Page 51 of Off the Pitch

“Sorry,” he added, shooting me a tiny smile. He was so nervous, clearly worried that I’d say no. Or maybe it was because he’d admitted to telling them we were just friends. But that didn’t surprise me, even if it did make my heart sink. Still, this had to be a positive, right? That he wanted to introduce me to his friends? Even if I was just an ‘old football friend’. Fuck, that hurt more than I thought it would, especially because it had been nearly four months now, and he’d admitted to thinking about coming out.

Baby steps, right? Baby steps. First step old friends, second step boyfriends.

Maybe.

Christian was still watching me, waiting for my answer.

“Sure, that sounds like fun,” I said.

“Really?” He sounded so surprised, as if he’d just been waiting for me to say no.

“Of course. Although I’m shit at arcade games.” I chuckled, stealing another kiss.

“Me too. I think that’s why they said I should bring you, so we can suck together.” I snorted, and Christian laughed. “What?”

“I dunno. I’m usually pretty good at sucking,” I said, raising my eyebrow and skimming my fingers across his hips.

“Oh my God, you have such a dirty mind!” Christian said with mock outrage, but he still melted into my touch.

“So I’ve been told… now, you said something about sucking?”

Despite my continued assertions that everything would be fine and that it was going to be fun, inside I was freaking the fuck out.

What if I did something stupid and accidentally outed Christian in front of his friends? He’d never forgive me, and there was a chance I could lose what was easily the best thing in my life.

I just had to play it cool and pretend we were friends. Y’know, just old football buddies who’d happened to reconnect recently, nothing bad about that. People reconnected all the time.

Except I doubted that most people spent an hour edging and blowing their ‘old friends’ on their sofa.

Fuck my fucking life.

“David!” Christian was waving at me from the opposite side of the road, outside a large building with the brightly coloured words ‘One Up’ plastered across the top. Next to him were two guys I recognized only from a distance. They were chatting happily, Jordan showing Liam something on his phone and gesturing wildly.

“You made it,” Christian added, as I finally made it across the road to them. He was practically bouncing in place, like a giant golden retriever puppy. For a split second, it looked like he was going to hug me, but he caught himself at the last moment and stopped, arm raised awkwardly in the air.

“Yeah, sorry. I had office hours,” I said. “I still have to keep them, even if no one ever turns up unless it’s the week before hand in.” Most of my students were neck deep in exams or hadn’t come back from holiday yet, so I probably wouldn’t see them outside of class again until April when their next essays were due.

Christian smiled and nodded. “It’s fine. This is Liam,” he said, nudging the taller of the two men next to him. “And that’s Jordan. Guys, this is David.”

“Hey,” said Liam, giving me a nod and a look which was strangely reminiscent of the one my very first girlfriend’s dad had given me when I turned up to take her to the cinema when we were fourteen. It made my intestines feel like ice.

“What’s up?” Jordan added, giving me a casual wave. “Nice to see you’re real and not someone our boy just made up.” He shot me an easy smile. “We were sure you were a girl he was texting.”

I laughed. “Sorry. Not a girl. Just me.”

“Damn, I was sure I was right,” he said. “Don’t worry, Christian. Liam and I will find you a girl. Ali’s got some hot mates, right?” he added, bumping Liam on the shoulder.

“Oh yeah, congratulations,” I said, trying to distract Jordan before he noticed Christian’s less than enthusiastic face. “Christian said you got engaged at New Year’s.”

Liam smiled, the cold look melting slightly, and for the first time, he looked relaxed. “Yeah, I did. Well, I asked her, and she said yes, but her family’s Indian so we’re having a formal ceremony too.”

“Aw, man! Ali’s mum’s doing the food, right? And her aunties?”

“Yeah, they’re going all out apparently. It’s driving Ali nuts already.”

“It’s gonna be sick, man. Their food is amazing. I’m gonna eat so much. I’m never gonna be able to run again.”

“They better than your grandma?” Liam asked, and Jordan screwed up his face, as if this was the most difficult question in the world.

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