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“Breakfast,” Lee told him gently, and Alex nodded again, then blinked and looked away, shoving a hand through his hair.
“Right, yes. Breakfast.”
Predictably, they were the last ones to arrive.
16
Atorrential thunderstorm hit some sixty minutes into the match.
At first, it was just a few thick drops. Moments later, they turned into a wall of water, visibility reduced to a few metres. As soon as the referee’s whistle called the game to a halt, Lee shielded his eyes against the rain to watch lightning throw multi-branched patterns across the sky.
“The gods must be angry tonight,” Alex shouted, his silhouette distorted by the rain, and Lee laughed.
“Not sure what kind of crap they teach at posh-boy school, but the gods have nothing to do with this.” He paused for effect. “It’s cloud giants, rearranging their furniture.”
“Oh,” Alex said. “I like you—you’resmart!”
They were grinning at each other as they trotted after the other players towards the inner concourse while spectators flocked to the sheltered parts of the stadium. Part of it was adrenaline, the fact that they were ahead by one goal—a beautiful combination kicked off by Jeff who’d found Alex further up the pitch, and then Alex and Lee had passed the ball back and forth like a fuckingdanceuntil Lee had sealed the deal. Part of it, yes. But it was also because even though they hadn’t had a private moment since before breakfast, Lee could feel that things between them had changed. It was small glances and near-invisible touches, deliberately brushing up against each other like it was an accident.
Drenched as they were, the air-conditioned locker room was on the chilly side. When Alex dropped onto the bench next to Lee and peeled off his wet jersey, Lee reminded himself that they were in public. He kept his attention on Alex’s face.
“Hey—we win this, I will voluntarily don a nice button-up later.”
“You say that like you’ll be doing me a favour.” Alex emerged from behind the towel he’d used to dry his hair, wavy strands sticking up in odd little tufts. “Admit it, you like the way it makes you feel.”
“On occasion,” Lee allowed, and it was true that there was something fun about dressing up once in a while. Even more fun when Alex undressed him slowly afterwards, undoing buttons one by one, working his way down Lee’s chest.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Alex said.
Lee reached for his own towel. “Sure, if it makes you happy.”
“It makes me very happy.”
“Lads.” Jeff plopped down next to Alex. “Gentlemen.Fellas. Let’s take this home.”
For some reason, that was the moment it sunk in—they might win this. They might actuallywinthis, and then they’d be in the bloodyfinal, one step away from the title. No matter what Lee had told Alex in the past, he hadn’t really, truly believed that they stood a chance. Now? God, maybe they did.
Lee could feel the room buzzing with barely suppressed excitement as Kieran used the unscheduled break for another warning about staying sharp, they were ahead by just one goal,don’t get cocky, guys. Remember Japan.
They were back on the pitch half an hour later, the grass soggy and slippery from the downpour, making it much harder to control the ball. Lee lost track of time—all that counted was here and now, the next touch and the next, Alex and Jeff and Declan and Finley moving around him.
A corner kick to Toby. Header.Goal!
Final whistle.
Lee collapsed where he stood, flat on his back in the damp grass, laughing at the sky as wetness soaked through his jersey. Alex piled on top of him a second later, then Jeff and Oliver and others, a happy, shouting pile of guys Lee had come to know so well over all these weeks. One of Alex’s cheeks was pressed against Lee’s, flushed from the match, their eyes catching for a moment, weightless, blood rushing in Lee’s ears. In public, they were in public, and then Jeff yelled about how “We fucking did it, guys!” and Lee dragged his attention away from Alex’s mouth even as he dug his knuckles into Alex’s thigh.
They’d done it.
A short bus ride took them back to the sleek, modern hotel they’d stayed at before, with its tiered olive garden that overlooked the sea. Lee stopped in his room just long enough to shower and change, then joined the party outside. To exactly no one’s surprise, Alex wasn’t there yet, always taking a few extra minutes to get ready—but when he showed, he looked and smelled amazing. God, Lee was so fucking into him he couldn’t see straight. How long, exactly, did they have to stay?
He floated from group to group for a while to keep up appearances, always aware of his position relative to Alex’s. They finally intersected a few steps away from everyone else, and Alex pulled Lee in for a one-armed hug.
“I’ve got fond memories of this place,” he told Lee in an undertone, a secretive grin curving his mouth. “It’s where you finally succumbed to my charm.”
I want to kiss you.
Lee remembered it—the two of them side by side at the railing, overlooking the nighttime sea, and the tipping point when he’d put it out there. Alex’s smile,what’s stopping you?
