan went on. “Luke’s our skipper, full stop. Who thinks he’s not a good one?” He looked around. Nobody spoke up. “Then what’s the problem?” Dan asked. “Last I looked, it was 2023. And I’d like to get to bed. I ran about ten kilometers tonight, because the Italians can’t tackle for shit, but they run like bloody greyhounds. I’ve got a new baby and a two-year-old at home, and this is my one chance to get some sleep.”
Time to stop standing here like a poleaxed bull. Luke was the captain, at least for now. Time to act like it. “Right,” he said, raising his voice so everybody could hear it. “That’s enough for tonight. Break it up. Go to bed, and I’ll see you on the bus.”
He tried not to hold his breath, waiting to see if they’d do it.
They did. All but Henry, who waited until they were gone, then asked Luke, “All right?”
“Yeh,” Luke said. “Thanks.” He tried to think what else to say, and couldn’t.
Henry nodded. “When are you telling Coach?”
“At the airport, I reckon,” Luke said. “When I can have a quiet word. And if that’s it, if it’s over …” He put out a hand and tried to keep the emotion from showing. It had never been harder. “It’s been an honor.”
Henry took it and gripped hard. “Nah, mate,” he said. “The honor’s mine.”
* * *
Hayden said,when Luke had stalked in his absolutely upright way to his room, betraying nothing, “And I thought it was hard formeto come out.”
He was feeling a little shaken, honestly. That had beenintense.
Luke let the door shut behind them and said, “We could talk about that. We could talk about you flying here and why you did it. Or I could kiss you.”
Hayden said, “Uh, well, uh … let’s do that.” Heart pounding, breath catching. It was the look on Luke’s face.
Luke stepped into him and did it.
It wasn’t their first time, but that was how it felt. Lips and tongues and breath coming hard. Clumsy hands unfastening buttons, and shirts pulled up by eager hands. Luke’s jacket dropping to the floor, Hayden’s shirt, and still, Luke kissing him, his mouth avid and hard.
Hayden could hardly stand up.
He was naked, then, and Luke was still wearing his trousers. His trousers, and Hayden’s scarf. Hayden said, as best he could with Luke’s hands on his chest, his back, his sides, Luke’s mouth at his neck, “You wore the … scarf.”
Luke stopped kissing his neck, stepped back, and looked at him, and Hayden forgot to breathe. Then Luke took the scarf off, put it over Hayden’s head, and pulled him in by it.
Bloodyhell.
He’d never been touched with so much possessiveness. He’d never lain on a big white bed, had a man’s mouth all over him, and been flooded by so much desire, all he could do was put his hands up over his head and surrender to it.
Heat. Passion. Desire. He couldn’t … he couldn’t …
He was making too much noise. He knew it, and he couldn’t stop himself. When it got to be more than he could bear, he stuffed his fist into his mouth and bit down on it to try to quiet himself.
