Into The Team (14 page)

“…So I was shit,” Kieran was saying. “And I’d never been one for books and studying, I only know what to do with my feet and a football….”

Todd drank the third beer as he listened; slowly his head became light…

Later, after a few more beers, he ended up in a room with Trent, Gavin, Sean, and Jason. A ski simulator, which appeared to be a small platform with two rods on either side, was the main point of interest. Trent was on it, swaying from side to side as a simulated snow slope passed by on a large screen. Gavin and Sean stood on either side of him.

After Trent’s efforts resulted in the CGI skier crashing into a set of trees, Gavin jumped on and the program started again.

“Are you learning to ski, Sean?” Todd asked, hoping to get a friendly response.

Sean nodded but didn’t look at him. He seemed more intent on watching Gavin’s start off. “Jason and me are going to Switzerland over Christmas,” he said.

Gavin sent his man hurtling off a cliff edge. Trent cracked up as the CGI man landed legs up in a pile of snow.

“That’s pretty cool,” Todd said. “I’ve never seen one before.”

Sean turned back to him, and for the first time tonight, he smiled at Todd. “You want to try?” His eyes were encouraging, and it was the friendliest Todd had seen him. He nodded.

After Gavin stepped off, Todd climbed onto the platform. He didn’t know what to do so just grabbed hold of the rods.

“The rods are sensitive, so don’t push on them hard.” Sean leaned across and moved Todd’s hands up to grip the rods properly. “When it starts, just move them back and push forward slowly.”

Todd focused on the screen, which showed the CGI skier at the top of a long mountain slope.  When Sean hit the go button, he eased forward and off he went.

It went fast, and he didn’t see the bend coming up until it was on top of him. Instinctively he twisted his ankles to swerve, but instead skidded to a complete halt.

A few laughs behind made him smile. Sean reset the simulator, and told Jason to fetch more beers. Turning back to Todd he looked down at his feet. “Stand with your feet a little further apart on the platform.”

Todd spread his feet.

“Ok, be aware of that turn when you pass that red flag,” Sean advised before pressing go again.

Todd eased off a second time, and as the red flag approached, he tensed his ankles and gripped the rods.

“Lift the right rod when you turn,” Sean said.

Todd twisted for the turn and lifted the rod to his right. He sailed around the bend and down a shorter slope with less veer.

“You’re getting the hang of it,” Sean said, with admiration in his voice. At the same time he placed a hand in the small of Todd’s back. “Fast learners always impress me.”

“Cheers.” Todd smiled as he went on skiing.

“I watched you play this week and saw how sharp eyed you are. You seem to respond instantly to whatever’s thrown at you. That’s exactly what this team needs.” Sean massaged the top of Todd’s butt.

When the simulation ended, Todd stepped off and saw Gavin and Trent had gone but Jason was back with more beer.

Suddenly wary of how much he was drinking, Todd took the bottle half-heartedly.

“You need to chill,” Jason said. “Remember, the boss is ok for us to get slaughtered tonight.”

With this being maybe his fifth or sixth beer, legs still working ok, Todd started on it as Jason and Sean took him for a house tour.

He saw a long table with a smooth, wooden surface, and what looked like solid gold legs at each corner in the dining room. Photographs of the team in various poses and activity on the pitch, hung at regular intervals on each wall…another beer…the kitchen was the size of the TV lounge and had three fridges…more beer…four arm chairs and a sofa with two glass tables…beer…a pool table…a set of steps…a gym…a Jacuzzi and steam room…

Sometime later, he wandered from the kitchen, leaving Leo, Craig, Sean and Jason standing around the table eating pizza. He made it to the open hallway, walked a few steps, and felt dizzy all of a sudden. The white marble floor seemed endless, heading off in many different directions.

“You ok?”

Todd was gripped around the waist and guided along. He turned his head and saw a bright pair of blue eyes.

“I can drive you back to the house if you like?” Daryl said. “I’ve only had one drink.”

Todd shook his head. “I’m ok.”

“Are you sure?”

On reaching the stairway, Todd stopped and leaned against the banister. Taking a deep breath, he looked at the potted palm tree. It swayed a little, but luckily there was only one of them. “I’ve just had too much beer.”

