Page 64 of The Fullback
“Not bad, just dealing with all the shit. I still can’t get a proper answer about rent. I guess they’re waiting to hear on their end,” I said, sipping my tea slowly so I didn’t burn myself. Sucking dick with a blister on the roof of my mouth would be wank.
“Did you look at anywhere else?”
“No, that’s tomorrow’s job.”
“Are you thinking of moving then?”
“No fucking clue, but I’ll look just in case.” I sighed and took another sip of my tea. “But it’s such a pain in the arse! Andexpensive. I know I’ll get some shit from the insurance, but it’s not going to cover all my lost earnings or a deposit for a new place. I don’t even know if it’s possible to get out my old contract without paying through the nose. Fuck, I need to look at that too.”
I had digital copies of all my contracts, so it would be easy to find what I needed. It was simply another fucking thing to add to my ever-growing list of shit to do.
“If you need money, you know you can always ask me,” Jonny said, shifting awkwardly in his seat at the other end of the sofa. “I’ll give you whatever you need.”
“I can’t… Thanks, but I’ll be fine.”
“You can. It’s not a big deal. It’s only money.”
I shot him a withering look. “Says the man with the professional rugby contract who has lots of it.”
“Exactly, that’s my point! I’ve got money. Let me use it.”
“You’ve done enough for me,” I said, not meeting his gaze as I drank my tea. Jonny had paid for so much of my life, and I couldn’t keep relying on him.
“You’re my brother, dickhead. It’s what brothers do.”
“Not always.”
“Fine, it’s what I want to do. Don’t be a twat about it,” he said fondly. “If it bothers you that much, we’ll call it a loan and you can repay it. No interest and no timeline, just whenever you can.”
“I’m not sure business loans work like that,” I said with a wry chuckle, because I had never met an emotional moment in my life that I felt comfortable taking sincerely. Especially if it involved my brother.
I could feel Jonny’s withering stare boring into the side of my head. “That’s because it’s not a business loan. It’s a family loan, or whatever you want to call it. And don’t you dare make another snarky comment.”
“Or what? Who’re you going to tell? Devon?”
“Fuck off, you know what I mean.”
“Not really.” I grinned as I sipped my tea, feeling a smug, satisfied sense of victory in my chest.
“I could tell Hunter and Bailey,” Jonny said casually, like he wasn’t pulling the fucking rug out from underneath me. My head twisted slowly, my fingers tightly gripping the sides of the mug as the heat bled through my skin.
“Why would you do that?” I asked quietly, glaring at him icily, as if it would somehow magically make him shut up. Did he and Devon own a gag? Could I convince Devon to use it on him now?
“Because you three are, I don’t know, doing whatever you’re doing and they might be able to talk some sense into you. Unless you’ve brainwashed them with dick. Then they might take your side.” He smiled at me, then frowned and let out a long-suffering exhale. “Or maybe the threat of telling them is enough considering you’ve gone white as a fucking ghost. Jesus Christ, A, are you still doing this whole ‘I don’t need anyone’ shit?”
“Fuck you,” I said, trying to stand up and wincing as hot tea sloshed across my hands. “Ah, shit!”
“Don’t worry about it,” Jonny said. “Dev, can you grab me a tea towel, please?”
“I’m fine.”
“I’m still getting a tea towel. That sofa’s new.” He put his mug down on a coaster on the nearby coffee table, then took mine off me and did the same. Devon appeared around the door with a green tea towel and his own mug, looking between us with interest.
“Everything okay?” he asked as Jonny took the towel and handed it to me.
“All good,” Jonny said.
“Fine,” I added.
