Redemption (19 page)

That part of my arm was numb and there was little sensation on the skin, but I still shook, a shiver running down my spine, as I let Oliver explore the part of me that was untouched by any man.  

His fingers moved around the edges of the small crevices that felt like huge craters to my overly paranoid mind. Once he had explored every nook, his palm came to rest on my arm and his lips kissed my neck. I wasn’t quite ready to relax, but it felt a hell of a lot better to know he wasn’t looking at it anymore.

“If we’re going to keep this up,” I said, “we’re going to have to tell Maisie and Shaun.”

“In that case, we’d better tell them soon. Because I don’t have the patience to sneak around any longer.”

“How do you think Shaun will take the news? I haven’t really been able to figure him out.”

“He’ll be happy, I think. I’m more of a brother to him than anything else, so I doubt he’ll give it much thought. I’m more concerned about Maisie.”

“She thinks the world of you,” I said. “But I suppose that could be the problem. You’ve been like family to her. She might think this is weird.”

“We should tell them together,” Oliver said. “Come to think of it, Maisie and Shaun will be relatively straightforward. My mom won’t say much and it’s not like we’re close anyway. I don’t even know my father. It’s your parents that could be the problem.”

“Mom will be fine,” I said. “She’s never met you, so it’s not like she thinks of you as part of the family. Dad on the other hand…”

“Yeah, your Dad’s never really taken to me.”

“He probably noticed the way I used to look at you eight years ago. He’s not really in a position to talk about relationships, given the way he left my mom with nothing, but he’s bound to say that what we have is wrong.”

“It
is
wrong,” Oliver said, as he resumed kissing my neck. “Very wrong.” He kissed me again. “You might even say it’s naughty.”

I gasped quietly as his hand moved to my breast and a finger began circling my nipple. “Yes,” I said. “It’s wrong. What we’re doing is naughty. Very naughty.”

“Forbidden,” Oliver said, squeezing my breast firmly. His cock stiffened as he pressed it against me. I parted my legs as his hand went down from my breast to my sex, where his fingers felt the dampness between my legs. He suddenly disappeared from behind me, but returned seconds later with his cock sheathed. Oliver wrapped an arm around me as he guided his cock inside me.  

I held on to the edge of the bed for support as he rubbed my clit in time with the slow thrusts of his thick cock, which stretched my sex to its limit. It was the kisses and gentle bites on my neck that sent me over the edge.  

An awkward conversation with Maisie loomed in the near future, but this made it all worth it. Oliver already knew me better than any other man ever had. He’d explored the two most intimate parts of my body and I’d never felt happier.  

I came effortlessly this time, and only the fact that we had to get out of bed stopped it from being the perfect afternoon. There was plenty of time for that. We had the whole summer to enjoy each other, and I had many more fantasies that Oliver could help make a reality.

“Congratulations, mate,” Gary said, slamming his hand down on my back. “Youngest player ever to play for England. That’s one hell of an achievement.”

“I’ve not played for England yet,” I replied. “I just got called up to the squad.”

“You’re going to play. I guarantee it. I’m so fucking proud of you man.”

“Thanks Gary.” 

A few of my teammates had thrown a surprise party to celebrate the news of my call-up to the England team. We had training tomorrow, so alcohol was supposed to be off limits, but the manager turned a blind eye tonight. It wasn’t every day a player got selected to play for England—certainly not at the age of eighteen—and it reflected well on the club as a whole. 

When young players were choosing which club to sign for, West London R.F.C. could say “come and play here like Oliver Cornish did and you can go on to play for England.” For a player with ambition, that would mean more than a fat salary. 

Most people at the party had a few drinks in them at this stage, and there was plenty of noise; enough for Gary and I to have a private conversation. I motioned him over to the corner and he reluctantly followed. He always tried to avoid this conversation, but tonight I didn’t give him a choice.

“Have you heard from Carl?” I asked. I hadn’t heard anything from him since I started handing over twenty percent of my salary, but the silence had been far from comforting.

“Yeah,” Gary said quietly. “He’s been in touch.”

“He wants more money?”

“I don’t know what he fucking wants to be honest. He’s just reminding me he’s in control. That he can destroy my life at any minute if I step out of line.” 

“If he tries to blackmail you again—”

“I’ll go to the police. I’ve had enough of this shit. I’ll give him my salary, but that’s it. I’m not going to ruin things for you guys by throwing a game.”

“Okay. Just let me know if he—”

“Shit,” Gary said, looking over my shoulder. “Speak of the devil. Look outside.”

I turned to look through the glass and saw a familiar face outside the window. It was one of Carl’s henchmen. The one who always collected the money from me every week. Wayne, I think his name was. 

“We can’t be seen with him,” I said to Gary. I caught the eye of Wayne and motioned for him to go round the corner. “Let me deal with him.” 

