24
It was a full two weeks before Will accepted that Gabriel was serious about not being physical with him. No matter how much he flirted or tried to get close to Gabriel, it was never reciprocated. There were a few times he caught Gabriel admiring him—during volleyball training when he was there with Sarah—and then once he caught him staring when they were watching a movie together. But it never went past that.
Will: You have too much self-control. :(
Gabriel: Lol. I learned it the hard way. You better not be texting and driving.
Will: No, I’m parked outside the gym. This place is massive.
Gabriel: Don’t be nervous. You’ll do great.
Will double-checked the time. He was early. He’d finally stopped waiting for Mom to visit so he could talk to her and just got his Dad to sign the forms Nicolas had given him. Nicolas had told him to come in that weekend and join him for training.
Will gnawed on the inside of his cheek as he stared at the imposing building. It was on the edge of Dublin City, and it was a colossal construction made from steel beams and glass. He could see exercise machines through the glass walls, and despite the early hour, he could also make out that there were several dozen people already inside.
He wished somebody was with him. Going inside to join a group of professional players was beyond daunting.
Gabriel: Seriously, you don’t need to worry. Nicolas wants you on the team. Now go show the rest of them who they’ll have the honour of playing with from now on.
Will smiled at the text and some of his tension relaxed. Just enough that he didn’t need to throw up anymore. He put his phone away and got out of the car. He strung his sports bag over his shoulder and approached the gym. It opened to a reception desk, and he felt even more out of place as he looked around. His gym at home had a little shop inside the front door. It sold sweets and ice cream. Here there was a coffee shop with boards detailing the different ‘green’ smoothies you could order.
“Will,” Nicolas called, striding toward him down a long hall. He was dressed as he had been the first time Will met him: shorts, a plain black shirt, and white sneakers. He also wore the same beaming smile. A younger guy walked next to him, taller than Nicolas, but leaner. He was dressed for exercise as well. He scanned Will as they got closer.
“Nicolas,” Will greeted back. He winced as he heard the nerves in his own voice.
“Don’t be nervous,” Nicolas said. “You’ve already passed the try-outs.”
“I’m doing my best not to be.” Will got his voice to come out more even this time. “Will I get to meet the team today?”
“All the teams train together,” the guy next to Nicolas answered. He had a Dublin accent. Will guessed he was in his early twenties and wondered if he was one of the players. The guy must have seen the question in his gaze. He held out his hand for Will to shake. “I’m Vinny, captain of the men’s team.”
“Nice to meet you.” Will shook his hand, finding that his new captain had a strong grip.
“I’ll introduce you to the boys and show you around,” Vinny said. “Coach, we’ll meet you in the main hall.”
Nicolas gave Will another reassuring smile before they walked away.
Will recalled when he’d first joined the volleyball team. Jack had invited him to a training session at school one day, and it had taken three weeks of standing outside the gym and losing his courage at the last second to go inside. It had been awkward starting something new that he wasn’t any good at, but he’d gotten better at dealing with awkward.
“Have you been with the team long?” Will asked
“Four years,” Vinny said. “I’ve been the captain for the past year.”
“And how long have you been playing volleyball?”
“Since I could walk.”
Vinny showed him to the locker room, which didn’t smell like a locker room, and honestly freaked Will out. There was a locker with Will’s name on it. He traced the outline. His full name was written: William Simmons. The rivets that stuck it there gave him a feeling of permanence. Nicolas was expecting him to stay.
“Ready to go?” Vinny waited for him.
The nerves were finally easing. Dread became excitement. He was about to train with a professional team, and their coach thought he was good enough for it. “I’m ready.”
*
“It was amazing,” Will gushed. He ignored his maths copy on his desk and faced Gabriel. Usually, after his dad had gone to the pub, he’d come over for a little while. He always insisted on helping Will with his homework and study—since Christmas exams were coming up—and they took turns cooking. Will suspected more than anything that Gabriel didn’t like that Will was always alone in the house.
Gabriel leaned back in the chair. “I knew you’d get on well,” he said with a smile.
“They were so good.” Will tried to contain his excitement, but it was hard. “And Vinny was amazing. He’s tall and his spikes were ridiculous. Even if I could try to receive them, I’d…” He noticed Gabriel’s amused expression, and he came to an embarrassed halt. “I told you this already.”
“A few times,” Gabriel agreed, but he said it with a smile. “I don’t mind hearing it again. I haven’t seen you this excited about anything before. You always look like you enjoy yourself at volleyball, but I thought that was because of who you were playing with.”
“Yeah.” Will faltered for a second. It was less fun with the new dynamic around Jack, Birch, and Amanda. But having Gabriel and Sarah there distracted him from that. Plus, he’d started to always partner up with Eileen. Not to mention at school he’d spent more lunch breaks with Dune and Gale than he had with Jack…
“Will?” Gabriel said.
