Home Goal and My Goal: Two Gay Footballers Stories

by H J Perry

  “Yeah,” Jason replied. “We’ll get a manicure too while we’re out.”

  “Great. I’ll make sure I get you home in time to watch your gay show.”

  “Cheers. That’s very thoughtful of you.” None of the guys knew. At least, Jason hadn’t confirmed it with any of them.

  “Got to get you back early; I got Karen coming over.”

  “That reminds me, Tant, Sharon is on my case about Lisa.” Chris came over and put his arm on Mark’s shoulder. “Sharon, Karen and Lisa. Me, Mark and you, Jason. Does that sound like the perfect triple dating set up?”

  “Honestly?” asked Jason. Trying to look casual about the issue on the outside, on the inside, he prayed his face didn’t flush telling all that he was hiding something. He hated these conversations and the inevitable lies he told as a consequence of them.

  “Yeah. What about Lisa? She was all over you, Jason. And you disappeared without her. I couldn’t understand it,” Mark said.

  “She's not really my type,” Jason answered as honestly as he could.

  “So you’ve got a type now? Well, that’s better than the old days. What’s your type?”

  Talk about the past catching up. At only twenty-three Jason was sure he was too young for people from his past revealing his secrets. Jason wasn’t the only boy on the youth team to never have a girlfriend, but that might not be how Mark remembered things.

  “Taller. My type is taller,” said Jason. He stretched the truth a long way.

  “Sharon and Lisa are both convinced you’re the right man, Jason. I’ve tried telling them you’re not interested. But they won’t take no for an answer,” said Chris. “Could you just think about it? You haven’t got anyone else, have you?”

  CHAPTER TEN

  February 2012

  Scott

  The shrill sound and the vibration from of the sound of the phone ringing was unexpected. As he drew it from his pocket, Scott prepared for the disappointment that Jason may be canceling. It was indeed Jason’s name flashing on the screen

  “Hi.”

  “Hi, Scott, I wondered if you’re ready?”

  “Yes. I’m ready,” Scott’s hand automatically fell to his pocket where his wallet lived.

  “Great, I’ll be outside in less than one minute.”

  “Where are you now?”

  “I’m in the next street.”

  “Okay. I’ll be outside, waiting.”

  Scott picked up his jacket, hat, gloves, and scarf and stepped outside. Despite the crisp atmosphere and cold temperature, the sun smiled from a blue sky.

  A low pitched rumble emanated from the small black vehicle rolling along the street. A black sports car ground to a halt beside Scott. Jason smiled at him through the open window. The impressive car was not what Scott was expecting; he tried to hide his surprise.

  “Hi, nice car.” Scott opened the door and slipped down into the low leather passenger seat.

  “It’s a bit of luxury. If you want to change the seating position, the controls are there.” Jason pointed them out. “Experiment until it’s comfortable for you.”

  “Okay,” said Scott.

  “I hope you’re not too hungry that you can’t wait for half an hour or so. I was going to drive us somewhere nice. If you can’t wait, I noticed there is a chip shop in the next street.”

  Scott laughed, put two fingers on his cheek and gazed into the distance as if seriously thinking about this dilemma. “It may be sunny but a little cold for sitting on a bench eating fish and chips, alfresco. Unless you thought we’d eat them in here.”

  He paused expecting Jason to object strongly. If it were Scott’s car, there would be a no eating or drinking rule, and he’d probably ask people to take their shoes off too. But Jason made no comment. The inside of the car was spotless, however, so perhaps he didn’t eat takeaway food in it.

  “Oh hell, I can’t decide. Let’s just drive. I won’t starve.”

  “Pleased to hear it.”

  “How long have you had this car and how fast have you driven it?” Scott had a few additional questions about the car in mind, all of which involved sex. Scott hoped to find out an answer to these at some other point in the future.

  “I’ve had it a while now. And I stick to the speed limit, of course.”

