The Former Soccer Player - Part 2

I came to on the pitch with Kevin’s round face looming over me. And his tits. I could see each sweat-stained mountain from beneath his strained jersey.

“Dude, are you okay?”

I wasn’t. “Sure, I’m fine,” I said instead, and then tried to stand. When I almost immediately fell into Kevin’s waiting arms I knew my cover was blown.

“Maybe you should sit on the sidelines for a bit,” he said, and I just nodded.

The rest of the match was me watching my former teammates kick the ball up and down the field, sometimes scoring, sometimes not. Kevin was always somehow drawing my eye. I told myself it was natural for him to do so simply because he was the biggest thing on the field--indeed, the biggest thing in my whole field of vision--but I was beginning to suspect there was something more.

Maybe it was the mild concussion talking, but the way he propelled his enormous bulk forward and side to side, how his kicks always flew way further than anyone else’s, and how his entire frame swayed and wiggled even after he’d come to a standstill… it was mesmerizing.

And then 5 minutes later he put his hands on his knees and started taking in giant gulps of air. He tagged out and laboriously lumbered over to where I was sitting.

As he approached I could tell he was heaving for breath. I handed him the water bottle I’d been sipping and he graciously accepted. If he was sweat-stained before, he was absolutely drenched now.

“God, it’s hot out there,” he griped. It wasn’t. It was maybe 65 degrees, and there was a breeze. Whatever warmth the players got came from the game and simply being in the sun.

“Sure is,” I said just to be friendly. “You looked good out there.”

Where had that come from?

Kevin just looked at me, then laughed. “Holy shit dude, I must’ve hit you harder than I thought!” He laughed again, then grabbed hold of his own spare tire (which was more like two tires) and then wobbled them in front of me. I tried not to stare, but I’m sure I failed.

“You don’t need to be nice--I know I’ve really let myself go,” he said. I kept staring, so he kept on wobbling. “I never kept up with the game after high school, and then university was really frickin’ hard so all I had time for was study and fast food. And well, you can see the end result.”

I sure could. I didn’t look that bad to me.

Man, maybe I was concussed.

Kevin finally let his belly drop, which flopped over his crotch with an oddly wet slapping sound. I couldn’t help but notice that there was quite a bit of belly peeking from beneath the hem of his shirt. “C’mon, let’s go grab a bite to eat. I’m starved.”

Without even thinking I said sure, and then off we went in Kevin’s SUV to the nearest burger joint.

Kevin ordered a double burger, large fries and coke, while I just had a milkshake. It was 3 PM and I didn’t want to completely ruin my dinner. Kevin obviously didn’t have that problem. He was still sweating by the time we sat down at a booth, and I noticed a few people we staring.

If Kevin noticed the stares, he didn’t let it show. He tore into his meal with gusto and by the time I was finished my milkshake he’d torn through his entire meal.

He asked me as he was dabbing his double chin with his napkin, “So, what have you been up to since high school?”

What had I been up to? Not a whole lot. A string of failed relationships, a dead-end job that I hated, and not even a savings account to show for any of it. “Oh, a little of this and a little of that,” I offered instead, then went I got an eyebrow raise I decided I had to give a little more. “My girlfriend left me about a month ago, so there’s that.”

Surprisingly, Kevin looked more upset about than I was. “Oh, I’m sorry to hear dude.”

I waived off his concern. “It’s fine, we weren’t really going anywhere. Plus getting her to put out was like pulling teeth.”

Kevin guffawed and his jowls bounced between his chest and chin. I decided I liked the way he laughed.

“Well then, good riddance!” and he raised his soda to tap mine. It was an awkward cheers with both cups being made out of waxed paper, but it was the sentiment that counted.

“Wanna head back to the game? They should still be playing,” Kevin asked.

“Nah, not really. Sorry, but running into you really took the wind out of my sails,” I said with a sheepish chuckle.

“Well, I can’t leave you without any wind. Why don’t you come back to my place and we’ll get a little more caught up?”

I blinked. It honestly sounded like he was asking if we wanted to hook up. I hadn’t let on I was bi, and I didn’t think I’d let it out that I was interested, and then I vaguely remembered staring at every move Kevin made for the past hour or so. I guess I didn’t need to communicate my interest verbally.

I’d also never known which way Kevin swung, so this was a revelation to me too.

“Sure,” I said before my delay became awkward. Kevin winked and then got up to put away his refuse, while I got up and wondered just what I’d agreed to.