Chapter 12 #3
“First thing tomorrow”—Lee skimmed his thumb along the line of Alex’s jaw—“we get Jeff, Oliver, and Kieran together. Once this breaks, it will affect the team to some extent, subject us to media attention that’s got nothing to do with sport.”
“Do you think…” Alex’s voice dipped by a margin. “Should I return home? To protect the team.”
“No.” Lee put emphasis behind the word and made sure to hold Alex’s eyes. “Please don’t. You’re a fantastic player, and this team is better with you. Hell, you set up half my goals. We’re all adults here, aren’t we? The team can handle a bit of media heat.”
And I want you here.
While Lee didn’t say that last part, something might have shown in his eyes because Alex released a slow breath, his face softening. “Yeah?”
“Yes.” Lee let a smile shine through. “Now, you’ve had a bit of a day. How about we get ourselves to bed?”
“Just…” Alex’s gaze slid to the four-poster and its richly patterned brocade covers. “I know we—and I do, yeah? But I’m just so fucking tired, so…”
It took Lee a second to work through Alex’s meaning, then he shook his head. “I honestly just meant that we should get some sleep, Alex.”
“Oh.” It was barely an actual word, Alex tilting a little into Lee as he released his breath in a rush. Lee brought his arms up around him and held on for a few moments, the noise in his mind finally quieting down.
“Sleep?” he murmured.
“Please.” Yet Alex didn’t immediately move to extract himself.
They stripped down to their boxers before sliding into bed, the mattress leaving plenty of space between them as Lee flicked off the light to plunge the room into darkness.
It was Alex who shifted closer and tucked himself up against Lee’s side, one of his hands coming to rest flat on top of Lee’s chest. Lee covered Alex’s hand with his own and closed his eyes.
“Thank you,” Alex whispered into the small gap between them.
“Anytime.” Lee chose not to be scared by how much he meant it.
This, now, was enough.
“Well, fuck him.” That was Jeff, and maybe Alex should have expected him to go off like a firecracker, but it somehow still caught him by surprise. He tucked his hands between his thighs and stared up at Jeff who was pacing, backlit by the morning sun that streamed into the empty hotel bar.
“Innocent until proven guilty,” Kieran said calmly.
Oliver, perched next to him on the very edge of a beige leather sofa as if ready to jump into action, stayed quiet.
As did Lee, who stood by the seating group with his arms crossed and an air that suggested he was ready to shoo away anyone who dared to approach.
He’d been hovering since they’d got up that morning, always within reach as though Alex was a fragile flower that might break at the slightest breeze.
Alex wasn’t quite sure whether it was sweet or insulting. Both, maybe.
He was… not fine, no. But better than he’d been last night.
“He’s so fucking guilty.” Jeff dropped into one of the armchairs. “He’s an entitled prick—no offense, Alex—who would have found some way to justify his actions if he thought there was something to gain. Teaming up in defense of value and tradition or some shite like that.”
“Mate,” Lee cut in with an edge of humor, “don’t hold back, yeah? Tell us how you really feel.”
Jeff sent him a shrewd look. “Shut it, mate. Can’t believe Alex told you before he told me.”
“I was conveniently available.”
“You’re also my friend,” Alex corrected Lee even though that hardly began to describe it. To Jeff, he added, “And I didn’t know you felt so… strongly, I guess. About my father.”
“You weren’t supposed to know,” Jeff said.
“That party your parents hosted, where I met Isa? I swear I didn’t mean to get into it with your dad.
But I made a casual comment about equal rights, and he just couldn’t let it slide because apparently, gender-inclusive language and allowing gays to marry equals the downfall of Western civilization.
That’s how Isa and I got talking in the first place—no credit where it’s undue. ”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“It wasn’t my place to add fuel to your already bad relationship with him.”
“Yeah, well. Not sure where that’s headed now, so…
” Alex looked down at his lap, aware of Oliver and Kieran watching him with quiet sympathy, Lee still exuding protectiveness, while Jeff jumped up again from his armchair as though sitting still was a concept best served in small doses.
Two big steps, and he was by Alex’s side and pulled him into a hug.
“I’m sorry your dad’s a dickwad,” Jeff said when he let Alex go, and fuck, Alex needed to duck his head to blink away the threat of tears. He did feel calmer this morning than he had last night, but his ribcage was still encased in a thin layer of lead that weighed him down.
“Me too.” He huffed out a hollow laugh. “Guess I may have to apologize to the general public about that very soon.”
“You’re not responsible for your parents’ actions.” Of course Lee would feel strongly about that.
“I agree.” Kieran leaned back into the sofa. “No apologies—this isn’t your fault. Last I checked, we don’t pick our parents in a reality game show.”
“You should pitch that idea to a producer, might just get some traction.” Jeff didn’t wait for a reply before he addressed Alex.
“Now, just so we’re clear? You and I will have words about how you delayed telling me because you didn’t want to put a damper on my date.
Appreciate the intention, but some things matter more than my sex life. ”
“Definitely on the list of things I never expected to hear from Jeff,” Oliver contributed. The unusual occurrence of snark from their gentle-mannered captain lifted Alex’s spirits, at least for a moment.
“What he said. Also…” Alex felt his smile fall away. “You didn’t tell me how much you hate my dad. I think that makes us even.”
“Me hating your dad is hardly life-altering information.”
Life-altering.
It was, wasn’t it—Alex’s father under investigation for political corruption?
