Chapter 12 #2
“Don’t get excited,” Ingvar said. “It’s a non-alcoholic bar.”
“I think that’s a good thing for you,” Udo replied.
Ingvar reddened. “Will I ever live that down?”
“Unlikely,” Colin said, sitting next to him. “Even I’ve never been sick.”
Ingvar knuckle-rubbed Colin’s head. “That’s because you can never get served, little one.”
“Coke, sparkling water or Fanta?” Adam asked.
“Sparkling water, please,” Udo replied.
He’d been into nutrition since his teenage years. He didn’t only avoid stimulants, he also treated sugar like the enemy.
“Very good,” Adam said. “Ten Skipper points to you.”
“Ten what?”
Goran groaned. “Adam thinks he’s hilarious giving Skipper points when we’re good boys.”
“Sad thing is they don’t convert into anything,” Ewen added.
“Except the glory of being my favourite,” Adam replied, sniggering.
Ewen caught Udo’s eye and shook his head. Udo laughed.
“So you seeing anyone, Holtmann?” Goran asked.
The inevitable yet embarrassing question that Udo dreaded in every interview.
“Nah,” Udo replied, almost truthfully. “I’m not that bothered. I want to see my career out on top first.”
“Very wise,” Goran said.
He had married soap star Paloma Prince the year before. Their wedding had been on every form of media imaginable. When the worlds of football and television collided, it was a tabloid editor’s dream.
Udo frowned. “I thought you were the love story of the decade?”
Paloma was pregnant, which meant the spotlight remained firmly on them.
“Oh we’re happy, don’t get me wrong,” Goran said. “I hadn’t expected the amount of foot rubs I’d be giving.”
The others all sniggered.
“Poor Goran,” Adam said, handing Udo his drink. “It’s not all about him. Wait until the baby comes. You’ll be third in your own house.”
Goran beamed. “And I can’t wait.”
“Do you know what you’re having?” Udo asked.
“Nah. We didn’t want to find out. It’s all part of the magic, isn’t it?”
Ingvar chuckled. “Come back to me when you’ve got three.”
Ingvar had married his childhood sweetheart. The press left them alone for the most part, deeming them very boring. Ingvar had no interest in flash cars or the latest bar. He seemed to ricochet from home to the pitch and back again.
“I don’t know how you cope,” Ewen replied. “I can’t think of anything worse.”
Adam sat down next to Ewen and pinched his cheeks. “Don’t you want to pass these genes on, pretty boy?”
Ewen squirmed out of his reach. “Sod off. What about you, Skipper? Not fancy having a rugrat or two?”
Adam shook his head. “It’s the single life for me from now on. Udo’s got the right idea. I would be the worst father. I can barely take care of myself.”
Adam had been in a high-profile relationship with a social media star. They’d had a bad break up the year before. Udo remembered reading a tell-all interview with her. She’d as good as said that Adam was a child trapped in a man’s body.
“Have you heard from Jen?” Ingvar asked.
“No. She blocked my number,” Adam replied. “She’s deleted all her socials too.”
Ewen frowned. “Isn’t that her career?”
“Yes. Can we change the subject?”
Udo watched Adam. He came across as happy-go-lucky most of the time. Yet he had a sadness in him that came to the fore once in a while. Udo supposed Jen had hurt him far more than he was letting on to the lads.
“How about Shaun?” Udo asked. “Has he got anyone special?”
“Riggs?” Goran asked. “He likes to play the field at work and in play.”
“I thought he had a kid.”
“He does. But him and the mum have split.”
Udo nodded.
“Don’t let him bother you,” Ewen said. “He’s all right, is Riggsy. He gets fixed on stuff. That’s all.”
“Just my luck that’s me.”
He noticed the others exchanging glances. Udo wasn’t about to pretend that Shaun’s behaviour didn’t impact him.
“I’ll have a word,” Adam said. “You keep scoring goals.”
“Deal.”
“Typical that it comes down to me,” Adam continued. “Javier and Steven are fucking useless with shit like this. They were as bad with Jimmy. Anyone could see his partying had got out of control.”
Udo shifted in his chair. Adam was simply letting off steam. However, he didn’t want to sit there and listen to them slagging off Steven.
