Into The Team (15 page)

“Wayne and Craig,” Kieran said straight away. “Wayne’s been the boss’s golden boy for years. He’s the one who puts in double effort seeing as he captains the reserve team as well.”

“Do you reckon you’ll move up to midfield?”

“I’m hoping to. But Josh and Leo are pretty well bonded now so I reckon the boss will have them moving up.”

Todd took a sip of juice. It appeared that those on the team who paired well were the ones who played up front. He gazed at Kieran, trying to imagine getting intimate with him. The guy was not bad looking. He had one of those bright faces that looked like he was always in a good mood. His jaw and cheekbones stood out just right, and in the light from the windows they created an almost chiseled look. In fact right now, Todd thought he could rival Daryl’s model worthy face.

He wondered why he’d just thought that. It didn’t matter what the players looked like. It was how they moved their feet and how well he got on with them that mattered.

“Shall we play together tomorrow?” he asked. “After lunch we could kick around.”

Kieran gave him a fast smile, his eyes narrowed to a seductive slant as he nodded.

“I’ve been wanting to check you out,” he said.

Todd winked and drank his orange.

Growing excitement in his gut by Monday lunchtime, made Todd choose a light meal of salad and tuna. He tried to relax at the table after eating, but couldn’t stop glancing to where Kieran sat with Wayne and Craig. Kieran seemed at ease, and there appeared to be no signal from Wayne that the afternoon’s one-to-one with Todd had been disclosed to the captain.

As the rest of the lads from the house went to shower, Todd headed out onto the field to warm up.

At two PM, Kieran sprinted over the field in a pair of cotton running pants and baggy top. The weather for late October had been fine in recent days, but today was chilly with a low sun giving no heat.

During the first twenty minutes they sped up and down the pitch, tapping the ball to each other. It worked Todd’s adrenaline and he was soon predicting Kieran’s passes. The guy had a deceptive back kick that fooled anyone watching as he dribbled, but Todd studied the subtle movements in his ankles, and soon clocked his technique. Whenever Kieran’s foot swept around the ball, appearing to go in for a kick, his heel knocked it backwards and Todd shifted direction to receive.

After a series of friendly tackles, where Todd worked out the guy’s attacking methods, they stopped for a breather.

“I like the way your eyes follow what I’m doing,” Kieran said. “You look almost hawk like.”

Todd had heard a similar comment from Jason, and his nickname had been ‘Eagle’ on the Blackmoor team. “I’m a bird of prey.” He grinned.

Kieran lifted his eyebrows. “I’ll watch you on the wings.”

They tried long kicks next, making the ball fly high, aiming to have it land at the other’s feet. After ten minutes they had it nailed and were finding each other with the ball at high speeds from across the field.

They sprinted and chatted about their home life. Kieran came from Ireland, but his parents moved to northern England when he was four. He’d never developed a true Irish accent, although Todd thought he detected the odd sound here and there. Kieran had two older brothers who worked back in Ireland. His mother and father ran a small café in his hometown of Dolton Brook, near the Cumbrian border.

When Kieran asked about Cherrie, Todd kept it short.

“She’s a receptionist for a clothing company,” he said. “We’ve known each other three years.”

“Serious?” Kieran asked.

Todd had to think about it. He felt they were serious because they had vowed never to go with others. He had kept his promise, but because they saw each other only once or twice a week, and she often had weekends away with friends, he didn’t know for sure if she’d kept her promise. But with what had happened at the weekend, and last week with Jason, he was unsure if that meant he’d now broken the arrangement.

“We see each other when we can,” he said. “We’ve discussed that being on the team means that will become less and less, and she accepts it. She’s a bit dazzled at the moment though, so I don’t know if that will change.”

“Once you start earning full whack, she won’t care how often she sees you,” Kieran said. “I was seeing this girl for a few years. I could only spend the odd weekend and some weeknights with her. But after a while she hardly noticed I wasn’t around.”

“What happened?”

“Money happened,” he said. “And paparazzi, and those celebrity magazines. Once I signed my current contract, she got caught up in the fame side of it all. She’s seeing Colin Gardner now.”

“The Toxford County player?”

Kieran nodded. “A lot of the girls are just in it for the glamour.” He sneered. “It’s hard to trust them once you’ve scored a few goals and got your name in the papers. You’re lucky to have yours bagged already. Maybe she’ll stick around.”

