Page 45 of Brat on the Ball

“Want to go back in and talk to Tim? Get your training done for the day?” George asked.

“No fucking way. I’ve made back my weekly wage in shirt sales. They can have me back tomorrow,” I said.

“Good. Now let me take you home,” said George. When I unlocked my car, he jumped into the driver’s seat. I slid into the passenger seat.

“Have to be in control all the time, do you?” I asked.

“Only in the bedroom. This is a courtesy,” George said. He grinned as he pulled back on the gearstick and reversed out faster than I ever would have dared to.

“Fucking hell!” I gripped the side of my seat.

“I’ve been taking lessons from Finn,” George joked. “Now let me see if I can scare these reporters.” He drove as close as possible to the gates and revved up the engine as loud as he could, and they scattered. “Pussies.”

“Well done, you scared off the big scary men. Now take me home.”

“Right you are, boss.” As George drove through Cardiff, I looked out of the window at the chilly February day. The sun was shining, people were happy. Nothing had changed. But the world had shifted under my feet. I was an openly gay man. And that was huge, for me at least.

“What do I do next?” I asked George.

“Whatever you want to do. The world is your lobster, as my Nan would say.”

“Your Nan was a wise woman.” I traced my finger through the fog my breath had made on the window. “But, I mean…surely, I’ve got to do something, right? I can’t just be a football player now. I’m…I don’t know, the first. Surely that has tomeansomething.”

“I thought you just wanted to come out, and didn’t want any of that role-model stuff?” George asked.

“I didn’t. Maybe that’s changed, I dunno. But I don’t want anyone to be as scared as I was of all this. I want to fight the bastards who’ll try and bring me down so no one else has to.”

“Ol, you’ve had a long day. Let’s get you home. Later on, you can decide what you want to do. But right now, you need to be looked after, and you need to rest.”

“Yessir.”

George pulled into the underground car park. When I got out, I automatically went for the general lift, rather than the penthouse one.

“My place, is it?” George asked.

“I prefer it. It has you in it,” I said.

“Well, your place would have me too,” said George. “That’s the great thing about being together.”

Together. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy. But I knew I had to ask. “I know the wordsboyfriendandlovehave already been thrown around, but…this is real, right?”

George pulled me in for a kiss just as the doors opened. “Sorry,” he muttered to the family who were waiting outside, then he grabbed me by the hand and pulled me out into the corridor. For a second, I was horrified that we’d been seen, and then I remembered I wasn’t hiding anymore. And grabbed his collar to pull him in for a kiss myself.

“Wow, someone wants to be in charge,” he said, muffled by the fact I wasn’t letting go. “And yes. We are real. I love you, and you love me, and that’s all we need, right?”

“You don’t think we’re moving too fast?” I asked.

George just laughed and dragged me to the door. “I’m still waiting for you to take me out on a date. I won’t put out on the first date though. My mother always said it wasn’t right.”

“How about before?”

“NowthatI can do, Mr Gunnerson.” George unlocked the door and as soon as we were through he was ripping my t-shirt up and over my body. His mouth found his favourite spot before I could do anything else.

“You don’t need to mark me any more, everyone knows I’m taken,” I said.

George laughed and gave my chest a nip with his teeth. “This is more essential than ever. Now everyone knows these aremymarks.” He moved down and sucked on an unblemished part of my chest as if to make a point.

“God, I want to fuck you so hard right now. I’m so fucking proud of you,” he said, sliding back up my body and then capturing my lips between his teeth. I couldn’t do anything except ruck my fingers through his short hair. George pulled away from me, and I whined.

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