“I’m sure they did their best,” he replied.
“You weren’t here,” Ewen said, sitting up. “Jimmy got battered at this Christmas light switch-on we did. Look it up on YouTube. He was gurning away. God knows how many lines of coke he’d had.”
Udo frowned. “A bit risky.”
“Not with our management. He may as well have been jacking up in the locker room and they would still wait for the random drug test.”
They all laughed. Except Udo, who simply smiled.
As the conversation flipped to the latest Maserati, Udo took a sip of his drink and watched them all. The camaraderie was strong. Yet they could expel him just as easily. Especially if they knew the truth.
As he left Adam’s he got a text.
Meet you at yours? When?
Udo grinned and replied to give him half an hour. He only lived about ten minutes from Adam but he had a plan.
With a final wave to the others, he got in his car and set off home. It was a nice evening. Udo put the radio on and sang at the top of his voice.
Sure enough he was home by the middle section of the third song. He parked up and dashed inside. Thankfully, the cleaners had been and everywhere was pristine.
He didn’t have time to admire their handiwork. In no time, he took his clothes off and threw them in the utility room. Then he stopped at the fridge to get a bottle of champagne. On the way to the lounge he grabbed two flutes.
He put the bottle and glasses down on a side table. Then he flung the throws and cushions onto the floor where he made them a nest.
“What have I forgotten?”
Lighting!
Udo shut the blinds and switched on his favourite lamp that shone a warm glow over the neutral lounge.
Just as he paused to catch his breath, the buzzer went.
“Perfect timing.”
He went and checked the screen. As soon as he saw Steven’s car, the tingles were real.
After pressing the Enter button, he went to the door. With no neighbours overlooking him, he sauntered out onto the doorstep. As Steven drove up, Udo grinned.
Steven parked up and leapt out of the car.
“Now that is a greeting.”
He ran over to Udo and flung his arms around him. He ran his hands over all of Udo’s body that was in reach.
“Steady on there,” Udo said, nuzzling Steven’s neck.
“You’ve got to be kidding? Coming out naked is far too tempting.”
“Come on in and join me.”
Udo led him by the hand into the house.
“Go on then,” Udo said.
Steven threw his clothes off at lightning pace. He was hard already.
“Fuck, you’re gorgeous,” Udo said. His own cock twitching.
“Come here.”
“Nope. I have plans for you.”
They went into the lounge. Steven stopped when he saw Udo’s handiwork.
“This looks gorgeous,” he said, running his finger down Udo’s back. “Thank you.”
Udo dropped down and crawled onto the throws. He made damned sure that Steven had a good view of his ass while he did it.
“Shall I open this?” Steven said. “The bottle, I mean.”
“Yeah, why not?”
Udo tracked Steven as he crossed the room. He’d explored that body before but the anticipation of getting to do it again was overwhelming.
“How was this afternoon?” Steven asked.
“Really nice,” Udo replied, stretching.
“If you carry on doing that, the champagne will get warm.”
Udo giggled.
Steven popped the cork and began pouring their drinks.
“It felt good to be part of a team again,” Udo said. “Sharing banter and that.”
“Were you talking about me?”
“My lips are sealed. What goes on at Adam’s, stays at Adam’s. Same as in your office.”
Steven turned and handed Udo a glass.
“Sounds fair.”
He got down and snuggled into Udo.
“Cheers,” he said, clinking Udo’s glass.
“Goran and Paloma seem happy,” Udo said. “Everyone else is single, I think.”
Steven got comfortable.
“Thank God,” he replied. “When Adam and Jen split up for the second time it was pretty shit.”
“What happened?”
Steven took a sip of his champagne. “No one knows but she did one and hasn’t been heard of since.”
“Do you think he murdered her?”
Steven burst out laughing. “No, I think she went to her mum’s in Ireland. That’s where he sent her mail to anyway.”
Udo thought about it. He couldn’t imagine Adam with someone. He seemed too addicted to the footballing life.
“This is the kind of player info I like to talk about,” he said.
“Why don’t you put your glass down and do something else with your mouth?”
Udo raised an eyebrow. “Well, I suppose you are the boss.”