Chapter Seventeen
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Devon
The teasing from West and Mason continued off and on for most of the day, but since it was good-natured and largely focused on taking the piss out of Jonny, I didn’t mind. Neither they nor Matty had told anyone about Jonny and me being together, and despite the fact that everyone knew I’d gotten laid— thanks, Danny, for pointing that out —nobody else seemed to have put two and two together.
Or if they had, they hadn’t said anything.
I gave it a week before everyone knew.
And while we’d probably get some shit for it, I didn’t anticipate anyone having a problem with it. We already had a head coach and two front-row players who were openly in relationships with men and nobody batted an eyelid. The only issue they might have with us being teammates was not wanting to watch us make out, but that’d be from a this-is-a-workplace angle rather than a homophobic one.
At least, that was what I hoped. And if it turned out to be the second, I imagined there’d be a long line of people wanting to correct their opinion.
We were currently finishing up our training for the evening and most of the backs were dicking around while we watched the forwards doing more tackling drills. It gave me the perfect opportunity to watch Jonny in action and be very thankful all the years of pining meant I wasn’t likely to pop a random semi in the middle of the pitch.
“God, look at them all,” Bailey said as he stood next to me, arms folded across his chest and breath curling in the air. “All that hard work. Couldn’t be me.”
I snorted. “Don’t let Hunter hear you say that. He’ll give you shit forever.”
“He already does,” he said. “And I remind him that he has to do twice as much work to have even half the impact I do.”
I burst out laughing because, as fullback, half of Bailey’s job seemed to be standing around and waiting for shit to happen. Didn’t mean it wasn’t important, but still.
“Fuck, it’s freezing out here,” Danny said. “I think my balls are going to drop off. Can you get frostbite on your balls? I think I might have it.”
“Whole new meaning to blue balls there,” Charlie said.
“No, you’re not getting frostbite on your balls,” Matty said with a sigh. “And if you’re cold, then run around.” He gestured at the empty area of the pitch behind us. “You’ve got plenty of space.”
Danny grinned and then smacked Charlie on the shoulder. “All right. You’re it.”
“What? No fucking way!” Charlie yelled as Danny took off into the open space. “You wanker.” He turned to the rest of us and I suddenly realised how close he was and bolted away. Matty was still catching up with what Danny had done, so he moved a fraction too late and was instantly tagged by Charlie.
There were fourteen of us in the group and soon the idea of playing It spread like wildfire amongst us, all of us filling our end of the training pitch as we ran around shrieking like kids in a playground.
“You’re it,” Kegan, who played at inside centre, yelled as he tapped my shoulder before dancing out of my reach as I spun around to grab him back.
“Bastard,” I said with a laugh as I chased after him, my feet thudding on the frozen turf. I wasn’t going to catch Kegan, but Bailey had spotted Hunter and the rest of the forwards wrapping up and was too busy watching them. I grinned as I ran up to him and put my hand between his shoulder blades. “Got ya. You’re it.”
“What the—aw, fuck you, Dev.” Bailey spun on his heel and I dodged out of his way, but I wasn’t quite fast enough. He ducked down and threw his arm around my waist, but instead of tackling me, he swooped me up into his arms and chucked me over his shoulder. He had one arm across my thighs, holding me securely as he began to stride towards Danny.
“What the fuck? Put me down!” I laughed, not actually trying to do anything to escape. I was quite enjoying being carried, and I didn’t want Bailey to drop me because landing on the cold, hard ground was not what I had in mind.
“Team up,” Bailey said, slapping my ass with a broad hand. “I’ll hold you. You get Danny. New rule, get tagged and you’re out.” He shouted the last part across the field as we got close enough for him to spin me around with an outstretched hand to catch Danny’s arm.
“Out!” I yelled.
“Aw, what? Since when?”
“Since now,” I said with another laugh, pointing roughly in the direction of the changing rooms as Bailey strode off towards his next target.
It didn’t take us long to start rounding everyone up, and a few of them were definitely let down by their inability to stop laughing at the sight of me thrown over Bailey’s shoulder and directing him. Most of the forwards were stood watching us from the touchline along with the coaches. Clive yelled something about not being stupid and hurting ourselves, but he wasn’t telling us to stop, so we didn’t.
The last person we tagged was Kegan, who practically surrendered because he was knackered and hungry.
“Victory!” Bailey yelled, punching the air and then playfully slapping my ass again as he carried me over to the touchline. He turned me slightly so I could see who was lined up. Mason and West were still there alongside Jaden and Hunter, who was watching Bailey with a fond smile I’d never seen before. Something between soft and “you are the most ridiculous man I’ve ever seen.”
And then there was Jonny, standing on the end with his arms folded across his chest, his mouth pulled down at the corners and eyes narrowed as he watched us. I rolled my eyes because if he was jealous of Bailey carrying me round, we were going to have words.
But not before I had some fun first.
I was not going to allow my boyfriend to be an asshole, and while the whole possessive thing was hot as fuck, I was not having it bleed over from our private lives into our work. It might be new for Jonny, who still seemed to be figuring out the new whirlwind of emotions he was experiencing, but he was also a grown-ass adult. He needed to behave like one, not some jealous caveman who couldn’t even cope with one of our teammates doing something ridiculous like throwing me over his shoulder and using me as a human sword slash canon slash poking stick.
Bailey slid me gently over his shoulder and carefully set me down, holding my arm for a second to make sure I didn’t fall over. “We are fucking awesome,” he said as he high-fived me, the slap making my palm sting.
