Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
UDO
Udo was a bag of nerves. He’d changed his outfit twice. Finally he’d opted for a light blue linen shirt and grey linen trousers. The shade of the fabric bringing out his eyes and blond hair.
They were arriving at any moment. He quickly tidied all his things away in Steven’s room and shoved them into his overnight bag, which he stuffed into one of the wardrobes.
Who knew how close this family were? They probably roamed anywhere in the house. Explaining his role as colleague would be difficult with his clothes strewn everywhere.
With that in mind he fled the room and into the lounge area. He stopped and took in the view from the window. Steven had lined up all the meat neatly by the barbecue. This meant a lot to him. He’d catered for everything.
Udo had an in-depth knowledge of the day’s menu, seeing as he’d spent the whole morning shopping and prepping. What had seemed such a romantic gesture at dawn had turned into a full-on mission.
Steven looked stunning in navy shorts and a white polo shirt. His dark skin and muscular body the focal points. Udo shivered.
This evidently meant the world to Steven. He had to nail this. Putting a smile on his face, he stepped out onto the deck.
“Hey,” Steven said. “There you are. You look incredible.”
He moved to kiss Udo, who sprang away.
“They’ll be here any second.”
“Hon, they still have to call the intercom like anyone else. Do you think my mother can scale the security fence?”
Udo laughed. The nerves were stopping him from thinking clearly.
“Sorry.”
“Can I get a kiss then?”
Udo nodded.
He moved forward and pressed his lips against Steven’s. The nerves dulled as the warm sensation washed over him. He couldn’t get enough of this man. That was for sure. He would absolutely make him proud today. Whether as protégé or lover.
The intercom buzzing broke the moment.
Steven pulled back.
“It’s barbecue time.”
Udo giggled. “Go on.”
Steven ran to let them in.
“I’ll go and greet them,” Steven said. “Why don’t you…erm…”
“Rearrange the meat?”
Steven looked him up and down. “You’ll pay for that comment later.”
Udo winked and walked outside. Of course Steven had to meet his family alone. That didn’t bother Udo. He didn’t want to hear him say that Udo was a colleague. He accepted the need for secrecy. But now they’d shared their secrets and their bed, it would be like a smack in the face.
He half-heartedly straightened the sausages out. Steven’s terrace was gorgeous. Especially when the sun was shining.
“Udo Holtmann!”
He snapped to attention. A shorter and younger version of Steven stood in the doorway.
“You must be Andrew.”
Andrew bounded over with his arm outstretched. Udo shook his hand.
“Amazing to meet you, man. Wow.”
“And you.”
Udo’s eye was drawn to the door. A pretty woman came through with a young girl.
“This is Nina, my wife, and little Hanna,” Andrew said.
He dragged Udo over and he shook Nina’s hand.
“I’ve heard a lot about you,” he said to Hanna, who rewarded him with a beautiful beam.
He understood why Steven was head over heels for her.
“Are you a football player?” she asked.
“I am. I play for Brockton.”
She appraised him hard.
“I prefer cricket.”
With that savage burn, she skipped off into the garden.
“Ignore her,” Nina said. “She got on the team at school and she’s very excited.”
Udo nodded. “Cricket is a very noble game.”
Andrew still openly stared at him. It was beginning to get slightly uncomfortable.
“Ignore my husband too,” Nina whispered. “He’s a fan.”
“I gathered.”
He immediately warmed to Nina.
The rest of the party came out. A twenty-something woman with a face like thunder and a scruffy man of the same age. They were followed by Steven with his arms around the shoulders of a friendly woman who rested her head on his chest.
“Udo,” Steven said. “I’d like to introduce you to my mother, Diane Cox.”
“Hello, Mrs Cox. How nice to meet you.”
She shook his hand and beamed at him. “Call me Diane.”
Udo bowed his head.
“And this is my sister, Naomie, and her boyfriend, Kyle.”
Naomie came forward and shook his hand. “Lovely to meet you. Kyle?”
Kyle rewarded Udo with a low-energy wave.
“Can we get ourselves a drink?” she asked Steven.
“Of course.”
She led Kyle into the house. Andrew and Nina had already commandeered two of the sun loungers. Hanna was inspecting the meat.
“Don’t touch that stuff,” Steven hollered.
“Can I help?” she replied.
“I’d better go.”
He dashed over to the barbecue area. That left Udo and Diane.
“How are you finding Brockton?” Diane asked.
“It’s taken a bit of time to get used to.”
“A bit different to London, I expect.”
“You could say that.”
Steven wasn’t the exact image of his mother. As her expressions changed, he saw flashes of him in her face. He knew they were close and understood that. He would be lost without his mum.
The way that Diane considered him was equally as unsettling as when her granddaughter had given him the once-over. They were an intense family.
“I’m glad that Steven has a friend,” she said.
Does she know? Has she worked it out already?
Udo shifted position.
“He’s been very kind since I arrived here.”
“That’s my son.”
“I can tell that he’s been brought up properly.”
Her face lit up. “Flattery will get you everywhere. You must miss your own mother.”