Todd nodded but shrugged. Cherrie had already been dreaming about celebrity hangouts and designer handbags.

“Not found anyone since?” he asked.

“No.” Kieran shook his head. “I’ve had some great shags, but that’s all I’m giving for the moment. I’m focusing on the team for now.”

Todd liked that. He needed someone who was focused, and Kieran didn’t seem taken with the wealth and fame this life brought. He was probably over all that after playing at the club for four years, and Todd had noticed he was one of the players who hadn’t been photographed and talked about so much in the press for reasons other than the game.

“Fancy a sauna after training?” he asked.

Kieran smiled and nodded and suggested a twenty-minute sprint around the field to end the session.

The locker room was quiet. It was nearly four PM and the rest of the first team had left after lunch. It felt good to be alone with Kieran, and Todd grew more confident about the guy becoming his partner.

But he was uncertain about what to do. Although he’d suggested the sauna, he wondered if Kieran took that to mean they were going to have some hand contact with each other. Perhaps he’d been through a similar experience with Jason or one of the other players when he first came to the club, and was now taking it for granted they were going to get intimate.

While they stripped out of their gear, they talked about Todd’s parents. He mentioned his father had passed away.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Kieran stopped half way through taking off his running pants.

“It happened years ago.” Todd smiled, hoping to ease Kieran.

Although it was a moment of sorrow for him, and he detected a pensive slant in Kieran’s voice, he felt positive about the knowledge he’d shared.

Once out of their underwear Todd placed a hand on Kieran’s neck and gave a delicate rub. “Let’s shower before the sauna.”

“You always need a shower after the session.” Kieran laughed. “Get all that sweat off you before you sweat some more.” He rubbed Todd’s back as they walked into the shower room.

Would he need to soap Kieran like he saw Josh doing for Leo? Todd headed to the wall and decided to just wash himself. He needed to get this right, and making a move too soon could blow it.

Kieran showered next to him and they talked some more about what music they liked. Kieran liked the Irish bands like Coldplay and U2. Todd agreed, and added Ash to the list.

“What about American rock?” Kieran asked.

Todd soaped up his legs and tried to remember if he’d heard any recently. Music wasn’t his main interest but he tried to keep up to date. “I like that song which has a bloke screaming about money or something.” He frowned. “The video has him ransacking his bedroom, looking under floorboards and shit.”

Kieran stopped washing and glanced at him with a lost expression.

“You mean ‘No Cash No Hash’?” he asked. “Yeah, the video has him running around his bedroom searching through draws and coat pockets.”

Todd laughed. That was it. The bloke loses it at the end of the video and leaps from his tenth floor flat. “NO CASH NO HASH!” he screamed.

“GONNA SPLASH MY MASH!” Kieran continued. “I AIN’T SEEN NO GREEN! NO HASH NO CASH!” Kieran beamed while Todd laughed.

Seeing Kieran’s eyes, bright and adoring, Todd felt suddenly out of place. Kieran was four years older and yet he seemed like a younger guy. He was the same height as Todd, but his body was slimmer, more athletic than Todd’s tougher frame. He wondered if this meant he had to take the lead in this budding pair process.

“I think we should spend more time training.” Kieran smiled. “We’ll both get each other hot for the game in two weeks and show the boss we’ve got something going.”

The positive tone in his voice lifted Todd’s stomach.

“Yeah, we should.”

His head filled with the two of them on the pitch for the charity game, passing the ball to each other as they ran to the opposite end, dodging every challenge. It could be just like that time when he’d gone to the tournament with his father and met that kid with whom he’d played so well.

“Tomorrow, yeah?” Kieran said. “We can work on our defense. If you can show the boss you’ve got good tackling skills, he’ll probably play you for longer.”

Todd liked that. It sounded like Kieran had been thinking about where his skills needed work.

As Kieran stuck his head under the jet, Todd took a deep breath. Looking down, he noticed his cock had swollen a touch. Although still limp, it had reached the pre stimulation stage, where it felt heavier and appeared bigger than usual. Casting his eyes to Kieran’s, he could see a slight increase in his cock too.

