Chapter Twenty-Two
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Mason
“Are you coming out tonight?” Bailey asked, stealing West’s seat next to me in the dressing room. His skin was still wet from the shower, highlighting the graze on his cheek where he’d skidded across the dry grass on his face and connected with someone’s boot. He was still only wearing a towel, but that didn’t bother me. I’d seen all these men naked more times than I could count. Besides I was only sitting there in my boxers, so I couldn’t exactly complain. “Hunter and I are seeing who fancies it.”
“Is this where you promise me a quiet night and we’re still out at four tomorrow morning, blind drunk and racing each other up and down the high street with streamers of bog roll that you’ve nicked from the night club toilets?” I asked, opening a fruit and nut protein bar and taking a large bite. We always had snacks available after each match because of how hard our bodies worked, and recovery was one of the most important parts of the process.
Bailey grinned at me. “We’re not planning that exactly, but where’s the fun in planning? A good night out always has a bit of spontaneity.” He nudged me with his elbow. “Come on, you haven’t come out with us in ages! We won and we’ve got tomorrow off. You’ve got to live a little!”
I hummed as I took another bite out of my protein bar. Bailey was right—I hadn’t been out with the team in ages. I didn’t know if it was because nights out had finally lost their lustre or if there was something more to it. I’d started to find the mornings after a lot rougher, even though I was only twenty-six. The last time I’d had a flaming hangover it’d lasted all the way through to the day after, and trying to get through training while my head spun and my stomach roiled had been hell.
I hadn’t thrown up, but I’d almost wanted to because it might’ve made me feel better.
Didn’t help that Clive knew which of us were hanging and made us run laps around the pitch to wake us up before drills started.
I’d not stopped drinking after that, but I was doing a hell of a lot less of it.
It wasn’t like I needed to go out to hook up either, and even though Ryan and I had never talked about exclusivity, the idea of finding someone else, even for one night, made my skin crawl. Besides, it wasn’t like I needed anyone else. I loved what I had with Ryan and everything between us kept getting hotter .
We’d talked a bit about penetrative anal and both agreed we wanted it. Maybe tonight would be a good time to try it, especially if Jonny went out…
“I’ll think about it,” I said, shooting Bailey an easy smile. “I’ll see how I feel once I’ve cooled down. I’m fucking knackered already and I’d like to be able to get out of bed tomorrow.”
Bailey laughed. “Come on, you came off after sixty minutes.”
“Yeah, well, next time you put in a sixty-minute shift on the front row, we’ll talk,” I said. “Bloody fullbacks. I swear you do jack shit all match.”
“I don’t need to, mate. That’s what I’ve got you for.”
I shook my head and ate the last of my protein bar. “No wonder you’ve got energy for a fucking night out. You spent the afternoon going for a walk in the park.”
“Aww, are you jealous?” Bailey puckered up and blew me a kiss, and I rolled my eyes.
“Who’s jealous?” Hunter said, flopping down on Bailey’s other side. He was also still wet from the shower, but he’d pulled on a skin-tight pair of trunks to cover his junk. He threw one leg over Bailey’s knee and handed him one of the two identical protein bars he’d been carrying.
“Mason,” Bailey said as he unwrapped his bar. “It’s ’cos I’m awesome and he’s not.”
“Sod off,” I said with a laugh. “You told me I didn’t do any work today.”
“Nah, that’s Bailey,” Hunter said, grinning at his best friend. “Everyone knows backs are just there to look pretty. ”
“Fuck you, wanker,” Bailey said as he tried to push Hunter’s leg off him, but Hunter just threw the other leg over Bailey’s lap.
“No thanks, I can’t deal with your shit in bed as well as at work.”
“Er, I’m fucking amazing in bed. You’d love it.”
“Yeah, of course you are. That’s why you’re single.”
“Mate, it’s not my fault. I’m a fucking top-tier boyfriend and an even better shag.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” Hunter said with a grin. “Maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll get laid later. You’re coming out too, right, Mason?”
“Not sure,” I said as I reached under my seat to grab my clothes so I could finish getting dressed and find another snack. I was fucking starving. “If you two are going out on the pull, then I’ll sit this one out. I don’t need to watch Bailey get his ass handed to him by every woman he talks to.”
“What the fuck? Why, man?” Bailey asked, throwing his hands in the air with exasperation.
