Tomorrow's Hero

By Thom Collins

FROM EXCITING AUTHOR OF LGBTQ ROMANCE THOM COLLINS

Book two in the Success series

A professional footballer with a secret. Can love conquer a lifetime of fear?

On the surface, international football star Fernando Inglesias has the perfect life—his dream career, fame, wealth and a beautiful girlfriend on his arm. At twenty-nine, Fernando has it all, but success is fragile, and one mistake could destroy everything. Fernando has a secret he will never share, something that could destroy everything he's worked hard to achieve. There are no openly gay male footballers in the professional league, and he has no intention of becoming the first.

Ibiza...the party playground of Europe—a hedonistic island where anything is possible. On a weekend trip with the boys, love is the last thing Fernando expects to find. A chance meeting with Joshua, a handsome English visitor, changes it all. For the first time, he finds himself interested in more than sex from another guy. As Fernando and Joshua grow closer, the stakes are high on both sides as they struggle to overcome their personal differences.

Can Fernando risk his career for the sake of loving another man?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pride Publishing
• Release date: Aug 31, 2021
• ISBN: 9781839431494

Thom Collins

Thom Collins is the author of Closer by Morning, with Pride Publishing. His love of page turning thrillers began at an early age when his mother caught him reading the latest Jackie Collins book and promptly confiscated it, sparking a life-long love of raunchy novels. Thom has lived in the North East of England his whole life. He grew up in Northumberland and now lives in County Durham with his husband and two cats. He loves all kinds of genre fiction, especially bonkbusters, thrillers, romance and horror. He is also a cookery book addict with far too many titles cluttering his shelves. When not writing he can be found in the kitchen trying out new recipes. He’s a keen traveler but with a fear of flying that gets worse with age, but since taking his first cruise in 2013 he realized that sailing is the way to go.

Book preview

Pride Publishing books by Thom Collins

Single Books

Closer by Morning

Silent Voices

Anthem

Anthem of the Sea

Anthem of the Dark

Anthem of Survival

Success

Never Too Famous

Jagged Shores

North Point

Anthologies

Brothers in Arms: Gods of Vengeance

Right Here, Right Now: The Coach

Success

TOMORROW’S HERO

THOM COLLINS

Tomorrow’s Hero

ISBN # 978-1-83943-149-4

©Copyright Thom Collins 2021

Cover Art by Erin Dameron-Hill ©Copyright August 2021

Interior text design by Claire Siemaszkiewicz

Pride Publishing

This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Pride Publishing.

Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Pride Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

Published in 2021 by Pride Publishing, United Kingdom.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors’ rights. Purchase only authorised copies.

Pride Publishing is an imprint of Totally Entwined Group Limited.

If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as unsold and destroyed to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this stripped book.

Book two in the Success series

A professional footballer with a secret. Can love conquer a lifetime of fear?

On the surface, international football star Fernando Inglesias has the perfect life—his dream career, fame, wealth and a beautiful girlfriend on his arm. At twenty-nine, Fernando has it all, but success is fragile, and one mistake could destroy everything. Fernando has a secret he will never share, something that could destroy everything he’s worked hard to achieve. There are no openly gay male footballers in the professional league, and he has no intention of becoming the first.

Ibiza…the party playground of Europe—a hedonistic island where anything is possible. On a weekend trip with the boys, love is the last thing Fernando expects to find. A chance meeting with Joshua, a handsome English visitor, changes it all. For the first time, he finds himself interested in more than sex from another guy. As Fernando and Joshua grow closer, the stakes are high on both sides as they struggle to overcome their personal differences.

Can Fernando risk his career for the sake of loving another man?

Trademark Acknowledgements

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

Polo: PRL USA Holdings Inc.

Hublot: LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton

Instagram: Instagram LLC

Diet Coke: Coca-Cola Company Inc.

Rémy Martin: Remy Martin & Co. Corporation

Airbnb: Airbnb Inc.

Daily Mail: DMG Media

Grindr: Grindr LLC

Google: Google Inc.

Wikipedia: Wikimedia Foundation

Muppets: The Walt Disney Company

Botox: Allergan Inc.

Hoover: Techtonic Floor Care Technology Limited

Lord of the Rings: J.R.R. Tolkien

Bluetooth: Bluetooth SIG Inc.

Casio: Casio Computer Co., Ltd.

Love Island: ITV Studios Global Entertainment Motion Content Group

Grey Goose: Bacardi and Company Ltd.

Mercedes: Daimler-Benz Aktiengesellschaft Corporation

Nissan: Nissan Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Chapter One

By eleven p.m. on Friday night, the stag party had been hard at it for thirty-eight straight hours. Since they’d arrived at the airport yesterday morning, they’d been on a relentless mission to get wasted, knocking back beers with vodka chasers before boarding the flight. Now Marc, the groom, had his hand up the skirt and his tongue down the throat of a girl he’d met less than an hour before. The best man had another woman pressed against the wall, while the tell-tale jerk of her shoulder made it clear she was giving him an over-the-trouser hand job.

