Page 72 of After the Siren
Jake’s goal-kicking routine was surprisingly low-key, all things considered. No grass throwing, no weird sequence of steps, no colossal run-up. It was understated and economical.
Jake nailed the goal. It was a beautiful kick from forty-five metres out, straight through the middle. A stunning reminder that, for all his filthy snaps and trick shots, he could flush a set shot with the best of them. Theo wished it wasn’t a turn-on. It was going to be very inconvenient if Jake kicking goals became a turn-on.
Theo only had a moment to contemplate that chilling possibility because Jake was running towards him, arms in the air. Jake’s post-goal celebrations werenotunderstated or economical. The crowd roared and Jake leaped into Theo’s arms in celebration, his legs wrapped around Theo’s waist. Theograbbed him to hold him up, looking up into his jubilant face, and he knew he was smiling back.
‘Let’s do it again,’ Jake said.
It took Theo a moment to realise he was talking about the goal.
They did do it again. Ten minutes into the fourth quarter, Jake had five. The Ogres were looking murderous. The fans with snowflake signs were getting very loud.
The ball got punched out of the stoppage and Theo, with a couple of metres on the Ogres player who’d been drawn into the contest, scooped it up. The wing was open in front of him and he took off. Felt the heart-pounding satisfaction of knowing his opponent couldn’t catch him. Felt the burn in his legs as he pushed harder. He took a bounce, then another one.
Jake hadn’t managed to lose his defender, but he pointed up and to the forward pocket. Theo didn’t think, just steadied himself and put the ball up high.
Jake didn’t usually take speccies. He wasn’t a particularly aerial player. In this case, he got his boot into the hip of the tallest Ogre’s defender as he went up. He juggled the ball in the air for a second, suspended, and then managed to yank it to his chest.
He kept hold of the ball but didn’t stick the landing, and for a second Theo worried that he’d hurt himself. But then he was laughing, levering himself up onto hands and knees. Paddy was there to pull him to his feet, and Theo was trying to catch his own breath. From the running. Obviously.
Jake took his time, then snapped the kick around his body with signature accuracy. Even if it was too far out for anything other than a drop punt, really.
The crowd went berserk and Jake ran forward to get right into the faces of the Ogres cheer squad behind the goal. They screamed back at him, furious, as he pointed at the fans with the snowflakes and blew them a kiss.
It was exactly the sort of performance that, six months ago, would have pissed Theo off. Yet here he was, grateful that his compression shorts were ... compressing.
They won the game decisively. In the rooms afterwards, Theo knew he was looking at Jake too much, but he couldn’tstop.Jake stretching, laughing with Yelks. Jake stripped down to his shorts, chatting to one of the trainers. Jake with a microphone in his face, grinning at a reporter. Theo needed to stop, because he wasn’t being subtle about it, but he couldn’tnotlook.
He went through the motions of showering and getting dressed without registering any of it. He got a thump on the back from Yelks and a nod of approval from Davo, both of which should have made him feel good about the game. But all he could feel was a restless ache in his stomach.
It was a bad idea. It had been a bad idea the first time, and it was a bad idea now. In fact, it was an even worse idea now, because at least that first time he’d been drunk when they’d started it. This time he was stone-cold sober and perfectly able to see all the ways it could go wrong.
He managed to intercept Jake on the way out to his car, jogging a little to catch up with him, hauling his half-zipped gym bag.
‘Hey,’ Theo said, a little breathless.
Jake was still grinning. ‘What’s up?’
Theo took a deep breath. ‘My sister is away for a conference this weekend. You wanna come over tonight and, uh, play someMario Kart?’
Jake’s slow smile made Theo feel a bit drunk. ‘Sure,’ he said. ‘I’ve just gotta drop Xen and Paddy home first.’
‘Cool.’
Jake’s fingers brushed Theo’s wrist. The gesture would have looked entirely innocuous to an onlooker, but it made Theo feel like he might burst into flames.
‘See you later,’ Jake said.
‘Yeah,’ Theo said, knowing that it was a terrible idea and not giving a damn.
Jake jogged up the steps to Stavs’ place and rung the bell. He’d thought Stavs might get cold feet and send him an ‘actually ...’ message. But he hadn’t, and even some serious side eye from Xen hadn’t stopped Jake from dumping his bag at home, changing, and then heading straight back out the door.
Jake heard footsteps, then the door opened. Stavs was wearing a threadbare navy skivvy and grey trackies. His hair was a little damp, messy like he’d been running his hands through it.
‘I want the yellow controller,’ Jake told him, stepping inside and kicking off his sneakers. ‘And I’m sitting on the right.’
Stavs looked, for a second, like he genuinely believed that Jake had driven over at 11 pm on a Saturday night after a game to playMario Kart. It was great. Everything was great. It had been a great day, and now Jake was going to have some great sex.
‘Um,’ Stavs said, and Jake took a couple of steps into his space, nudging him until his back was against the door. His eyes dropped to Jake’s mouth. ‘What if there’s no yellow controller?’
