Chapter Six
Ezra
I checked the microphone clipped to my collar, making sure it was connected to the phone in my hand as I waited by the door of the training centre for the players to start arriving for their first day of preseason training.
Leigh, Adam, and I had planned out a whole month’s worth of content around the build-up to the first preseason friendlies, kicking off with today’s video, which Leigh had been down to film.
Unfortunately, she’d been struck down with food poisoning and I didn’t want to inflict the team on Adam solo, so here I was, phone in one hand and lollipops in the other, preparing to bribe the players into taking part in our social media antics.
Which I knew they would as soon as they saw the sweets. They were not difficult creatures to predict, and any kind of food, sticker, or small reward would get them on board in an instant.
I wiped the sleep from my eye with a knuckle and suppressed a yawn. Being suited and booted at seven on a Monday morning hadn’t been something I’d expected when I’d taken this job, but the free coffee and breakfast were a nice perk. And the fact I’d be finished by three.
Although it wasn’t as if I had anything to do with my afternoon. I’d probably end up staying in the office to get ahead on content planning, emails, sponsorship announcements, and all the other millions of things that came with being in charge.
The training centre door swung open, revealing my first victims: Jonny and Devon.
Their appearance didn’t surprise me as the two of them were always here first because they liked having breakfast by the window together.
I’d known about their relationship from day one when Clive had talked me through a list of important things I should know about the players, and I had to admit it had surprised me.
Mostly because I’d never heard of a player couple being openly together.
We’d sat down with them last season to talk about how comfortable they were with us posting about their relationship on social media, mostly because of their safety.
Because while we had multiple players who were openly in queer relationships, they were all with people from outside of the team and that made a big difference.
Player safety was always my first priority because there were people out there who took their attachment to a whole new level, and I was not here to test the limits of their parasocialism.
Devon’s eyes widened as he saw the sweets while Jonny sighed, immediately noticing my phone and knowing I was recording. “Really? It’s the first day back,” he said, but he did smile when I held out the lollies.
“Yeah, you can’t escape us this year,” I said. “But if you tell me one thing you did this summer, you can have a lolly.”
“Done,” Devon said, immediately nabbing one out of my hand. “I learnt how to make cookies.”
“Impressive. Are you going to bring some in?” I asked.
“Probably not. I don’t think my kitchen’s big enough to make as many as I’d need.” He grinned and began unwrapping the lolly. “Oooh, strawberry.”
Jonny chuckled and reached for his own lollipop. “I moved house.”
“Sounds less fun,” I said with a little nod, noting that they’d given answers that couldn’t be tied to each other. Although I was pretty sure Jonny’s moving house meant he now lived with Devon.
“Stressful as fuck, mate,” Jonny said with a wink as he pocketed his lolly, the pair of them heading towards the canteen.
Next in was Kegan and Frankie, both equally delighted by the prospect of free sweets despite the fact it was so early.
“One thing you did this summer,” I said, keeping the lollies tightly in my grasp in case they tried to pinch one without asking. “Then you can have one.”
“Took my kids to the beach,” Kegan said as he reached for a cola lolly, then frowned. “Wait, can I swap this? I don’t like cola ones.”
“I’ll have it,” Frankie said, taking it out of his hand and grinning at the camera. “And I painted a nursery. Again!”
“Congratulations. Are you okay with me using that on socials? Or did you want to use something else?”
“Oh shit, yeah, good point. We’re not making it public until the baby’s here. Er…” He thought for a second, then looked into the camera again and smiled. “I got to do a cannonball into a swimming pool. It was awesome!”
I snorted and shook my head as Kegan took another lolly, orange this time, and the two of them wandered off, chatting animatedly about their prizes and how they wanted to campaign for a group trip to a water park. I could’ve sworn half of these men were just giant teenagers.
The players started to flood in, mostly in groups of twos or threes, and all of them were very excited about the lollies. They even started to queue so they could answer the question and get their prize.
“I went to Santorini,” Charlie said as he stepped in front of me, casually swiping a lolly out of my hand and making way for Danny…
Shit, Danny.
Why the hell had my brain not put two and two together and realised that doing this meant I’d have to speak to Danny again.
Or more like, speak to him in person. Not via the sporadic Instagram messages we’d had going since Saturday night, when I’d accepted his request while four martinis deep and giving Shane advice about anal beads.
When I’d woken up the next day and looked back at the messages, I’d considered telling Danny I needed to remove him because us chatting like that wasn’t professional. Then I’d remembered the way he’d looked at me in the bar and decided to delay the conversation by a day or two.
It was a shit decision really, but I wasn’t exactly the poster boy for making good choices.
One more bad one couldn’t hurt. It wasn’t like I’d agreed to get back together with Reed. If that ever happened, I’d need someone to slap me.
“Danny,” I said casually, dipping into my endless professional experience to stay composed. “One thing you did this summer, and you get a lolly.”
