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“Industry standard?” Alex shook his head as they crossed the stone bridge, a thin rivulet trickling below. “You sound like some Football Association bureaucrat trying to justify that our jerseys are made wherever it’s cheapest, screw ethical standards.”
“Touché,” Lee said. “My point stands, though.”
“I just … couldn’t find the right words.”
“Let me help you out.” Lee grasped Alex’s elbow, pulling both of them to a halt. His serious expression was at odds with the impish sparkle in his eyes. “Repeat after me—‘Lee, I’m bi.’”
“Lee.” Alex lowered his voice. “I’m bi.”
“There you go.” Quieter now too, Lee’s fingertips still light on Alex’s elbow, and Alex was right back at the edge of that diving board, rapid pulse fluttering in his throat. He inhaled on a measured breath.
“When I kissed you… You didn’t hate it, did you?”
“Not one bit.” There was something deliberate about the way Lee held Alex’s gaze. “Doesn’t make it a good idea.”
“Why not?” What Alex had intended as a challenge came out as a murmur.
Lee cleared his throat. “Other than how I used to fancy you?”
“Don’t see why that’s a bad thing.” Alex aimed for a smile that brought out his dimples, and Lee’s gaze dropped down to Alex’s mouth.
“You really need me to spell it out?” Lee’s voice sounded slightly husky.
“Please do.”
Tension stretched thick between them—and snapped when Lee looked away, removing his hand from Alex’s arm. “One.” The word was soft. “We’re here to win the bloody World Cup. Can’t afford to get distracted.”
He had a point. But also, “I’m distracting?”
“Fishing for compliments, Beaufort? So unbecoming.” Lee shot him an amused glance. “Two, we’re teammates, and we’re rooming together. Throw sex into the mix, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. Especially if for one person it’s just a fun little experiment, while it’s quite real for the other.”
Alex drew a slow breath. “What do you mean—real versus not?”
“I mean that for me, being with a guy isn’t just something I try behind closed doors before I go back to women because that’s the family way.”
“That's…” Not fair. Except … was it? Maybe, a little? Because the expectation always had been that Alex would marry a suitable woman from a good family, and their children would continue the family line. “It could still be real.”
“Yeah, I’m just not so sure about that.”Lee shook his head, voice softening. “Also, I used to fancy you a bit, which puts us on uneven ground. It’s just not a good idea.”
Rationally, Alex could see where Lee was coming from. But that didn’t stall the acid burn of disappointment in his stomach. “For the record” —Alex let his gaze drift past Lee, over to a row of manicured hedges— “it wouldn’t be just a fun little experiment with the first guy who happens to be conveniently available. I like you. And I think you're very attractive.”
Wow, could that have come out any more awkward? Usually, Alex was much smoother than that.
“Thank you.” It was quiet, slightly delayed. When Alex chanced a look at Lee, he found Lee looking at him already, eyes a little sad. Which—hey, Alex had just paid him a compliment. Shouldn’t Lee be looking much happier?
“So, uh.” Alex pressed his lips together. “A bad idea, then?”
“Yes,” Lee said firmly.
Alex huffed out a half-formed laugh and averted his gaze. “All right. I guess I’ve just been shot down, huh?”
“First time?” Lee’s tone held a trace of humour—no meanness in it, though, and when Alex glanced at him once more, Lee’s frown hadn’t faded entirely. “You'll deal, babe.”
Babe?
“Some sympathy would be nice.”
“Eating a thick slice of chocolate cake would be nice too, but you don’t see me doing that either, do you?”
