by H J Perry
"I didn't tell any of them," said Carlos. Taking hold of Harry's other hand and pulling him close. "But I think they must have guessed."
He wanted to kiss Harry's lips. He'd not had nearly enough time alone with Harry; not enough time for kissing.
"I meant other people. The football club, my family, the public. Your family definitely knows. Your mom already told me."
Harry shivered. It was cold in the bedrooms, away from the central fireplace.
"She did?" Carlos let go of the hands so that he could wrap his arms around Harry, get really close to him. So close that even if their lips weren't touching, nothing could pass between their bodies.
"Yes, as soon I met her she told me you're crazy about me."
"Good God. Can't a man have a conversation and trust his mother's confidence." Crinkled surrounded his eyes as he smiled. "It's true I've been crazy about you for months, and that's why I made it my job to become your shadow. I did tell you that ages ago; I didn't just dream this up yesterday. But, I didn't tell her anything either."
"No. You didn't need to; she worked it out. Apparently, it's the way you talk about me. In just the same way as Jason noticed the way you look at me." Harry bit his lip and looked away.
"Jason has talked to you about me?" Carlos wondered. It was not unreasonable that these guys talk to each other after all Harry and Jason were once neighbors.
"I shouldn't have said anything. It's awkward. Jason has said a few things to Scott and Scott's put two and two together."
"So it's true what they say about him. Him being a mathematical genius."
Harry appeared even more lovely when he laughed. He'd laughed a lot that night. Harry and Peter were an attentive audience to the noisy Garcia family who competed for attention, with their jokes and stories.
The laugh turned into a stifled yawn.
"Sorry if I'm keeping you up. But I didn't tell my mom anything, she obviously read between the lines. And as she already has one gay son, maybe she recognized the signs."
"I'm sorry," Harry said with another yawn.
"You don't have to sleep in this room with me, Harry." Carlos wanted him to stay but didn't want him to feel under pressure.
"I want to. I've spent years of my life sleeping alone, and they'll be lots of times in the future sleeping in hotels the night before a game. If it's all the same to you, I'd like to stay right here with you."
"It's not all the same to me, Harry, it's perfect. And a wise choice. It get's cold in the night and we may need to snuggle up."
The excessive food and drink and the lateness of the hour along with a comfortable bed should have seen them both asleep within minutes. But laying next to each other in the dark and without clothes. Sleep wasn't going to happen. They both knew that.
Initially, they lay side-by-side on their backs. Tentatively touching each other with the fingers that were closest. After a very short while, first Harry and then Carlos turned onto his side. They were face to face.
Carlos reached up to trail his fingers over Harry's chest. Experiencing the rise and fall with each breath. Noting the firm pecs and soft wiry hair; so different to a woman's, so masculine and, because it was Harry, so damned sexy.
Carlos would rather sacrifice sleep at night than miss a minute enjoying alone time with Harry.
The fingers continued, lightly passing over the flat stomach and made contact with the hard cock beside it. The hard wet dick. A string of precum leaking toward the bed. Carlos enjoyed the sound of the whimper when he wrapped his fingers around Harry's dick. The precum acted as lube, as Carlos slipped his palm up and down the shaft.
"Fuck, Carlos. I want…"
"What?"
What ever it was Harry couldn't say it. He moved his head forward to lock their mouths together in a hungry kiss and his hands eagerly seized hold of Carlos's dick. With a rough and eager enthusiasm that delighted.
"I want you, Harry. Want everything with you."
He couldn't not do it. Firmly, he pushed Harry over onto his back so that Carlos was atop. Their mouths connected. Their legs locked together. And in all, there was little space between them. Harry pinned below moaned and writhed, thrusting up against Carlos who in turn rutted against the man below him.
He couldn't not thrust against Harry's stomach. Their cocks trapped between them. Pre-cum lubing them into slippery heaven.
Harry's hand forced its way between their bodies and grasped at Carlos's dick with the most spectacularly satisfying grip. And, Oh My God. Harry had hold of both their dicks. Together. It felt like better than sex. Carlos had to watch, too. Lifting himself up. Because it looked better than porn. Better than all the times he'd watched his own dick doing some fucking fun, good stuff. Here he was watching his own dick. And Harry's dick. Having fucking fun. And. Fuck.
"I want you, Harry. I fucking love you so much. I'm gonna..."
He did.
They both did.
They cleaned up. They kissed. Only for one moment, Carlos wondered if he should've said what he did. I love you. But he'd said it, and it was true.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
January 2013
HARRY
The sound. Unmistakable. No need to look.
Chris Stutter, the agent; Harry had given him a unique ring tone shortly after their first conversation of the year in January. The weeks had gone by fairly swiftly after that first conversation about a possible transfer.
For any professional footballer, if a team like Barcelona offered to pay off the rest of your existing contract in addition to a handsome sum of money towards the following years’ contracts, you don't hesitate, you go. Nine out of ten of BSCs current squad would have booked the next flight to Spain for the medical examination, and downloaded a teach yourself Spanish app to their iPads. Harry didn't.
