‘Okay, sweetie, just let me know.’
Cami snickers at their exchange. The waitress appears, taking our order.
I’m not sure when it happened, but our group seemed to form overnight, and I am loving every moment of it. The easy-going smile is back on my brother’s face, and Mason’s eyes don’t seem as tormented and haunted as they used to. Cami and Nora have become as important to me as sunshine in my day.
The waitress returns, placing a tray on the table before handing out our drinks. We each reach for the drink we ordered.
‘Here’s to Anya, and all the success coming her way.’ Nora smiles, holding her drink in the air.
‘Here, here!’ Zayden says.
‘And to all of you who stand by me each day. My best friends in the entire world.’ I turn my eyes to Zayden, nodding at him. ‘My family.’
Tipping his head in my direction, he smiles.
‘Cheers!’ We collectively say. Leaning forward, we clink glasses.
Turning to face Mason, I place a hand on his arm. He smiles at me, those handsome smile lines appearing around the corners of his mouth. Those whisky eyes meet mine, soft and comforting.
For so long, my heart bled for him, and here we are at last. After all this time, and everything that’s happened, I thought Mason and my story was over. Finished. All in the past.
But here we are together, happier than ever.
It’s only the beginning.
43
MASON
THE ATMOSPHERE IN THElocker room is tense as we take our seats on the bench. Coach Kennedy enters, adjusting the cap on his head, even though he’s indoors and it’s nighttime. I’ve never seen him without it on. He shaved the scruff he’s been sporting for the past fortnight – Coach always shaves his beard for game night. The boys love to tease him about it.
I sweep the room, noting the anticipation lighting up the faces around me. Panic jolts inside my chest as I realise one of our star players isn’t here.
‘Have you seen Parker?’ I lean over, trying to be surreptitious, and meet the eyes of Zayden, who is fiddling with his boot.
‘He’ll be here,’ he says.
Parker keeps to himself and is the most mysterious player. All I do know: he is an absolute legend on the field, and I feel a hell of a lot more confident playing a game when I know he is there with me.
The sound of a door banging open somewhere down the hallway meets my ears, and Parker appears, looking sweaty and a little breathless. His hair is tousled, and his jacket is hanging off his shoulder, as if he ran all the way here from somewhere and hardly had the time to get dressed. A few of the other players glance up, and Coach gives him a nod of greeting, but doesn’t say anything. If anyone else was this late, they would get their ass kicked. I’m sure Coach and Parker have some understanding about whatever is going on, and I don’t mind if he’s late as long as he makes it to the game.
A week ago, the news of me becoming captain was announced, and thankfully everyone has been supportive. The main offender – Kai Adams – has been removed from the team and is awaiting his court date for what he did to Anya. With everything else that went down recently, I’d almost forgotten about him. In his absence, the team seems so much more cohesive and like a real squad. I didn’t realise how much influence he had over some of the other players. It’s a much better environment with him gone.
After the mess of everything, life has resumed. At first, I wasn’t sure how either Anya or Zayden were going to handle it all, but they have, because life simply keeps going, and they need to move forward with it.
‘You lot are a strong team,’ Coach Kennedy says, voice booming with a level of loudness and confidence that effectively captures the attention of everyone in the room. ‘You’re fast, you’re ethical and you know their weaknesses. This game should be a walk in the park for you. Play fair, listen to your captain, and work together.’ His eyes scan the room, and when they land on mine, I give him a reassuring nod, which he returns. ‘Good. Now get out there and make me proud.’
Whoops and cheers bounce off the walls as everyone leaps to their feet. Zayden claps a hand on my shoulder, grinning at me. His easy smile is back on his face, and he seemed more like his normal self these past two weeks, which is a relief. We’ve been throwing ourselves into training for the game, to keep up our strength and maintain a healthy distraction for Zayden, since falling into partying is something he does all too frequently.
We’ve eased back into our comfortable ways as three best friends. I thought it might make Zayden feel uncomfortable or awkward knowing that Anya and I are together now, but honestly, it feels just like it used to. It’s such a relief, and my anxiety is the best it’s been for as long as I can remember.
‘See you out there.’
My best friend runs ahead of me, catching up with Christian and Parker, who are leading the rest of us out. I hang back, focusing on my breathing for a few moments before I start running. As we jog out onto the field, I see the stands are full, and the roar from the crowd is deafening. I spot her almost immediately. Beaming back at me and dressed in my jersey – as she should be – she blows me a kiss that sends warmth racing through my body.
Exhaling steadily, I returned my focus to the field, as the game is about to begin.
I can’t help but grin as the crowd stamp their feet and scream our names.
