Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

RIO

Sweat drips down my back causing my jersey to stick to my torso as I dribble the ball across the pitch, passing to a team mate as soon as they're open. Once the ball is in their possession, they fire it at the net and earn us another point.

Cheerleaders and our giant koala mascot, Kerrington, get the crowd going with a chant as our team gets back into position. I'm subbed out for a couple of minutes to get a drink and to calm my racing heart.

"Is that a new mascot?" I ask BooBoo, who's sitting on the bench with me.

Whoever is in the mascot costume today seems more energetic than they normally are, but maybe they had more energy drinks today.

"I think so. Brent got arrested last week, and they needed to replace him. Evangeline is here and she only hangs around when newbies are being trained," he points out, and I lean forward to get a better look at the mascot and cheer squad.

Just like BooBoo said, Evangeline is standing with the cheer coach watching the Koala intently.

"Any word on who the rookie is?" I ask.

"Nope and I didn't see them getting ready either," he informs me.

The mascots have their own changing area since a few of the people are girls and it wouldn't be right for them to have to share our locker room. While the identity of who is inside Kerrington the Koala isn't general public knowledge, all the athletes at GSU are usually friendly with the mascot team.

I return my attention to the pitch just in time to witness our team score again. I stand up and cheer before glancing back at the sidelines to see the Koala do a backflip in celebration. We don't always have the mascot at our games like the football team does, but when we do, it's always entertaining. Whoever the new mascot member is, they are a ball of energy.

Coach signals that it's my turn to get back in the game and like I always do, I put all my focus on the task at hand.

With a giant smile on my face, I get into position. I love soccer so much that it almost sucks this is my last season playing at a level like this. Nothing ever brought me the kind of joy soccer does. I was worried about losing my passion once I graduate, but thankfully, I have teaching to look forward to now.

I move my body weight from foot to foot, scanning the pitch, waiting for the ball to get in motion and for the play to start. The outside world, the cheers from the crowd, looming graduation, where I'm going to live, and everything that has been taking up space in my brain begins to fade away, and all I see is the here and now on this field. Nothing else matters at this moment.

Once the ball is moving, I spring into motion while my teammate steals the ball and dribbles it down the pitch toward our opponent's net. I stay close, trying to make sure no one steals the ball.

It doesn't take long for an opponent to steal the ball, but I'm ready for him, pumping my legs as hard as they will go. The smell of sweat and turf fills my nostrils as I breathe in deeply. A cocky smirk spreads across my lips as I run straight toward my opponent and, at the last second, twist and kick the ball through his feet before racing around him to dribble the ball back in the direction we were heading moments ago.

With my focus so intently on the game, I didn't notice the clock ticking down, and when the crowd starts counting down, I know it's now or never to score the last goal of the game. Even though I'm not as close as I'd like to be, I have a clear path to the net, so I draw my leg back, using all my power to send the ball sailing. I keep my eyes on the ball, holding my breath until it lands in the net. At the goal I throw my hands up, celebrating the perfect shot. The crowd roars loudly; it's almost deafening, but it has me grinning from ear to ear.

"What a fucking shot!" BooBoo shouts, bumping his shoulder into mine.

I shoot him a cocky smile, but my attention is quickly pulled from my friend to the overly energetic Koala, who is now on the main field celebrating our win with the cheerleaders and the rest of the team. After a few backflips, the mascot makes his way over to me, lifting my arm like I won a wrestling match or something. My natural instinct is to pull away, but the fans begin to cheer even louder, obviously loving the interaction, so I play along, throwing my other arm up too.

"Don't steal all the glory, hotshot. It was a team effort," Whiley teases, and I wrap my free arm around his shoulder.

"Aww, is someone feeling left out?" I joke back, laughing when he sticks his tongue out at me.

Kerrington eventually drops my arm, going back to join the cheerleaders for another dance routine. I wonder who is under the mask. The mysterious new mascot seems to be holding the crowd's attention much better than normal. I can't help but stare at him, but I have no idea why. I've never paid much attention to the giant koala before, so why is it holding my attention today?

After celebrating on the field, I head to the locker room with my team to have our debriefing with Coach. Thankfully, I stop thinking about the koala, that is until I'm walking down the hall and hear singing coming from the mascot changing room. An alluring baritone voice flutters out the door, causing my feet to stop and take in the beautiful singing.

"Kerrington can dance and sing," BooBoo notes, startling me which makes my heart race.

"When did you start walking so quietly?" I chastise him and he has the audacity to laugh.

"I didn't, your head was just too far in the clouds as you got lost in the voice of our new Koala," he replies.

I roll my eyes. "I'm tired. It has nothing to do with the new mascot."

BooBoo pats me on the shoulder. "Sure thing." His tone tells me he doesn't actually believe me, but I'm not going to stand here and argue with him further.

"Are you going to Whiley's party?" I ask, walking away from the hypnotizing voice of the new mascot, whoever they are.

"Obviously," BooBoo tells me with a toothy grin. "What kind of party animal would I be if I stayed home?"

I chuckle. BooBoo got his nickname at a party his first weekend at GSU last year. He was beyond drunk, even though he was only eighteen, but that isn't abnormal at a college party. He smashed his leg into a coffee table and immediately fell to the ground, clutching the limb to his chest, asking everyone around him to kiss his booboo better. The nickname stuck instantly. I'm pretty sure he'll never live it down, but that doesn't seem to upset him. In fact, I'm pretty sure he secretly loves the nickname because it's so unique. A lot better than Robert Hetterton, his real name. It's also much better than how I got my nickname, but no one really knows that story anymore, and that makes me happy.

