Chapter Twenty-Six
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Ryan
I’d just gotten back from a new drag brunch in Nottingham when my phone rang and Mason’s name flashed up on the screen. I swiped the green button casually as I threw my keys onto the side and toed off my trainers.
“Hey,” I said, unable to keep from smiling. “I didn’t expect to hear from you. Congrats, though, I saw you won.”
“Yeah, it was a tough one. And it pissed it down too, so that didn’t help. I’ve had two showers today and I’m sure I’m still wet and muddy.” His voice sounded a little different, but maybe that was from sheer exhaustion. There had to be a reason for his call, though, because I doubted he was just calling to hear my voice.
I just had to wait for the other shoe to drop.
“Did you want something warm for dinner then?”
“Yeah, probably. That’d be great, thanks.” There was a pause and in the background I could hear a slew of voices and laughter. “So, er, I don’t want to worry you but I got kneed in the head today and the doctor is worried I might have a concussion… I mean, I feel okay and there wasn’t a lot of blood, and I still think anyone would get dizzy from getting hit in the head like that but—”
There it was.
“What the fuck?” I asked, cutting into Mason’s rambling with no small amount of shock and bewilderment. I was kind of glad I hadn’t checked a live feed after brunch to see what’d happened because otherwise I’d have been either hopping mad or panicking, depending on how the hit had happened.
The fact that Mason didn’t seem to think it was a big deal wasn’t a surprise, having listened to him and Jonny compare rugby injuries like they were talking about holidays they’d been on or cakes they’d eaten. That they considered getting injured more of an inconvenience than anything else still baffled me, but then again I regularly wore shoes that blistered my feet while shoving myself into latex bodysuits and taping half my body into a different shape, so I wasn’t sure I had much moral superiority here.
“I’m fine, honest,” Mason said. “Natalie bandaged my head and I’ve not been sick or anything. Plus my vision is fine and I’m only, like, the normal amount of tired after a tough game. But I wondered if you could pick me and Jonny up when we get back to the training ground, please? We took my car this morning but they don’t want me driving and Jonny’s not allowed to drive mine. I can leave it there overnight though and go and pick it up whenever I’m allowed to drive again. ”
“Yeah, of course,” I said, a strange combination of happiness and worry curdling in my gut. I was glad he was okay, but I still wasn’t sure he should be taking this as lightly as he seemed to be. I wasn’t even going to ask if he’d have called me of his own volition because I didn’t want to know the answer. “What time will you be back?”
“Probably about six? I’ll message you when we’re at Newark.”
“Sounds good. I’ll see you then.”
“Thanks,” he said, warmth seeping into his tone. “I really appreciate it, Ry. I’m so lucky to have you.”
His words caught me off guard, stealing the breath from my lungs, and all I could do was hum and try to speak. “You’re welcome,” I said, voice dry and barely above a squeaked whisper. “Stay safe. I’ll see you soon.”
There were other things I suddenly wanted to add but they felt impossible to say. I hadn’t meant to let things go this far but here we were. I could dwell on it in the shower and scream into the endless void while I scrubbed off the sweat from drag brunch.
It was just after six when I pulled into the training ground car park in my beloved yellow Beetle. The bus hadn’t arrived, which gave me time to find a parking spot near Mason’s ridiculous-as-fuck Range Rover—seriously, he did not need that car—and check my reflection in the rearview mirror. Again.
After I’d spoken to Mason, I’d paced the kitchen in a panic, showered, spent twenty minutes trying to decide what to wear even though I was literally just collecting the boys from their match, and then made apple and cinnamon crumble because Mason had mentioned offhand that it was his favourite and I wanted to treat him. I’d never made crumble before, so I had no idea if it would be any good, but hopefully the amount of butter and brown sugar I’d put in would do something.
“Get it the fuck together,” I said as I climbed out of the car, careful not to catch my neon green nails on the door handle. I hadn’t had a chance to take my press-ons off and in all honesty, they were too pretty not to leave on and admire a little longer. I hoped Mason liked them.
The sound of tyres on gravel and the rumble of an engine drew my attention and I turned to see the Knights team bus turning through the gate. It parked in the middle and began to slowly disgorge its passengers, and I realised I was the only person here who wasn’t part of the team. A few people were looking at me in obvious surprise, but I shrugged it off.
“Ryan!” Mason’s booming cry caught my attention and I spotted him waving at me from the front of a crowd of people. There was a bandage around his head and a bit of bruising around his eye, but his mouth was still stretched into a broad smile and his eyes were shining with excitement. Was that because he’d seen me?
My heart thundered as I walked towards him, trying not to let my rampant emotions dim my sparkle. I was pleased he was all right, excited to see him, and cursing whatever motherfucker had done this to my man .
“Hey,” I said. “Jesus Christ, what the hell have you been doing?”
“I know, right? It’s going to be stunning.” He grinned at me and stepped close, putting his arm around me and pulling me in for a hug. My breath caught audibly and Mason whispered, “Is this okay?”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “I just… I didn’t know…”
“So, funny story,” Mason said as he looked down at me, his expression turning sheepish like a kid who’d been caught with his hand in the biscuit tin. “I, er… well, Natalie… our doctor… and Clive too really, since he asked, and I needed someone at home…”
“Did you volunteer me for something?” I asked fondly, assuming I was going to have to keep an eye on Mason for symptoms of concussion.
“Kind of?” He flushed slightly and glanced away, looking adorably embarrassed. “I might have told them you were my boyfriend.”