Daryl said something that made little sense to Todd. With a head growing heavy, he sat down on the stairs. Daryl followed, or perhaps guided him, said something more, and disappeared.

Todd didn’t feel sick, but his head felt like it wasn’t attached to his body. He’d not drunk more than a single beer in months, and right now he couldn’t remember how many he’d had in the last few hours. The last thing he wanted was to embarrass himself and throw up, so he inhaled and exhaled slowly and closed his eyes.

Maybe it wasn’t just the beer. Perhaps the reality of being in this house, with half the first team of the country’s finest club, was still trying to fit somewhere in his brain.

A strong smell of coffee entered his nostrils, making him open his eyes. Daryl handed him a mug.

“Maybe fresh air will help,” Daryl said as he rubbed Todd’s back.

Todd felt the coffee would be enough and sipped quietly.

After a short period of silence, Daryl spoke. “How do you get on with everyone?”

Todd focused on him and saw his blue eyes appeared glazed and sea-like. His hair appeared blonder, dazzling.

“I like everyone,” he said. “What about you?”

Daryl nodded. “They’re great lads.”

Todd sipped more coffee and slowly began to feel sharper. “Do you have a….” Again he didn’t know whether to ask.

“Am I paired?” Daryl smiled.

Todd nodded.

Daryl looked across the hallway.

“At the moment I’d say no,” he said. “I’m supposed to be paired with Eduardo, but we don’t click.”

Daryl seemed to have lost his shyness, and Todd wanted to see what he could get out of him. He thought of asking him about the footage the team had been shown, and why he’d said yes to get Todd in so quickly. But he held back, it seemed too odd a question right now, and he didn’t want to make Daryl feel uncomfortable.

“How do you like doing all those photo sessions?”

“They’re boring,” Daryl said. “They take too much time and effort for a few photos, and they mess with them to make them look different anyway, so it seems pointless. But it pays me well.”

“Do you like your new apartment?”

“Yeah, it’s not far from The Valley,” he smiled. “I’ll take you to see it one night after training if you like?”

Feeling like he was making progress, Todd smiled and rubbed Daryl’s shoulder. “We should train together sometime.”

Daryl patted Todd’s thigh, opened his mouth as though about to say something, when a low voice echoed across the hall.

“Who’s that on the stairs?”

Through the banister gaps, Todd saw Kieran approach.

“Oh, it’s Toddy boy! Fancy a game of pool?”

Todd gulped down the coffee, and, suddenly alert again, stood up.

“Yeah.” He turned to Daryl. “Fancy it?”

“Yeah, come on Daryl.” Kieran grabbed them by the elbows and dragged. Daryl allowed this, but from the blank smile he gave Kieran, Todd could see he wasn’t into the idea.

The pool table stood in a massive wooden paneled room, had gold plated cues, and a maroon cloth. After one game of pool, where Kieran beat Todd, he leaned against the wall and watched the two of them in a game.

Daryl had a slow, almost unresponsive manner, as though his world was somewhere else and it took him a moment to figure out what people were saying to him. Todd wondered if he was one of those who liked to consider before speaking. He certainly had that look that said he was working stuff out.

But it could also mean he was stupid, and took longer to work out the simplest of things. Or maybe he was going through a tough time in his life and had things on his mind. The boss said everyone should confide in their teammates if anything was wrong, so Todd wondered if the rest of the lads knew anything.

Or maybe the guy was just being himself, and was naturally quiet and thoughtful.

More lads joined them, and a makeshift tournament started. Todd had a couple more games, feeling better after not drinking for a while.

That changed when Sean came in with a tray filled with glasses and a large bottle of Tequila.

Todd glanced at his watch, it had gone two AM. His stomach felt settled and his head wasn’t spinning, so he figured a shot wouldn’t hurt.

As Sean finished pouring the last one, hands grabbed glasses from the tray. Jason handed one to him, and after a count to three, the lads knocked them back. Hisses and sharp breaths filled the room.

“One more.” Sean grinned and poured again.