"Make sure to keep it tame," I remind him like I do every time there's a party. "You're still underage. The last thing we need is you getting benched because you were being an idiot."

BooBoo is one of our best players. It would totally fuck things up if he couldn't play.

"Yes, Dad," he grumbles.

I get that being young sucks, and he just wants to fit in, but you don't need to get drunk to do that. At least, I never did. But I'm not him, and I don't know what it's like inside his head, so I keep my mouth shut. We've already had a conversation about him staying sober, so if he wants to risk it, it's up to him.

"Are you coming?" he checks, and I shake my head.

"My roommates planned a movie night to help cheer up, Sasha, who hasn't had the best of luck the past couple of weeks," I explain.

He nods in understanding. "It's good to have your friend's backs when you can."

When we get to the parking lot, we head in opposite directions, and I don't take any detours on my way home, hoping I'm not the last person to arrive.

"Sasha here yet?" I check when I enter the apartment.

"Not yet," Monster informs me. "Apparently, he landed himself a new job, but he won't tell me what it is." He pauses with furrowed brows. "You don't think he's stripping, do you?"

"Would it be a problem if he was?" I check, tilting my head to the side.

Monster presses his lips together obviously thinking it over before shaking his head. "I guess not. I just don't want to see him getting hurt. He's a good guy."

I smile at how caring my giant friend is. You'd think that a man his size would be an intimidating menace, but he's totally a softy.

"Sasha can take care of himself," I remind him.

"I'm aware of that, but I also have gotten to know Sasha pretty well over the last year, and he doesn't always think things through. What if he started stripping because he knows he's an amazing dancer but didn't think about the clientele he would be serving?"

"Maybe he got hired at the high-end 2SLGBTQIA+ night club on the outskirts of town. It's a members only club, and they do intensive background checks. At least, that's what I heard. Also, everyone that works there has to sign NDAs. Maybe that's why he can't talk about it," I supply, not really thinking that Sasha got a job as a stripper, but if he did, Waterfalls would definitely be a place suited for him.

"Isn't that a sex club?" Monster questions, and I laugh at how wide his eyes have gotten.

"Yes, but that's not all it is. You can just go there to dance and have a good time like any nightclub, or you can take in a strip tease on one of the stages. There's also areas where people put on full nudity shows if you know what I'm saying," I tell him and wink at the end.

He gasps. "You mean people have sex on stage?"

"Yes, and others masturbate to it in the audience," I add. "But if you don't want to participate in something like that, you don't have to. All the areas of the club are separate."

"Why did you sign up for a club like that if you're demisexual?" he asks without any judgment in his tone, just pure curiosity.

"Just because I don't want to have sex with someone I haven't developed a close connection with doesn't mean I don't want to dance and have a good time. I've actually had some of the best nights there because the club provides special bracelets to symbolize a bunch of different things. I wear one that broadcasts I'm demi and not looking to hook up. People respect that and I'm able to let loose without the fear that someone is going to try and pressure me into something I'm not comfortable with. The club is huge on consent, and if anyone goes against the rules, they get banned."

Monster is silent for a moment as he takes in what I just said. "That sounds really cool. Do you think you could help me become a member? I'd like to check it out."

"When you're twenty-one, I'll be happy to help you," I tell him, and he sighs.

"Being young sucks," he grumbles.

"Getting old is worse," Sasha tells him, and I quickly turn to see the vibrant twink entering our apartment.

"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" I check with a raised brow.

He waves me off while closing the door behind him. "Why would I have to do such a thing? This is practically my second home."

Sasha has been spending a lot of time at our apartment, and I'll admit that he's been growing on me over the past year, but I'll never let him know that. As far as he knows, his mere presence annoys me, and I just put up with him. And to be honest that was true for a long time. He was too over the top for my liking, and I just thought he was a playboy who didn't care about anything. As I got to know him better, I realized that wasn't true, but at the same time, I kept up my charade of not caring about him. I'll never tell him that I admire his sweet and caring side. The way he takes care of his neighbors who can't take care of themselves, like mowing their lawns or tending to their gardens, with no expectation of getting anything in return. I've started to see under his over-the-top personality to the person he really is, which is a good guy.

"That's weird. I haven't seen your name on the rental agreement," I tell him, keeping up the charade.

Sasha rolls his eyes, then pulls Monster in for a hug. "Why are you wanting to grow up so fast?"

Monster's cheeks turn an adorable shade of pink, and he shrugs. "No reason," he mumbles.

"We were talking about Waterfalls," I inform Sasha, and his eyes light up with a mischievous joy.

"I love that place," he gushes. "I was really hoping they would be hiring when the dance academy got flooded, but unfortunately, they weren't."

"So your new job isn't a stripper?" Monster blurts out.

Sasha throws his head back, letting out a hearty laugh that wraps its way around me, caressing me like a lover would. Goosebumps erupt over my arms, and my cock stirs the tiniest amount. I almost gasp at the sudden feeling. Since when have I ever reacted this way to someone's laugh?

Sasha sighs at Monster, thankfully not paying me any attention. My face is suddenly hot and probably a bright shade of red, so I quickly head down the hall, making a beeline for the bathroom. I need a moment to compose myself and figure out what is going on.

Things have been changing since the night he randomly popped into my thoughts as a potential partner, and I don't know what to do about it. How is it that I've gotten comfortable enough with Sasha to develop an attraction to him? Of all people to develop a sexual attraction to, why does it have to be the playboy who was the most annoying person when I first met him?