Noah, Jonas and Tito were all sure that meant them. They’d arrived in a blaze of publicity. Yet board members had been against it. They would be more than happy for an excuse to get rid of them and put it down to a mistake on Javier’s part.
Noah kicked off his boots in the locker room. The weather had been particularly gruesome and they were all caked in mud. He soon stripped out of his soaking and cold kit.
As he walked through to the showers, his teammate Edi joined him.
“You okay?” Edi asked.
This young lad had come a long way since the start of the season. At first he’d been nervous to shower with the gay players. Now he wandered around totally naked with them.
“Yeah. Feels like things have ramped up a bit.”
Edi nodded. “It’s exciting.”
He usually had a different way of seeing things from Noah. Edi searched for the positive while Noah focused too much on the negative.
“You’re right,” he said. “It is exciting.”
They stood next to each other in the showers. It was bliss when those jets hit his frozen bones.
“Shit. That’s good.”
“Hey, Farman. What’s going on with your brother’s league?”
The question came from Udo. Someone Noah had the utmost respect for. After all, his public stand over his relationship with assistant coach, Steven Cox, had been the catalyst for Noah, Tito and Jonas to come to Brockton.
“I got the figures this week,” Noah replied. “It’s a lot. Guess I’ll have to nag Deano to get me more work. Plus if we get that bonus, I should be right.”
He leant his head back so the warm water ran over his face. He wanted to signal a full stop to that conversation. After the party, Noah didn’t want his private life picking over again.
In no time the conversation moved onto the formations they should be using that weekend. Noah finished soaping himself down and let the shower do its work.
Once done he set off to the locker room.
“You on warp speed today, Noah?” Adam asked.
“I’ve got a handsome man waiting for me in the car park, Skipper. I’m only human.”
Adam winked.
“Have fun.”
Oh he would. Noah was guilt-ridden that he hadn’t seen Carmine since the weekend. So he’d arranged a surprise to make it up to him.
With that in mind, he quickly threw his clothes on and dashed out of the training facility. Sure enough the most gorgeous guy he’d ever set eyes on waited in the car park. That sexy smile spreading over his face when he saw Noah. He had on a parka with a faux fur trim. It framed his features perfectly.
“You should have come in,” Noah said, jogging over to him.
“I’m not hanging around the reception like a groupie,” Carmine replied.
“And you prefer the car park?”
Noah scooped him into his arms and held him.
God that smell. I’ll never get enough.
Carmine looked up at him.
“It’s good to see you.”
