“Do what you gotta do,” Nell said, going back to her magazine.
My eyes scanned the words in my book but again, nothing was going in. Beside me, she was right there. Lily’s legs went on for days. Her muscles were so strong and defined.
Lily turned her head to me. “What are you reading?”
And yet, it wasn’t actually her physique that had me this hot and bothered. It was her presence, and the excitement of what we might talk about next. She was so curious about the world, and me, and open-minded. I very much liked these qualities in a person. “Oh, nothing. It’s non-fiction. Pretty boring.”
“I’m sure it’s not. What’s it about.” She looked at the cover. “Money?”
“Yeah. It’s about global wealth inequality and taxing billionaires on the assets they make tons of profit on because of weak fiscal policies by governments.”
“You’re reading about tax policy while you’re on holiday?”
I checked myself. She was absolutely right to have that questioning tone. I took my glasses off and held them by my side. “Well, yes, I guess when you put it that way, it is a bit weird—”
“I didn’t say I found it weird.”
“It’s more about society and growing wealth inequality. It’s written by this successful trader who grew up working-class and is now campaigning to fix the economy.”
“Okay, wow. I love the sound of that. What’s he saying?”
I was slightly mortified by the direction the conversation was turning and Lily seeing my weirdness. I’d have preferred we flirt over the sunscreen, perhaps taking it in turns to rub it on each other. But, it was also refreshing that she seemed so interested in my book and the topic. Plus, she said she didn’t find it weird.
“Don’t get her started,” Nell said. “This is her new special interest. You could be there for hours.”
What Nell didn’t know was that Lily was my new special interest, or maybe she had her suspicions.
Lily leaned towards me. “I have time. Tell me.”
***
Later that afternoon, we were both floating in the pool on inflatable lilos while everyone else was inside getting ready for the evening. I didn’t want to end the time we were spending together. We’d been talking non-stop for hours. She’d told me about her parents and her friends. Her parents had given up all of their free time when she was younger to support her football dreams. They were her biggest fans and strongest critics. She was from London, like me, and she had a lot of close friends, as did I. She wasn’t entirely comfortable being famous but saw it as an opportunity to inspire people, especially young people, to be more active and to believe in themselves more. Plus, her apparent interest in my latest deep dive on economic theory had me hooked. Her personality was lighting up our villa, and I was in the front row, lapping it up.
“What was it like being a footballer? Do you miss it?”
“Yes, I do miss it. It’s who I am. Was. It’s been my whole life. It’s like breathing, to me. I played in the centre of midfield. I loved being in the middle of things, being the playmaker. Plus, there’s not much that beats scoring a goal for your team at the right time. But I knew it was time to go. It was over. I was no longer recovering well between matches. Every game felt like a marathon. I just couldn’t keep up to the same level I had always set myself without it costing me physically. And I didn’t want to fizzle out and end my career on a string of poor performances. I decided to go out on a high before it all went to shit, and I think I did. I played well last season. My body said no, and for once, I had to listen.”
“It sounds like you pushed yourself very hard in your career. I mean, you achieved spectacular things.”
“Yeah, I think there’s probably something wrong with me. It’s not in the body’s best interest to treat it like a machine. I have to start thinking about my health in the long term. This knee, for instance. I don’t want to completely wear out my cartilage, you know.”
Lily leant forward and brushed a hand over her left knee, absentmindedly. Her abs tensed as she did so, and the muscles in her arm were ripped. I felt something tense within me, deep and low.
“On the plus side, you look great.”
“Thanks.” Lily smiled, flashing me the most beautiful grin that did nothing to help the low hum of electricity coursing through my body because of her. “Every cloud.”
“It must be hard to give up something so central to who you are.”
“It does suck a bit.”
“You battled a lot of injuries in the last couple of years then?”
“Loads. I’m still dealing with them.”
“Ouch. Where?”
“The biggie is my left knee, like I said.” She caressed her kneecap again, muscles popping, my insides melting. “I did my ACL on it a while back so it’s always going to be slightly weaker and prone to re-injury as I age. The cartilage is also badly worn. It also clicks when I walk downstairs. I know, hot. My left shoulder.” She touched it and started rubbing it. “I fell awkwardly on it once. Sometimes it freezes up, out of the blue. I also broke two fingers in my left hand, again, falling badly. See, they’re a bit crooked.” She held them up. Her middle and ring fingers were indeed a bit wonky, especially the tips.
