Chapter 32
Kyle
I look at AJ’s text as soon as I get into the hotel room. Thankfully, I’m in my own room. I think about replying, but I call him instead, and he picks up on the first ring.
“Someone’s eager,” I say playfully.
“You’re the one who called as soon as he got to his hotel room.”
“Wait, how did you know?” I ask, looking around for a hidden camera.
“I know you, Ky. You didn’t reply after the game, and I know you didn’t want to hang out with your teammates in the beautiful European city.”
“You don’t have to be right all the time you know,” I say, only slightly annoyed.
“And now you’re getting annoyed.”
This guy. Honestly.
He laughs into the phone, and I can’t help but join in. His laugh is infectious.
“So, what did you wanna talk about?” he says once we have our breaths back.
I lie back on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. The fan is going around in lazy spirals. “I just wanted to hear your voice.” The confession shoots out of me before I have a chance to think about it.
There’s silence on the other end of the line—too much—and my heart begins to waiver.
Then I hear AJ’s voice, “I’m glad you did.
I wish you were here with me now. Everything seems a little easier when you’re with me.
Even with the press interview last night, I felt like you were with me, when they asked the question about how I am?
That was a direct reaction to your actions.
You’re changing the game for the better.
Hell, you’re giving me hope we can…that we can do this,” he says before trailing off.
I cling to the phone like I would cling to him if he was here right now.
“Whatever happens, I will be with you. You’re not losing me this time,” I say, and I mean it. There’s another pocket of silence on the other end of the phone; this time it’s comfortable. I can hear him breathing in and out, and the sound soothes me.
“I, um…I will be with you too. You can count on it,” he says, but I can tell he wants to say something more.
I don’t push it because if it’s what I think it is, it’s what I want to say too—and I want to say it in person.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t mind who said it first. After all, we’ve always had a competitive relationship.
After talking with AJ on the phone most of last night, catching the early morning flight is hell.
My eyes feel like they want to stick together for all eternity, and my bed, although not my own, felt comfortable and was enticing me to sleep.
The flight—now I have my headphones on—isn’t so bad.
The rest of the team seem worse off than me, and that’s thanks to their partying.
So, there’s no pity for the self-inflicted as my mum always says.
Trish picks me up from the airport and hands me a protein shake.
I don’t care about the ingredients—something with acaí or some other berry and a load of other nonsense.
It tastes good, and that’s all that matters.
The drive home is filled with Trish talking about the plans she has in store for my next training day and how she has been experimenting with a new recipe.
Today is a rest day, and for once, that actually means I’m going to rest. I sit on the sofa and unwind to a movie on Netflix.
Around halfway into the movie, the doorbell rings. Trish and I look at each other. “You expecting company?” I ask, and she shakes her head. “Guess I’ll get the door then,” I say, getting up with a grunt.
“It’s your house, I’m not your door-person,” she calls after me.
I shuffle to the door in my slippers and Oodie. A quick glance in the hallway mirror shows my hair is sticking out in all directions. I hope it’s not the press. They’ll have a field day with this picture.
I open the door, and my heart fills with joy.
“Hey,” AJ says.
“Hi,” I say back. He’s holding out flowers with a huge grin on his face.
“I was just in the neighborhood and thought you might like some company,” he says, with a shy smile.
I gesture for him to come in and shut the door behind him. I embrace him. He feels warm and smells like fresh linen and aftershave. He holds me at arm’s length, looking down at me, and takes in what I’m wearing, a smile playing on his lips. “I hope you’re free-balling under that,” he says.
“If I was alone, I would be,” I say, cocking my head to the living room.
He places the flowers on the side table and pulls me into an earth-shattering kiss.
I lean into him, standing on my tiptoes, and rake my hand through his hair.
His free hand roams up my chest and then down to the waistband of my boxers before he crashes me into the wall, our mouths and tongues locked together.
“Are you going to greet all your guests like this?” Trish says, and we spring apart, “because Mel is coming over soon to take me to dinner, and I’m not sure she’d appreciate you snogging her face off.”
“No. Only AJ will get this treatment, your wife is safe, don’t worry,” I say, still feeling embarrassed about being caught.
“I’m glad I get special treatment,” AJ says next to me. I pick up the flowers in one hand, take his hand in the other, and lead him to the kitchen.
