“Just think about it, okay?”
I hand him the shirt and he looks at me, terrified. “Oh, okay. I get it…”
I take off the top I was wearing and throw it onto the grass.
“Oh, fuck,” Nick says, shocked. “For a moment there, I thought you had nothing on underneath.”
Luckily, I was wearing a vest top under my T-shirt. But in that moment, I didn’t care: I’d have stripped completely naked just to wear his shirt.
“Can you give it back?” I ask, grasping his hand.
He hands it to me, shaking.
I take it and tug it over my head, letting it slip down my body.
“Casey…”
“Did you really think I had to think about it, Nick?”
He looks at me, incapable of speaking.
“Do you not think that all these years were long enough? Nick O’Connor, you’re…you’re…”
Nick grabs my waist and lifts me up; I wrap my legs behind his back and look him straight in the eyes.
“So, does that mean that…?”
“Yeah. Right now.”
Nick holds me close to him, pressing his mouth against mine. In that one kiss, there’s love, there’s passion, desire, friendship, intimacy… There’s us, and our future. I always knew that Nick would be a forever.
Because I’m made for Nick O’Connor. My life could never be any other way.
“Hey! Guys, what the fuck?” Someone interrupts us. “Do you think that’s appropriate? There are kids here!”
Nick slowly lets me down, as we realise that the whole family has run out onto the pitch.
I turn towards them. Ryan’s the first to notice my top.
“Oh, holy shit!” he yells, his hand flying up to his mouth.
“What? What’s happened?” Ian asks, turning his gaze to the writing on my chest. “Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck!”
I burst out laughing, as Nick flashes him his middle finger.
“Who’s going to tell Mum?” Ryan asks, concerned.
“This is such bad news for us,” Ian grumbles through gritted teeth. “Now we’ll be her next crusade.”
“Can someone please tell me what’s going on?” Chris asks, before reading my T-shirt, too. “Oh, my God! Oh, my God!” she cries, jumping up and down and clapping her hands together.
“Oh, Jesus!” Riley exclaims, finally catching up with the group. “I was definitely not expectingthat!”
“Were you scared someone was going to whip her away in front of your eyes?” Evan asks, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Were you scared of a little challenge?”
“You never had a hope, kid,” Nick says to him.
“We’ll see about that.”
