Chapter 2
Zac
“Trouble, trouble!”
I jerk awake, bolting upright to glare at the door to the adjoining bathroom, where my sister and her best friend are blasting Taylor Swift. Checking my phone for the time, I curse when I see it’s only seven in the morning. Surely there are rules about noise pollution this early.
“Seriously, Milly?” I groan, pulling my pillow over my head.
It’s bad enough that I have a serious case of blue balls after hooking up with a closeted dude who freaked out after coming down my throat last night, now my ears are being assaulted.
Not from the queen, but from Amelia’s best friend, Jade Walters, who can’t hold a tune to save herself.
I love my sister, but not enough to put up with this torture on a Saturday morning.
Rolling out of bed, I pull on some shorts and pound on the sliding door.
It opens to reveal my sister grinning up at me, half a unicorn painted on her face.
“What’s all this about?” I sign, trying to give her a stern look.
She just rolls her eyes; she knows I’m never mad at her.
“The Beckford High carnival is today,” she says. “We’re raising money for Headspace.”
I arch a brow, signing, “You had to wake me up at the crack of dawn with Jade’s God-awful singing?”
“Hey!” Jade, who’s been following our conversation in the mirror, shoots me a withering glare.
Amelia laughs at the disgruntled look on her friend’s face, and my grin widens.
Amelia was born with genetic non-syndromic progressive hearing loss.
By age eight, she needed hearing aids. By fourteen, they were no longer effective.
Now, eighteen and profoundly deaf, she communicates using a combination of spoken language and Auslan.
While she can speak fluently, she can’t hear and depends on lip reading and sign language to understand others.
She hasn’t let it stop her from doing anything though, and while I may be over protective of her at times, she’s extremely confident and takes no shit.
“Are you coming to the carnival?” she asks, a hopeful expression on her face.
To be honest, I’d planned on wallowing in bed for a few hours, then thought I’d head to the gym to work off my frustration, but I can never say no to my sister.
“I’ll come if Jade stops singing,” I sign.
Jade sticks out her tongue. “Don’t be such an arsehole, Zac.” She points at me and signs arsehole for Amelia’s benefit.
“Pancakes for breakfast?” I sign, laughing when she gives me a look that screams there’s only one possible response to that question. “No problem, short stack.”
My sister smiles sweetly before sliding the door closed in my face.
Shaking my head, I throw a shirt on and head downstairs to the kitchen, where Mum and Dad are having breakfast.
“Morning, son,” Dad greets as I head straight for the coffee machine. “Bad luck on the game last night.”
I grimace at the reminder. We lost our first game of the season one-nil to our biggest rivals, BHU, and our captain and centre-back let me know in no uncertain terms that he thought it was my fault.
Never mind that the goal that slipped past my line was a direct result of his square ball.
Every footballer worth his salt knows you don’t pass the ball across goals, especially against a striker as good as Avi Sinclair.
Even Alisson Becker wouldn’t have predicted the cheap shot I missed by a split second.
Noah Bentley is a giant fucking pain in my arse.
I don’t know what his problem with me is.
He hasn’t let up on me since our number one goalkeeper, Mitch Peters, popped his shoulder at the end of last year and I took over the position.
Actually, if I think about it, his issues with me started long before that, though I’ve barely had anything to do with him, preferring to stick to myself. Douchebag.
“There are ten other players on the pitch, honey,” Mum says when I don’t respond, too caught up in my head over my arsehole teammate. “It’s not all on the keeper when the opposition scores. Your teammates need to work harder so you’re not the last line of defence.”
“Nailed it on the head, Mum,” I reply, shooting her a wry grin. “Bentley shouldn’t have fucked up with the square ball.”
“Language,” she scolds me, but there’s no fire in it. I’m pretty lucky to have the most chilled parents on the planet.
“What are your plans for today?” Dad asks as I pull out the ingredients for my famous blueberry and choc chip pancakes.
I shrug. “Milly asked me to stop by the carnival, so I’ll go check it out.”
“With Erica?” Mum pries, placing their breakfast dishes in the sink. “She hasn’t been over to the house lately.”
“Nah, that fizzled out,” I tell her, tossing a blueberry into my mouth.
“That’s a shame. She was nice.”
“Yeah, she was.” But nice didn’t get me all hot and bothered. Apparently, only closeted arseholes get me hard at the moment.
“You’ll meet the right person one day.” She smiles and winks. “You’re a catch.”
“Thanks, Mum.” I laugh as they leave the kitchen to get ready for their day.
My parents have known I’m bisexual since my last year of high school, and they never batted an eye. They just want me and Amelia to be happy.
I busy myself making my pancake masterpieces, and by the time Amelia and Jade enter the kitchen, there’s a massive stack of my sister’s favourite breakfast on the bench. They tuck in, not even bothering to grab plates, just eating them off the pile.
“Can I drive? Pretty please with a cherry on top,” Amelia asks when she’s finished stuffing her face, pouting and fluttering her lashes at me for good measure. She turned eighteen a month ago and finally got her license last week.
I shake my head, signing back, “No chance.”
No one drives my car but me. I got the bones of my 1974 SL/R 5000 Holden Torana when I was sixteen and spent two years doing it up with my pop. Those are my best memories. I was gutted when he passed away six months ago.
“You suck,” my sister sulks, sticking her tongue out at me.
I choke on my pancake, my cheeks flushing. If only she knew what I was doing last night. The memory of his heavy length on my tongue, and the hot as fuck Prince Albert piercing through his head. Fuck me, I’d love to feel what it’s like pressing into me.
Shaking my head to clear my thoughts of the sexy arsehole who left me on my knees in Euphoria, I chug down the rest of my orange juice.