“Sorry,” Will shook himself. “Zoned out for a second. I think I enjoyed it for an entirely different reason. It was so intense at the training, I didn’t even have time to think about it all until I was driving home.”
“It was fun being challenged for a change?”
Will grinned. “Tons.” Despite the utter exhaustion in his muscles, he couldn’t wait for tomorrow. “And they actually want me on the team. Vinny was all stoic and silent for the training, it kind of psyched me out, but he came up at the end to get my number, oh—I forgot that he texted me in the car.” Will went to his bag and dug out his phone.
Unknown: It’s Vinny.
Will snorted. His new captain wasn’t the most talkative guy in the world.
“You gave him your number?”
Will turned to Gabriel in surprise. His expression was a blank mask, and his body language was neutral. But the question wasn’t neutral. Will figured it was a given he’d exchange numbers with the guys on the team—the captain, in particular—and Gabriel had to know that as well. But Gabriel questioned it. Will couldn’t help his smile. “He is the captain.” He put the phone in his pocket and leaned against the desk close to Gabriel. “Should I not have given it to him?”
Gabriel rubbed the back of his neck with an embarrassed air. “That was real subtle of me.”
Will’s smile grew. “I don’t think either of us are big on subtlety.”
“I prefer that.” Gabriel shrugged as he stood up. “The last guy I dated was big into giving little cues and hints for me to pick up on. I did, often. But when I didn’t? He’d let me know.”
“How would he do that exactly?” Will asked as Gabriel went through his drawer of medals.
“He’d ignore my texts. Act short with me.” Gabriel unwrapped the shield and put it on the top of Will’s dresser. “And he’d make little remarks about other couples.” Gabriel deposited the little trophies on different surfaces around the room. “Like ‘Oh, they always pay such close attention to each other’ or ‘I’d love if our relationship was like that. ’”
“Why exactly were you dating this guy?” Will wondered.
Gabriel grimaced, as if recalling bad memories. He took out a handful of medals and placed the ribbon over Will’s head so they came to settle on his neck, the medals hanging low and pressing against the middle of his chest. “This was my honest guy phase,” he said. “I met Bruce in college. He was smart, and extremely blunt with people. I thought it would be refreshing not having to figure things out. I realised after we went out that he was only upfront about certain things.”
“What certain things?” Will tilted his head, letting Gabriel work away at the ribbons. They were getting heavy around the back of his neck.
“Things that wouldn’t hurt him,” Gabriel said. “He had no problem calling people out on any of their shortcomings, but would he ever talk about himself the same way he did with other people? Not a chance.”
“He kind of sounds bitchy,” Will said. He was happy that Gabriel was talking with him openly about his past relationships, and he was glad he was obviously over his ex. But it worried him that Gabriel had gone for a smart guy. That was the opposite of Will. And Will wasn’t exactly honest with everyone either. At least he knew he didn’t go out of his way to purposely hurt people. Well… The kiss with Birch came back to haunt him. He’d done that to spite Amanda.
Gabriel shrugged. “He was so surprised when I broke up with him. My friends all saw it coming, but none of his did.”
Will tried not to let the little bits of anxiety in him take over his time with Gabriel. He could worry after.
“There.” Gabriel stepped back, looking satisfied.
Will looked down at himself. “What exactly is this?”
“Proof you are absolutely good enough for that team and that they’re lucky to have you,” Gabriel said. “Something you should be proud of and not hide.”
“If I walked around like this, I’m not sure ‘proud’ is the word people would use.” Will imagined the looks he’d get if he showed up to school like this, and he couldn’t help but laugh. “Can you imagine if I did? Everyone would think I’d lost it.”
Gabriel smiled with him, but after a few seconds the expression faded. “You haven’t told any of your friends about getting the spot, have you?”
Will wondered how Gabriel knew. Had he said it? He tilted his head to avert his eyes. There was one thing in particular that had been bringing down his mood about getting recruited for the national team. “I’ve been avoiding telling Jack,” he said. “He’s pretty much the entire reason we have a volleyball team out here, and he’s the only reason I’m playing it now. He’s better at the game than I am, yet I’m the one who got to go to Dublin and play with a national team.”
“From what I’ve seen of Jack, and heard from you,” Gabriel said carefully, “I don’t think he’s the kind of guy who would hold that against you.”
“I know he won’t,” Will agreed. “But that kind of makes me feel worse about it.”
Gabriel was quiet. Will tried to read his expression, but it was hard. There was a softness in the way he regarded Will, but there was also restraint. Like Gabriel was holding himself back from whatever he was feeling.