  “Being an interpreter is pretty well paid, then.”

  “Yeah.”

  Scott mentally kicked himself. It's impolite to mention money like that. It did seem strange to see a young man who couldn’t have been much older than himself driving such a car. Jason had attended a private school so, of course, he probably had wealthy parents; perhaps they’d bought it for him. Scott’s parents were fairly well-off, in part because Scott was an only child, but not in the position to buy such a car for their only son. Perhaps he should ask them.

  “So where are we going?”

  “I just thought we’d get out of town rather than into town. Easier to park, of course, and it’s very easy to feel like you’re surrounded by buildings all the time in Birmingham.”

  “Cool.”

  Through the windows, Scott could see outside the roads were getting wider, with greater space between the buildings, and increasing expanses of open land. Even though the West Midlands was a sprawling urban conurbation, there were vast stretches of green land within the city area and the countryside was easily accessible by road.

  “You don’t have the local accent, I notice,” said Jason.

  “You know that’s what a private education does for you,” replied Scott. “Just like you don’t talk like a Cockney.”

  “True, but I can put it on, you know,” he said. “The lads used to take the piss out of me for talking posh when I was younger.”

  “The lads? What lads?”

  “Not at school, of course. At football training. That’s a real mixed bunch of backgrounds. They’d laugh hysterically at the vowel sounds in my swear words. I’ve learned to make them sound less posh since then. At school, talking “street” was considered cool so learning to speak like the working class kids was a win-win situation.”

  “So you were seriously into playing football?”

  “Yeah, football training throughout my school life. I had a double life. Playing football with people from all backgrounds including from some of the poorest areas—a real mixed bag of people who you’d never normally bring together. I don’t think we’d possibly ever have met in any other circumstance. Now I’m twenty-three it’s not so strange but at sixteen it was.”

  “It’s a different world you’re talking about. I must admit, not one I know. I’ve never fitted in with any of the sporting kids. And the kids I mix with are all science nerds, geekier than me.”

  “I can’t picture you as a science nerd.”

  “No? I’m not. I’m just a gifted maths genius who is too lazy and easily distracted to ever reach my full mathematical potential. Liz, on the other hand, she’s a hard-working commoner.”

  “Liz?”

  “Actually, you know her, sort of, she’s the girl who went with me to that club.”

  “Ah, your girlfriend.”

  “Is that what you think? Thought?”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “You must be the first and only person ever to think I might be straight.”

  “It was to do with how well you danced together. I thought you must be a couple.”

  “Well, I told you about my parents so I grew up doing all that stuff and Liz was keen to learn. I could teach her, but she met my parents; their dance school is here in Birmingham. Do you dance?”

  “I love music and dancing, but I can’t dance the way you and Liz do.”

  “You can learn. Same-sex dancing is a big thing now you know.”

  “I’ll think about it. We’re nearly there and then it’s a little walk from the car park. It’s not anything fancy.”

  Scott barely registered the change in the topic of conversation. “Not fancy like the car.”

  “Nothing li
ke the car.”

  The car park was almost empty and hidden from the street by raised banks of grass-covered earthworks, trees, and dense scrubs.

  They got out of the car and walked to the rear, Jason opened the trunk and pulled out a coat.

  As they walked past the pay-and-display ticket machine, Scott asked, “Do we need a ticket?”

  “I’m on it. Paying via an app.” Jason already had his phone in hand.

  The only path from the car-park led toward trees, lots of trees.

  “This is a lonely place,” said Scott. “The sort of place I can imagine you bringing a body in the back of your car for burying.”

  “I wouldn’t fit a body in the boot of this car.” Jason chuckled and replaced his phone in his pocket. “Could just about manage the spade. I could, of course, bring a willing live victim out here, sitting up in the passenger seat, then smash him overhead with the aforementioned spade and then dig that hole. But it’s not really my style.”

  “Somehow, I didn't think it was,” said Scott.

