Into The Team (18 page)

Several days of training went by and Todd found himself playing better with both Daryl and Kieran. There was little in it to make a clear choice about who seemed the more natural partner for him. Each day, he became more comfortable and had got into the “flow”, which Aiden had talked about, with both players easily.

How should he choose?  Should he side with Kieran and have done, or force some kind of intimacy with Daryl, just to see how it pans out. He didn’t feel comfortable with the idea, because he and Daryl had connected too much on the mental level.

So Todd gave up on that idea half way through the week, thinking it best to let things sort themselves out.

But on Thursday, Wayne chose to keep Todd and Daryl behind for an hour after training. He said it was to work on routines the boss had outlined. Todd wondered if his choice was going to be forced on him.

The session consisted of typical passes and tackling routines. But there was a long period where Wayne stood in goal, while either Daryl or Todd took a corner kick and the other would have to receive it and aim for the net.

Although they were tired after the morning session, they worked well. Todd scored seven after receiving ten of Daryl’s corners, and Daryl scored on ten of Todd’s. It was unrealistic having no challenging bodies in the way, but Todd figured Wayne was gauging the kicks and receives, rather than the goals.

After the hour, all three went back to the locker room.

In the showers, Todd wondered if Wayne would head for a bath afterwards. If he did, Todd could ask Daryl to take a sauna with him. He figured it would be easy for him and Daryl to relax in the sauna together without any touchy stuff going on, but he didn’t want to ask him in case Daryl assumed he was trying to force something on him. Luke’s advice about letting it happen naturally resurfaced, and he felt that was right. If it looked to Daryl like he was trying too hard, it might put Daryl off.

He rinsed his body and decided to ditch his plan. Daryl was more like a mate, perhaps becoming more of a friend, and that’s how it should stay.

He headed back to the lockers. A few seconds later, Daryl followed.

“You kicked well,” Daryl said as he dried himself.

“You too.”

“Fancy another game of chess?”

Todd stopped his drying. He liked the idea that Daryl may be eager to see if his chess skills had improved, and Todd wanted to see if they had too. He nodded.

Daryl smiled and continued drying himself.

“Hey you guys.” Wayne appeared from the showers, holding a towel in his hand. “Fancy a sauna?”

Daryl told him they were heading off for a game of chess.

“Don’t be boring.” Wayne frowned. “Chess is for grandmasters, not footballers. Come on, let’s relax for a bit.”

Daryl looked at Todd, rolled his eyes, and turned back to Wayne.

“Ok, boss,” he said with a curt tone.

Inside, they settled in the middle of the room, Wayne sat between them.

“You might be wondering why I had you taking corners just now,” he said. “It’s because the boss isn’t playing the top lads next Wednesday, so he’s told me to get a feel of who’s gonna replace them.”

Todd felt lifted. The idea he was being considered to play in place of the likes of Jason and Sean, and the midfielders, was unexpected.

“So what do you think?” he asked. “Am I playing?”

“I reckon you’ll play second half Todd.” Wayne smiled. “He thinks you’re just about ready.”

Todd grinned and gripped Wayne’s shoulder. “Fucking yeah! Tell him I am ready.”

Wayne chuckled. “Don’t get carried away. He’s not decided yet. There’s another test I want you to complete.”

“What?”

Wayne glanced to Daryl on his left. Todd couldn’t see his expression, but whatever it was, it made Daryl sigh.

“No way, not that old fucking chestnut,” he groaned.

Wayne laughed. “It’s one way to get things moving between you two,” he said. “Some of the lads say you’ve been pally but you’ve not gotten close yet.” Turning back to Todd, Wayne smirked. “You two are going to play a little game, it’s just something we’ve all done to break ice.”

Looking at his eyes, Todd could see the amused thoughts behind them, but he couldn’t work out if they were serious or not.

“This will be a waste of time,” Daryl said. “You know it doesn’t work on me.”