Fernando Inglesias watched the tawdry display going on all around him and wondered, not for the first time that day, what the hell he was doing there. He barely knew Marc Jenner, and from what he’d seen of the groom so far, he intended to keep it that way. The rest of the group were just as bad—entitled, overgrown schoolboys behaving like this was their first trip away from home. Fernando had come along for the sake of his friend and teammate Robson, the only guy on this trip he gave a stuff about. Now Robson had his arm around the shoulder of a woman in a transparent dress. There was no need for Robson to stare so obviously at her enhanced breasts when everyone in the place could see them.

And now the women—a large hen-party they’d met in the previous bar—had tagged along and made themselves a permanent fixture. Lured by the promise of free drinks and VIP club access, it was obvious they would stick with the guys for the rest of the night, perhaps even the weekend.

Fernando knew before the flight had left London that he’d made a mistake in accepting the invitation. It had been pure hell from the start. He would make sure he was unavailable for the wedding, whenever that was.

He flinched as one of the women from the hen party made a grab for his crotch. He ducked his hips just in time to keep her from getting a good handful.

Aww, don’t be a spoilsport, she said, pressing her breasts against him and thrusting her knee up the inside of his thigh. I only wanna see what all the fuss is about. Know what I mean? Her screechy laugh cut above the unrelenting beat of generic house music.

Fernando tried to pull away, but the woman would not be shaken. She put an arm around his waist and pushed her body tight against his. She reeked of cloying, overbearing perfume and gin. Fernando turned his head to avoid the worst of the smell. Like all drunks, she had no concept of how loud she was being.

Wass-a-matter with ya? she shouted in his ear. You’re in Ibiza, ain’t ya? Everyone comes here to party. Don’t be so stuck up.

She ground her body against him almost in time with the music. Fernando looked around for help, for someone to save him from this awful woman, but all the other men in his party were enthralled by the girls. They probably thought he was having a great time.

Fernando groaned. He didn’t fit in with anyone here. Even Robson had turned into a different person since hooking up with these idiots. They had been drinking since they’d surfaced around noon and made no attempt to hide it when they took a hit of cocaine to revive their flagging spirits. He’d avoided them for much of the day, working out in the hotel gym before catching some quiet time around the pool in the afternoon, but there had been no getting out of joining them this evening. When they’d finally hit the town, Fernando had been the only sober member of the group.

They call me Becca, the woman hollered, fluttering her false eyelashes. She licked her lips, gazing at him lasciviously. I know who you are. I’ve seen you in the magazines—gossip sites and all that. Always thought you was hot, but man, those pictures don’t do you justice. She giggled, an obvious attempt at coyness. You are so much sexier in the flesh.

Fernando clenched his teeth. This was exactly what he didn’t want—being recognised from the trashy celebrity magazines his girlfriend paraded them through, rather than as the international striker he was. Those mags were devoured by people like Becca, who seemed to believe every word they read.

It’s not true, is it? she persisted. That you’re getting married to that Pritti Parlow?

No, he said, looking for an escape. The bar was packed, and he’d somehow got hemmed into the corner. He saw several camera phones trained on him and Becca. Great. A photo like that could be used to support any bullshit story the gossip sites cared to invent.

Good, Becca said, pressing closer. Cause you can do much better than her. Know what I’m saying? I don’t think she’s all that special. You see her everywhere, but I don’t even think she’s that pretty, which is funny considering her name. It’s all false, ain’t it? Her tits, her hair, lips… None of it’s real. I mean, no offence and all that, but I just say what I see.

Fernando raised his eyebrows. With her frozen forehead and the duck-like shape of her mouth, Becca’s own brand of beauty was far from natural. I have to go. Excuse me.

Becca gripped him tighter. I’m a model, she continued, undeterred. Glamour, corporate entertaining, you know the kind of thing. I’m a friend of the bride. She gave a dismissive wave in the direction of a woman in a pink tutu and veil. Sort of. More a friend of a friend, but who’s gonna turn down a trip to Ibiza? It’s fucking insane, ain’t it? I love it here. Don’t you, hon?

Fernando yanked his arm out of her grip. It was nice meeting you, he said without conviction. I have to go now.

She appeared panicked, reaching for him again, but he shrugged her off. Why don’t I come with you? How does that sound? You and me? We could go somewhere nice and quiet. Maybe your hotel.

No thanks.

I give the best blow jobs, she shouted, spraying him with spittle. "All the guys love it. I can suck your balls dry and make your toes curl. And that’s just for starters. First night anal. I’m that kind of girl. I guarantee a good time—the best you’ll find this weekend."

You know I have a girlfriend.

But she ain’t here, is she? What she don’t know about won’t hurt her. Besides, if it’s only a blowie, like, it hardly counts as anything, does it? An’ in Ibiza at that.

Fernando pushed through the crowd, heading for the door. There was no point stopping to tell the others he was leaving. He’d only get dragged into another desperate encounter. He’d send Robson a text as soon as he escaped so they wouldn’t waste time looking for him later…if they considered him at all. The other men in the group looked ready to pair off and do