  The path they were on ended at a T-junction, with nothing to see in either direction.

  “So which way?”

  “Before we head to the cafe, there’s something on my mind.” Turning to face him, Jason took Scott’s hand and moved closer.

  Their lips met in a swift, cautious kiss. Up until then, Scott wondered if this was lunch with a mate. Jason sent out very mixed signals. Very closeted and uncertain signals. That brief kiss confirmed Jason’s intentions and for all its briefness, it set Scott’s pulse and mind racing.

  Still holding hands, Jason asked, “Which way to the cafe? Or to the places where I’ve buried all the other bodies?”

  “Let’s eat first. I’d hate to die on an empty stomach,” said Scott.

  Jason led them along the main path from the car park. Trees on either side gave the impression they were going into a dense wood but the trees thinned out very quickly, revealing they were at a high spot with a panoramic view over the rolling countryside, fields laid out like a patchwork quilt before them.

  No sign of any place to eat. Jason let Scott’s hand fall free, and they walked along the path.

  “This is beautiful.”

  “Yes, isn’t it? Hard to believe we’re so close to the city. It gets busy up here, sometimes you can barely move for dog walkers and joggers.”

  As Jason spoke, both came into view from around a bend.

  “The cafe’s a little way along here. There is a nearer parking lot, but it gets very busy, and then we’d miss this lovely walk.”

  After a few minutes of walking, a gray and rather unattractive building lay ahead of them.

  “It may not look much from the outside, but the food is good, and I like coming up here, away from the busy town.”

  Even though it was the coldest time of the year, it was a sunny day, and there were tables and chairs outside the building along with bowls of water on the floor. Welcoming dog walkers and cigarette smokers. The men entered, and Jason guided Scott to a vacant table next to a window with a scenic view. Inside the building looked far better than the outside; tables that could seat four or six lined the edge of the room in cozy padded booths. Once they were seated in the booth, it felt very private.

  “It gets busy here, as you can imagine. People come up here for a walk and to enjoy the view.”

  A waitress was at their table in an instant. “Can I get you anything to drink or would you like a while to look at the menu?”

  Scott felt very much put on the spot and unable to answer, however, nerves and apprehension had threatened to make his mouth run dry.

  “I would like some tea, please.”

  “Me too, make that a pot of tea for two and we’ll study the menu.”

  “I can’t believe how busy it is in here when there was hardly anyone in the car park or on the walk up here,” Scott whispered as soon as the waitress left them.

  “There’s a closer car park, which acts more like a drive-through, just the other side of the building. I brought you the scenic way.”

  After a discussion about the food options, Jason shared his assessment of the menu items he’d tried in the past. The waitress reappeared with their drinks and took the food order.

  Feeling exceptionally nervous, Scott decided to have whatever Jason choose.

  “So how does a boy from London know about this place?”

  “I found out about this place because I go running fairly regularly, and this is a good route to run, and I think someone recommended it.”

  “So do you go to the gym or just run?”

  “I work out most days. What about you; do you work out at all?”

  “Do I look like I work out? In fact, thanks for asking, I’ll take that compliment. Hell no, I don’t know what’s on the inside of a gym. I’m a gay, geek, science student. Don’t let the lack of glasses fool you.”

  “You look in good shape to me. You’ve got a good body, and you’re a terrific dancer.”

  “I think I told you the other night the dancing is something I was raised doing.”

  “Yes. I remember that. You still have to be fit.”

  “That’s all I do to keep me fit.” Scott felt like he was blushing and he waved his hands at Jason then decided that move was probably a little camp, but too late; it was already out of the bag. He put his hands underneath the table where they were less likely to embarrass him. “I walk everywhere too. That’s all my exercise.” Scott thought this was probably not the time to admit to his other bit of exercise, a regular workout in the bedroom, his own or somebody else's.

  “You are so cute,” Jason said. And then looked embarrassed as if he hadn’t meant to say that.

