Hayden's Lucky Number

Chapter 1Hayden Marsh swallowed the drool collecting in his mouth as he watched the number thirteen, A.K.A. Kenny Jacobs, A.K.A. Mr Alpha-Male-s*x-God-On-Legs, scratch his nuts through the tight black rugby shorts. Hayden received a tap on his left shoulder. “Action’s over there.” His friend Gary pointed to their left. Hayden grinned. “The action I’m interested in is over there.” He pointed his chin over to Kenny, who was straightening the sleeve of his black jersey. Even though the red home kit matched Kenny’s red hair, Hayden thought Kenny looked sexier in the black away strip. Gary groaned and rolled his eyes. “Shut up. You moon over Raw every chance you get.” Gary grinned. “Yeah, well. He’s a total silver fox. And he’s mine to moon over.” “Lucky bastard.” “Yeah.” Gary sighed and turned to look over to the other sideline at Raw, who was pacing up and down, pointing, and shouting instructions to the team. Neil “Raw” Rawlings, was the coach for the Longton Lightning as well as Gary’s husband. Hayden’s attention returned to the object of his secret and unrequited affections. “And Kenny’s so strong, so…” He couldn’t find the right words to express what he thought of the older man. At least not words he could speak aloud. “You go for the alpha male type, then?” Gary asked. “I mean, he definitely looks the part when he wears those leather trousers.” He pretended to fan himself. “Hot!” “Yeah.” Although Kenny knew Hayden was gay, he was clueless about Hayden’s feelings for him. This was probably for the best. Kenny was his dad’s best friend and…Hayden raised his right leg and let out a satisfyingly loud and smelly fart. Hayden sighed. “Really good curry last night. “ Gary lightly punched Hayden’s arm. “Show some couth.” “Ya what?” “Couth. Means good manners, politeness. Opposite of uncouth.” “Swallowed a bleedin’ dictionary, have you?” Hayden knew Gary had studied English at A-level. He was more into the sciences himself and was waiting for his A-level results to see if he’d be going off to uni in the autumn. But before Gary could reply, assuming he was going to, he was distracted by scattered applause from the few Frystan supporters. Hayden turned and saw that an opposition player had just scored a try. “Bloody ref. That was a forward pass,” Gary muttered. Hayden turned back to his friend. “You didn’t even see him get the ball, so how’d you know?” Grinning, he added, “Show some couth.” “Piss off.” Hayden’s spirits were lifted when the Frystan kicker was unable to convert the try for the extra two points, even though to his untrained eye, it was an easy shot at the goalposts. Play resumed and the Lightning seemed more engaged in the game, keeping the ball in the Frystan half for decent periods. “Is Kenny okay?” Gary asked at one point. Hayden’s gaze immediately honed in on the object of his unrequited affections. Kenny did look…odd. He seemed confused, not paying full attention to the game. When he staggered and dropped to one knee, Hayden yelled and ran onto the pitch. The ref blew his whistle, presumably to stop play, but Hayden wasn’t paying any attention to that. He arrived at Kenny’s side at the same time as Raw. “What’s wrong?” Hayden asked, noticing how sweaty Kenny was. Okay, it was a warm day, but that didn’t explain the amount of moisture rolling off Kenny’s body. “I, uh…” Kenny seemed dazed. “Come on, let’s get him off the pitch,” Raw said, lifting Kenny’s right arm over his own shoulders. “You get his other side.” Together they walked Kenny over to the sideline, Kenny insisting he was okay, but sounding anything but. Hayden was glad Raw was there and that Kenny was able to walk mostly unsupported. Kenny was a good head taller than Hayden’s 5’7” and he outweighed Hayden by at least 5 stone. Hayden was thin and weedy, Kenny was broad of shoulder, chest, and waist. Kenny’s legs were pretty thick and powerful, too, a far cry from Hayden’s thin matchsticks. While Hayden was concerned at Kenny’s condition, a small part of him revelled in being so close and personal with his idol. Kenny’s musky body smelt…perfect, if fresh, alpha male sweat could be described as such. The three made their way over to Bobby, the team physio. As Bobby was blind, Raw explained what had happened, Hayden adding what he could, which wasn’t much. “You don’t think he’s had a stroke or something?” Hayden asked, his mind leaping to the worst possible scenario. “Don’t think so,” Bobby told him. “His face isn’t drooping on one side is it?” Hayden turned and looked at Kenny’s rugged features—chin with a two-day growth of beard, strong jawline, long nose, and slightly unfocused green eyes—and shook his head. Then he remembered Bobby couldn’t see. “No.” “‘M fine,” Kenny mumbled. “Stop fussing.” “Are you diabetic?” was Bobby’s next question. “Yes. Type two,” Hayden told him. “He has to take insulin a couple of times a day. Not sure if he’s brought it with him though. I could—” “Hang on.” Bobby held up a hand. “Kenny, when did you last eat?” “Don’t remember.” “Did you have that cottage pie Mum made you?” Hayden asked. Kenny wrinkled his brow in concentration then shook his head. “Didn’t feel like anything.” “Right.” Bobby reached into his shoulder bag and pulled out a small box, Hayden recognising it as a blood test monitor. “I’m diabetic myself. Kenny, give me a finger.” Kenny chuckled and raised his middle finger. “i***t,” Raw told him, grabbing the raised finger and pulling it, along with Kenny’s hand, closer to Bobby, who ripped open a small packet to reveal a lancet. Hayden was familiar with the routine as he’d seen Kenny test himself many times, although he was surprised when Bobby’s glucose monitor started to talk. He had no idea they could do that. “It’s too low,” Bobby said. “Hang on, I should have some glucose tablets in here