Chapter Two
JUNE
Hunter
“Do you think he’s here?” I asked, glancing around the tiny garden at the back of Mason, Ryan, and Jonny’s house. It was already full of people, everyone standing around with drinks or trying to find a seat on the mismatched garden furniture, half of which looked new. Or borrowed.
It was the start of our summer break and the three of them had decided to celebrate with a barbecue, which was pretty fucking cool of them considering they’d offered to cater the whole thing.
We’d remembered to bring some drinks, though, because I was kind of picky about beer.
And it was the least we could do since feeding the team couldn’t be cheap.
Now we’d officially finished for the summer, I was looking forward to eight weeks of doing fuck all. The end of the season had been that strange combination of fun, exhausting, and slightly bittersweet, and I needed some time to unwind and get back into a better headspace.
Being this tired and sore wasn’t good for the voices I’d worked so hard to ignore. The ones that whispered how nice it would be to feel like this all the time. That a couple of extra trips to the gym wouldn’t hurt. Not really.
It was why Bailey and I had a holiday booked to Ibiza, flying out on Monday morning, and I couldn’t wait to lie in the sun, swim, and blow off some steam. We’d even hired a boat for a few days to take us out around the island, getting us away from the noise so we could just be.
No rugby, no gyms, no mandatory mealtimes, no social media, no press. Nothing but the hot sun and crystal blue sea.
Bailey was going to need some fucking sun cream, though, because he was so damn pale he was practically a ghost, and I wasn’t prepared to listen to him bitch and whine for three weeks about being crispy and lobster red.
“Yeah, I think so,” Bailey said as his head swivelled around, searching through the crowd for the man who’d casually blown our lives up last December. The one who I’d barely been able to stop thinking about ever since. “Jonny said he was coming to visit.”
“There!” I pointed through the crowd to a spot between two large plant pots, both filled with enormous roses covered in large blooms, one creamy yellow, one more of a peachy orange. Sitting on a plastic garden chair and swigging from a bottle of cider was Aiden.
And fuck, did he look good.
He’d filled out a little in the last six months, but the weight suited him.
He’d gone from scrawny to soft, like he’d finally found time to look after himself instead of being on his feet twenty-four seven.
His dark blond hair was still scruffy and askew, as if someone had run their hands through it, and I was instantly dragged back to the night we’d all spent together…
watching Bailey sink his fingers into Aiden’s hair as he sucked him off for a second time.
Aiden’s lips curled into a smirk around the bottle as he spotted us, eyes twinkling in the summer sunshine.
He was wearing a loose tank top, shorts that were riding up his thighs, and had a pair of sunglasses resting on his head.
I shook my head with a grin because why the hell wasn’t he wearing them?
It was so fucking bright today the glare almost hurt.
“Fancy seeing you here,” he said casually as we approached, using his head to gesture to behind the roses. “I saved you some seats.”
There were two dark green chairs stashed there, and Bailey laughed as he slid past Aiden to grab them, handing one to me over the top of his head. “How’d you know we’d come over here?”
Aiden sat back in his seat, his shorts slipping to reveal the large colourful tattoo on his thigh.
I hadn’t really gotten a good look at it last time—I’d been far too busy with other things—but now I realised it was a pin-up style merman with top surgery scars and a glittering pink and blue tail.
As I stared, I noticed he had another tattoo too.
One that definitely hadn’t been there in December.
On the inside of his other leg, peeking out from the bottom of his shorts, was a potion bottle with curled lettering across the front which said Drink Me.
I smirked, wondering if there was another one somewhere that said Eat Me.
I’d be happy to follow those directions.
“Just a hunch,” Aiden said, eyes roaming over us as he took another long swig of his drink.
“You look good,” I said as I put the chair on the floor next to him, shoving a couple of branches of a rose bush out of the way so I could sit down without being thwacked in the face by greenery.
“So do you. Both of you.”
“How long are you staying for?” Bailey asked as he sat down on Aiden’s other side, peachy rose petals cascading down his tank top as one of the blooms exploded across his shoulder.
“Just for the weekend,” Aiden said. “Jonny insisted I come and stay for a few days to chill. But secretly I think he wanted an extra pair of hands to help with the packing. He and Devon have so much shit between them. So do Mason and Ryan.” He chuckled fondly.
“I’m gonna be covered in glitter forever, and I’m never getting the smell of old rugby kit—that should have gone in the fucking bin—out of my clothes. ”
Bailey wrinkled his nose and I snorted because we both knew exactly what that smelt like—old sweat, blood, mud, and another layer of sweat all baked in together.
It was the reason most of our kit was provided and cleaned by the club.
At least then they knew it got washed properly.
Most of us weren’t renowned for our housekeeping habits.
“What about you two?” Aiden asked. “Any fun summer plans?”
“We’re going to Ibiza for three weeks on Monday,” I said. “We need a little space to disconnect.”
“And have some fun,” Bailey added with a grin.
Aiden laughed, the sound making warmth bubble through my gut. It was different from the heat of the sun and I had to swallow before I said something I shouldn’t. “What does fun look like? Sun, sea, and a lot of sex?”
“Pretty much,” Bailey said. He’d been looking forward to this trip for months, and every morning he woke up more and more excited. His attitude was infectious. It was part of the reason I’d been able to push through some of the stress and fatigue of the last few weeks.