“Hell yeah we are!” I grinned. “Although next time maybe give me some warning before you pick me up.”
“Nah, where’s the fun in that?”
He walked over to Hunter, who playfully shoved him in the shoulder as Clive yelled at us all to head in for the day. I glanced over at Jonny and watched his face twitch slightly, but before I could say anything, Kegan and Frankie, who played at outside centre, grabbed me and began nattering away as we walked back to the changing room.
I decided to let Jonny stew.
It would do him some good. And if Mason noticed and ripped the shit out of him for it, that would be good too.
The changing room was ridiculously warm after the freezing outside temperatures, but it also meant I wouldn’t start shivering the second I stepped out of the shower. Everyone was in a good mood and there was plenty of laughter and jokes as we all showered off and dressed.
When I’d let Jonny feast on my thighs, I hadn’t thought about the fact that every single one of those wankers was going to see me naked—why would it have been high on my list of priorities when I was getting laid?—and I knew I was in for a right ribbing. But West grabbed me as we walked towards the showers and tucked me in at the end, where fewer of them would be able to see me, and stood next to me, shielding me with his massive bulk.
Mason soon joined us, as did Jonny, who slid in next to me with a flat expression. He kept trying to smile at me, but every time he glanced over at one of the others, he scowled again. He really was a jealous bastard. And if we hadn’t been surrounded by thirty-two other men, I’d have reminded him who I belonged to. But public stuff wasn’t really my thing. The closest I’d ever come was sucking off an ex-boyfriend in a club bathroom in Paris, and that’d been in a locked stall because I hadn’t wanted to get caught.
Because while I was happy being open about my sexuality, there was a difference between being out and having pictures of me sucking dick or getting railed all over the internet.
“What’re your plans for tonight?” West asked as he scrubbed his hand through his hair.
“Not sure,” I said, casting a look at Jonny. “Hopefully something fun. You?”
West grinned. “Hopefully the same. Although… Rory’s in full costume-making mode for Christmas. Yesterday he decided he wanted to make something inspired by Sabrina Carpenter’s Christmas dress and he’s panicking even though it’s like a month away. So I’ll probably be sorting sequins or staying out the way.”
“Sounds like he could use a distraction,” I said casually. “Or some chocolate.”
“I’ll pick some up on the way home. First rule of dating a drag queen—never let them get hungry. And never tell them you can see their lace front.”
I snorted. “Well, please tell Rory I really appreciate his hard work. He’s such a great performer. And Ryan too.”
Mason smiled fondly at the mention of his partner. “That reminds me, we should get some tickets for the Christmas showcase on the twenty-first. I assume the four of us want to go. Anyone else?”
“From here, I think it’s just the four but we could ask. Maybe Jaden? Or Matty? He could do with a night out,” West said. “I think Theo and Laurie might be coming down too. I’m trying to convince them to come here for Christmas. I’ll let you know as soon as I can. But Theo loves The Court, and they all love him there, so I’m sure they’d love to join us if they’re here. Plus Rory’s in the drag panto and they’ve promised to come see him in that, so it’ll just be getting the timing sorted.”
“Er, my brother might be up too,” Jonny said and I tried not to stare as he rubbed his hands across his chest, my mouth desperate to suck his nipple into my mouth. “Depends. I actually need to speak to him.”
“You think he’d be up for it?” Mason asked.
Jonny shrugged. “Yeah, I don’t see why not. He’s gay and he went to drag con back in January, so I think he’d love it.”
“Sweet,” Mason said. “What’s your brother’s name, by the way? You’ve hardly fucking mentioned him.”
“Aiden.” The corner of his mouth twitched and his face relaxed. “Gonna see if he can bring some Christmas cookies too.”
“Mate, if he does that, I will love him forever,” Mason said. “The last ones you got us were so good.”
“They were,” I said. “We definitely need more.”
“You could just order some.”
“Or I could let you order some and then steal them,” I said teasingly.
“Why would I do that?”
“Just because,” I said, smirking at him. I couldn’t say half the things I wanted here, and even my expression was making Mason roll his eyes.
“West, turn the fucking temperature down on his shower,” Mason said, gesturing at West.
“No way, I’ll freeze too. You want to give him an ice bath, you’ve got to swap with me.”
I chuckled as the two of them bickered and by the time they’d decided to change places, I’d finished washing and was turning mine off. The towels were on a nearby rack but as soon as I stepped clear of the water, Jonny strode off to fetch one, water still running down his back and dripping off his ass, which I was trying not to stare at but failing miserably.
I didn’t think anyone else had noticed, and if they had, then I’d think of an excuse. Or maybe I’d lean into it. After all, Jonny had a fantastic ass and it deserved to be stared at.
Jonny threw a towel at me and I caught it, wrapping it around my waist before we headed back out into the changing room, which was loud enough that nobody would be listening to me. I probably had two minutes before West and Mason caught up with us…
“Are you okay?” I asked casually. “You seem a bit tense.”
“I’m fine,” he said as he sat on the bench.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you want to try that again?”
Jonny turned and looked at me, dark fire burning in his eyes. “I know it’s ridiculous but I hated watching Bailey pick you up. I hate knowing they can all see my marks and don’t know who made them. I…” He let out a frustrated growl and shook his head. “Fuck, I just want to show them who you belong to.”
A shiver ran over my skin as my cock throbbed under my towel. “Y-Yeah?”
“Yeah.” He slid closer, his smile almost feral. “And I want to show you too.”