Danny looked between me and the lollies, seeming hopelessly confused for a second. “What’s the catch?”
“No catch, just answer the question and get sweets. Well, a sweet.”
He swallowed, then seemed to remember he was on camera. His cocky bravado returned in an instant as he smiled brightly, turning up the charm to eleven. “Tried a pina colada for the first time. It was pretty good.”
“When did you do that?” Charlie asked with a stunned look, apparently hearing this for the first time. Interesting. Danny hadn’t mentioned anything about Saturday night to Charlie, who he seemed to be attached at the hip to.
“When I went on holiday with my sister,” Danny said, the lie rolling off his tongue so smoothly I almost believed him. “She got me one to try from the swim-up bar at the hotel. It was all right actually. I’d get it again.”
“Well, it’s always good to try new things,” I said as I held out the handful of lollies for him to take one.
“Yeah, it is. Maybe I’ll get another one next time I go out.
” He kept his eyes on me as he reached for his reward, and my stomach twisted because if I didn’t know any better, I could’ve sworn he was looking for some kind of praise or reassurance.
Or at least an acknowledgement that this wasn’t the first time we’d had this conversation.
Dammit, why did I have such a weakness for men with praise kinks? Especially ones that almost certainly had a bratty side.
“I fucking love pina coladas,” Mason said, appearing behind Danny and slinging his arm around the winger’s shoulders, casually shoving aside all my other thoughts as I instantly focused back in on my job.
“They’re so good. Also, why the hell did nobody tell me that cocktails have so much alcohol in them?
They’re so much stronger than beer! Some of them are bloody lethal.
” He grinned and stole a lolly from my hand.
“Also, I finally beat Mask of Twilight this summer, and that is my biggest achievement to date.”
“Should I tell Ryan that?” West asked, the hooker looming over the rest of them with a good-natured but teasing smile on his face.
“Don’t you dare,” Mason said. “Also, you have to fess up to the camera too. What did you do this summer, Westley?”
West glanced away shyly. “Asked Rory to marry me. He said yes.”
There was a round of cheering as everyone around us swarmed him, throwing themselves onto him, thumping him on the back, and chanting his name in celebration. It made my stomach tighten again, only for a different reason, and I fought back the wave of bitterness rising inside me.
None of them knew about my divorce. And even if they did, why should they care? I wasn’t part of the team; I was a member of staff. There was a difference. Subtle but undeniable.
It wasn’t on them to manage my emotions or hold back on celebrating their friend because I couldn’t get over the fact I’d married the biggest dickhead in Manchester.
I stepped back slightly, making it look like I was giving them space, and cut off the recording.
I’d ask West later if he was happy for me to include it or if he’d prefer me to completely scrub it.
It wasn’t like I needed it, and even if I’d been short of footage, I’d never have put any of them at risk for content.
Their personal lives were just that: personal.
And I wasn’t about to be the sort of cunt who ignored their boundaries for clicks.
“You all right?” Danny asked and I realised he was stood next to me, watching the unfolding chaos with amusement, the lollipop he’d taken from me still clutched in his hand.
“Just trying not to get crushed,” I said, sliding the phone into my pocket.
“You don’t usually film these things,” he continued, still not taking his eyes off his teammates, who were now trying to pick West up. It was a little like watching a team of the Chuckle Brothers.
“Leigh has food poisoning.”
“You’re not going to be doing this regularly then?”
“Probably not, why? Did you want me to?”
He shrugged. “You look good behind the camera. I wouldn’t mind seeing you there more often.”
I blinked slowly. Was Danny flirting? Or was he simply being friendly? Fuck it, I was going to take a punt. I didn’t have anything to lose. “I mean, if you want to see me more often, all you have to do is ask.”
“Yeah?” Danny asked, not quite hiding his nerves. “Where would I do that?”
“You know where to find me. And if not, my office is upstairs.”
“Cool. All right.”
The moment hung in the air between us, something unspoken lingering but I couldn’t say exactly what it was. It had the vague shape of a bad idea, but there was a shadow underneath it that called out to me in sweet, hungry whispers.
I glanced down at Danny, whose eyes flicked up to me for a second as a tiny smile curled the corner of his mouth. “What? Have I got something on my face?”
“Just your moustache,” I said, idly wondering if I should be filming the team’s attempts to hoist West on their shoulders. It was probably worth capturing in case West was happy for me to use it in some way.
“Give over, not you too! I don’t care if you think it looks shit.
I like it and it’s my face!” Danny said vehemently as I fished my phone out of my pocket and filmed a quick twenty-second clip of the team, careful to keep my thoughts to myself while it recorded.
It gave me a moment to compose my response.
When I’d finished I turned to the winger beside me and said, “I don’t think it looks shit at all. In fact, I think it suits you. You look cute, Danny.”
Then I smiled at him and walked towards West and co before Danny had a chance to answer, leaving him staring at my arse and cursing my name.