And Harry watches me, pausing his actions to let his eyes wander over my flesh. It’s at once humbling and empowering.
Sometimes I feel like he really sees me, sees who I am beyond the Lando I present to the rest of the world.
“You look fucking cute in your little green uniform,” I say to him.
“I wear green all the time,” Harry replies. “You look weird as heck not wearing black for once.”
“I—”
“Ah, to be young and in love again,” Tom says from behind us, jolting us both out of the strange bubble we were in.
Neither Harry nor I correct him.
“Let’s go warm up,” Harry says, pulling my arm. He turns to Tom and Bryn. “You guys coming?”
“I can’t go out there with this on my ass!” Tom says again, hands on his butt cheeks.
“Why don’t you try to hide it with some mud?” I say, then turn away quickly because I may have suggested something extremely cruel.
Outside the hut, Harry grabs me, forcing me to stop. He holds the back of my head and angles my face downwards. He’s grinning like a maniac. “You are fucking diabolical. You know the lettering is white vinyl and the mud will just slide right off.”
I’m totally obsessed with the way Harry isn’t telling me off. If anything, he’s gleeful that Tom might walk out there looking as though he’s shat himself.
“Are we bad people?” I ask him, feigning innocence.
“Of course we are. That’s why . . . we’re besties.”
I’m ninety-nine-point-nine per cent certain that wasn’t what Harry had intended to say.
We warm up by jogging a few laps, and then we stretch.
Daisy comes running over. Her face is bright red, and her hair is flying out of her ponytail. She’s already wearing her referee’s uniform. “Guys, have you seen Mathias?”
Harry pulls a face that even Daisy doesn’t fail to notice.
“No, is he not in the hut?” I say.
“We were in the hut, but we saw some leaked photos on Instagram of him and Dad, and . . . he’s done a runner,” she says.
Before Harry can respond with something negative, I shoot my hand out behind me to stop him in his tracks. I’m aiming for his gut or sternum, but I’m not looking and accidentally clobber him in the dick.
“Oof!” He crumples to the ground, hands between his legs. I should feel guilty, but at least he’s not slagging Mr B’s boyfriend off to his daughter.
“Maybe Matty has the shits,” I say. I know this isn’t true, but one crisis at a time, please. “I’ve had about six nervous poos this morning.”
“Lan . . .” Daisy says in that way she does, half exasperated, half reprimanding.
“I haven’t seen him. I’ll come and find you if I do, okay?”
“Okay, thanks.” Daisy jerks her head towards Harry, and mouths, “Are you two fucking?”
I shake my head, and she nods in acknowledgment.
“You alright down there, Abs?” she says.
Harry simply groans in response.
I wave Daisy away, and kneel beside Harry. “Sorry, but you were just about to drag Mathias in front of his future stepdaughter.”