With a burning throat, Todd didn’t think he could take more. He left the room in search of the toilet.

Walking down the hallway, he chuckled. His head was high again and he could feel the drunkenness from earlier coming back. But it felt different. Gone was the dizziness, instead he felt a strong, happy nip in his brain.

On reaching the stairway, he hit the wooden banister with his shoulder. Gazing around, he noticed all the doors looked the same and he couldn’t remember which one led to the toilet. He was about to try the nearest when Jason appeared beside him.

“Here you go boy,” he said, while handing over another glass.

“I need the toilet first,” Todd said.

Jason disappeared, but came back a moment later shaking his head.

“Someone’s in the downstairs toilet,” he said. “Go upstairs and turn right, the bedroom at the end of the corridor has an en-suite. But first…,” Jason gripped his shoulder and handed him the glass. “Knock that one down.”

Todd woke up face down in a pillow. A heavy thigh lay across his bare butt. Although his nose felt stuffy, as if blocked by a cold, he smelt something thick and warm. Lifting his head, the sounds of multiple snores came from either side of him as his eyes focused on a line of bright light between two, deep brown silk curtains that stretched from floor to ceiling on the far wall. Pain throbbed between his eyes as he looked at that light, which seemed to glow and vibrate in the darkened room. The bridge of his nose felt like he’d been whacked with an iron rod.

Twisting his neck, his eyes came to rest on the back of Sean Thompson’s head. He knew it was Sean Thompson by the dark brown hair that needed trimming at the neckline and the slight bald spot on his crown. Looking over the quilt, he saw they were both beneath it.

Lifting his body slowly, the heavy thigh slid away. He turned his head to see Jason Collier’s mouth half open against another pillow.

What the fuck?

He looked further but found no other bodies on the bed. That brought a little relief as he lifted his torso. But he had no idea how he’d ended up in a bed with the two main strikers on either side of him.

Holding his breath, Todd slowly crept over Jason. Something irritated his balls, and after clearing the bed and standing up, he felt around them. White flaky specs fluttered to the floor from his fingers. Fucking dried cum.

With eyes passing from Jason’s snoring lips to Sean’s hairy neck, a tense feeling took Todd’s stomach.

What the fuck? What the fuck?

His bladder felt like a cannon ball, so he backed away and walked with a throbbing head to the en-suite.

Taking a leak, that felt as though half a gallon of liquid was gushing through his cock, he frowned at half memories of being stood over this toilet bowl last night.

Someone had sent him up here after…after they’d all knocked back the tequilas in the poolroom.
Shit!
He’d already had too much beer by that point, and…and, who was it who kept handing him glasses of that tongue-burning liquid?

For as long as the piss came out of him he couldn’t remember. But he knew someone had sent him up to this room last night.

Eventually he finished, and stepped back from the toilet. The mirror over the sink showed a face with eyes that appeared to slope on either side. His tongue was the normal color but it felt as though it was still on fire from the alcohol.

After washing his cock and balls and toweling them dry, another image popped into his head.

Last night, after taking a piss in this bathroom, he’d stepped out and found a darkened bedroom after…Jason Collier, yes Jason Collier had told him he’d find the bathroom up here. This was after the tequilas in the poolroom, when Todd had gone to search for the downstairs toilet. He didn’t make it there because…what then? Oh yeah, he’d stepped back into the bedroom to find the lights were off. That was odd, because Todd remembered thinking he had left it on. But he’d shrugged it off, figuring something typical like the light bulb had blown. But as he’d made his way with difficulty to where he thought the door was, hands had grabbed his shoulders from behind.

Now, in the clear light of morning, Todd stood perfectly still in the bathroom and gazed at himself in the mirror.
What happened next?

He remembered his shirt being removed by someone else who’d stood in front of him. Hands had unbuckled his jeans and slid them down his legs. The smell of tequila had been strong in the air, fumes coming from three open breathy mouths. It wasn’t until Sean whispered for him to relax that Todd knew who the two in the room were. He remembered chuckling as he stumbled out of his jeans and Sean Thompson’s bare chest had to prop him up. He remembered being led to the bed with Jason in front and Sean behind.

