When I found out my girlfriend of a year was cheating on me via the world’s stage—also known as The Daily Mail—I didn’t believe it. The infamous gossip rag was notorious for publishing utter bollocks and couldn’t be trusted. Olivia and I were solid; we had a holiday booked to Ibiza set for after the end of the season, and I was thinking about introducing her to my parents, despite her reluctance to meet them. There was no indication she was unhappy, that I wasn’t giving her what she needed.
In my mind, it was all a lie and not something I needed to be worried about. The fact that I couldn’t catch her on her mobile that day was merely a coincidence. Then, I was on the pitch with possession of the ball when Oliver Hughes, the man supposedly having an affair with my girlfriend, tackled me to the ground and said,“I’m going to take this game, just like I took your girl—hard and easy.”
My stomach dropped, but my heart still couldn't believe it. How could it, when just two days before, she had been in my arms in bed, smiling up at me as she told me she loved me? But I had no choice when, at the end of the match—after we lost, because I couldn’t focus—Olivia ran out onto the pitch in Newcastle colours and jumped straight into Oliver’s arms.
By the next day, The Daily Mail had a new headline: ‘Legends Fly-Half Hung Out to Dry’, accompanied by a photo of me pissed out of my mind and slumped against the back wall of a pub. Every day of the week, there was a different news story.
Tieran Stone: A Cautionary Tale on Shooting for the Moon and Falling on Your Face.
Stone’s Over Olivia! Legends Captain Seen with a Different Woman Every Night.
Scrum on the Streets: Tieran Stone Starts a Brawl After Another Match Lost.
It was a really bad time in my life. I felt like shite from drinking too much, I was underperforming at work, and I was heartbroken. I thought we had been building something. It wasn’t perfect, but on paper, we worked—until she torched it. I grappled with trying to understand why. What did I do? The internet had its theories, and while it felt like my life was disintegrating around me, the world weighed in, and I didn’t cope well. Rigorous practices during the day bled into drinking heavily at night, making choices I’d regret the next morning. It wasn’t until Coach Ballard threatened to kick me off the team that I pulled my head out of my ass. Still, the blow to my confidence left me feeling like I couldn’t trust my own instincts long after I got my act together, and it bled into every aspect of my life.
Suddenly, I was unsure about everything. If I couldn’t even see signs Olivia was unfulfilled, what else was I missing? Was I a bad captain too? Did I support my parents enough? Did my friends really like me, or were we just mates because we were on the team together? How much would the fans hate me if I wasn’t playing at the top of my game every match and bringing home wins? Overnight, everything felt like it was slipping through my fingers, creating a vat of quicksand at my feet that I was starting to drown in.
Iamover the bullshit with Olivia. There’s no part of me that misses, or longs for her. If anything, the distance gave me perspective. I just wish it hadn’t played out so publicly, because even though I’ve moved on, the media is still hellbent on never letting me forget.
“I just need to stay focused on the game, you know? Get us back on track without any distractions,” I add on.
“Fuck me, she’s stunning. I’m going to talk to her before the night is over,” Myles says, oblivious to the fact that I’m still talking.
My eyes scan the crowd as I sip my beer, trailing over to the bar so I can finally see who his future wife is.
“There she is.” He points over to the end of the barclosest to the door, where a woman stands, wearing a fitted black dress with a plunging neckline, strappy black stilettos, and eyes that make my whole body tighten.
“Jade?”
“Who?”
I point. “Miss McKallen. That’s who you’re talking about?”
His face clouds with confusion before his whole countenance shifts to something gleeful. “Oh, this is perfect. Jade!” he yells out.
“What are you doing?” I hiss.
“I just found an in, my friend. See the absolute goddess standing to the right of our boss?” I shift my eyes over and notice for the first time that another woman is even there. Next to Jade is a beautiful woman with deep tanned skin, sultry eyes, and dark hair that fades into a warm ginger. She’s lovely, to be sure, but my eyes quickly find their way back to ones of burning topaz with a flame of blue.
Myles calls out Jade's name again, and this time, she hears him over the sounds of the pub and looks toward where we’re sitting—only steps from where we first met. It’s curious that she would come back here, of all places, when she’s been so determined to act like our night together never happened.
Her eyes widen in recognition that melts into horror as her friend's eyes jump back and forth between us all, lingering on Myles a little longer than necessary. An argument of sorts seems to be happening between the two women before her friend grabs her bare arm and yanks her toward us.
My greedy eyes rove all over her body; she looks like sin incarnate in that dress, with her dark hair unbound, falling loosely in waves around her face and down her back. Her kohl rimmed eyes zero in on me, and a scowl mars her face at my obvious perusal.
Bringing the pint glass up to my mouth, I smirk into therim and see her back straighten a little more before they stop before our table.
Tension builds as the silence grows, no one making a move to say anything. My stare never leaves Jade’s face, and, judging by the way she’s ignoring my gaze, I’d guess she’s trying very hard to not think about the last time we were in this pub together.
“Hey, boss.Comehere often?” I suppress a smile at her answering glare.
Jade’s eyes narrow as the tantalizing spot of blue burns like fire, promising hell for daring to remind her. “Once. Didn’t enjoy it much, though.”
The insult doesn’t sting the way she intends.Thisis the Jade I met all those weeks ago, giving as good as she gets—confident, brilliant, absolutely stunning. Her stare is severe, but there's an undercurrent between us that softens it around the edges, making it playful.
When I first laid eyes on her that night across the pub, I thought she was a mirage pulled straight out of my deepest fantasies. Piercing eyes, soft, full mouth wrapped around the rim of her martini, and a body that made every part of me ache. Then, she started laying into the drunk next to her, and I was a goner. I needed to talk to her, know her.
“We’ll have to change that then,” I say back.
