Page 103 of Be My Endgame

It was the first time Lee had asked quite so directly. Whenever the topic had come up during their phone calls, he’d been much more concerned about Alex, about how Alex couldn’t be blamed for his father’s actions, and screw anyone who didn’t get that.

“Yes. Even if I don’t think he took any actual money.” Alex let his gaze drift to the ochre cliffs, an intense red in the glow of the evening sun. “Which is probably how he justified it to himself—it’s not bribery if I’m not taking their money. What I think he did take, though, was promises. Like, that in return for him creating a favourable atmosphere at the Lords, Qatar would activate their four puppet MPs when it came time to debate certain issues at the Commons.”

“Right, I remember.” Lee scoffed. “Gender-neutral loos and fox-hunting, that sort of thing.”

“Or reforming the House of Lords, eventually.” Alex sighed. “He’d have found ways to justify it. The greater good and all, you know?”

A wry quirk danced around the corners of Lee’s mouth. “Us humans, we’re excellent at finding stories to justify our actions.”

“And my dad is a master.” It had come out rather more tired than Alex had intended, and something in Lee’s expression told him that if they’d been alone, Lee would have pulled him close.

“Time to get the bill?” Lee asked quietly, and Alex nodded.

“Yeah, let’s head back.” To the villa, where it was just the two of them—no other patrons sneaking glances even as they pretended to be focused on their own food and conversations. Usually, Alex didn’t mind the attention, but … he kind of wanted Lee to himself for a bit.

For the sake of appearances, they split the bill before making their way through the village, quiet now that the day tourists had left. Their rental car was parked on a small road parallel to the main street, squeezed in between other Renaults and Peugeots, a worrying number of them missing side mirrors. Alex handed over the key so Lee could drive them back, their fingers brushing. With the closest streetlamp a few steps away, it felt safe.

What had Ben called it—a chance to build something away from the limelight? Yeah, that.

Reality would come crashing in soon enough in the form of pre-season tours with their respective clubs, in the form of commuting and keeping two sets of clothes in different places, of away games and promo obligations. This, now, was their time.

They’d make the most of it.

This early in the morning,they were nearly alone on the countryside roads, hardly any cars around. Heat already crept up on the rolling hills of the Luberon, their ambling run taking them past vineyards and olive groves, lavender fields already past the peak of their bloom.

With Alex under strict doctor’s orders to only gradually increase the strain on his ankle, they took it easy and walked the last five minutes back to the villa, tucked away behind oaks and pine trees. They stripped their clothes off by the private pool and used the outdoor shower, naked bodies pressing together under the thin trickle of water. God, Lee wouldn’t mind dedicating the rest of forever to mapping the muscles of Alex’s back. Then again, he had plans—sunlight and a private pool at their disposal, hours until the others would get here.

Yes.

Alex seemed to agree because he paused to simply smile at Lee, wide enough to make his dimples pop, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “So. Come here often?”

It probably wasn’t healthy, the way fondness crashed over Lee. “Can’t say I do, but for you, I might make it a habit.”

“Amazing,” Alex said, taking one step towards the pool and tugging Lee along.

Lee agreed, although he wasn’t sure he and Alex were referring to the same thing. “What’s amazing?”

“How that was a terrible line, but somehow, I still want you to fuck me.”

Lee exhaled around the flutter of heat in his stomach.Fuckyes. “And they say romance is dead,” he drawled.

Laughing, eyes bright, Alex tumbled them into the water. They came back up together, clinging to each other, wetness clumping Alex’s lashes. Lee pushed Alex up against the side of the pool to kiss him, water sloshing around them, minutes slipping away.

“How’s your ankle?” Lee remembered to ask eventually—this had been Alex’s first proper run, and if they still needed to be careful, Lee wanted to know now rather than once he had, say, his dick in Alex’s arse. He planned to make this a pleasant experience, after all.

“My ankle?” Mischief edged Alex’s grin as he reached for Lee’s hand and guided it towards his cock. “It’s fine. Here, why don’t you check?”

“That’s not your ankle,” Lee said even as he ran light fingers along Alex’s erection.

“Oh, really?” Alex tilted his head, widening his eyes. “I guess I was never that good at biology.”

Lee clasped Alex’s cock in a loose grasp, rubbed his thumb over the head, and waited for Alex’s gaze to refocus. “Thought you aced your A levels?”

“Ah, but it’s been a while.”

“All I hear are excuses.”

“All I hear—”

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