“Exciting game,” he said awkwardly without looking at Vlad. Fuck. What was it about Vlad that turned him into the painfully awkward loser he used to be as a teenager?
“Uh huh,” Vlad said, his eyes on his phone. “Do you think DuVal will score? They are giving good odds.”
“Are you betting?” Sebastian said, leaning into Vlad to look at his phone.
Vlad hummed in affirmative. “Just put five thousand pounds on Gabriel DuVal.”
Sebastian whistled. “Gabe had better deliver.”
Vlad turned his head. “You know him?”
Sebastian swallowed at the sudden proximity of their faces. “Yeah—I mean, we aren’t friends or anything, but yeah. He’s Tristan DuVal’s adoptive brother.”
Vlad’s eyes lit up with curiosity. “Are the rumors true?”
“What rumors?” Sebastian said, wincing inwardly. He knew Vlad was unlikely to out Gabe, but it still didn’t sit well with him to share secrets that weren’t his.
“That he has a thing with the team physician,” Vlad said, his gaze moving to the technical area where Sebastian could see Dr. Sheldon, an insanely attractive man who was openly gay.
“No idea,” he said, rubbing at his nose.
Vlad looked at him for a moment. “Do you know you often rub your nose when you’re lying?”
Sebastian dropped his hand and laughed. “Stop being such a creep.”
Vlad gave him an affronted glare. “What’s creepy about noticing things? Paying attention might save your life one day.”
Sebastian pressed his lips together to keep himself from laughing. “I’m sure you have a very rational reason for being a creep,” he said teasingly, looking Vlad in the eye.
Vlad stared at him with a pinched expression, as if he’d swallowed something sour. “You’re flirting,” he said. “Stop flirting, damn you, if you expect us to be friends.”
Sebastian licked his lips. “I’m not flirting. I’m just being friendly.”
“You’re not ‘being friendly’ very well,” Vlad said. The intensity of his gaze made Sebastian hot all over, his cock going half-hard so fast it was dizzying.
“I...” Sebastian trailed off, unsure what to say, because he really had been flirting. It was like he couldn’t control his mouth or the way he looked at Vlad.
“You said we shouldn’t and I agreed with you,” Vlad said, looking almost pained. “And I was trying to be a decent person for a change—I’m trying. But you’re being all—” Vlad glowered at him. “Being all pretty and flirty and making me stupid—”
“I’m not doing it on purpose,” Sebastian said guiltily and bit his bottom lip, lowering his lashes.
Vlad cursed in a Russian before suddenly grabbing a fistful of Sebastian’s hair and kissing his mouth, hard and greedy. He pulled back even faster, swearing under his breath and shoving his trembling hands into his pockets.
Sebastian stared at him, wide-eyed, his lips tingling, his heart racing, and his body quivering with want.
“Sorry,” Vlad said tightly, looking at the pitch like it was the most interesting thing in the world.
Sebastian stared longingly at the mouthwatering line of Vlad’s jaw and dug his nails into his thighs again to let the pain distract him.
Fuck, they were terrible at being friends.
Flustered and frustrated, Sebastian looked around and froze, catching the sneering, disgusted looks from the men around them.
“Let’s leave,” he said.
Vlad’s brows furrowed, his eyes still on the pitch. “There’s still half of the game to go.”
“People are looking, Vlad,” Sebastian said, his chest filled with anxiety. The tensions ran high during such an important match and most fans had likely had a few pints prior to the start of the match; sometimes violence could be triggered by the smallest things.
Vlad followed his gaze toward the gawking men. His face hardened, something ugly and dangerous appearing in his eyes.
“Calm down,” Sebastian said nervously, putting a hand on Vlad’s shoulder. Vlad had a temper on him; he was very unlikely to ignore it if someone called him a faggot.
“I’m perfectly calm,” Vlad said evenly.
“Let’s go, then,” Sebastian said, getting up.
Vlad grabbed his wrist and pulled him down. “We aren’t going anywhere,” he said, his eyes on the men around them. “I see no reason for us to. We came to see the match and we will watch the match till the end.”
“Vlad,” Sebastian started, looking around anxiously. He could feel the hostility and disgust emanating from pretty much everyone in their vicinity with the exception of the woman in the row below, who just looked curious.
“I never let a bunch of assholes bully me into leaving and I’m not about to start,” Vlad said.
Sebastian gave a wry smile. “You’re the one usually doing the bullying, huh?”
Vlad didn’t return his smile. In fact, he looked deeply unamused as he watched their surroundings like a hawk, looking each man in the eye, as if daring to say something.
Fuck, this wasn’t going to end well.
“Come on,” Sebastian tried again, squeezing Vlad’s biceps. “Let’s just leave.”
“No,” Vlad said. “We have every right to be here.” Before Sebastian could say anything, Vlad put an arm around him and pulled Sebastian close so their sides and thighs pressed together.