Both of us loved playing rugby union, but like any job there were times we needed a break.
Being a professional athlete wasn’t just rocking up to training and smashing a game out every weekend or so. It was an immense amount of work and dedication, encompassing our entire lives. We lived and breathed the sport at every waking moment, and half the time I dreamt about it too.
It wasn’t always healthy, though. And I’d learnt the hard way how quickly passion could turn into something far more toxic.
“I’m sure you won’t have trouble finding people,” Aiden said as he looked between us, still smirking in a way that made my cock take notice. “Of course, none of them will be me.”
“Cocky bastard, aren’t you?” I teased, putting my hand on his thigh.
His skin was hot to the touch and as he spread his legs a little wider, I spotted his matching box-shaped Eat Me tattoo on the inside of his other leg.
Fuck, how I wanted to lick them. Trace every line with my tongue and then follow the instructions, eating and drinking every drop of him until both of us were satisfied.
“Have you seen me? Why wouldn’t I be confident? I’m hot as fuck.”
“Yeah, you are,” Bailey said. He put his hand on Aiden’s other thigh, his fingers dipping low enough to trace the edge of the Eat Me box. “What’re you doing after this?”
“Depends. What are you offering?”
“Come back to ours,” I said.
“Mmm, that is very tempting. Might have to wait a few hours, but I can sneak out.”
“Does Jonny not approve?” I asked, glancing around to see if I could spot him.
Jonny was well known for being a possessive bastard who didn’t like people touching things that were his.
He’d nearly knocked someone out when they’d tackled Devon badly earlier in the season, causing both Clive and Matty, our head coach and captain respectively, to tell him to get his shit together.
Since then he seemed to have gotten better, but I didn’t trust him not to lose it at Bailey and me for getting handsy with his little brother.
Aiden shrugged. “I don’t give a shit about his approval. I just can’t be arsed to deal with the questions. He’s a bit… overprotective. But I guess you knew that already.”
“Yeah, it’s fucking obvious,” Bailey said. “I mean, you heard about all the shit last year when he and Devon were figuring things out?”
“Oh yeah.” Aiden chuckled fondly. “Dickheads.” He sighed and took another sip of his drink.
“Jonny’s always been the most supportive person I know, and me being trans has never been an issue for him.
I think half the time he kinda forgets. Like, I found a photo of us as toddlers recently and he asked me who the kid in the dress was.
He thought we had a cousin he’d forgotten about.
But he’s my big brother and we didn’t grow up in the best place.
He still thinks he has to defend me, despite the fact I’m twenty-fucking-seven now.
Anyway, fuck, I’m rambling. I’ve realised what he doesn’t know can’t hurt him, so sometimes it’s easier not to tell him shit. ”
“I kinda get it. How Jonny feels, I mean,” Bailey said, his smile turning soft.
“I’ve got a little brother too—Jules. Man, his ex-boyfriend was a twat.
And his ex-best mate, Darius, was even worse.
They were proper cunts, like, truly horrible, narcissistic, self-centred, manipulative wankers.
I kept saying if I saw Darius in person again, I’d punch his lights out.
Luckily, Jules’s got a new boyfriend now, Tai, and he’s awesome.
So yeah, I sorta get his protective shit. But don’t worry, I won’t rat you out.”
“Mostly ’cos if you do, you’re not getting your dick sucked,” I said teasingly, shooting Bailey a casual smirk. He’d always loved getting blown, and if I was being really honest with myself, I liked watching him fuck people’s faces and come down their throats.
The first and only time we’d kissed had been on that night with Aiden. Afterwards, we’d promptly gone back to pretending it wasn’t a thing we wanted to do.
The problem was the line had been crossed, the gate had been opened, and it was impossible for me to ignore the feelings that making out with Bailey had sparked.
I’d tried.
Fuck, for nearly six months I’d tried to put them back in the box and hope they’d fade if I ignored them for long enough.
But that hadn’t happened, and I couldn’t bring myself to blow up our friendship or our life together over a few kisses.
Bailey was the reason I’d managed to make it through the shit my body and my mind had inflicted upon me.
Saying he was my best friend felt almost insulting because he meant so much more than any friend I’d ever had.
I’d never told him that. Didn’t even know if I had the words to.
But I’d realised if I never said anything, then nothing could go wrong. We could just carry on with our lives and it would all be okay.
“I mean, that’s one reason,” Bailey said. He smiled at me with a softness that was difficult to ignore. It was easier to tear my eyes away than try and process what that smile might mean. My stomach turned uncomfortably, but if it was attempting to tell me something, then I didn’t want to hear it.
“Shall I get us some drinks?” I asked, squeezing Aiden’s thigh again before standing up. “Since we’re going to be here a while.”
“Sure,” Bailey said.
“That’d be great, thanks,” Aiden said. “There’s some cider in the fridge if you don’t mind getting me one.”
“Back in a minute.” I nodded and smiled, hoping I could fool both of them into thinking nothing was wrong. Because nothing really was. My feelings were just trying to get the best of me and I didn’t really want to deal with them. Not right now.
I’d get some drinks, we’d chill here for a few hours, then Aiden would sneak back to ours, and we could fuck.
There was no need to overcomplicate shit.
Especially not when I had something I actually wanted to ask Aiden about.