Possible prison time, loss of social standing, and Alex’s mum would get caught in the tailwind of it too, irrespective of how she’d tended to stay out of politics.
Alex had spent more time with various nannies than with his parents, and he’d gone off to boarding school once he’d turned twelve.
And still… Jesus, they were still the only close family he had.
“Hey.” Lee’s hand landed on Alex’s shoulder, and Alex leaned into it without thought before he realized they had an audience. He glanced around to find Oliver suppressing a smile and Jeff looking mildly curious while Kieran didn’t seem to have noticed, expression thoughtful, his usual cheer absent.
“I don’t want to be a distraction to the team,” Alex told him. “If you want me to go home…”
Kieran looked up sharply. “Don’t be silly, Alex. No one wants that—not unless it’s your preference.”
Well, Alfie might beg to differ given it would free up a spot in the starting eleven. Alex shook his head. “No, I want to stay. Of course I do.”
“Good. So that’s settled.” Kieran’s tone marked the matter as closed. “Then let’s discuss how we can best protect you from this mess.”
“Bloody Charles,” Jeff muttered to no one in particular. “Duke of fucking Asshat County, Earl of Go Fuck Yourself, Sir.”
It wasn’t all that funny. And yet Alex laughed—tinged with a hint of hysteria, tickling the back of his throat in a way that was mildly nauseating, but somehow he still felt better for it.
“Interesting perspective,” Kieran told Jeff with a perfectly blank face and humor dancing in his eyes. “I’m gonna go ahead and not nominate you as the team’s spokesperson on this issue.”
“Inconceivable.” Jeff’s grin was unabashed.
“Here’s my thinking, to be confirmed with the comms team once the story breaks.
” Kieran fixed Alex with a heavy look. “First off, we’ll reinforce security around the hotel—don’t want any self-appointed investigative journalists sneaking in.
Secondly, I don’t think there’s any way you can fully avoid addressing this. ”
Alex sucked in a breath and nodded. He’d thought as much, had even briefly touched upon it with Lee this morning before he’d snuck back to his own room.
Lee had been adamant that it was Alex’s right to say nothing, fuck anyone who didn’t respect that.
“You’re not here to be universally liked,” he’d pointed out. “You’re here to play soccer.”
Maybe. But being liked made it so much easier.
“My suggestion,” Kieran continued when Alex stayed silent, “is that once this breaks, we get you on the podium for our daily press conference. And then you simply keep repeating that you don’t know anything and your focus is the World Cup until they get bored.
You’ll be with Oliver and me, so we can warn off anyone who comes on too strong.
And we remove you from the post-match interview roster. ”
A plan—a concrete way forward.
Alex swallowed. “Thank you.”
“You’re part of this team, Alex.” The way Oliver said it suggested that it was no big deal, that of course Alex would get the support he needed—why was it even a question?
Chances were that Oliver hadn’t grown up with parents who refused to speak to him if he broke a glass or brought home less-than-perfect grades.
Since it had taught Alex to push himself, he wasn’t complaining, but…
God, it was nice. It was nice to have people in his corner.
“Need a tissue?” Jeff asked in a tone that walked the line between affection and mockery.
“Piss off,” Alex told him and meant the opposite.
“If you think you’ll get rid of me that easily, think again.” Jeff smirked. “Look on the bright side, though—you won’t be facing any pressure to attend another fancy party anytime soon.”
“You’re just glad you won’t have to weasel out of being my plus one.”
“Babe, I’m nobody’s plus one. Not even yours.”
Alex could have come up with at least three celebrities who’d make Jeff change his stance, but that wasn’t the point, was it?
So Alex settled for a smile that didn’t feel entirely fake, that didn’t slide into the empty spaces between his ribs and weigh him down even further.
It took just a moment for Jeff’s smirk to soften into an answering smile.
“All right. Keep looking at me like that and I’ll reconsider.”
“Is it physically impossible for you to stay serious for more than fifteen seconds?” Oliver asked Jeff, sounding genuinely curious.
Jeff shrugged. “Pretty much, yeah.”
“All right, lads. So we’ve got a rough plan.” Kieran got up from the sofa. “Let’s get packing, yeah? Alex, thanks for trusting us with this.”
“Thanks for hearing me out.”
“That’s literally what I’m here for.” Kieran lifted one shoulder. “Remember what I said on day one?”
“You consider yourself responsible for us as more than just athletes.” Lee was the one who replied, and it gave Alex an excuse to look up at him—just a couple of seconds to take in his dark eyes and the prominent slant of his cheekbones, his plush mouth that Alex was coming to know so well.
Alex had thought him gorgeous even when they couldn’t stand each other, and now that he actually knew Lee, it seemed harder and harder to look away.
He had to though, and so he did.
A moment after Oliver got up, Alex did as well. He thanked Kieran again, and when Jeff draped an arm over Alex’s shoulders, it meant so much—friendship and comfort and gratitude.
Yet it didn’t come close to how Alex felt when Lee stripped him naked that night, one hand on Alex’s cock and the other carefully working a lubed finger into him, refusing to give him more than that.
Lee kissed all protest and demands from Alex’s mouth until Alex spilled over Lee’s hand, clutching at his bicep, silent fireworks as he shook with his release.
“I could have taken more than one,” Alex said later, after he’d come down, after he’d brought Lee off too with his hands and mouth.
“Another time,” Lee said and it sounded like a promise, as though the future was theirs.
Alex swallowed the words that pressed against the backs of his teeth and smiled.