Page 40 of The Fly-Half

“Sorry, I thought it was obvious,” Matty said with a shrug. “I never said anything, though, because I figured it was none of my business.”

“What was none of your business?” Charlie asked, popping up beside Matty with Danny in tow. Great, that was all we fucking needed, the Knights two biggest gossips getting involved. “Shit the bed, Devon. What happened to you?”

“That’s not from the weekend, is it?” Danny asked as he leant over his best friend’s shoulder.

“Can’t be,” Charlie said, pointing at Devon’s thighs. “The placement is wrong for a tackle. You get laid then?”

“And if I did?” Devon asked with an exasperated smile. “Why does it matter? Does the whole club need to know about my sex life?”

“Well no, but still,” Charlie said. “We’re just looking out for you.”

“You’re just being nosy,” I said, folding my arms across my chest. “What’re you two doing anyway?”

“Come to get you lot,” Danny said. “Also, did you know we’re apparently getting a new social media manager? Do you think they’ll be hot?”

“They’re here to do their job, Daniel,” Mason said with a pointed look. As much shit as Mason had given me, he’d always been the one to call people out on their bullshit when they went too far, and I had to respect that because it wasn’t easy to do toyour teammates. “Not to be drooled over by you. Pack it in or I’ll shave that fucking ridiculous porn-stache off next time you fall asleep on the bus.”

“Fuck off!” Danny cried, putting his hand over his lip like he was trying to shield his terrible moustache from harm. “I was only asking.”

“Yeah, and I was telling.” Mason pointed at the door. “Get moving, come on.”

Everyone began to walk away, Danny still holding his hand over his mouth while trying to convince West to keep Mason in line. I didn’t think he’d win that argument.

“That means you too,” I said with a chuckle, gesturing at Mason’s bare torso where he still hadn’t pulled a shirt on. “Put your tits away.”

“But you like my tits,” he said, winking at me as he grabbed his shirt and tugged it over his head, the static making his hair stand on end like he’d tried to gel it and failed.

“No, that’s Ryan. Don’t mistake me for your boyfriend.”

Mason looked down at his chest and then fixed me with a doe-eyed expression. “They look good, though, right? I’ve put a lot of work into my chest this season. And my shoulders.”

I rolled my eyes fondly. “Yes, they look great. Very big and firm. And I know Ryan loves them too.”

“Thank you! And I… wait… ah fuck…” His face went bright red as he looked at me.

I clapped him on the shoulder and smiled serenely. “Yeah, sweetheart. Remember, I know everything.”

“Son of a bitch.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Devon

The teasingfrom West and Mason continued off and on for most of the day, but since it was good-natured and largely focused on taking the piss out of Jonny, I didn’t mind. Neither they nor Matty had told anyone about Jonny and me being together, and despite the fact that everyone knew I’d gotten laid—thanks, Danny, for pointing that out—nobody else seemed to have put two and two together.

Or if they had, they hadn’t said anything.

I gave it a week before everyone knew.

And while we’d probably get some shit for it, I didn’t anticipate anyone having a problem with it. We already had a head coach and two front-row players who were openly in relationships with men and nobody batted an eyelid. The only issue they might have with us being teammates was not wanting to watch us make out, but that’d be from a this-is-a-workplace angle rather than a homophobic one.

At least, that was what I hoped. And if it turned out to be the second, I imagined there’d be a long line of people wanting to correct their opinion.

We were currently finishing up our training for the evening and most of the backs were dicking around while we watched the forwards doing more tackling drills. It gave me the perfect opportunity to watch Jonny in action and be very thankful all the years of pining meant I wasn’t likely to pop a random semi in the middle of the pitch.

“God, look at them all,” Bailey said as he stood next to me, arms folded across his chest and breath curling in the air. “All that hard work. Couldn’t be me.”

I snorted. “Don’t let Hunter hear you say that. He’ll give you shit forever.”

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