“I’ve gotten used to it,” Udo replied. “She manages to come over for the important games.”
“We never used to miss them either.”
Udo glanced over. Steven was teaching Hanna how to use the tongs. They turned the meat over on the barbecue. Hanna got it immediately. Steven hugged her and she absolutely beamed.
“Shall we?”
Diane pointed to the table where two chairs awaited. It appeared that she wasn’t done with him just yet. Udo complied and sat opposite her.
“We’ve never properly met any of the players before,” she said, still studying him.
“Steven knows that I’m new in town. I can only go to the gym so many times.”
“I hope you boys talk about something other than that game. It’s not healthy to be so obsessed.”
“We do.”
“He’s a good son,” she continued. “All a mother wants in life is to see that her children are happy.”
Udo had no idea how to respond to this. It appeared he didn’t need to.
Diane leant forward. “I wish you well, Udo.”
“Thank you.”
Thankfully, Andrew appeared at his side.
“Mum,” he said. “Will you have a word with Steven? He’s doing unseasoned chicken.”
Diane leapt to her feet. “He’d better not be.”
With that, she scuttled off to supervise the cooking. Andrew sat down in her chair and swigged from a bottle of beer.
“You looked like you needed rescuing.”
“Thanks. She’s a wonderful lady.”
Andrew nodded. “She is and you survived the interrogation. You’re part of the family now.”
The rest of the afternoon went swimmingly. Although Udo made a concerted effort not to be cornered by Diane again. Hanna was a welcome distraction.
Later that evening when the family had gone, the dishwasher was working hard and the night had fallen, Udo and Steven curled up on the patio furniture. Flames from the firepit the only light. They danced high and low, casting an orange glow on them.
“Thank you for today,” Steven said.
He lay with his back on Udo, who gently stroked him. He let his fingertips travel along Steven’s collarbone, down to his nipple and up to his Adam’s apple.
“Why are you thanking me?”
“Because you were perfect,” Steven replied. “And my mother loves you.”
“Do you think?”
“Oh trust me. I know,” Steven replied. “She never stopped singing your praises when we were inside.”
A warm glow swept over Udo. He kissed the top of Steven’s head.
“I’m pleased,” he said. “She’s very easy to like. All of your family are.”
“Even Naomie?”
Udo lightly tapped him on the head. “Of course. You’re a bit hard on her. She only wanted some money to go out with.”
Steven took hold of Udo’s hand and kissed the back of it.
“Since I left home to play football twenty years ago, there has not been one time that I’ve seen my sister when she hasn’t asked me for money. Not one time. I think they were her first words.”
They had all seemed so close and perfect that afternoon. It appeared nothing was really what it seemed.
“I’m sorry.”
“At least I know you’re not after my money.”
Udo chuckled. “I might be.”
“I’ve seen your contract, remember.”
To be fair to Rob, he had taken on Udo immediately and negotiated a stellar contract at Brockton. All without even meeting him.
Poor Rob would pass out if he saw this nighttime vignette. It infuriated Udo when he recalled the conversation with Rob where he’d made clear Udo having a love life to be out of bounds. Whilst he could see Rob’s point of view, the injustice stung.
“Do you think your mum knows what’s going on?”
Steven remained silent for a second.
“I reckon so,” he said. “She’s the only one. Andrew was too busy melting at your every word. Nina simply enjoyed the break.”
“That’s true. I don’t trust Kyle. Your sister can do far better than him.”
“Yeah he is slimy, isn’t he? God knows what she sees in him.”
Kyle had barely spoken but his beady eyes had clocked everything going on.
“It must be hard. Being the sister of the great Steven Cox.”
Steven nipped his thigh. “Are you taking the piss?”
“Would I?”
Before Steven had a chance to respond, Udo’s phone rang.
“I thought we were leaving those inside,” Steven said.
“Sorry.”
Udo reached forward, being careful not to disturb Steven. He grabbed his phone from the table.
“It’s bloody Shaun,” he said.
Steven sat bolt upright. “What the hell does he want?”
“I’d better take it.”
Udo pressed Answer.
“Shaun? Now’s not the best time, mate.”
“Okay, I’m just going to come out with it. You know I did an interview with Sports Shade Online.”
Udo’s heart dropped.
“I didn’t but what does that have to do with me?”
Shaun was silent for a second. “I might have mentioned you getting preferential treatment at the club.”
“What?”
“It was just after I’d found out and I was mad. I’ve been trying to get them not to include it.”
So that explained the furtive phone calls and bad temper.
“I appreciate you telling me.”
“I’m sorry, Udo. Really I am. Me and my big mouth.”
Udo wanted to scream at him that he should know better than to slag off a teammate to a journalist. Especially one at the cheapest gossip site on the internet.
But after the hard-won victory of finding a space where he and Shaun could operate without drama.
Udo didn’t fancy ruining the fragile truce.
“We’ll talk about it tomorrow, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Udo terminated the call and stared at Steven.
“Trouble?”
“We’d better call Howard.”