Chapter 5

I dropped down on the locker room bench and quickly tried to do up my laces but my hands were shaking so much I had to stop and take a deep breath before I continued. I didn’t know if it was because I was team captain but I was always nervous before a big game.

Today was the finals, we had to win otherwise it would feel as though all our training had been for nothing. A chorus of laughter went up and I looked to the source; Grady stood across the room joking around with the other guys; he, as always was calm; nothing ever bothered him and I just had to admire him for that.

It was five minutes till warm up and then it was game time. I stuffed my  things into my locker and shut it then turned to face the group, some were off by themselves, mentally preparing for the match in their own way while others, much like the group before me, were joking around as a way to calm themselves.

I looked at my mate; at his laughing face, at his beautiful body and shook my head; he still hadn’t told me what had happened to him that night last week and I had decided to just drop it.

I knew I could find out on my own what he did whenever he disappeared, I mean I was after all my pack’s expert tracker, but it just felt wrong to spy on him, he should be the one to want to tell me I shouldn’t try to force it out of him.

‘Come on guys, it’s game time!” I announced and what sounded like a battle cry went up in the room. I had given my speech earlier and so all we had left to do was go out there and play our best.

………………………

I stole the ball out from between his legs and shifted it from foot to foot as I ran. I feinted to the right out of the way of the oncoming defender and upped my speed all the while looking around for someone to pass it over to.

I was way too far to score and this was the one goal we needed to win, at the moment it was a draw with about a minute left in the game. We couldn’t make this run into a penalty shootout.

“Come on, come on” I chanted to myself as I dodged the other players and continued scoping out the field for a team mate; Nick was up front to the left with David close by him but if I could bypass the two guys coming at me I would have a clear shot to Steven and he’d be able to score. Easy win.

 I heard Nick screaming my name to pass over the ball to him but I continued on the path I’d chosen. I twisted around the oncoming player with the ball still dribbling between my legs, then managed to jump over the leg of the other guy as he tried to trip me with a  quick half slide.

After some crazy footwork I slammed the side of my foot into the soccer ball just before I fell chest first into the wet grass and rolled, my head jerking up to watch the play.

 My rain soaked hair slapped into my face and I flashed my head, my eyes peeling wide open so I could see how it would play out. The ball went exactly where I directed it and I watched with my heart lodged in my throat as Steven received the ball and wasted no time in directing it straight into the goal. My heart skipped a beat.

A roar went up in the crowd and I could hear the cleats pounding into the ground around me as my team mates ran to Steven’s side and hoisted him up into the air. I jumped up from where I had fallen, cheering my heart out at our victory and found myself running to meet up with the others. Hands clapped me on the back and shoulder and ruffled my soaking wet hair as we jumped and cheered.

We won! We won!” the voices around me shouted and I raised my voice along with theirs. The euphoria built inside me and spilled over as I cheered with my team mates. The rain and the wind didn’t matter, the dirt that caked our skins didn’t matter and our cuts and bruises didn’t matter. We won the finals! We won! And the crowd went wild.

………………………………………….

“So Grady who you jumping tonight?” Tony shouted from across the room. He was one of the few sober players in the crowded room.

“Haha the way I feel I could fuck the whole world!” Grady shouted back before bursting into a fit of giggles. I watched as he held his bottle to his head and poured its contents down his throat but some escaped and dribbled down his chin as he once again lost his footing and fell into the lumpy couch.

The room erupted into laughter at his antics and I joined in as well, taking a swig at my beer.

The party had been in full swing for a good three hours now and showed no signs of letting up. Spirits were high all around because we’d won the championships three years in a row, that was a big deal for us and I knew nothing could get me down.

“So Thomas what do you think? Back to my place tonight? My parents won’t be home till Sunday.” The girl on my lap said, I think her name was Monique but I wasn’t quite sure. I’d sat down a few minutes earlier and she’d found herself on top of me. I shifted her closer so that her faces were only inches apart and offered her one of my signature smiles, then watched as her heart all but leapt into her eyes.

I knew I shouldn’t tease when I had no intention of following through but I figured this was the one night for me to break all the rules, do stupid shit and to hell with the consequences. We’d won the big game! I felt ten feet tall.

“I wanna thank coach for being a fucking pain in my ass” hiccup “heck all our asses, ” Grady slurred to the group. This time he’d found himself in the centre of the crowd and was standing on top of the coffee table.

Then he turned and gestured to the girl sitting on the couch with her feet bent underneath her. “And I wanna thank you for being so hot!” he said with a lopsided grin, “we could’na done it without ya!” he said again and we all burst out laughing.

“Somebody shut that boy up please!” Darnell, another team member shouted over and I watched in amusement as Nick reached up and grabbed his hand pulling him off the coffee table and back into the couch.

“So what do you say Thomas, I promise you won’t regret it.” My lap mate said with a coy smile, then she rubbed herself on me a bit and brought her hand up to run her fingers through my hair.

“No Thomas take me home I promise you’ll regret it!” Grady spoke up again.

When he was this drunk he went from crazy to downright insane but everybody still loved him for it. Grady could get a laugh out of anyone, drunk or not, hence his title; Mr. Popular and for whatever reason, I held that title right up there with him.