Wayne ignored him and continued looking at Todd.

Daryl leaned forward. “This is unfair,” he said. “You shouldn’t be pressuring him.”

Todd stared at them. Wayne’s eyes clearly showed excitement. Daryl looked cynical.

“I win every time,” Daryl persisted. “You’re giving him a hard task.”

Wayne turned to him. “You were able to win against us. But you’ve never played it with Todd before. So it’ll be good to see if you can hold your crown.”

Daryl gave him a sly look. “You’re meddling.”

“I’m not.” Wayne held his hands up. “It’s just a bit of fun.”

“You won’t prove anything.”

“I’m not trying to prove anything. I’m trying to make things easier for you both.”

Daryl shook his head and stood up. “Ok, let’s get it over with.”

Wayne looked at Todd. “Are you up for it?”

Daryl stood in front of them, tiny drops of sweat glistened his taught muscles. Todd felt intimidated. It looked like they were proposing a wrestling session. He glanced at Wayne. “What is this?”

Wayne beckoned him to stand up in front of Daryl. “You just have to do what I tell you to do,” he said. “That is all.”

Todd stood up and faced Daryl, seeing a look in his eyes that said he’d resigned himself to the coach’s wishes.

“Now,” Wayne began. “You have to stand as close as possible to Daryl, close enough to be able to smell his breath and feel it on your lips, but you can’t touch. You have to stare into his eyes, and he will stare back into yours while you position yourselves as though you’re about to kiss. The first one to smile, laugh, or back away, is the loser. Think you can manage that?”

Todd took a deep breath and kept his face straight. He imagined standing close to Daryl, wondering whether it would give him a hard-on. He didn’t feel particularly horny, and he could see Daryl wasn’t aroused either, but he didn’t want to take the risk of getting hard, even though he knew it wouldn’t matter, seeing as Wayne hadn’t specified that as a rule.

But, he was up for a challenge, and it was clear Daryl was eager to prove Wayne was wasting their time. He nodded.

To win at this game would take serious focus. And from what he’d seen of Daryl, that guy had an advantage. But he figured if he could just stop himself from laughing, he could easily stand his ground.

“Ok.” Wayne clapped his hands and sat back against the wall. “I’ll time you.” He pressed a button on his watch. “You have one minute from when I say.”

Looking at Daryl, seeing his eyes still and sedate, Todd tried to emulate the look.

“So…” Wayne looked at Todd. “Step towards him, and open your mouth a fraction. Take your lips to his, I’ll tell you when you’re close enough.” Turning to Daryl he repeated the instructions.

With sweat sliding down his arms and chest, Todd stepped towards Daryl. Their bodies met directly in front of Wayne, who watched them intently.

Todd opened his mouth the smallest amount and leaned his neck forward. As he and Daryl drew close, his nose filled with the warm scent of Daryl’s breath. It was a heavy heat, almost physical in the way it touched his lips. Not unpleasant.

“Ok,” Wayne said. “That’s close enough. The time starts…now.”

With mouths open, heads angled slightly, their lips were only millimeters from touching.  The heat from Daryl’s body pressed the skin down Todd’s chest and thighs. His back and buttocks felt cold by comparison.

He tried to count the seconds down in his head, maintaining a straight face while focusing on Daryl’s eyes, which at this distance were like two glowing marbles. His heart pounded in his chest, almost deafening to his brain, but he tried not to listen and continued to count down as sweat dropped from his hair onto his eyebrows.

Being told the rule about what couldn’t be done – just the simple act of smiling or laughing – seemed to make it all the more harder to resist doing that very thing, and Todd found himself thinking funny things every other moment. The situation seemed too ridiculous not to laugh at. But he tried to keep as straight lipped as Daryl and maintain eye contact.

The heat from Daryl’s breath stroked his lips and fanned over his cheeks. They were soft, sparse breaths, as if Daryl was trying to hold them in, and each one that came seemed hotter than the last. The longer the seconds went on, the more Todd liked it, and he began to imagine what those lips in front of him would feel like against his own.

