Page 95 of Praising Haru

I chuckle. “Whatever you want, beautiful. Stay.”

He rubs his cheek against my arm. “I’d love to. Thank you. It was amazing. I’m high as a kite right now.”

“Drunk on sex?”

“Hm, drunk on you. I—thank you.”

I kiss his temple. “You’re welcome, beautiful.”

“Can I watch you play rugby tomorrow?”

“It’s practice, not a match.”

“I know. I want to watch it. Can I?”

“Yes. I’ll pick you up between work and practice.”

“I’m looking forward to it already.”

* * *

I leave Haru waiting on the side of the pitch while I get changed alongside the rest of my teammates.

“Who’s the twink outside?” Lucas, our left wing, asks as he arrives.

“Kyle’s boyfriend. I saw them arriving together,” James, our full back, replies.

I don’t argue with his interpretation of my and Haru’s relationship. We held hands between the car and the pitch, and I kissed him goodbye. Besides, we’re feeling more like boyfriends, even if neither of us seems willing to acknowledge it.

“I didn’t know you were seeing someone. You’ve been holding out on us.” Neil, our open-side flanker and team captain, pats me on the back.

“Hardly. It’s a new thing.”

“Must be serious. No one else brings their partners to practice,” Neil says.

“Matches, but not practices,” James agrees.

“He’s not staying in Leeds.” My voice is gruff.

Neil gives me a sympathetic smile. “That’s rough. How long until he leaves?”

“I don’t know. Whenever he gets a new job. He designs clothes.”

“He needs to be in London,” Lucas says as if I didn’t know that already. “Or Milan, Paris, or New York. They all have fashion weeks.”

My stomach dips. Haru hasn’t mentioned looking for work in any of those cities. Would he, if there were no jobs to be found in London?

“How do you know that?” James asks.

“Doesn’t everyone know that?”

“No.” James grabs Lucas in a headlock and rubs his knuckles over the other man’s skull.

Neil bangs his hand against a locker to get everyone’s attention. “Time to get out on the field.”

We file out of the changing room and begin our warm-up, starting with a job around the perimeter of the field. I grin as I pass Haru and he gives me a small wave. He’s got earbuds in. Is he listening to an audiobook? Multitasking is a good idea. The training session will fly by for me, but I imagine standing and watching will be boring.

“I hope you’re going to keep your head in the game,” Neil says as he jogs past me.