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"Hey." I give him a half-wave.
Grace lets go of my other arm and I'm dimly aware of her moving my other flatmates away from us, leaving me and Jeremy in reasonable privacy.
"I hope you don't mind, I thought you'd want the support."
I fiddle with a strand of hair, feeling more nervous than before, but I'm not too sure exactly what's causing it. "Thank you, it's nice. I didn't even realise you were coming."
"I should have checked it was okay."
I shake my head. "It's fine. I watch your games all the time," I remind him. "It's nice to think you're watching me compete in my sport."
"That's what I thought. Then Mickie heard I was coming and she gave me this look."
I let out a light laugh. "I know the one you mean."
"And then she insisted on coming along with me and invited the others."
"Ah, so it wasn't quite that you invited them."
"I think she's trying to make sure we don't do anything she doesn't approve of," he agrees.
"Right, because she thinks I'm leading you on." The words are out before I can think twice about them. But now they're out, I might as well double down on them. "Am I? I don't mean to be, and if I am..."
Jeremy leans in, closing the gap between us. It isn't uncomfortable, quite the opposite. "I don't think you're leading me on," he assures me. "You've told me where you stand."
"There's a but."
"There is," he agrees. "I wasn't going to say anything about it."
"But now we're talking," I finish for him.
"Exactly. Now we're talking." He takes a deep breath. "I don't think I can just be your friend, Krissi. I want to be at these events without people giving me side looks and asking what it means."
My breathing quickens and I realise as I hear him saying it that I want that too. I've been so determined to avoid the distraction otherwise known as Jeremy, that I've managed to turn something that could be a supportive relationship into something keeping me from achieving what I came here to do because it's all I'm able to think about.
"I..."
"We have to go." Grace tugs on my arm.
"But..." I glance at Jeremy, wanting to finish what I was about to tell him.
"Zara's on a warpath," Grace mutters.
"We can talk later," Jeremy assures me. "Go win a trophy first."
I think about arguing, but end up nodding instead. It's fine to prioritise. He's not going to change his mind about his feelings for me in the next half an hour.
"Did I just interrupt something?" Grace asks.
"You know you did," I mutter.
"Sorry, but Zara is fuming, I didn't want her to take it out on you."
I sigh. "It's okay. I'll deal with it after." I sound more confident than I feel.
I glance over my shoulder and back at Jeremy who smiles and waves at me. Instead of feeling jittery and distracted, I feel more grounded knowing someone is watching who wants me to succeed more than anything.
"You seem different," Grace says.
