Nicky shook his head. “He did one when my mum was pregnant, or she binned him off. I never got to the bottom of it, and I’m not that bothered.” His shoulders were relaxed and his smile wasn’t forced.
“Your mum’s been single since, hasn’t she?”
He shrugged and laughed. “I think she’s had boyfriends, but she’s never introduced me or my brothers to anyone.”
I stood up and collected the now empty mugs and teapot. “Not every relationship is perfect, Nick. In fact, most aren’t.”
“What do you mean?”
I paused. “Love can be for an hour, a night, a holiday or until you celebrate your golden wedding anniversary, but none of those relationships are perfect, because no one’s perfect. It’s okay to get things wrong, just like you do playing football. It just makes you stronger and better next time.”
“Are you suggesting I’m going to score an own goal the first time I have sex?”
We just laughed.
PARTTHREE
Nicky
I slept, but only after I’d jacked off three times and had two showers, which meant I turned up at the training ground’s gym feeling like shit and in a worse mood.
Jesse was there already, stacking a bar with weights, far too many weights if he was going to be lifting them without a spotter.
I pushed my issues out of my head and went over to the rack, standing behind as he began a set of chest presses, already sweating from the build-up to this.
“How many are you aiming for?” I asked when he finished his second, managing it pretty smoothly considering the weight.
“Five. That’s a PB.” He started his third.
I braced myself in a position where I’d be able to support the weight of the bar should he fail the rep, confident that I’d be able to stop my captain from having his head crushed.
The third rep was smooth again. The fourth his arms started to shake. The fifth rep was going to be dicey.
I kept my hands on the bar as he pushed it up, making a noise that sounded like it came from a dying animal, or Jude when he was throwing up after too many beers, and then guided it back onto the rack.
“Smashed it, mate.”
Jesse sat up, a film of sweat covering his tattooed body.
“Fucking needed that.” He pulled a towel off the bench next to him and wiped his face. “Top tip, kid, don’t let your head get fucked up by a woman.”
I frowned. Jesse was single, professionally so. I knew he had a couple of women, both of whom had their own businesses, who he hooked up with on a regular basis so he stayed away from the wannabe WAGs.
“Which woman?”
He groaned. “One I can’t have.”
“Have you ever had a friends with benefits thing?” I started to get a rack and bar ready for squats.
Jesse downed a bottle of water, tipping the last few drops over his face. “Yeah, two of them. Best sort of relationship. No emotions, nothing messy and everyone sleeps with a smile on their face after. Why? You trying it out?” His grin was full of smut.
“Maybe.”
“Good on you, kid. ‘Bout time you found yourself a little fun.” He grinned again. “She’s not a relation of anyone on the team, is she?”
I got ready for my warm-up set. “No. She’s not. I just don’t want things to get complicated.” Although I wasn’t sure how they would. “We’ve been friends for ages, and I don’t want to fuck it up.”
Jesse shrugged, standing up and setting up a EZ curl bar for bicep curls. “You know her. Is she promising the benefits, or do you think she’ll want more than you're prepared to give?”
