Unexpected Liaisons - 12. Time To Tell

Zander had needed to go back home to get fresh clothes and grab his gear for their trip to the sports complex. Zupan had almost asked to accompany him, but had bitten his tongue, and thought better of it. He wanted to be in the same room as the skinny blond boy, preferably touching him, at all times. But he was smart enough to realise that that sort of possessiveness would spell trouble, plus he didn’t really know what he was doing half the time.

Zander hadn’t managed to coax him into the shower, but had used his wet room without questions about the gear in there, pissed in the toilet and done his teeth with Zupan’s toothbrush with the door open. Zander apparently had no shame, but had swatted him when he’d reached for his naked behind, and danced away with a cheeky sexy little smile. Zupan felt like he was spinning in circles in his head. But Zander had said that he would meet him at the sports centre, so Zupan gathered his gear, stuffed everything he thought he might need in his chair-rucksack and wheeled himself down to the centre.

During the season, the sport’s centre had them keep their murderball chairs at the gym, and it was nice to be able to simply roll down there rather than take the car with both chairs in it. Some of the rest of the guys from the team were mucking about in their road chairs in the car park, flinging a half deflated football about between them.

“Hey Zupaaan!” Zu caught the ball as he freewheeled down the slope, “Dude, what up?” Dan raised a hand, his only one, in a wave and Zupan chucked the ball back as he braked to a halt.

“Hey buddy,” Zupan nodded to the other members of the training squad, “Everything’s good.”

“We hear you got a new squeeze Zu,” Jay said with a grin. He clunked when he rolled, because his false arms tapped on the rims of his wheels. It took all sorts to make a good murderball squad. “Who’s the lucky girl?”

Zupan glared at him.

“And who told you?”

“Max in weight training,” Dan replied, “Said you looked like you’d been in a rather pleasant fight with a tiger.”

“Go on Zu,” Rob chided in, “Kiss and tell.” Rob was the next most-able guy on the team and had a three-point-oh rating, which meant that he and Zupan never actually played together in matches since there wouldn’t be enough left over points for two other players. Zupan knuckled him on the arm as he rolled past into the centre.

“Zupan’s keeping secrets!” Dan sing-songed as he followed in.

“And you know better than to bait him about it,” Jay chipped in, “You know he’ll flatten you.”

“Ay up,” Todd braked in a way that made Zupan swerve around him, “Who’s this then?”

Zander was leaning against the wall in the reception area with one foot on the wall behind him, playing with his phone and looking drop dead gorgeous. Zupan doubted that his new boyfriend owned anything approaching gym gear, and the blond had gone for a sort of adorable wintery look with white straight leg jeans, chunky high top trainers and a thick bottle green open necked knitted sweater. He grinned, biting the side of his lower lip, and when he swallowed Zupan couldn’t take his eyes off the narrow column of his throat and the clean visible lines of his collar bones.

“Hey,” Zupan’s mouth was dry as sandpaper, but he couldn’t help himself as he closed most of distance between them, “You found us OK then?”

“I have been here before you know,” Zander’s smile became much broader, and he took four long strides, put his hands on the arm rests of Zupan’s chair and kissed him full on the mouth. Somehow he still tasted of the colour pink.

“Duude…” Rob’s appreciative whistle broke them from the kiss, “Zupan... You’re full of surprises today.”

And there it was: the moment when Zupan realised that there was no way he could explain away anything his teammates had seen, coupled with the knowledge that he didn’t want to. That was the moment he knew he was in love.

“Guys,” Zupan still hadn’t taken his eyes off Zander’s smiling face, “This is Zan. He’s my…” And then the words failed him.

Zander grinned and dropped into his lap. He weighed next to nothing.

“I’m his. Boyfriend,” he clarified over Zupan’s shoulder, “So you guys can scrape your jaws off the floor once you’re done staring at my arse ‘kay?” He wrapped his arms around Zupan’s neck. “Lead the way.”

Zupan wheeled them away from his team and into the centre. Zander tickled the back of his neck and kissed the space behind his ear.

“Babe?”

“Yes?”

“Did I…? I mean, are you OK with what I said to them?” Zander nipped up as they reached the main doors into the old basketball court. He held the door open with his body, watching Zupan.

“Yeah,” The big man realised that he sounded unsure, even to himself, “Yes. I was going to, but… my words… sort of… vanished.” Zupan un-hooked his bag from the back of his chair and cast about the hall. The coaches were there already, couple of people’s friends and girlfriends, others chatting and having pre game snacks and drinks as an assistant wheeled out the game chairs. Each of them was different, personal, made especially for the ability of the guy who sat in it and the position that he played. Zupan felt stronger in his game chair. He wanted to feel stronger right now. “Look I need to tell you something.” Too fast too soon, his inner voice went, You’re going to scare him off.

“What?” Zander was smiling, his fingers scraping the knotted cord of his sports bag, “Am I allowed to be here?”

“Yes. Of course,” Zupan saw the head coach walking towards them. “I love you Zan.”

Zander’s pink lips went slack in surprise, there was the beginning of a word, and then the boys turned up and Zupan got hauled off by general agreement to go and do his thing.

Training went quicker than it ever had before and Zupan did what he always wanted to do and left every shred of talent he had out on the court. He went in for every tackle, over turned any man he could, and showed himself to be the player than international teams were scared of pissing off. The coach and other players were proud of him, and dripping with sweat and completely knackered Zupan rolled off the court and discovered his new favourite way to finish training.

Zander kissed him, smiled then shook his head.

“You smell like man.”

“Thanks?”

“You rocked out there.” Zander got up and glanced about, “Does this mean we can go swimming now?” Zander was smiling again, wiggling his eyebrows, “I want see you in your suit.”

They were half way in the pool changing rooms before Zupan finally got up the nerve to ask Zander what had been playing on his mind.

“About what I said before…”

“Yes babe?” All innocent smiles, Zupan could see the memory of where that innocent smile led too. He cursed his anatomy, because swimming with a hard on was not such a tempting idea.

“When I said I loved you…”

Zander kissed him.

“I ain’t telling you pretty things in a room that smells like sweat and chlorine,” He started pulling his jumper over his head, flashing that lovely washboard stomach, “Now how quickly did you say you could undressed?”