Chapter 3 - Circling Vultures
Note: Contains strong language. In real life, please show respect and practise safe and consensual sex.
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'So how did your date go the other night?' Dan asked while he dried himself coming from the rugby club showers after a long slog of a training session. The team was in the thick of it with practice in the run-up to the new season.
'Ah, it was lovely, man, thanks,' Pete said as he towelled himself and threw on some underwear. Others in the locker room were similarly getting dressed.
'What did you get up to?'
'Ohhhh, looking for all the juicy details, are we?' Pete gently nudged Dan's shoulders.
'I mean, I know you're dying to tell us,' Dan shoved the other man playfully.
'You're usually the one spilling all the gossip, Pete. It must be serious if you're keeping it all to yourself,' Martin chimed in.
'You must be in love,' Felix laughed.
'After one date, I wouldn't put it past Petey-boy, here,' Eric slagged to the whoops and whistles of the team.
'Fuck off, lads,' Pete smiled, blushing a deep red in embarrassment.
'Alright, then. Go on, what did you get up to?' Dan asked when the shouts and yells had died down. The room was eager to hear the round up of Pete's date night: necks craned and ears pricked up.
Pete was aware of the eyes on him, suddenly feeling self-conscious, but he barrelled though anyway. 'Well we went for a nice meal,' he started, ignoring the comic oooohs and aaaahs from his teammates. 'Then drinks afterwards ...'
'Aaaand?' one of the lads prodded.
'And then ... back to his,' Pete admitted finally to the rapturous cheers and applause of his teammates who jumped and patted him on the back. They gave him some words of praise:
'That's my boy.'
'Fair play.'
'Well done, Pete.'
The team were all used to hearing each other's stories about dates, hookups and fun, and it was a quite regular occurrence considering they were a bunch of gay men, so Pete's date story wasn't unique in any regard. But every now and then they had a running joke to pretend like someone hooking up was akin to winning the championship cup. It made things more light-hearted and also made people feel they had a space where they could share personal things.
'Now you just have to convince the guy to go on a second date with you. Good luck with that,' Martin joked and ran out of the locker room as Pete went to catch him for the slight.
Other members of the team began trickling out, waving goodbye and getting about with the rest of their day.
Dan was almost dressed when he felt a firm hand clamp down on his shoulder.