Sidelined Hearts : An M x M Original
My name is Christian Thompson, and once upon a time, I was the best striker in European football.
That was until he came along—Ashford Ryder, young and carefree, 10 years my junior and the new shining star.
I hate him.
At least that's what I tell myself.
Not just because he's taken my spot, but because he's everything I've struggled all my life to be, and not to be.
He's vibrant, he's happy, and the worst of all, he's openly gay.
I'm not homophobic, quite the opposite—I've lived in the closet all my life.
All my life, I've had to hide who I am to please the people around me.
European football hasn't always been this accepting of gay men, and I'd squeezed myself into a box to fit in with what they wanted of me.
It isn’t that hard when you think about my family who'd rather disown me than have an openly gay son.
So imagine how I feel when the world decides to be more accommodating to people like Ashford Ryder when they shoved me in a box.
It's not so easy to hate the happy-go-lucky striker, when he does everything to get close to me, despite my insistent hatred for him.
He's like a thorn in my side—a hot, sexy, blonde, 5ft9 thorn I can't stop thinking about.
But when one day I lose my cool around the popular striker and land myself in bad press, I end up needing his help.
It's supposed to be easy.
Spend some time with Ashford Ryder, and show our fans that we can work together—it's what I need to do to save my career.
But no one tells you how hard it is to hate someone you spend every waking hour dreaming about.
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Chapter: CHAPTER SIXTEEN:
Unrequited affectionsAshford A cup of coffee can fix everything, anything at all no matter how bad. In fact, even the thought of a cup of coffee steaming and being made ready for my consumption lifts my mood. I glance at the man in my room, a different man from the one I woke up with. A part of me—a really small part that doesn't really care—wonders where the other guy is, but I'm too immersed in the brewing coffee to say anything. "Don't look so smug. You're making us pancakes." Cole pouts at me, before bursting into light giggles. I can't help but smile back. He's one of the most cheerful morning people I've ever met. It's not like I'm a grump myself, but he's perpetually in a good mood every morning. Honestly, his mood is always infectious. But I wince when I process what he's just said, and then full on frown. "I'm too exhausted after my night. Can't we just have coffee and then I'll go back to bed." I answer. He rolls his eyes so hard, I wonder if he has seen his brains already. “It's almo
Last Updated: 2025-05-08
Chapter: CHAPTER FIFTEEN:
Not a morning personChristian. The sunlight streaming down my window I can ignore, but the loud blaring sound in my room that's so loud, I want to smack the object—that is quite impossible to ignore. I frown and roll around the bed, slapping my hand everywhere, while I try to pinpoint the exact location of the ringing. I don't find it, and my frown deepens. Fuck, it's too early to be in a bad mood, but I really don't want to open my eyes. The ringing suddenly stops, and I sigh. Maybe whoever the fuck is calling me will get the message that I don't want to answer, and finally stop calling. Besides, it can't be more than 8 am in the morning, and everyone who truly knows me, knows that I don't do mornings. Always hated them. I don't understand how anyone can be happy so early in the day. Soph calls me a storm cloud in the sunny mornings, while she's always cheerful and eager. Shit, which reminds me, Soph. I forgot to call her last night, after my match. I must have been really exhausted if I fo
Last Updated: 2025-05-08
Chapter: CHAPTER FOURTEEN:
PlottingAshford. I'm left dumbfounded, and it isn't because I've never been turned down and blatantly rejected before—more times than I can count in one night. Although, I'm rarely ever turned down, that isn't it. It's him. Why is he so adamant? I mean, it's so clear in his eyes—the want, the need, the desperate urge to crawl inside another person's skin and seek relief. He can't hide it no matter how much he tries, but that doesn't stop Christian Thompson. No matter what I say, or do, or how desperately I throw myself at him, he still sticks to his facade. It's quite literally the most shocking thing I've ever seen. Most people—myself included—just take what they want, irrespective of how wrong it is. But not him. He seems to hold on to the belief that this is wrong, and no matter how much I push and prod, he won't budge. Maybe I shouldn't have told him fuck you, but why not? He was acting beyond disrespectful, a behavior I've never been known to take from anyone. What if that'
Last Updated: 2025-05-08
Chapter: CHAPTER THIRTEEN : Unsatisfying. Christian. Could I have handled things better? Maybe. Did I? Absolutely not. I hate the guy, that much I know. And it's not the kind of hate you admit, and then realize you actually burn for the person. I'm one hundred percent sure of it. Everything about Ashford Ryder infuriates me. His harmless casual teasing, the way he carries himself, the way he plays soccer. I fucking despise everything. Jealousy is an ugly emotion, but it's not like knowing what it is can change how I feel. I hadn't lied to him—I really did wish I never saw the guy again, and I would bash his face in the next time I saw him. The fucking dick. Even though everything he did tonight did made my own dick hard as hell, I still hate him. I probably hate him even more for doing that, because how dare he raise such animal lust in me? I rub down my face frantically as I walk back to my hotel room. More like half jog, and half walk. I'm wound tighter than a cord about to snap, and I know what I need is a har
Last Updated: 2025-05-04
Chapter: CHAPTER TWELVE:
SlutAshford Flirting is like scoring a goal. No matter how good you are at it, there are still so many things you have to consider for it to actually work. With Christian Thompson, it isn't at all like that. Flirting with him is like gambling.I can say words that'll make his breath come out harsher, make his pretty eyes dilate, and make him swallow roughly. But what I can't do, is make him agree that he even remotely wants to take me up on my offer. And I badly want to do that. Fine, I can concede to defeat. He doesn't have to follow me up to my room tonight—I have a date for that, but I can't seem to understand why he's so hell-bent on acting like I upset him. That is why I'm so fixated. "Don’t you have any decency?" His words come out gritted, and his eyes dart all around us, like he's scared someone might see us. I raise a brow, and smirk at him, like I didn't just tell him that I was receiving a blow job when he'd been badmouthing me. There's something about the guy that
Last Updated: 2025-05-04
Chapter: Pretty Cock Christian The back of my ears burn a bright shade of red I thankfully can't see when he finishes his absurd list. He thinks I don't like him? He doesn't even know the half of it. I can't fucking stand his prissy ass. The dark consuming feeling returns in full force once he finishes his round off, and I suddenly want to punch his stupid face. Why is he even talking to me? Why won't the fucking guy just walk away from me? It's not bad enough that everything around me suddenly smells like him, because he's standing barely two feet from me. Basically encroaching my space if you ask me, since no one thought the guy the concept of personal space. Every time I take a deep breath, I can smell his soft but rich cologne, corroding my senses and leaving a lingering feel, practically begging me to suck on his neck and taste it Now he's spitting out things he thinks he knows about m
Last Updated: 2025-05-03
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