Chapter Twenty
Danny
“All right, nice and steady today, boys,” Matty said as we huddled in the dressing room, arms around each other’s shoulders despite the surge of hot weather making us sweaty before we’d even stepped foot outside.
“It’s an early preseason friendly, nothing to get worked up over, and they’re only in the Championship, so let’s not slaughter them. ”
There were a few nods and chuckles. We’d played Nottingham in a preseason friendly last year and while they’d started off strong, it’d ended up with us handing them their arses on a plate.
Clearly, Matty was trying to avoid totally decimating their morale before their season started, which I guessed was nice of him, if a little ridiculous.
“Aww, but it was kinda fun last year,” Bailey said with a grin.
“Yeah, but you like it when people suffer,” Hunter said fondly with a roll of his eyes. “Fucking sadist.”
“Kinky. But don’t go spilling all my secrets.”
Hunter snorted and a couple of us laughed. I was absolutely convinced there was something going on between them—there had to be—and it was killing me not to ask about it. But I’d decided to keep my tongue in my head because I wasn’t prepared to have them fire back or go digging around.
If I was careful, I’d be able to stop myself from saying something incriminating. But I wasn’t sure I could count on Charlie to do the same.
Not that I didn’t trust him, I did, but Charlie didn’t always think things through before he spoke. And there was a good chance he’d try to come to my defence and make things a thousand times worse.
He hadn’t said anything about my confession except briefly the next day where he mentioned telling Amanda that I wasn’t interested in dating right now and not to push it.
I was grateful he’d decided to let it go, but I was waiting for him to lose patience and decide he needed to find me a boyfriend.
I couldn’t wait for him to get on and propose to Amanda. Then I could direct him back to wedding planning or rugby every time he tried to make it about me. Which, considering how much I usually loved being the centre of attention, was pretty fucking selfless if you asked me.
“Settle down,” Matty said. “Nobody wants to hear about your sex lives, no matter how interesting you think it is.”
“How’d you know it’s not interesting, though?” Bailey asked.
“Because you’re not interesting,” Mason said with a wink, and I snorted as Bailey grabbed his chest dramatically.
“Fucking ouch, mate. That hurt.”
“Ah well, you’ll live.”
I bit my tongue, holding back my comment about Hunter kissing it better, and let out a slow breath, bouncing slightly on my toes. “All right,” Jonny said with a grin. “Who’s been giving Danny sugar?”
“What? I’m excited! Been a while since we played.” It wasn’t a lie—I was genuinely excited to be back. Rugby was everything to me, and I fucking loved it. Getting back on the pitch had been something I’d looked forward to the moment last season had ended.
I’d had a countdown on my phone and everything.
“You’re like a kid at Christmas,” Jonny said.
“I mean, if you’re not excited, then what’s the point in being here?” I asked. “That’s the reason we do all this, because we love playing rugby.”
“Yeah, we do,” West said, shooting me a smile from across the huddle.
“Exactly,” Matty said. “So let’s go out there and enjoy it, have some fun, and do what we do best!” There was a round of cheerful agreement and a few claps. “Oh! And one more thing. Make sure you’ve all got sun cream on. I don’t care if you don’t think you’ll burn. Sun cream, now.”
“Yes, Dad,” Devon and a few others added as Matty rolled his eyes at them. We’d collectively hoped that having not only a boyfriend but a nanny he could trust would get Matty to ease up a bit, but apparently dad-mode was forever.
Maybe the fact that at least four people had gotten burnt during our cup run in May was all the proof he needed that we couldn’t be trusted. He might’ve had a point.
I’d already put some on because a good SPF was always part of my skincare routine, but I made sure I had plenty on before we headed into the tunnel.
I also made sure to fix my hair and adjust the fit of my shorts to make sure they showed off how round my arse was. Ezra would be around somewhere, and I wanted to make sure he had plenty to look at.
And if he got a hard-on while watching, then I’d be very happy to help him with it afterwards.
Maybe he’d finally be up for fucking my arse, because I was desperate to know what it felt like.
Although I’d be totally down to suck his dick again too.
Having a cock in my mouth was weirdly soothing as well as sexy, and I kinda needed to find a way to ask Ezra to let me sneak into his office and slide under his desk every time training was hard.
Because sucking his dick was so much better at helping me relax than anything else I’d tried.
We jogged out onto the pitch to the cheers of the crowd and the pulsing beat of music, the late-summer sun beating down on us from the gaps in the clouds. For a friendly, the stands were pretty full but I couldn’t see Ezra, or anyone else I knew, from my cursory glance into them.
Not that I expected anyone to be there.
Jade came occasionally, and she’d brought my grandad a couple of times, but there wasn’t anyone else. I knew a few of the other guys’ partners or parents came to every home match, sometimes even the away ones too, and I wondered if I’d find that smothering. Or just weird.
I couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to waste their weekend afternoons or Friday nights watching me play.
Not that I wasn’t good—I was pretty bloody awesome at what I did—but it still wasn’t something I could wrap my head around.
We took our places on the pitch, me on the left wing and Charlie over on the right, Bailey behind us, and the wall of the front row ahead. Jesus, they were big fuckers. I always forgot how huge Jaden, West, and Mason were—each of them built like fucking tanks.
And that wasn’t even counting Hunter’s six-foot-seven frame.
Across the pitch, our opposition looked fit, hungry, and ready to play.
They’d won the toss, so they’d be starting with the ball.
Which they probably thought would be to their advantage.
But we’d see how much energy was left in their legs after thirty minutes of us running them ragged.
Because despite Matty’s desire for us not to demolish them, we weren’t going to make it easy.
I bounced on the spot, readjusted my shorts and socks, and ran my fingers over the ends of my moustache as I watched the referee, waiting impatiently for us to begin.
