Just for Me: A Rugby Romance by Rosalind James

Author:Rosalind James [James, Rosalind]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bellbird Publishing
Published: 2023-09-05T16:00:00+00:00

15

A HARD BARGAIN

“All right,” Hayden said, when they were out on the pavement again. Time to assert himself. “Why? That’s my regular Saturday morning class, for your information. My support group, you could say. The crème de la crème of queer Auckland, we like to think, and are they ever going to have questions. Also, I think you just outed yourself,” he told Kane.

Kane looked startled. “No, I didn’t. I said we were your trainers.”

“Excuse me,” Hayden said. “Nobody is going to believe that.”

“Oh.” Kane digested that for a moment. “Good thing I don’t live in Auckland, then.”

Hayden wanted to tell him that Christchurch wasn’t exactly halfway around the globe and that Kane wasn’t exactly anonymous, given that he was probably pushing six foot eight, had biceps like young trees, and wore black-rimmed specs, but he didn’t. He was still embarrassed as hell, he was narky, and he was confused. When Luke had snatched that barbell away … he didn’t know what he’d felt.

They hadn’t even slept together!

Kane said, “Well, I’ll be shoving off. See you at the airport tomorrow.”

Hayden didn’t say goodbye. Neither did Luke. He was still looking like a baffled and enraged bull. Possibly mostly baffled, but how could you tell? Luke said, when Kane was gone, “Your place, or my hotel. Choose.”

“No,” Hayden said.

“No?” Definitely a baffled bull.

“You can’t just haul me out of there and expect me to go with you! Where’d you go to relationship school? No.”

“Oh.” Luke seemed to consider that. “OK. What do we do, then?”

Hayden sighed. “My place. I need home turf.”

“OK.” Luke set off, then, seeming to realize Hayden wasn’t with him, turned back. “Not good to walk?”

Hayden put both hands to his head. Not because it hurt, though it did, a bit. Because he wanted to laugh, and he also wanted to scream. “You are not in charge here,” he informed Luke.

“Oh.” Luke considered that. “Reckon I’m used to being in charge.”

“I noticed.”

“Right,” Luke said. “I wait for you to start walking, or what?”

“Well,” Hayden said, “that would be one idea.”

Luke did it. You had to give him credit. He didn’t talk, though. Not all the way up Beach Road, not through the lobby, not up in the lift, not down the passage to the apartment door. By the time Hayden was putting his key in the lock, he was so wound up, he was shaking.

They went inside, George came pelting up, meowing as if he’d been alone for days, and Hayden dropped his workout bag and said, “Say something.”

Luke said, “I thought I was meant to not be in charge.”

Hayden was sweaty. He was hot, because it had been sunny out there, and the class had felt extra hard. He was also nervous. Luke had sweated, too, because the back of his T-shirt was soaked, and his biceps and thighs were pumped like he’d blown them up. He was giving off pheromones and testosterone like he’d cornered the market, and he didn’t look nervous at all.

Hayden gave it up, stepped into him, pulled down his head, and kissed him.

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