“Because you started it,” I said, pulling my T-shirt over my head. We had to turn up to the game in suits, but afterwards we were free to leave in joggers, T-shirts, and hoodies, which were all branded and part of our kit so we at least looked presentable in case anyone wanted to talk to us. The T-shirt hugged my body and I couldn’t help thinking about Ryan’s face if he saw me in it. He’d already messaged me to say how good I’d looked on the pitch. “And put some fucking clothes on. I don’t need to see your dick. ”
Bailey opened his mouth but then closed it again, any attempt at a retort dying on his tongue. “Fine, but you’re coming out later.” He looked across the room and called, “Jonny. Devon. You two are coming out, right?”
“I’ll come out for one,” Jonny said. He was sat next to Devon and the two of them had been deep in conversation before the interruption. They seemed to have been getting closer over the past few weeks and I was happy to see the pair of them reconnecting, especially since Jonny had always been a bit on the quieter side.
“I’ll come too,” Devon said with a soft smile. He was originally from London, but he’d picked up a light French accent from living in Marseille for so long. He turned and said something to Jonny, who nodded enthusiastically, and I wondered what their plans were. I knew Jonny wanted to take Devon to The Court, so maybe they’d end up there tonight.
Ryan wasn’t performing, but he was doing a drag brunch in the morning that Jonny, Devon, West, Matty, Jaden, and I were all going to. We’d been to a few of them over the last ten months and it’d been how West had first met Rory, when Bubblegum Galaxy had accidentally caused a member of staff to throw a whole pitcher of Sex on the Beach into West’s lap.
That’d been at the first one we’d ever been to, but luckily there’d been no more dramatics since then. Mostly because now the staff all stayed glued to the edges of the restaurant when the artists were performing.
“Excellent,” Bailey said. He looked at me again pointedly .
“Yeah, I get it. I’m a boring old fart,” I said as I pulled on my joggers. “Go and bother Matty. I’m sure he could do with a night out.”
“Nah, I already asked,” Hunter said, dropping his voice and leaning a bit closer. “He’s having problems with childcare again.”
“Seriously? But I thought he got a new nanny?”
“Apparently, she quit,” Bailey said. “I dunno. Matty’s a lovely bloke but he’s kinda demanding.”
“He’ll have to be careful or he won’t be able to get anyone,” I said, frowning. “Hannah is away again, right?”
Matty’s ex, Hannah, did a lot of travelling for work, which meant Matty was the primary parent of their son, Jack. He was a great dad, but it sounded like his tendency to be overbearing didn’t mix well with childcare professionals. I imagined his attitude was similar to how he was as captain but a thousand times worse.
“Yeah, for about six weeks,” Bailey said. “We should try and do something for him. Offer to babysit or something.”
“That’s not a bad plan,” I said. “I’m sure a few of us could pitch in and help. And we’re not dumping Jack on anyone’s wife, partner, girlfriend, or boyfriend. If we offer to babysit, we should be the ones doing it.”
“We’ll figure something out during the week,” Hunter said. “Maybe put a rota together or something.”
I nodded, wondering how Ryan would feel about me bringing a toddler back to the house for a bit. I hadn’t been around young children for a couple of years, but my oldest sister had two kids and I’d babysat them a couple of times. Hopefully, that would be enough to mean I didn’t feel completely out of my depth.
Though how many people said that about small kids and then were humbled immediately?
Did Ryan have any experience with children? I knew he had two siblings, an older brother and younger sister, and he’d mentioned having family in London but that his parents lived in Exeter. Something to do with his mum’s job at the university there. But he’d not talked about any of them very much. Maybe they weren’t close?
Or maybe it was because we didn’t always do a lot of talking when we were together… unless me listening to Ryan talk about random things like their favourite fonts counted. But quite frankly they was too fucking adorable when they got excited about something and I couldn’t have stopped them even if I’d wanted to.
And now I knew the difference between serif and sans serif.
I picked up my bag and began to head towards the dressing room door, grabbing one of the chocolate protein milkshakes on offer and sipping it slowly. Around me, I could hear people talking about their plans for the evening and it seemed like Hunter and Bailey’s idea for a night out was gaining momentum.
There were a few exceptions, though.
West was going to watch Rory perform. Charlie was hanging out with his girlfriend, Amanda. Harry was planning a quiet one with his wife and their six-month-old daughter, who’d finally started sleeping through the night .
All of them had plans with loved ones. And I realised I wanted to be one of them.
I didn’t need a night out because I had everything I needed at home.