“He’s right I’ll have to drag his sorry ass home.” I told her with a fake pout, then even allowed her to kiss my lips before I stood up with her in my arms and set her down again.

It was time to go anyway, we’d been here practically the whole night, I was sure Grady was tired and I had pack responsibilities in the morning.

“Come one dumbass, time to go home.” I said dragging Grady up into a standing position.

“See ya guys.” I called and returning calls went up.

“Where you going dude? The party’s just getting started!” Grady said as I pulled him out the door.

“We’re going home before you kill somebody.” I teased with a smirk then reached over and grabbed the bottle from his hand, chucking it onto the grass and loading him up into my car.

I strapped him in and shook my head as I caught him watching my face, his eyes looking all glazed and innocent.

“Don’t take me home.” he said to me when I entered the car and I shook my head with a grin.

“Grady the party’s almost done, there’s no way you can get anymore drunk than you already are, so I’m taking you home.” I told him, then started up the car and maneuvered it out of David’s drive way.

“No I mean don’t take me home, don’t take me home to her.’ He said again.

I smirked, “Dude it’s okay, her boyfriend isn’t there this week remember?” I said then turned onto the road that would take him to his house.

“No take me to your place, don’t take me home…please.” He said again and I would have shrugged it off as the alcohol talking but something in his voice made me look at him and my breath caught at the seriousness of his expression and the intensity of his stare despite his alcohol induced haze. My eyes narrowed.

“Why not?” I asked him, worried now.

He stared at me with that same intensity for a few seconds more then burst into a fit of giggles and in no time he was back to his drunken crazy self. Starting up a tune, then cutting it short and starting up another.

I didn’t even bother asking why he didn’t want to go home, but something told me I should just turn the car around and take him to my place for the night…and so I did.

……………………………

“Jesus Grady will you keep still!” I said exasperated.

Jeez when the guy was drunk he was just all over the place. I grabbed his foot again and quickly dragged off his other boot before he could get up again.

“That girl was hot wasn’t she Thomas?” he asked but I chose not to answer, instead I quickly pulled off his pants and threw it into a nearby chair and then straightened up with a sigh of relief.

I had to admit that sometimes I actually liked when he got drunk because then he showed more of himself, he was all touchy feely like a huge teddy bear and almost needy, sorta like a child. Times like these he made me feel needed and even though he was a pain in my ass it felt kinda nice when he needed me.

“Don’t you think she was hot Thomas?” he asked again with a drunken chuckle.

“Yeah Grady she was hot.” I placated him then turned to leave the room.

“I don’t think she was hot…not like you.” He spoke again.

“You’re more drunk than I thought.” I shook my head and tuned out the lights intending to go straight to bed. It had been a crazy night.

“Don’t you want to hear why I don’t want to go home?” he called out to me .

For a moment I thought about just ignoring him and going to my room but I’d heard that usually what a person said when they were drunk was the truth and if I wanted the answer to that question, now was the time to get it since there was no way he would tell me when he was sober.

He liked to keep everything bottled up. So I turned and went right back into his room, leaning against the door frame and squinting at him through the darkness.

“Ok tell me.” I said.

“You gotta come over here so I can tell you.” he said and I could hear the grin in his voice.

 I walked over to him and sat down on the bed at his side.

“Alright now te-“ To my shock I didn’t even get to finish my sentence as Grady pulled me  down onto the bed and in no time his lips were on mine. I was so shocked at first that all I could do was lie there as he kissed me.

 Then when I got over that initial surprise I didn’t push him away like I should have. I felt myself returning the kiss, first tentatively then more enthusiastically. I knew he was drunk, I knew he probably wouldn’t remember this in the morning and had no idea what he was doing now but I couldn’t help myself. My mate’s lips were the sweetest I’d ever tasted. His heat flowed over me in waves and I found myself lost in his drunken touch.

‘I should stop this I should stop this’ the thought whirled through my mind over and over again but the very feel of my mate, doing exactly what I’d been dreaming of for so long was my undoing and so as I pulled the shirt over his head and flipped him over so that I was hovering over him as I plunged deeper into the kiss, all thoughts of consequences flew and I no longer cared what would happen in the morning I was too lost in what was happening right then and there.

                                            AUTHOR'S NOTES

I KNOW IT'S SHORT AND DEFINITELY RUSHED BUT I'VE BEEN BUSY SORTING OUT SCHOOL STUFF AND THOSE OF YOU WHO GO TO COLLEGE KNOW HOW CRAZY IT CAN GET...SORRY GUYS...I WAS GETTING TIRED OF PUTTING OFF UPLOADING THIS CHAP SO I JUST CUT IT SHORT BUT THE NEXT CHAP WILL DEF BE LONG AND DETAILED SO NO WORRIES.

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO SENT ME BIRTHDAY WISHES I REALLY APPRECIATED THAT AND I ENJOYED MY DAY  :)....

sHoUT oUT: To JanJanSmylez..thanks for reading and commenting..really appreciate your support!!

-DoUbLe.A

-unedited