Unsurprisingly, I don’t have a vase to put the flowers in, but I do have a made-to-look-vintage water jug type thing. It’s probably only meant for display purposes, but for now it serves a purpose.
The bright pink roses look vibrant against the white jug.
I kiss him again and say thank you. It’s the first time anyone has bought me flowers, and despite what the alpha male macho men say, guys like getting flowers too, no matter their sexual orientation.
I place them on the kitchen windowsill, and I feel AJ’s large frame wrap around me. He spins me around into another kiss.
“How about we take another run around the park, followed by a coffee?” he says, rubbing my arms tenderly.
“But what if we are photographed? What a scandal.” I hold a hand up to my mouth in mock shock.
“I’m hoping for it,” he says.
“It’s true what they say about you. You are a bad boy.”
“And yet, I have not heard you complain about it. Moan out loud in certain situations, yes, but never complain.” He presses his lips onto mine, and my hand gravitates to his ass.
“If you’re going to be all gay everywhere now, can you at least put up a sign or something?” Trish says, walking in and swilling her glass under the sink before placing it on the drainer.
“This is my house and besides, you’re gay too,” I say, not rising to her bait.
“You do know you’re rising to her bait, right?” AJ says, unhelpfully.
Trish laughs, and embraces me in a hug. It’s strange. Nice, but strange. Like being hugged by a slightly friendly alligator.
“AJ and I are going out for a run, then grabbing a coffee, wanna join us?” I say, pulling away from the embrace before she turns feral again and snaps my head off.
“As much as I love a good run, like I said, Mel will be over soon and we won’t have time for running. If you know what I mean?” she says, with a wink.
“I know perfectly well what you mean. You’re as subtle as that Norse God.”
“What? What Norse God?” Trish says, her face scrunching up in confusion. I side-eye AJ, and he looks just as confused.
“Low-Key,” I say.
“Fuck off,” she says, smacking me in the arm. “You really want to date him? You really want to risk your football career for someone who tells lame jokes? AJ, please, consider getting out while you can.”
AJ sidles up to me and literally lifts me up, places me on the counter, and plants a kiss on my cheek. “He’s perfect and I wouldn’t change him for the world. We will, in fact, change the world, though.”
“For fuck sake, you’re as corny as him. You’re made for each other,” she says in feign disgust before breaking out into a smile. “I’m happy for you both.”
“Me too,” I say, and kiss him on his perfect cupid bow lips.
We enter the park ready for our run, and without Trish here there will be no burpees, so I’m looking forward to it.
Due to us wanting to be seen, we don’t have any disguises, and it doesn’t take us long to be recognized.
Soon enough, mob mentality takes over. When a group of people swarm over something, it gets the interest from others; even if they don’t know what’s going on, they want to be part of it.
AJ and I exchange smiles as people take selfies with us and some people thrust things at us to sign, which we have no problem doing.
The more approachable we are, the better this will be in the end.
I even manage to smile at the people and not just AJ.
“Hey, can you do a pose where it looks like you’re fighting?” One guy with unkempt hair and bits of lunch around his mouth says.
I glare at him. So much for my nice smiling attitude.
“Instead of that,” AJ says, stepping toward him, and putting his arm around his shoulder, “how about I give you five free tickets to the next City game.”
“No. I’m a Union fan. City sucks,” the unkempt man says, and I have to say, he’s starting to piss me off. Ungrateful shit. AJ and the man stare at me, expecting me to say something. I scowl instead.
It’s an overcast morning, the sun is threatening to give us all a good time, which is most certainly why a lot of people are in the park.
I notice an ice cream van and pull AJ’s arm, indicating for him to follow me.
As we stride up to the van, with a small gang of people following behind, I step up to the driver and say, “How much to make this an open ice cream bar?”
His eyes shoot up to his thinning hairline, and he whispers a number to me that I know is inflated, but I don’t care.
“Everybody,” I shout, my voice cutting through the air, “this ice cream van is now free for the rest of the day, courtesy of AJ and me. Please enjoy.” It doesn’t take long for word to get around, and soon enough, a queue is formed.
The man gives me a thumbs up, and AJ and I continue our run.
“Nice thing you did back there,” he says, matching my pace.