Fuck! They look so kissable. Why not just reach your lips forward and give the gentlest of touches. Wayne gave no rule about lips touching, did he?…and just because Daryl’s the same sex as you doesn’t mean you can’t…

“That’s good,” Wayne said. “Five, four, three, two, one. You can relax for a moment.”

In unison, Todd and Daryl exhaled and stepped back.

“For round two we step up the pressure,” Wayne said. “So when I say, you both do the same thing as before, but each of you has to place a hand on the other’s hip.”

Daryl turned to him with an unimpressed look. “You’re doing this to turn yourself on.”

Wayne laughed. “You’re both too good for this. It looks like you’ve met your match Daryl. So we’ve got no choice but to up the pressure.”

Daryl smirked. “You think putting a hand on the hip is going to up the pressure? You’ve seen what I can take.”

Wayne raised an eyebrow. “Very well, instead of on the hip, you have to place it around the hip and rest it on each other’s butt cheek, fingertips at the crack.”

Daryl chuckled, appearing unfazed by the idea. “I bet I can do it.”

“We’ll see.” Wayne winked and glanced at Todd. “What do you say? Do you reckon you can have your hand on his ass for a minute?”

Todd wanted to laugh but suppressed it. He wanted to show Daryl he could be just as unaffected. “I’m sure I can.”

Wayne checked his watch. “Ok. Take positions.”

Moving close again, their lips parted and placed within a breath of the others, Todd cleared his head and focused on getting through the next minute.

“Hands,” Wayne reminded.

Todd reached his left hand around Daryl’s hips and made contact with his butt cheek. It was a hard butt and right now it was hot. He slid into place, feeling his fingertips dipping into an even hotter place. Daryl’s fingers slid over Todd’s right buttock.

“Time starts now,” Wayne said.

From the moment he said those words, Todd started counting. There was nothing more focusing than doing a countdown and he was determined to ride out the minute without laughing or backing away. And so what if he had his hand on Daryl’s butt, he’d had his cock under Kieran’s butt in here just last week.

He tried not to think of that. He was up to
fifty, forty-nine, forty-eight
….

But that moment Kieran grabbed his cock and shoved it between his butt cheeks flared in his mind like an unsilenced alarm. And try as he did, he couldn’t prevent the precursor to arousal that would harden his cock.

Forty-one, forty, thirty-nine
…
.

Daryl’s cheeks dripped sweat; his hair clung to his head. His eyelashes, coated in tiny drops, glistened like dew on a spring morning, appearing new and fresh enough to quench a winter long thirst.

Todd couldn’t help but be aware of his hand, where it was placed, and his brain issued signals, demanding he slip it further.

Oh yeah, just let those fingertips in, let them reach into his crack and be sealed by his tight butt
.

Twenty-five, twenty-four
…
.

His cock had grown. Only a touch, but it would be showing to Wayne. And Todd was certain if it grew any more it would make contact with Daryl’s, which he could bet his last penny would be limp and unconcerned about where it’s owners hand was placed.

Seventeen, sixteen
….

He focused on nothing, nothing but the numbers, which seemed to take an eternity to pass by.

His ass crack is yours, just dip in Todd
.

Twelve, eleven
….

Kieran loved your cock, Daryl will love it too. Let it go, let it rise. Let it meet his halfway and just fuck this game of chicken and you can both jerk each other’s rods until hot jizz fires all over your stomachs
.

Seven, six
…

Just seconds to go and you’ll have to take your hand away from his ass. You may never get to touch it again. Let yourself have just one little rub, let your palm explore the hard muscle
…

“Three, two, one.” Wayne let out a huge sigh. “I don’t fucking believe it.”

As Todd backed away, his hand instinctively covered his cock and balls. It was aroused but behaving. His focus had been enough.