“Keep insulting me, short stack,” I sign after placing my empty glass on the bench, “and you’ll be walking to the carnival.”
While we’re pretty comfortable with money, Mum and Dad have tried to instil good work ethic in both of us, and we both needed to save money for our own cars.
“How far off the goal are you now?” I sign.
Her face lights up as she tells me, “Fifteen hundred dollars. Dad said he’ll take me to the dealership in two weeks.”
I hold one hand up for a high five as I swipe my keys off the bench with the other, and she grins as she slaps it. She and Jade follow me out to my car, both sliding into the back seat.
“What am I?” I tease as I start the engine, even though only Jade can hear me. “Your chauffeur?”
“You’re our slave,” Jade says demurely, signing as she speaks so Amelia can follow along. “And don’t you forget it.”
The smell of frying onions drifting from the sausage sizzle has my stomach rumbling when I get out of the car and walk towards the entrance, despite only finishing breakfast fifteen minutes ago.
Beckford High School, my old stomping ground, is a flurry of activity, with a huge banner hanging over the entrance gates to the school announcing the carnival.
Parents in wide-brimmed hats wrangle with trestle tables under marquees on the outdoor basketball courts, setting up cake stands piled high with lamingtons, cupcakes, and other delicious treats.
Up the other end, some year twelve students are setting up their dunk tank, laughter and good-natured ribbing floating through the air.
The footy field is overrun with a jumble of rides and games—ring toss, giant Jenga, a duck pond, spinning teacups, the cha-cha, a jumping castle, and a haunted house.
One end of the soccer pitch next to it is set up with market stalls selling everything from home-grown produce and homemade jams to jewellery, clothes, and second-hand books.
The chairs on the other end curve around a makeshift stage, where a few of the local bands will play later.
Amelia announces that she and Jade are going to help their friends set up the face painting station, and I wave her off as I head over to greet a few of my teammates I’ve spotted near the barbecue.
“Yo, Kincaid,” yells our left-back, Alex Ritter.
“Hey, guys.” I nod at everyone, not missing the scowl on my captain’s face.
Fuck him.
“Party at ours tonight,” our left wing says. “You in?”
I glance at Jasper Kale, who replaced Luca Whitford last year when he got a call-up to the English Championship in the UK.
Jasper transferred to Beckford U at the beginning of last year, and I don’t know him all that well, but he’s always been nice enough.
He lives in a share house with our grumpy captain and our back up goalkeeper, Dane Galdeen, who’s not my biggest fan considering I hold his coveted position. Fun times.
Before I can reply, Theo Walters, Jade’s brother and our former right wing, throws his arm around me.
“Of course he is. There’ll be plenty of pussy now you’ve broken things off with Erica.
” He grins at me. “Or dick if that’s what you’re after.
Just keep your eyes off mine, Kincaid. I don’t bat for your team. ”
I shake my head and shove him off me. “Shut up, dickhead.” I look back at Jasper. “Yeah, man. Count me in.”
The guys continue chatting about the party, but I meet Noah’s pissed-off stare, cocking my head. “Problem?”
He ignores me and stalks off towards the refreshment table.
Sighing, I turn my attention back to the conversation. I don’t know why Coach Johnson chose him as captain. It can’t be for his cheerful disposition or motivational pep talks. He doesn’t even seem to like half of us.
I spend the rest of the day catching up with old mates from high school, chatting to some of my old teachers, and enjoying the rides while I wait to take my sister home.
It beats spending the day moping in bed, tugging on my cock to memories of a certain masked stranger’s thick, pierced dick in my mouth.
I enjoy going to Euphoria’s masked night once a month because it’s easier than awkward dating apps to find a hot guy to hook up with, especially when I’m more interested in a little fun than a relationship right now.
As someone who came to terms with his sexuality a long time ago, it was clear that the dude I hooked up with was in the wrong room last night.
Knowing which dudes are still in the closet and not comfortable with their basic desires would’ve gone a long way to me enjoying my night.
Not gonna lie, it would’ve been nice to have the blow job reciprocated so I didn’t feel so antsy and on edge today.
As the sun goes down, I head over to the basketball courts to help Amelia and Jade pack up, but my smile drops when I see the two guys who are too old to be Beckford High students chatting to them. Amelia’s eyes are locked on the lips of the blond guy who’s telling them about Kale’s party tonight.
Absolutely not.
Stepping in front of the cocky douchebag, I break Amelia’s line of sight and sign as I speak aloud for dumb and dumber to hear me. “Are you ready to go home, Milly?”
“Actually,” she says, shooting me an annoyed look, “Jade and I thought we might check out this party.”
I shake my head, my fingers moving furiously. “You’re not coming to a Beckford U party, Milly. I’m sure your friends will throw something.” I glance at Jade and say, “Theo will kick your arse out as soon as you step foot in the house. Save yourself the trouble.”
My sister’s best friend grimaces.
“Sorry, guys,” she tells the two idiots still hovering behind me. “Have fun.”
Amelia glares at me. “I’m not a kid anymore. Stop interfering in my life.”
“I know you’re not a kid,” I sign with a shrug. “You’re more than welcome to hang out at a high school party. Those guys were too old for you. You’re not going to any university parties.”
“What are you going to do next year when I’m attending Beckford U?” she retorts.
“Absolutely nothing,” I sign with a smile. “But that’s still twelve months away. Enjoy your high school parties until then, little sis, because it’s all you’ll be doing for the rest of the year.”
She huffs and helps Jade pack up the rest of the face paint before stomping to my car. I know she won’t stay mad at me for long, but fuck if I’m going to let some older guy take advantage of her.
No fucking way.