“Fuck that,” Gary replied. “I’m coming with you.” 

We spoke loudly about needing to get some fresh air, and then snuck outside and went to meet Wayne.

“The boss wants to speak to you,” he said to me, once we’d caught up with him.

“We’ll both go,” Gary said. 

“No. The boss just wants Cornish.”

“It’s okay, Gary. I can handle this.” 

I knew Gary wanted nothing more than to hit him. Gary had enough pent up rage at this point that he could have destroyed Wayne with his fists and taken any other henchman along with him. But Gary had a child to protect; a child that Carl had threatened on a number of occasions already. 

I accompanied Wayne to a nearby park where Carl was waiting for me on a bench. This didn’t look at all discrete to me, but it was dark and there didn’t appear to be anyone else nearby. It would have to do; it’s not like I had a choice in the matter.

“Congratulations on your call up to the England team,” Carl said. Countless people had already said those words to me tonight, but none had made it sound so vile. 

“What do you want?” I asked. “You have your money.”

“Yes, about that... “

“I’m not paying you any more. You get 20% for doing jack shit. You should count yourself lucky.”

“I’m a realistic man, Mr. Cornish. I know what I am; I’m a criminal. The thing with criminals is they’re never satisfied. They always want more.”

“You’re not getting any.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to take any more of your salary. I have much bigger plans in mind. It strikes me that you may have quite a big role to play in the upcoming World Cup. From what I’ve heard, you’re going straight into the team as fly-half.”

“So what if I am? I don’t get paid for playing for England, so there’s no more money for you to take.”

“True, true. But the English are optimistic about their chances at this World Cup, and you know what the English do when they get excited about something? They gamble on it. Nasty habit really, but who am I to judge?” 

“Is there a point to all this?”

“You’re a man who likes to get straight to the point. Okay, fair enough. During the World Cup, I am going to give you instructions about what to do during certain games and you’re going to follow through. Nothing too major. Just miss a difficult kick now and again. No one will even notice.”

“I’ve already told you, you can’t blackmail me. You can threaten me all you like; I’m not going to do your bidding.”

“Gary used to say that. Then I reminded him of all the nasty things that could happen to him and his family. Do you know how easy it is sabotage a car so that it breaks down at high speed? Scary stuff.”

“I don’t have a family,” I replied. “And you can do what you want to me. I’m not going along with it. Now, if there’s nothing else...” I stood up and started to walk away. Wayne went to block my path, but he must have received a signal from Carl because he moved out of the way again.

“Don’t make any rash decisions, Mr. Cornish. I’ll be in touch.” 

I walked off and didn’t look back. I had no idea what I was going to do, but I knew one thing for certain; I wasn’t about to betray my country by taking a bribe during the World Cup. Nothing could make me do that. Nothing.

-*-

I woke up from a nap to a banging at my door. My first thought was that I had a visitor from Carl, but then I heard Gary’s voice.

“Olly, you home? Olly?”

I threw on some shorts and ran downstairs to find a panicked looking Gary at the bottom of the stairs with his son Shaun standing by his side. 

“Sorry, I was asleep,” I said through a yawn. “What’s up?” 

“Can you look after Shaun for a few hours tonight?” 

“Sure, no problem. You doing anything exciting?”

“You could say that.” Gary leaned closer to speak to me without Shaun overhearing. “I’m going to the police. I’m going to report what’s been going on. I’ve had enough, Olly. I know I might end up in prison over this, but it can’t go on forever.”

I nodded and motioned for Shaun to come inside. “Good luck, mate,” I said, shaking his hand. “It’s the right thing to do.” 

I couldn’t deny feeling a touch relieved. If Gary reported Carl, then he wouldn’t be able to threaten me any longer. Shaun had brought a Nintendo DS with him, so we took turns playing on that. He loved watching me play, although I suspected that was largely because I was terrible at the game, and he found it amusing.

When Shaun fell asleep on the sofa, I looked at the time and realized how late it was. Gary must have been giving the police all the details. There was a chance they would want to hold him overnight, but it seemed unlikely. He wasn’t exactly a flight risk. 

I saw lights in the driveway, followed shortly after by a knock at the door. I didn’t wake Shaun in case Gary wanted to carry him out to the car while he was still asleep. 

“How did it go?” I asked as I opened the door. It wasn’t Gary. Two police officers stood in front of me. 

“Mr. Cornish, my name is Officer Brett and this is Officer Thompson. May we come in?”

“Listen, I’m happy to give my side of the story, but how about I come to the station tomorrow morning. I have a kid to look after right now.”

The officer frowned. “I’m not sure what you mean, sir. Are you looking after Shaun Williams?’

“Yes. Why?”

“Sir, we need to speak to Shaun. I’m afraid his dad has been involved in a car accident.”