The last thing he remembered was something warm and wet around his cock…Sean Thompson behind him.

An urgent breath shot from Todd’s lungs as he gazed at the mirror. He couldn’t remember what Sean was doing behind him, but he had felt the striker’s hard cock between his legs.

With shortening breaths, Todd slowly reached down and slid his right hand over his cock and balls. With careful fingers he felt around his asshole.

What the fuck?

Standing alone in the bathroom, he prodded gently at his butt hole. Surely he would know if Sean had…

No, he hadn’t. There was no way. His ass didn’t feel sore, and he was certain it would if Sean had done that to him.

Would I know for sure though?

Stepping away from the mirror, he lifted one leg up and rested his foot on the toilet seat. With his index finger he stroked slowly over his sweaty and slightly hairy asshole. It felt just as it did after a long training session – warm and moist, but tight.

He shook his head and went back to the sink to wash his face, confident that if Sean had stuck his cock up him, he would have remembered it.

After drying, he left the bathroom and found his shorts and jeans at the foot of the bed. He slipped them on while scanning around the floor for his shirt, keeping an eye out for a ripped piece of shiny wrapping, or the twisted placid transparency of a cock sized piece of latex. He found none of those things, but his shirt was resting neatly in a piled up state a few feet away from the bed. He put it on and left the snoring strikers.

The house was silent as he crept down the hall. The time was nine thirty and he presumed everyone must be sleeping.

He was reminded of last New Year’s Eve when he and Cherrie had gone to a party at her cousin’s house. He’d woken up the next day on the living room floor behind the sofa with Cherrie draped over him. All that day he’d felt sick, and it hadn’t been just from the booze, it had also been from the knowledge that he’d drunk it. And now, as he made his way down the stairs in this oversized mansion, he felt sickened that he’d allowed all that alcohol in his system again.

Quantity was something he kept in check, and getting drunk was something he only did if it was a special event and he felt secure with the company. Maybe being in this house with all the lads after an away win in London had satisfied the special event side of it. And maybe he was feeling more secure with the lads too. But he hated himself now; alcohol had never been a friend.

He found beer bottles littered around the TV room but no sleeping bodies on the sofas or floor. He remembered Jason telling him the house had twelve bedrooms, so he figured everyone must have found one after the tequilas.

Back out in the hallway, the scent of fresh coffee perked his brain.

Daryl Atkins sat at the kitchen table. When Todd walked in he was nursing a mug and staring blankly through the windows. Glancing at Todd, he smiled distantly and gestured to the coffee machine on the counter.

“The coffee’s still hot,” he said.

Todd fixed himself a mug and sat with him.

For a moment he didn’t say anything, just gulped down a few hot mouthfuls. He wondered if Daryl knew where he’d ended up sleeping. Perhaps the whole team knew about the set up.

“How’s your head?” Daryl asked. “You were pretty far gone last night.”

Todd lifted his eyebrows and put down his mug. “I’m not really one for drinking.”

Daryl smiled faintly. “I could tell.” He gazed down at the table as if thinking. Todd wanted to know where Daryl had slept, and if he’d slept alone, but he didn’t think it was right to ask.

Kieran appeared at the door with a towel wrapped around his waist. His spikey hair was damp, and instead of sticking straight up like it usually did, each gathered set of strands wilted to the side like a dying plant. He yawned as he wandered to the coffee machine.

“I need some fucking food,” he mumbled as he poured a cup.

Daryl got up and took his mug to the sink.

“Are you up for some breakfast?” Kieran asked. “I’m heading off to Alton Lodge.”

“What’s that?” Todd asked.

“It’s a bar and restaurant outside Knutsford; does the best English breakfast in Cheshire.”

Grumbles in Todd’s stomach forced him to nod.

“What about you Daryl?” Kieran looked at him as he walked from the sink to the door.

Daryl shook his head. “I’m going to visit my parents,” he said, and left the kitchen.

Kieran looked at Todd and rolled his eyes. “I swear that guy needs a fucking rocket up him sometimes.”

Todd chuckled and finished his coffee.