Heading to the sauna they grabbed a towel each. The sauna was a long room with the door at one end. Todd went in first and headed to the far corner. Even though the locker room was empty, and he had no worries about being disturbed, he felt it best to go to the furthest point away from the glass door.

He spread the towel on the bench and sat down. Kieran sat at an angle to him.

“Everyone’s glad you’re on the team,” he said. “We’ve been in need of a new pair of feet for years.”

Todd wondered if that piece of small talk was a sign of Kieran’s uncertainty. “Thanks.”

“I’m glad we talked at Sean’s party,” Kieran went on. “I didn’t get a chance to talk to you last week or the week before.” Looking over Todd’s body his face grew serious. “You should try to lose some weight.” His eyes widened. “Not that you’ve got any fat on you, I just mean that you should try to lose some of the muscle.”

“This is my natural shape. I’ve trained for years on the pitch, done loads of sprinting, and I’ve always been this weight.”

“Try to eat less protein and more carbs…I mean, I think you look good as you are but most players have an athletic build.” He shook his head and looked downcast. “Sorry man, I’m not having a go.”

Todd cast his eyes over Kieran’s body. “You’ve got a good build,” he said. “Do you lift weights?”

“I keep that to a minimum. I think the less weight you carry around the field, the more stamina you have and the better you are at using your body.”

Todd found himself wanting to rub him and wondered whether he should ask. Glancing at his cock he saw it was flaccid but still in that ready state. He decided to shift his butt towards him so their legs touched.

“I got a massage last week from Jason.” He felt a coy grin break on his face. “It was sort of, interesting.”

Kieran’s eyes narrowed for a second, making him look mischievous. “I once had one from him. I think he likes giving them.”

“Did you like it?”

Kieran laughed. “It was ok.” He looked at Todd with amused eyes. “We should just get it over with, yeah?”

Todd exhaled. Beads of sweat snaked their way down his forehead as he pushed his butt back on the bench and spread his thighs out.

Kieran placed his pert butt between Todd’s legs.

Feeling free to do what he wanted, Todd started on his lower back and gently rubbed with his thumbs. Kieran had smoother skin than Jason and Todd’s hands slipped easily over it. He rubbed slowly up his back towards his neck. Kieran’s head flopped down in front of him, and his breathing turned slow and even.

“You’ve got good skin,” Todd said as he rubbed below Kieran’s hairline.

“I eat lots of tomatoes and drink lots of water.”

“Do the rest of the guys on the team drink a lot of beer often?”

“No.” Kieran shook his head. “Saturday night was rare. Sean often has the lads round at his house, but we don’t go mad. Those Tequila shots were too much. I think they just went overboard to celebrate your arrival. You know, it’s really affected everyone.”

Having spent most of his time trying to deal with being the new boy, Todd had given little thought to how his arrival affected everyone else. They’d had a stable team for several years, and now suddenly he was amongst them. The notion that he’d had an effect made him feel confident.

The question of who Kieran woke up next to after that party crept into Todd’s mind again. But he kept quiet and rubbed delicately under his arms, and as he did, he felt Kieran’s hands on his thighs.

“You have got some muscle on those legs,” Kieran said.

Todd tensed them.

“Jesus,” Kieran hissed. “That is solid.”

Todd chuckled and worked his hands slowly around his chest just like Jason had with him. The guy seemed to like it and slid back a little further until his ass met Todd’s slowly growing hard on.

Kieran gave it a soft squeeze with his butt cheeks. Todd saw that as the signal to go for it and dipped his hands down Kieran’s hot sweaty torso. They slid smoothly, as though coated in oil, and it wasn’t long until they brushed the hard tip of Kieran’s cock.

“Yeah, do it for me,” Kieran whispered.

Todd curled his fingers around the shaft. Kieran’s cock was a little smaller than his own, but it felt good in his grip. Like Jason had done for him, he worked it slowly, gripping delicately with each downward pull. Kieran’s back inflated and subsided against him, deeper and deeper with each jerk. With his free hand, Todd dipped lower and stroked Kieran’s soft balls. His lips brushed close to Kieran’s neck and the desire to gently kiss his skin, stick out his tongue and lick the sweat running down it, grew steadily with each heaving motion of the body in front of him.

Kieran reached a hand down to Todd’s cock and after lifting his butt up an inch, directed its length beneath him and sat back down.