somewhere.” He reached back into his bag. “I’ve got a Snickers bar,” Hayden said, reaching into the pocket of his trackies. “Excellent,” Bobby said. Hayden unwrapped the bar, broke off a small piece, and raised it to Kenny’s mouth. “Chew.” “It’s back to the changing room for you,” Raw told Kenny. “I’ll be all right in a minute.” Raw shook his head. “You’re sitting the rest of the game out.” “Probably for the best,” Bobby said. “Eat the rest of that Snickers and drink some orange juice.” Each game, Bobby made up big jugs of isotonic fluid which he encouraged the players to drink at half time and during the game if the weather was especially warm. Hayden gave Kenny another piece of the Snickers and the three of them turned for the cinderblock building that housed the changing rooms. “I’m all right,” Kenny protested, removing his arms from Raw’s and Hayden’s shoulders in order to get through the changing room doors. Hayden was pleased Kenny put an arm back around him once they were through the door. He walked with Kenny to the man’s place on the benches. Kenny sat and leaned back against his iconic leather trousers that were hanging from the wall hook. “You starting to feel better?” Hayden asked. “I’m fine. Just went a bit dizzy for a sec.” “You were about to collapse.” Hayden gave Kenny the rest of the Snickers and rubbed the man’s wide shoulders. He wanted to hug Kenny, kiss him, and…but he settled for just sitting next to Kenny. “We’ll see how you’re feeling at halftime,” Raw told him. “If you’re okay then, maybe you can play the second half.” To Hayden, he added, “If he gets worse, come and get me and Bobby, okay?” Hayden nodded, watched Raw leave, then returned his attention to Kenny. He didn’t like the idea of Kenny playing again but kept his fears to himself. He got to his feet and strode over to the drinks table. “I’ll get you some of that orange.” Hayden had been in the changing room loads of times but never alone with just Kenny. Even almost empty, the place smelled of sweat, deodorant, medicated rubs, and testosterone. He started to chub up in his trackies. “Thanks,” Kenny said, accepting the cup and downing its contents in a few swallows. “Want another?” Kenny’s oh-so-wide shoulders shrugged. “Maybe in a minute.” He fixed Hayden with a look that froze him to the spot. “Was talking with Bobby and Phil in town yesterday.” “Oh?” Hayden somehow sensed there was more to Kenny’s words than just this simple statement. “Phil said you, uh, hang around a lot, and…” He rubbed the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation.” “Uh, yeah. I’m supporting the team, just like Bear and Gary and Mike and…” Hayden feared where this was going. Was Kenny more clued in to Hayden’s feelings for him than he thought? Or did Phil, the big mouth, do the filling in? “Yes, but they’re all married to or dating members of the team. You, uh…” What could Hayden say. That he wished he was dating or even married to Kenny? Hell, yes! Kenny’s expression became more serious. “You know I love you, right?” Hayden’s heart rate picked up, and his d**k, which had softened with the earlier questioning, sprung to full bone. He opened his mouth to reply, but Kenny kept talking. “But just as a big brother or uncle or…” Hayden’s heart sank. “I’m sorry if you’ve been uh…” He grimaced, “Carrying a torch for me but…” “I—” “You need to find someone your own age to, uh, mess around with.” “I don’t want to mess around,” Hayden said, only barely holding it together. “I want someone who’s big and strong and caring and protective and sexy and…” He sighed. “No one my age is like that.” His gaze drilled into Kenny. “But you are.” Kenny pulled a face and went back to rubbing the back of his neck. “f**k!” he muttered under his breath. Blinking back tears and staring at the man who meant more to him than anyone, probably including his parents, Hayden said, emotion clogging his throat, “I don’t want anyone else. Since, like, forever, you’ve been everything to me. Always been there for me, especially when I realised I was gay. I’ve read about kids who really struggled with coming out, thinking they’d be rejected, kicked out. But I knew you were gay, you wouldn’t reject me.” “Nor would Dennis and Janice.” Hayden nodded. “Yeah, Mum and Dad were good, they accepted you, but I still worried. My dad having a gay best friend isn’t the same as having a gay son.” Kenny shrugged. “But they did accept you.” “Thanks to you. You paved the way. And it wasn’t just that. I loved spending time with you as a kid. Especially liked going on your overnight runs with you.” Kenny was a long-distance lorry driver. “Remember when you would hold me at night in the back of your cab and tell me ghost stories when I got scared when it was stormy outside?” Kenny smiled and nodded. “You used to tell me you wouldn’t let anything bad happen to me. I believed you. I felt so safe, so protected, and yes, loved.” “I do love you. Just—” “And ‘cause of all that and loads more, you were my hero. Still are.” “f**k!” Kenny said again. “Hayden, you’re just a kid. You’re confusing hero worship for something deeper.” “I’m not a kid!” Hayden shouted, his voice echoing off the tiled walls. “I’m in love with you, Kenny Jacobs. Full on, totally, no ifs, buts, or maybes.” He paused to draw breath then went on at a more normal volume. “Okay, so I might only be eighteen. But I can drink, vote, join the army. I know what I want, and I want you.” He closed the short distance between them and got between Kenny’s spread legs. Kenny’s sexy-as-f**k muscled and hairy legs. Time seemed to stand still. Kenny stared up at Hayden, and Hayden gazed down at Kenny, at the full red lips of the man he loved with all his heart. He started to lean down. The door to the changing room crashed open and the rugby team started to clomp their way in.