“What if I do? What if I’m saving it as a reward for surviving whatever the fuck Gavin’s got in store for us?”
Bailey pursed his mouth and nodded understandingly. Gavin, the Knights head of Physical Performance, had a well-deserved reputation for being an absolute bastard. And while he got results, it didn’t mean any of us liked him or appreciated the shit he put us through. “God, it’s going to be so bad,” he said. “I’ve hardly done any training this summer.”
“Sucks to be you then,” I said, finally putting the lolly into the zip pocket on one end of my bag, tucking it underneath some sun cream and face wipes in the hope nobody would steal it.
“Have you seriously been in the gym every day? ’Cos if you have, that’s impressive,” Hunter said, sitting down on Bailey’s other side and handing him a shaker of pre-workout and a lemon muffin. The two of them were super close, like Charlie and me levels of close, but sometimes I wondered if there was more going on between them.
Usually, I wouldn’t have suspected anything. It was only because I’d seen them sitting with Jonny’s brother, Aiden, at a barbecue back in June, and both of them had their hands on his thighs. And not in a friendly way.
Like, a “we’ve definitely fucked and we’re going to do it again” way.
Maybe I’d ask them about it.
“Not every day. Rest is important,” I said. “But yeah, I’ve been doing little bits—just like some running and free weights, bit of swimming. Took my sister to Mykonos, so didn’t do too much while we were there.” The hotel had a little gym I’d used in the mornings, but then I’d used my afternoons to loungeby the pool with Jade, doing nothing or occasionally going out exploring.
We’d spent a lot of time in bars and restaurants too, and I was glad she’d been able to have some fun. The trip had kind of been a last-minute thing to cheer her up after she’dfinallydumped the knobhead who’d stuck around for far too long and made her fucking miserable.
Plus getting her out of the country meant he hadn’t been able to wheedle his way back into her life because I’d reminded her how much better things were without him.
“Bet your sister is a better travel companion thansomepeople,” Bailey said with a pointed look at Hunter as he sipped his pre-workout.
“What? It wasn’t that bad. We didn’t miss our flight,” Hunter said, looking baffled by Bailey’s statement. “Just because I don’t insist on being at the airport three hours beforehand. Also, I am the only reason you aren’t a lobster right now.”
“Mate, did you seriously forget sun cream?” I asked, side-eyeing Bailey. Half these jokers clearly didn’t have a skincare routine and it showed. But that shit was important, especially when we spent so much time outside exposed to everything from burning sun to freezing cold and lashing rain. And I still wanted to look hot when I retired.
“No! I just wasn’t obsessed with putting it on every hour.”
“You should be,” Hunter said, gesturing at him. “Look at you, you’re white as a ghost. Ghosts probably use you as colour match.”
“Not all of us tan,” Bailey said.
“Which is why those people should use sun cream.”
I nodded. “He’s right. It’s not good for you. Skin cancer isn’t a joke. Also, you should be wearing it every day?”
“Bloody wingers,” Bailey said teasingly. “Of course you have a skincare routine.”
“Says the fullback. You do fuck all except be a shit version of a goalkeeper.”
“Fuck off, my job is to fix your mistakes.”
I grinned. “I don’t make mistakes, Young, because I’m fucking awesome.”
Bailey snorted and shoved me playfully. “You’re a dickhead.”
“Takes one to know one,” I said, shoving him back as Charlie appeared from the toilets, looking worryingly pale. I’d been wondering where he’d gotten to because he’d disappeared off to take a shit twenty minutes ago. “You all right, Charlie?”
“I dunno,” he said, sitting down on the bench next to me and rubbing his midsection cautiously. “My stomach is killing me. I feel like shit.”
I looked him up and down, thinking back to what he’d eaten while he’d been with me. We’d had the same breakfast, but I felt fine, unless… “Did you have a smoothie at break?”
“Yeah, why?” Charlie’s face suddenly went even paler, his mouth falling open, and I knew he’d realised what I was about to say.
“Chef puts Greek yoghurt in them for protein,” I said. “You can’t have that.”
“Bollocks,” Charlie said. “I totally forgot he does that. I thought it tasted weird.”
I sighed. Charlie’s aversion to yoghurt and other dairy was pretty new, and he was still getting used to it. Half the time he forgot to even check for dairy, and I’d taken to walking along behind him in the canteen and taking stuff off his tray, if only so we both didn’t have to deal with his bloating, cramping, and toxic farts. But I’d been too distracted by my lollipop during break to notice what he’d picked up.