As soon as the whistle went, the Knights exploded into action, surging forward with the lethal combination of power and speed we’d been perfecting.
It didn’t take long for us to turn over the ball and within seconds it was coming my way.
Devon’s pass was a long one, but I saw it coming and snatched it out of the air, taking off down the pitch as fast as I could.
The crowd was roaring, and the tiny glance of my peripheral vision showed me nobody was close enough to catch me. The pitch ahead of me was clear, and I added a slight curve to my path to aim for the posts, diving across the line and sliding gently across the turf to set the ball down and score.
My first try of the season, and all within two minutes.
I was pretty fucking pleased with that.
Charlie jumped on me as soon as I climbed to my feet, Bailey clapped me on the shoulder, and Kegan ruffled my hair. “Power of the mullet,” he said with a grin.
“It’s the shorts too,” I said, winking at him. “Less restrictive.”
“You can’t convince us all to wear slut shorts,” Bailey said.
“I dunno, I think they’d look pretty good on you. You’ve got the legs for them.”
“You’re not wrong there. I’ve been trying to grow them a bit, and my arse too.” He twisted slightly as Devon lined up on the pitch to kick the conversion. “Do you think it’s working?”
“Yeah, mate. You look great. It’s definitely getting bigger,” I said, wondering if it was gay to look at Bailey’s arse or just a favour to a mate. I was going with the second since he’d asked. And I didn’t want to fuck Bailey. That was Hunter’s job.
Or maybe it was the other way around.
Or maybe they switched.
That was a thing, right? I needed to ask Ezra before my patience snapped and I word vomited inappropriate questions at Bailey.
Devon kicked the conversion with ease, putting us seven points up, and the match resumed.
Nottingham seemed to have woken up a bit since I’d basically walked through their defence, and the next ten minutes or so were rough as they pushed us, trying to get through.
They even managed to get into our twenty-two, attempting to heave each other across the line, but that was quickly put down by people like West, Jaden, Hunter, and Gabriel.
I hovered out on the wing, watching, waiting.
And when the chance came, I took it.
The ball came my way and I bolted. This time, Nottingham’s defence were ready and a few of them came with me, keeping pace surprisingly well.
I put on another burst of speed but already knew I wasn’t going to make it.
I had to get rid of the ball and see if someone else could get it further forward.
Bailey had come with me too, and it was easy to pass the ball backwards into his arms as someone clattered into me, sending me sprawling onto the pitch.
But Bailey was quick on his feet, dodging around their attempted tackles and getting the ball over the line with an outstretched arm as he was finally brought down.
By the time we got to half-time, we’d scored four tries and Nottingham had managed to claw one back, which I secretly thought was a mark of generosity on our part because we totally could have shut them down if we’d wanted to.
“You’re playing well today,” Devon said as we helped ourselves to a snack and a drink from the station in the centre of the dressing room. “If you keep that pace up, nobody will be able to catch you.”
“That’s the dream,” I said with a grin as I picked up a banana, suddenly wondering if I should buy some for home so I could practice deep-throating cock with them.
Although if a bit broke off and I choked, I was fucked because nobody was coming to save me.
I’d have to Heimlich myself on the kitchen counters.
Maybe I’d look at ordering a dildo instead. That’d be the safer option.
And it wouldn’t put me off bananas for life.
Devon gave me a long, appraising look that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and my insides twist nervously. Then he broke out into a beaming smile. “You look happier too, and more relaxed. Jonny noticed it as well. You look good, Danny.”
“Thanks,” I said, swallowing and trying to pretend I didn’t want to vomit. Because how the fuck had he noticed something was different? Had I suddenly changed?
“I heard my name,” Jonny said, appearing beside me before I could get any more words out and taking an orange out of Devon’s hand. “What are you saying about me?”
“Not about you. I was just telling Danny that he looks good and that you noticed it too.”
“Yeah.” Jonny looked at me and nodded. “You’ve calmed down a bit, but you look, I don’t know, happier? Did you get a girlfriend or something?”
“No. No, nothing like that,” I said, hoping to fuck that my face or voice didn’t give me away.
“Danny’s not dating at the moment,” Charlie said, neatly inserting himself into the conversation.
“Yeah?” Jonny asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “Got a few other things going on. Besides, not gonna have time for dating when Charlie finally gets his finger out and asks Amanda to marry him. ’Cos no matter who he chooses as his best man, I’m gonna be the one doing half the planning.”
Charlie snorted and nicked my juice. “Yeah, because you have such great taste.”
“Compared to you I do. You’d be sleeping on a mattress on the floor with, like, two pieces of furniture if you had your way.”
“Get your snack and get out the way,” Charlie said, giving me a nudge on the back of the shoulder. “You’re holding everyone up.”
I grabbed a banana and more juice and walked back to my locker, tempted to break the rules on phones so I could ask Ezra if he was watching me. But I wasn’t going to risk it because it would only lead to more explaining.
“You okay?” Charlie asked as he sat down beside me.
“Yeah. Thanks for jumping in,” I said, glancing around to see who else was listening. “And, er, sorry for throwing you under the bus.”
Charlie shrugged casually. “You’re fine. I didn’t think you’d want to talk about that stuff.”
“I appreciate it.”
“Devon’s right, though. You are happier. Whatever you’re doing, it’s working.” He smiled at me encouragingly and I managed to return it. He nudged my knee with his. “I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks,” I said with a nod, because it was all I could manage without emotion overtaking me.
I’d never thought anyone would say that to me. Not about this anyway. People were only proud of me for my rugby, not who I was.
Charlie changed the subject and began talking about the first half as I peeled my banana, nodding vaguely to what he said.
As a tiny seed of relief planted itself in my chest and started to take root.