“B-Boyfriend?”
“Well, I mean, it’s kind of true, isn’t it? I know we haven’t really talked about it but… am I wrong?”
“No.” I swallowed as a feeling of perfect disbelief swept through me, making me smile so brightly that not even the sun could compare. “No, you’re not wrong.”
“Awesome! Fuck, that’s… that’s awesome,” he said. “Can I kiss you? Would that be okay? I know we’re in public.”
“Yes, you can kiss me.” I reached up and cupped Mason’s jaw, and the two of us met in the sweetest, most perfect kiss filled with a hundred unspoken things and more.
A few whooping cheers and whistles broke out behind us and I grinned against Mason’s lips as we broke apart. “That’s one way to come out, I guess,” he said with a dry laugh, his shoulders shaking. “Probably should have mentioned something to Jonny.”
“I’ve made apple crumble. Hopefully, that’ll be enough for him to forgive us.”
“Hey, that’s my apple crumble!”
“Technically it’s mine, but I’ll share,” I said, giving him a quick kiss before stepping back and glancing around us. A bunch of the team were stood watching us, including West, who had a fond smile on his face, and Jonny, whose expression could only be described as about damn time .
Mason grabbed my hand and pulled me towards them. “Everyone, this is my boyfriend, Ryan.”
“Took you long enough,” Jonny said with a smile and a raised eyebrow. “Thought I’d be waiting until bloody Christmas for you two to admit it.”
“You knew?” Mason asked, looking between Jonny and me like I’d somehow already known that. “How? We were being subtle.”
“Mate, the day you count as subtle is the day I dance naked through Bailgate,” Jonny said. “I’ve got fucking ears, you know.” He gestured at West with his hand. “You two may be quieter than him, but the walls aren’t that thick. And you make bloody goo-goo eyes at each other every time we play D&D.”
“How long have you known?” I asked, a mixture of amusement and surprise bubbling in my chest. Of course Jonny had known. I’d have been amazed if our attempts at subtlety had actually worked.
Jonny thought for a second. “You know when we went for carvery that Sunday? Well, you both came downstairs all rumpled and shit. Oh, and I heard Mason sneaking out of your room as soon as I’d asked you if you wanted to come for carvery. You walk like your feet are made of fucking concrete, Mason. I swear, a herd of elephants would be quieter.”
Laughter burst out of me and I almost doubled over, still holding Mason’s hand tightly in mine. His skin was rough and warm, and the way his fingers interlaced with mine just felt right. “Okay, that’s fair. We’d definitely fail our stealth checks. But why didn’t you say anything?”
Jonny shrugged, his eyes glancing over at Devon for a second. Not for the first time, I wondered if there was more going on there than met the eye. “Wasn’t really my place,” he said. “I figured you’d tell me when you were ready. Either that or you’d break up and it’d all come up then. I’m glad it’s not the second.”
“You and me both,” Mason said. “And I promise we won’t be weird or cringey and we’ll try and keep the volume down. It’s your house too, and we don’t want you feeling uncomfortable there.”
Jonny smiled and closed the gap to pull us both into a tight hug. “You’re gonna fail miserably, but I appreciate the sentiment.”
“If it helps,” I said, my voice slightly muffled by Jonny’s immense pectorals. “I made apple crumble for pudding. ”
“It does a bit,” Jonny said, releasing us gently. “Also, Mason’ll pretend he’s fine but he’s on concussion watch for the next day or so since he decided to faceplant someone’s knee and take their foot to the face in the scrum.”
“I was getting to that,” Mason said. He looked down at me and smiled softly. “I’ll give you the list of things to look out for, if Clive or Natalie doesn’t corner you before we leave. I feel fine, though, so I don’t think I’m concussed.”
“I don’t think you get an opinion here, babe,” I said fondly, squeezing his hand.
“But I’ve been concussed before! I know what it feels like.”
“You said you were feeling sick on the ride back,” West called helpfully from somewhere behind Jonny, appearing over his shoulder two seconds later. “And you were dizzy on the pitch.”
“Firstly, you know I get travel sick on that bloody bus,” Mason said, pointing at his best friend and pouting. “And secondly, you’d be dizzy if someone had kicked you in the head and then you got pulled up.”
“I suppose,” West said with an acquiescing nod. “I’ll give you that one.”
“I’ll be fine,” Mason said. “I promise.” He let go of my arm and put his around my waist, pulling me into his side. He looked down at me and smiled, and I noticed his lip was slightly swollen on one side. “Thanks for coming to get us. I really appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome,” I said, leaning in to kiss him gently. “It was perfect timing too. I’d just gotten back.”
“Yeah? How was it? ”
“I’ll tell you in the car,” I said as a few drops of rain splattered across my skin. Dark clouds were rolling in and we were about to get soaked through. Around us, anyone who’d been loitering was striding towards their car except for a shorter older man with grey hair and a Knights fleece who was stood waiting. He was pretty hot and there was a glint in his eye which told me he’d been trouble in his youth. As soon as he saw us, he gestured towards the front door of the training centre, which would get us out of the rain.
“Looks like Clive wants a word first,” Mason said. “It’ll probably be all the shit I’m not supposed to do for the next twenty-four hours.”
Another few drops of rain landed on my skin and I turned and handed Jonny the car keys. “We’ll be there in a minute. Make yourself at home. Just mind the fake sword on the back seat.”