  “Stop. I mean, I like it, of course, I’m not sure I want you to find me cute. I was hoping for hot and sexy, but I’m not sure about cute.”

  Their food arrived, cutting into this conversation. Scott wasn’t sure whether that was a good or bad thing, but the food looked excellent.

  “Wow, this tastes good.”

  Jason nodded. “I’m glad you like it. If not, I’d assume your taste buds don’t work.”

  “And how did you come to be living in Birmingham, Jason?”

  “Work just brought me here. You know it’s pretty central here getting to anywhere else so with my car on the motorway network I can be anywhere I need to be mostly within a couple of hours.”

  Scott got the distinct impression that Jason didn’t like talking about himself.

  When they’d eaten, Jason glanced at his watch as if he had another appointment, asked the waitress for the bill and insisted on paying for the meal.

  “This is my invitation to lunch. Of course, I’m going to pay.” Jason didn’t accept Scott’s offer to pay half.

  When they left the cafe, they threaded their fingers together and walked hand-in-hand toward the car park. The sun shone bright but low in the January sky. Jason was bright and charming. Someone Scott could relate to and talk to. A contrast to the other blokes who hit on him regularly. With this guy, there was something different, there was chemistry. With Jason, things felt so natural, as if they could be friends, more than friends. Like how things felt with Liz, except for the desire. Was it possible to be friends and burn with desire for someone this badly? Scott fancied Jason; he could hardly keep his mind from thoughts of what he’d like to do if they were both undressed and alone.

  When they reach the secluded car park, Jason didn’t drop Scott’s hand but held it tighter as they neared the car.

  “You’re hot,” said Jason. “You must know it.”

  “Well, I guess guys do hit on me from time to time.”

  “Like this?” Jason stopped by the driver’s door, and side-stepped to pull Scott closer for a kiss.

  As if Scott was dessert and Jason was famished he pressed his whole body against Scott. A couple of hours in each other’s company was like watching two hours of exciting movie clip trailers, and now the open scenes were rolling. The mutual long
ing that they’d both kept in check started to unravel. Each man holding on to the other. Scott stepped back to lean against the car and Jason moved forward so that their bodies melded together. Every inch of Scott wanted to melt against Jason’s firm, muscular frame, right there in the car park.

  After they’d kissed just long enough for Scott to know his erection would be evident to any witnesses if they were to step apart, Jason brought the date to an abrupt end.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  February 2012

  Jason

  Scott’s face showed surprise. Perhaps ending an after lunch kissing session with the words, “I’ll drop you back home,” wasn’t the best thing to say.

  “I’ve got to go to work,” sounded like a quickly thought up excuse, even though it was true.

  Scott apparently didn’t expect the date to end so quickly, or suddenly, or wanted it to last longer. And he didn’t reply but couldn’t mask the hurt in his eyes.

  “I’ve enjoyed lunch with you, Scott, and I’d like to meet up again. I have to go. I have to go to work this afternoon, so I’ll have to drop you back home but to be honest, I really don’t want the afternoon to end.” Jason didn’t want Scott to feel dumped, with a flimsy excuse to get away. “And I’d like to meet up again.”

  The tender kiss in a public place wasn’t a preamble to the next event but a kiss for its own sake. Bring the men closer, within smelling, touching and tasting distance. An act of affection and stoking the simmering desire. Every bit of Jason wanted Scott, wanted to know him, really know him.

  Thinking ahead, because he always had to think ahead, Jason knew he couldn’t loiter in his car outside Scott’s home; he was too conspicuous. As soon as they were back in the car behind tinted windows, he held out a hand to take Scott’s. With his free hand, he reached out to touch Scott’s face.

  Beautiful. Jason hadn’t felt this way before about any guy, and this was crazy. Meeting up in public, holding hands and kissing. In public.

  “I’m sorry about work. I should’ve told you when we met up earlier that I only had a few hours. But I wasn’t thinking that far ahead.”