AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The pressure was immense, but we were ready for it. And the bonus was it was helping both me and Theo keep our minds off what was coming once the season was over.
From the first touch of the ball, I was unstoppable. All of us were. The hours and hours we’d spent strategising, poring over footage of Chelsea’s games, were paying off. We went ahead when Reuben got a fucking beautiful goal from the halfway line, and although Chelsea equalised, thanks to a fumbled own goal from James Walker, we were dominating the play.
The second half kicked off, and amidst the noise from the Chelsea fans, I could hear our contingent of fans chanting for us, singing, and cheering us on, and it made me even more determined to do them proud. When Scott Gordon, one of our attacking midfielders, booted the ball to me, I saw my chance. Not wasting a second, I crossed it to Theo, who sent it into the top corner of the goal.
I ran to him, celebrating with my teammates and our fans, all of us exhilarated and caught up in the high of the moment. We were so close to achieving our place in Europe we could almost taste it.
Chelsea weren’t going down without a fight, though. They got control of the ball, sending it down the other end of the pitch and into the box. Lars was ready, poised for a save, but Ainsley kicked the ball out of play before it could reach him.
With under a minute left on the clock, Chelsea had a corner kick. Players in blue swarmed our defence. We couldn’t let them score, not this close to the end.
The ball sailed towards us, curving in the direction of the goal, the Chelsea players ready to help hit it home. But Grant got to it first with a powerful header, changing the ball’s trajectory and sending it flying towards me.
My foot connected with the ball, and I kicked it down the pitch as hard as I could. All that mattered was getting it away from our goal.
My lungs burned as I ran, Chelsea’s defenders chasing after me. Their goalie came racing out of the goal, booting it back down the other end of the pitch, but it was too late.
The ref blew his whistle, and it was all over.
We’d done it. We’d finished in sixth position in the Premier League and guaranteed ourselves a place in the Europa League next season.
This was the best moment in my career.
I spotted my dad in the crowd, going wild with his friends, jumping around and celebrating, and I laughed out loud. Reuben jumped on me, and then Ainsley jumped on him, sending us all to the grass, laughing with happiness and relief and pure fucking euphoria. Theo came running over, and I jumped to my feet, throwing my arms around him. Other players and the management team piled in, the two of us at the centre of a team hug.
“We fucking did it!” I shouted.
“Yes, we fucking did!” Theo’s smile was so wide, and he looked so fucking gorgeous that I couldn’t wait to get him alone for some personal celebrations.
But for now, we had some celebrating to do as a team.
We’d earned it.
* * *
I grinned down at the text from my dad. He’d gone home with the rest of the travelling fans, and the celebrations were continuing in his local pub. Two Jugs John had volunteered him to buy a round of drinks for the whole pub since his son was one of the players. Tapping out a response, I let him know that I was going to transfer some money to his bank account to cover it, and he’d better accept it. I wanted to tell him about me and Theo, too, but now wasn’t the time. I’d made arrangements to go over to his house when I got back home so that I could tell him then. He knew about my upcoming statement, and he supported me, and I was pretty sure he’d be okay with me being in a relationship with one of his favourite players. I hoped. It wasn’t something I wanted to hide from him.
“Okay. Done.” Pocketing my phone, I turned to Theo. “Ready?”
He gave the peeling pub sign a dubious glance but shrugged. “Ready.”
I opened the door for him, and we went inside. When I’d planned this, I’d tried to find a place that was in easy reach of our hotel, that served alcohol, and, most importantly, wasn’t the kind of place rich footballers would be expected to hang out. So we were at a dive called the Rose and Crown, which had a rating of 3.2 on Google. Apparently, they had a local indie band called the 2Bit Princes playing tonight, which was good because it meant that most of the patrons would be focused on that rather than the people around them. Just to be on the safe side, Theo and I were both dressed down in dark hoodies and jeans, and I was wearing a backwards cap. Even if someone did recognise us, they’d hopefully just think we were lookalikes.
Taking a seat in a high-backed booth, resting my elbows on the sticky table surface, I read the poster advertising the band night while I waited for Theo’s return. I’d promised him that tonight was just about the two of us, so my phone would be staying on silent in my pocket, and when he returned, he’d be getting one hundred percent of my attention.
I didn’t have to wait for long. Just a couple of minutes later, Theo slid into the booth next to me and handed me one of the pints he was holding. “I think the guy helping the band set up might have recognised me. He did a double take when he saw me.”
“Where is he now?” I scanned the crowd, most of them beginning to move towards the stage area where the band were doing a soundcheck.
“Not sure. He went off to the side of the stage somewhere.”
The pub lights dimmed as the band began to play. “I don’t think it matters. We’re practically in the dark here, and no one’s paying us any attention. I bet I can get away with holding your hand under the table and everything.”
Theo smiled, his hand finding mine. “Yeah. I like this.”
We sipped our pints as we discussed the match against Chelsea and our chances against some of Europe’s top-tier teams in the Europa League. When we’d thoroughly analysed our chances and were halfway through our third pints, we began a debate about whether Marvel was superior to DC or if it just had better marketing. Conversation flowed so easily with Theo, and that was one of the reasons he was my best friend as well as my boyfriend. I could talk to him about anything and everything and never run out of things to say.
I could also stare at him all day, every day. He was so fucking hot. I was a lucky, lucky man.
