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He kicked the ball over to me, and I smiled.
We played until the sun sank beneath the horizon, passing to each other, dribbling the ball along the beach, doing headers, working in perfect harmony without ever exchanging a word.
When it grew too dark to see what we were doing, Jordan picked up the ball, tucking it under his arm, and spoke for the first time since I’d arrived on the beach.
“I missed this. Football. I didn’t realise how much until I found the ball earlier.”
“Me too.” This was the first time that I really felt as if we were teammates. Spending time with him, passing the ball back and forth, had eased something inside of me, and I felt so much lighter. More positive. Maybe things really would work out. Jordan and I were beginning to manage to spend time together without hostility…or much less of it than before, my withdrawal symptoms were lessening, and although I knew the cravings for the pills would take longer to go away, my therapy sessions with Dr. Ross were helping me to get through it.
“Theo?” Wiping his feet off on the grass at the edge of the beach, Jordan tugged his trainers back on.
“Yeah?” I followed suit, dusting off the worst of the sand before lacing up my shoes. When I straightened up, he was staring at his feet, his bottom lip tugged between his teeth, his dark lashes sweeping downwards and hiding his expression from me.
“Someone said something to me. What happens on the island stays on the island.”
“And?” We began walking up the path, our way lit by tiki torches.
“And…uh. It means that the thing that happened doesn’t count because it happened here.”
I didn’t have to ask him to clarify the “thing” he was referring to because we both knew exactly what it was. “So what are you saying?”
His cheeks flushed, and he exhaled shakily. “I’m saying, can we forget it happened, and please can you stop ignoring me? It felt like we were making a bit of progress, and then things got weird.”
Forget it happened. I wasn’t sure that I could, but I wanted to. I had to make myself want to.
“Okay. If that’s what you want.”
He came to a sudden halt, his wide eyes flying to mine. “Isn’t that what you want?”
My gaze traced the angles and lines of his beautiful face, and I swallowed hard, forcing myself to nod. “It’s what I want. I…we’ll forget what happened, and we’ll keep working on our…issues. I’ll try harder.”
I was such a liar.
He gave me a hesitant smile. “Okay. Yeah. Good. I’ll try, too.” His voice grew quiet. “I don’t want to transfer to another team.”
A horrible thought hit me out of nowhere, shocking me like a bolt of lightning to my body.
Even though all the things I hated about him were still there, I didn’t want him to transfer, either.
* * *
Showered and full from the room service dinner we’d eaten, I lay back on my bed with a low groan of satisfaction, my muscles expanding and contracting as I stretched out my joints. I hoped that I’d sleep better tonight. Dr. Ross had said the nightmares could last for a few more days, maybe even a week, and the rebound insomnia was still in full swing. But he was certain that once the withdrawal symptoms were out of my system, we could help my body to relearn effective sleep patterns.
Across from me, Jordan was studying his phone with a frown on his face. I tried so hard not to notice the way he looked, clad in nothing but a tight black pair of boxer briefs with all that smooth, tanned skin on display, but now I’d started, I couldn’t seem to stop.
He suddenly looked up, and our gazes caught, his eyes a gorgeous light grey green today, the darker ring around the edge of his irises making them pop as he stared at me.
“Do…” He licked his lips and then began again. “Your nightmares. There are some things we could try that might help, if you want.”
“What things?”
Glancing down at his phone screen, he cleared his throat. “We need to establish a relaxing bedtime routine and do some stress-relieving activities.”
“Where are you getting that from? Does your phone have access to Google or something?”
He shook his head. “Uh, no. I asked Rory to google for me. Don’t worry, I told him it was for me.” His gaze flew to mine again, and his expression was defiant. “And before you say it, I didn’t do it because I was pissed off with you keeping me awake or anything. I wanted to help.”
My entire body filled with warmth as I stared at him in shock. I was honestly lost for words.
