My triathlon training has gone out the window, all thoughts of a victory in Belfast over with, along with any worry about losing my job. Ollie has become the single most important thing in my life, everything else melts to insignificance in comparison.
While Stuart drones on about the last time he was in London, and the apparently epic dance moves he learned there, I tune him out and eavesdrop on a far more interesting conversation behind me between Ollie and Eddie.
‘So it’s still going strong?’ Eddie’s voice is full of awe.
‘Yep.’ Ollie’s quietly confident tone sends a ripple of pleasure through my spine and a goofy smile on my face. Does he know I can hear everything he’s saying? Probably. He’s still adamant we’re eloping. And the clock is ticking. We’ve been together almost five months. I can’t help but wonder what he’s going to come out with when we actually reach the six month milestone. And six is still my lucky number.
Stuart clocks the ridiculous grin on my face and frowns, like I’ve smiled at the wrong part of his story. Apologising, I continue to eavesdrop but more discreetly this time.
‘When are we going to meet her?’ Eddie asks.
‘She’s not ready yet. But as soon as she is, you have no idea how happy I’ll be to have it public knowledge.’
‘Is she an A-lister? She must be. Come on, man. Give me something to work with,’ Eddie demands.
‘Not exactly. But she’s A1 in my book.’
Nathan sits the other side of Ollie and I note his silence. He caught us kissing all those months ago but as far as he and everyone else is concerned Ollie met his mystery woman through Finding Forever. Which technically, he did. It just happened that it wasn’t the first time we had met.
I want to tell my family, I really do. Sunday lunch in Mam and Dad’s was torture last weekend. All my siblings paired up with their other halves and me sitting with the kids, yet again. The trouble is, I know Eddie won’t accept his friend sleeping with his little sister, even if what we have is so much more than that. Every day that passes reinforces this to me. I wasn’t joking when I said the only way he’ll get over it is if we’re already married and he has no choice but to do so.
I never knew falling in love could be such a whirlwind, but that’s exactly what it is. I was half in love with Ollie Quinn before he even spoke to me but now I know the curves of his body, the sound of his deep content breaths when he’s sleeping, how his eyes light when he talks about something he loves, or twinkle when he’s teasing me – the feelings I have are multiplying with every passing day.
He looks like the typical bad boy with his shaved head, ripped torso and glinting emerald eyes. But on the inside, he has a depth to him that I’ve never found in anyone before. Even on the occasion he takes me roughly, he looks at me with tenderness in his eyes.
To risk Ollie having to pick between Eddie and his relationship with me, is not something I’d like to chance. He says it would be me, but anytime anyone has ever picked between us before, it’s always been Eddie. Apart from Zac, of course, but that didn’t exactly end well either. And if it comes to the crunch now, will Ollie really be able to pick me over his friend, teammates and possibly even his job? And will Eddie ever forgive him for sleeping with his little sister, even if it is love?
Like he said, it’s early days for us. And a fallout between the two of them would separate the whole team. I know we need to come clean at some point, but I’d still like to buy a bit more time. Telling Emma first still seems like a good option. And Mam. Getting a few onside and maybe breaking the news to him in their presence, with their support, may be the only way he won’t go completely crazy. But until I’m one hundred per cent certain Ollie would pick us over anything and everything in the whole damn world, I can’t risk it. Because he has become my entire world.
The plane lands with a rickety bump and we’re escorted to a private coach that brings us to a hotel a mile away from Twickenham. The hotel doesn’t have half the acreage as Carton House, but it’s gold glinting signage and maroon frontage look promising. The sounds and scents of London are deliciously familiar to me; the diesel from passing traffic, the overhead roar of airplanes and the constant thrum of commuters and the heavy scent of yeast from a nearby brewery. I breathe it all in and allow my shoulders to relax. These are sights and smells I associate with freedom. I’m back in a place where no one knows me, or who I’m related to, and quite frankly nobody cares. There’s still something liberating about it even if it is limiting my time with Ollie.
The match is scheduled for two o’clock tomorrow, leaving this afternoon and tonight free for a bit of R & R. Gareth will need some more work on his shoulder and James has a slight problem with his hip, but between us, we’ll work on them and hopefully still manage a stroll and a bite to eat.
At reception, four very flustered looking young women dressed in maroon and white uniforms dish out keys to our boys in green. I hang back with Aiden, exploring the artwork on the reception walls and admiring the modern sculptures tucked into the deep alcoves of the wall, trying to look anywhere but at Ollie because I’m almost certain my feelings for him exude from every pore.
Ollie passes by without meeting my eye or acknowledging me, head down, focusing on his phone. It stings. I hate this part of our lives, the part where we have to pretend we’re nothing to each other in public. But it does make our nights together so much sweeter. And after trying to ignore each other all day, when he passionately reminds me each night that I’m all his, it’s even more rewarding.
Ten seconds later my phone vibrates in my pocket.
Ollie:
Room 42 whenever you’re free.
I bite back the smile, forcing a frown for Aiden’s benefit before slipping my phone back into my jacket pocket and collecting my own room keys.
As I let myself into the hotel room, Coach sends out a message on the team WhatsApp group reminding everyone the swimming pool and health suite has been cleared and cordoned off solely for the team’s use between four and six p.m. It’s not compulsory, but he recommends the team make use of it to stretch and wind down. If neither of us arrive it will be noticed. Our rendezvous will have to wait until after that.
There are some exercises I can show the boys in the water to stretch out their muscles and prepare for the game tomorrow. Eddie will hate me being in a swimsuit in front of the team but I’m beginning to care less about what he thinks, and more about what Ollie thinks. Will he care? Maybe I should demonstrate from outside the water, fully clothed from the sideline? No. I wouldn’t think twice about it if I was a man. Why shouldn’t I go in? Stuart’s taken Gareth for a one-on-one physio session in the gym and Aiden has told me a hundred times he hates the water. It’s part of my job, and I’m doing it.
Typing a message on to the group, I inform them I’ll be leading stretches at the far end of the pool for anyone that wants a guided workout. I change into a very conservative one piece even Eddie won’t be able to complain about. It’s not a wetsuit, but it has a high neck, with a zip running from the belly button right the way up to the top. My arms and legs are bare, but what else would you expect in a swimming pool?
I arrive at the pool before any of the others and swim a quick ten lengths, though not nearly as quick as they should be. My training has definitely suffered since Ollie Quinn’s been giving me a workout, but I can’t even bring myself to feel sorry about it.
Only when I finish the tenth length do I raise my head, shaking the water from my ears. It turns out I have an audience. Eight players stare at me open mouthed, not least shocked is my brother. I’m not sure if it’s the speed I can swim, he’s never watched me before, or my outfit. Either way, it doesn’t stop the frown creasing on his forehead. Ollie’s eyes rake across my chest as if I’m naked. I may as well be the way everyone is staring at me.
Coach is the first to speak. ‘If any of you are half as graceful as Amy cutting through the water, we could enter a relay team into the Olympics. Now, do as she says, then get an early night. If I see any of you in the bar past nine o’clock consider yourself on the bench. It might only be friendly, but I have some eager replacements chomping at the bit to get a game.’
The water is a great place to stretch and prepare for tomorrow because there’s minimal chance of injury. Beginning with the basics, we work through eight exercises in total, not without Marcus doing a few handstands. Thankfully, he manages to keep his arse in his pants today. He has a reputation for revealing it inappropriately.