When Kieran downed his, he went upstairs to get dressed. Todd sat where he was, his brain slowly becoming alert again. He’d been given enough time to get used to this idea of pairing. And his questions about how far it went seemed to have been answered last night. He wondered if Luke and Marco had told the other lads of his apparent intrigue. Or perhaps Trent had mentioned it to them. Either way, he felt last night had been orchestrated. Remembering those beers Jason kept giving him, and the Tequila’s, he could see the two strikers had planned it.

He also remembered Jason trying the toilet door in the hallway. Was he really unable to open it? Todd was sure everyone was in the poolroom when he’d left to take a leak.

He shook his head.

Should he be bothered by any of this?

(
Your teammates will always respect you....)

Did Jason mean no one will manipulate him, or were those words meant to put him at ease and allow himself to become more intimate?

He certainly felt intimate now, at least with Sean and Jason. And what he did last night seemed to open up the field for the other players. He decided there would be no hesitations from now on, not after hitting it off with the two first team strikers.

Kieran appeared at the kitchen door fully dressed so they headed to the garage. His car was a red golf, modest compared to those of Sean’s. After climbing in, Kieran sped down the driveway and out the gate.

“I bet you feel more relaxed after getting to know everyone,” Kieran said once they were on the road. “I remember my first few weeks at the club; I was nervous about even speaking to anyone.”

Todd laughed. “I was more shell shocked than nervous,” he said. “But it’s been two weeks and, yeah I feel more chilled. I like the boss, I like the lads.”

“In no time you’ll get to know everyone properly.” Kieran took a turn onto the duel carriageway. Todd wondered what he meant by ‘properly’, but didn’t ask.

“Who do you play best with?”

Kieran’s lips turned down.

“I don’t know. I’m in defense so I make an effort with the rest of the defenders. And Adam too, we’ve got to keep tabs on him, and him on us.”

He drove off the main road and down a short residential street before turning into a lane flanked by fields. Finally, he pulled into a car park in front of a Tudor style inn.

“This place is class,” Kieran told him as they left the car. “A lot of celebrities and rich bastards come here.”

They entered through a revolving glass door, and were greeted by a smiling man in a tuxedo. He told Kieran it was good to have him back and directed them to a table by the window of a long, spacious room. Only a few couples were seated and eating. The scent of eggs, bacon, and kippers fumed the air.

“The club picks up the tab for us here,” Kieran told him with a grin. “So order what you like.”

The prices were not modest and the cutlery appeared to be silver. Todd felt honored as they both ordered a full breakfast. When it arrived Todd saw he had two of everything on his plate and knew he wouldn’t manage it all. But he devoured the sausage, eggs, and bacon within minutes, leaving half the mushrooms and fried bread.

“Do you get on well with Daryl?” he asked as Kieran pushed his plate away and gulped some freshly squeezed orange.

Kieran nodded, appeared to think, nodded again. “Everyone says he’s quiet, and he is. But I reckon he’s just dazzled still. The boss took him into the first team just a few months after his trial, and he’s worked him hard. The guy’s only twenty one and I think things have happened too fast for him, you know, the modeling jobs and the celebrity shit.”

“Have you paired with him?”

“Yeah, sort of,” he said. “We play well together, and he’s always just in front of me on the pitch, so we make efforts with one another.”

Todd wondered if they’d ever woken up in the same bed. Perhaps they had this morning. “I think he’s attentive. He’s made me feel welcome, just like everyone else.”

Kieran gave a slow smirk, his eyes spoke of innocence. “Daryl is a bit sensitive,” he said, still smiling. “I don’t think he can always handle that touchy feely stuff.”

“Can you handle it?”

Kieran gave an indifferent nod. “I don’t mind it.” He glanced around briefly. “It was a bit weird at first, but after the boss’s talk, when he explained it, I found it helped with the team building side of things.” He grinned and took another mouthful of orange. “I guess you’ve got to know Jason and Sean pretty well?”

Todd smirked back and nodded but said nothing.

“They’ll be on their way out in a few years.” Kieran leaned into the table and spoke quietly. “The boss is on the lookout for the next two forwards.”

“Who do you think will get it?”