Barcelona had put forward an offer that was too good to refuse to the club, but BSC could not sell Harry without Harry's agreement. After all, they had a contract. Terminating the contract meant paying Harry all of the money due him over the next three years. It would be a terrific bonus since the new team would pay him as well. If Harry didn't go, BSC would find ways to make him regret it. It could cost him severely in the long run.
Harry immersed himself in his spare time by viewing the Spanish films by Almodovar; with a simultaneous analysis of the English subtitles by his fluent bilingual boyfriend.
He spent a stressful few weeks talking to his agent on a daily basis. Chris knew everyone in top level football. There was no better agent to find him a new position in a club that could afford him. It wasn't that Harry himself needed a pay rise, but any new club would have to pay off the value of his remaining contract with BSC, and some.
Back in England, it was business as usual. Breakfast with Carlos at the football club each morning, followed by training and lunch with the whole team. Along with the rest of the sporting treadmill: the gym, the traveling, the matches, and the endless hotels.
Since Spain, a few things had changed. Their relationship was now firmly set into boyfriend status. Harry thought they might get away with discretion, but he noticed that in company, Carlos did spend a lot of time looking his way. Not just glancing but staring, just as he had always done. But now Harry understood these looks. A combination of lust and longing, which sent tingles down Harry's spine and caused fluttering in his stomach.
If anyone else noticed, it wouldn't take them long to work things out. No wonder Jason and Scott already knew.
They avoided visiting each other's hotel rooms, preferring to spend time socializing with the team on their nights away. There was no way Harry was willing to risk the possibility they'd be caught out in a hotel. Harry watched poker, but didn't join in; he didn't have the face for it never mind the gambling skills. Carlos went wherever there was a crowd to entertain. Which usually meant hanging out in the bar.
Outside of work, things between Harry and Carlos changed, but in many ways, remained the same. They still spent time together doing all the usual stuff whe
n their schedules permitted. In public though, they just looked like two buddies.
In the private of their apartments, they did all the same things as before and more. They'd spend hours kissing; Harry wondered if they wouldn't go to work the next day with swollen red lips and a rash around their faces that might give them away.
And Carlos touched him in ways that Harry had only previously dreamed of. Now that he had a boyfriend, a lover, the message from his younger years still echoed in his mind. He heard the warnings as if they were spoken afresh and aloud. Words about the sin of sex out of wedlock. But Carlos's hands and mouth on Harry's body most nights and most mornings felt very right.
Every night that they were at home, not on the road, they'd come together using hands and mouths and often rubbing against each other until they came in a sexy sticky mess. It was thrilling, exciting and satisfying. At night they'd hold each other for many hours until falling asleep.
Harry didn't feel used or disrespected. He didn't feel like they were doing something wrong. He felt loved by Carlos.
The last day of January loomed, just days away. It marked the end of the transfer window until the beginning of July. If Harry didn't get a club by the end of January, it would be a reprieve. Strictly speaking, they were forbidden from negotiating with other clubs until July when the whole stressful situation would play out again.
He assured Chris, "The day after tomorrow, I'll be there for the medical. And ready to sign the papers."
There was a knock at the door.
"I've got to go, Chris. Thank you for sorting this out."
CARLOS
He looked around, along the corridor both ways, before knocking on Harry's hotel door. Then entered hastily, with no intention of speaking until the door firmly shut behind him.
"Come in why don't you."
Carlos had walked straight over to the window and had his back to Harry. "Thank you. I will." There was no view worth mentioning. In beautiful cities, why did they build hotels like this? "I wondered if you had a better view on this side of the building, but I see you don't."
"I was about to go to dinner and meet the rest of the team. What's up?"
Carlos turned and walked back toward the middle of the room and, as if under his hypnotic spell, Harry stepped forward toward Carlos. When they met, face-to-face, with inches between them, Carlos reached out, taking Harry's hands in both of his own.
"I have been thinking about this for quite some time. I'm concerned that we've only just found each other, and I don't want to lose you."
Harry's eye's narrowed. "You're not about to lose me."
"I just want you to know, Harry. I love you." For once, Carlos had rehearsed what he intended to say. He couldn't risk mucking this up. "I haven't told you before because it always seemed too soon. It is still too soon. It's not about what we've been doing with our clothes off. I've loved you since before we ever kissed." Becoming lovers merely confirmed they were perfect for each other in every way.
"Why are you telling me this now? Just before we go to dinner, in a hotel, the night before a match?"
"This isn't a just-for-now relationship. I don't want you to feel like I'm using you, and it isn't just about sex. Harry, you must know, I loved you before we touched. Now, with the transfer hanging over our heads, I fear I'm going to lose you, and I just want you to know where I stand. I think you deserve to know before you make any big decisions. I love you and want to be with you for life, regardless of whether people know about us or not."
"You told me that in Spain. And I feel the same way about you, Carlos."
Carlos's heart pounded. What Harry was saying wasn't quite the same. Harry hadn’t made a declaration of love and Carlos felt fearfully uncertain of how the rest of conversation would go.
