“When I…?”
“Please tell me you are not that fucking dumb?”
“It appears so.”I covered my face with my hands.
When we arrived at the hotel, I quickly dumped my stuff in my room before checking the room assignments to find Emil’s.Fortunately, he was only two doors down from me.
“Two minutes,” he shouted when I knocked on his door.There were shuffling sounds, a thunk as he dropped something, and then he appeared.
“Oh, hey.What’s up?”he asked.
“Can I… talk to you for a minute?”
“Um.Sure.Come in?”he phrased it like a question, but I stepped inside anyway.
His room was identical to my own: a king size bed took up the majority of the space with a comfy-looking cuck chair in the corner.The room had French windows that opened up to a tiny balcony.
“So—”
“I’m so—” we both spoke over each other.
“I’m sorry,” I repeated.“I..I mean,wehooked up, and I just didn’t speak to you after and now I’m freaking out a bit that maybe you didn’t want to, and that you did it because I’m your team captain or something?”
Emil blushed, cherry coloured cheeks to match his nickname.
“It wasn’t like that.I… wanted it.You don’t need to, um, worry aboutthat.”
Relief washed over me.
“Can I ask you a personal question?”I asked hesitantly.
“In for a penny, in for a pound.”He sighed.
“You never… You don’t usually um…” I wasn’t entirely sure what the PC way to ask my question was, but thankfully Emil saved me.
“Get slick in the team showers?”
I nodded.
Emil sat down on the end of his bed and worried with his fingers.
“I take a combination of suppressants that help with that.But they’re meant to be taken for short periods and I’ve been on them for nearly ten months now.They aren’t working quite so well.”
“Ahh.I see.Well, if we win the game today, there’s only two more weeks of the season to go at least.”
“Yeah, I know.It’s just… getting difficult.”
“Difficult how?Can I help?”
Emil snorted in a way that was annoying, like I was the last person who could help.
“I meant like, do you need me to make sure you can shower alone?Or get the guys to give you more space?”
“Everyone is watching me, waiting for me to prove that they were right and omegas don’t belong in rugby.I can’t get special treatment, Tobias.”Emil’s shoulders slumped, and he just looked so… defeated.
I hated it.
“I get where you’re coming from, but needing a few minor accommodations after ten months on suppressants doesn’t reflect poorly on you.You’ve had a fucking phenomenal season, Cherry.Nobody can take that away from you.The team isn’t stupid; we know you’re a big reason why we’ve got this far.”
