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“You weren’t supposed to know,” Jeff said. “That party your parents hosted, where I met Isa? I swear I didn’t mean to get into it with your dad. But I made a casual comment about equal rights, and he justcouldn’tlet it slide because apparently, gender-inclusive language and allowing gays to marry equals the downfall of Western civilisation. That’s how Isa and I got talking in the first place—no credit where it’s undue.”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“It wasn’t my place to add fuel to your already bad relationship with him.”
“Yeah, well. Not sure where that’s headed now, so…” Alex looked down at his lap, aware of Oliver and Kieran watching him with quiet sympathy, Lee still exuding protectiveness, while Jeff jumped up again from his armchair as though sitting still was a concept best served in small doses. Two big steps, and he was by Alex’s side and pulled him into a hug.
“I’m sorry your dad’s a dickwad,” Jeff said when he let Alex go, and fuck, Alex needed to duck his head to blink away the threat of tears. He did feel calmer this morning than he had last night, but his ribcage was still encased in a thin layer of lead that weighed him down.
“Me too.” He huffed out a hollow laugh. “Guess I may have to apologise to the general public about that very soon.”
“You’re not responsible for your parents’ actions.” Of course Lee would feel strongly about that.
“I agree.” Kieran leaned back into the sofa. “No apologies—this isn’t your fault. Last I checked, we don’t pick our parents in a reality game show.”
“You should pitch that idea to a producer, might just get some traction.” Jeff didn’t wait for a reply before he addressed Alex. “Now, just so we’re clear? You and I will havewordsabout how you delayed telling me because you didn’t want to put a damper on my date. Appreciate the intention, but some things matter more than my sex life.”
“Definitely on the list of things I never expected to hear from Jeff,” Oliver contributed. The unusual occurrence of snark from their gentle-mannered captain lifted Alex’s spirits, at least for a moment.
“What he said. Also…” Alex felt his smile fall away. “You didn’t tell me how much you hate my dad. I think that makes us even.”
“Me hating your dad is hardly life-altering information.”
Life-altering.
It was, wasn’t it—Alex’s father under investigation for political corruption? Possible prison time, loss of social standing, and Alex’s mum would get caught in the tailwind of it too, irrespective of how she’d tended to stay out of politics. Alex had spent more time with various nannies than with his parents, and he’d gone off to boarding school once he’d turned twelve. And still… Jesus, they were still the only close family he had.
“Hey.” Lee’s hand landed on Alex’s shoulder, and Alex leaned into it without thought before he realised they had an audience. He glanced around to find Oliver suppressing a smile and Jeff looking mildly curious while Kieran didn’t seem to have noticed, expression thoughtful, his usual cheer absent.
“I don’t want to be a distraction to the team,” Alex told him. “If you want me to go home…”
Kieran looked up sharply. “Don’t be silly, Alex. No one wants that—not unless it’s your preference.”
Well, Alfie might beg to differ given it would free up a spot in the starting eleven. Alex shook his head. “No, I want to stay. Of course I do.”
“Good. So that’s settled.” Kieran’s tone marked the matter as closed. “Then let’s discuss how we can best protect you from this mess.”
“Bloody Charles,” Jeff muttered to no one in particular. “Duke of fucking Arsehat County, Earl of Go Fuck Yourself,Sir.”
It wasn’t all that funny. And yet Alex laughed—tinged with a hint of hysteria, tickling the back of his throat in a way that was mildly nauseating, but somehow he still felt better for it.
“Interesting perspective,” Kieran told Jeff with a perfectly blank face and humour dancing in his eyes. “I’m gonna go ahead andnotnominate you as the team’s spokesperson on this issue.”
“Inconceivable.” Jeff’s grin was unabashed.
“Here’s my thinking, to be confirmed with the comms team once the story breaks.” Kieran fixed Alex with a heavy look. “First off, we’ll reinforce security around the hotel—don’t want any self-appointed investigative journalists sneaking in. Secondly, I don’t think there’s any way you can fully avoid addressing this.”
Alex sucked in a breath and nodded. He’d thought as much, had even briefly touched upon it with Lee this morning before he’d snuck back to his own room. Lee had been adamant that it was Alex’s right to say nothing, fuck anyone who didn’t respect that. “You’re not here to be universally liked,” he’d pointed out. “You’re here to play football.”
Maybe. But being liked made it so much easier.
“My suggestion,” Kieran continued when Alex stayed silent, “is that once this breaks, we get you on the podium for our daily press conference. And then you simply keep repeating that you don’t know anything and your focus is the World Cup until they get bored. You’ll be with Oliver and me, so we can warn off anyone who comes on too strong. And we remove you from the post-match interview roster.”
A plan—a concrete way forward.
Alex swallowed. “Thank you.”
“You’re part of this team, Alex.” The way Oliver said it suggested that it was no big deal, that of course Alex would get the support he needed—why was it even a question? Chances were that Oliver hadn’t grown up with parents who refused to speak to him if he broke a glass or brought home less-than-perfect grades. Since it had taught Alex to push himself, he wasn’tcomplaining, but… God, it was nice. It was nice to have people in his corner.