Slowly, Carlos lowered himself on to one knee, still holding Harry's hands, and watching his face for a reaction. Harry's mouth fell open in surprise.
Carlos feared his actions might be too soon, but now it was too late to stand up.
"Harry Carter, will you marry me? Be my lover and my best friend for life?"
"Yes, Carlos Garcia." There was no hesitation.
Carlos stood up, but Harry held him at arm's length.
"Yes, I want to marry you despite your terrible timing. How are we supposed to go to dinner now, and act like it's just another day at the office? Go our separate ways tonight, as we do in hotels?"
"Hiding how I feel about you is tough every day. In some ways, it will be easier when were on different teams and not having to work together.
"So why ask me right now?"
"I couldn't keep it to myself any longer. Even if you had said no, I just need you to know that's how I feel about you."
Harry nodded. "I've had an offer. All relevant parties are interested so the deal could be done in the next few days."
"And given what you've just asked me, I think it's pretty good news."
"You are going to another Birmingham team?"
"Not that close. But West London is not so far away. You'll be able to give me a run down on your ex-teammates." Harry grinned. Less than a two-hour drive between the two clubs, if they were lucky. They could live together halfway between the two.
"They are a great bunch of blokes. I'm sure they will be fine about hearing we're together."
"Good to know. But I'm not fine with sharing it. You know that."
"I'll be honest Harry. I want to make a big announcement to celebrate properly. I know you don't want that but can I tell my parents today? And are you going to invite your family?"
"I'm not going to change my mind. Yes, you can tell your parents." Harry's eyes twinkled as he grinned and then his face fell.
"What's the matter? "
"Your family will be overjoyed. My family might never speak to me again."
"In a perfect world Harry, everyone would know. They'd update our Wikipedia pages with our spouse status, and everyone would be happy for us." Carlos took Harry's hand and led him to the bed, they sat down holding hands.
"It's not a perfect world. Whatever you decide about your family I'm right there beside you. You can you can tell your mom and your brother. Invite them to the wedding and any of your friends—anyone who is important to you. But if you choose not to, if you wish to keep it a secret, I will go along with that too."
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
June 2013
CARLOS
For months they avoided the issue. Carlos would do anything for Harry, but there were some things he couldn't do. All the fame, success, and money in the world could not solve some problems. Carlos offered to be there, but ultimately this was Harry's burden. Harry's decision to make.
Finally, he could put it off no longer. Harry had left it to the very last minute, and he'd gone alone to confront one of his greatest fears. Just one woman. Feeling helpless, all Carlos could do was wait in his parents’ home. The whole time he kept his cell phone handy; on call if needed.
No matter what, with or without Harry's mom to witness the occasion, the next day they'd be married.
The first same-sex marriage of a celebrity professional footballer.
Their wedding photos would be worth a fortune.
Wealth at the level that Carlos had already amassed ensured complete privacy at their wedding location. No paparazzi, no undercover journalist, no opportunist member of the public could get close to the most well kept Spanish gay wedding of the twenty-first century.
The only unknown variable in the entire wedding plan was the woman meeting Harry at the airport that morning. They both knew they should have told her sooner, but it always seemed easier to put it off.
Mrs. Carter was under the impression that she was coming to meet her son in Spain for a brief vacation.
They had given her clues. She had met Carlos many times, and she knew this trip to Spain involved Carlos and included meeting Carlos's parents. Could she really believe they were just buddies?
HARRY
Harry met
his mom at the airport and accompanied her in a taxi to her hotel. He'd kept the conversation on bland details. She'd asked about their plans for the next few days, but he could tell her nothing more than that they were invited to the Garcia family house that afternoon if she wanted to visit.
He didn't tell her that dinner in Spain is normally eaten at a time that is bedtime in England. Or that in order to welcome their British guest, the Garcia family were having dinner at a very strange time of day, to them. He didn't tell her they were dining at the hotel where she was the sole guest for this night.
Carlos had booked the entirety of the hotel. Most of the staff were given paid leave, and only a skeleton staff of the most trusted employees were given a substantial bonus and trusted with the confidential arrangements. In fact, the staff didn't know there'd be a wedding or the names of their famous clientèle. Only the hotel owner, a friend of the Garcia family, had this information.
The wedding would take place on its grounds the next day, witnessed only by a small gathering of their friends and family. Rooms were booked for everyone to stay after the wedding.
After the hotel porter had left them alone in the room, it was time for Harry to finally do what he'd put off for so many months.
"Mom, I have something vital to tell you. Please come and sit down." The hotel suite was about as big as Mrs. Carter's entire home and far more luxurious. Harry guided her to an armchair and sat down opposite her.
"There is no easy way for me to tell you this."
She raised her brows with curiosity and placed her hands on her lap, palms down flat.
Harry continued, "I know you like Carlos, and I'm pleased you do because I love him. And tomorrow we are getting married, Carlos and I, right here in Spain."
She sat as still as stone, showing no reaction at all.
Harry waited anxiously in silence for her to process what he'd said.
"We'd like you to come to the wedding and share our celebration with Carlos's family."