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He puts me down gently and I look up at him, still smiling so bright I feel like my face might crack. “Well, now we’re five minutes away from each other.”
He grins, looking so devasting, I swoon. “Hell, yeah we are. You ready to go out for breakfast or is there some other stuff you need to do?”
My nerves are still a little bit wobbly, but with Banner, I can do anything. He makes me feel safe. “Yep. I want to hear all about football, your friends, and what you did on your break.”
“Let’s go, then, because I have a lot to tell you. Tom, one of the lads on my team, hooked up with this chick when we were at an away game and took her back to his room. Rafner, our other team player, is sharing a room with him, right,” he begins with enthusiasm. “Then, he wakes up in the morning to find Tom cuddled up to him and throws a fit. The chick he got with ended up in another player’s bed—Ross—because Tom fell asleep before she finished in the bathroom or some shit. Anyway, the two of them were shit-arsed drunk, so they slept in. Coach went to see what the hold-up was, and we followed. We managed to get pictures.”
“What about the chick?” I ask, stepping outside into the drizzling rain. He tucks me into his side, shielding me from the light downpour as we run to his parked car.
I close my eyes, revelling in the feel of being in his arms. It’s moments like these that I cherish, because I know if he ever gets a girlfriend, I’ll lose them.
He laughs, his chest vibrating against my side. “She was still with Ross outside the door and spilled the whole story. Tom had pointed her out and asked her why she wasn’t the one in bed. It’s why we got back early. Coach didn’t want to do any stops as punishment.”
He opens the car door and I step in, grateful to be out of the rain so I can hear him better. I watch him walk around the front of the car, impressed by his physique and extremely good looks. It’s his eyes that captivate you to him, though, they’re a deep-set hazel colour, and with his thick, dark eyebrows, they stand out like a beacon. I’ve never seen eyes so mesmerising. And his smile?his smile is like sunshine; it brightens up your day. I drool and melt into a puddle every single time.
It can be kind of annoying.
“What time was you meant to be back?” I ask when he drops into the driver’s seat and starts up the car.
He glances over at me, smiling, before pulling out into the road. “We were due back later tonight. It’s why I texted you yesterday about meeting up for breakfast.”
“So, were they naked in bed together?”
He chuckles, shaking his head at me. “Only Tom, but luckily, it was only his arse out. Thank god. I see enough of their junk in the showers,” he tells me dryly. “When do Mark and Levi get back from their holiday?”
Banner hasn’t met Mark face-to-face, but Banner has been there when Mark Facetimed me during my recovery.
“He actually texted me last night to say they were flying home tonight. Levi got food poisoning and just wants to come home.”
Banner winces and pulls into a car park outside a row of factories. He points to the left, where a bunch of smaller buildings are, and says, “It’s just over there. And poor fucker. I remember the time I got food poisoning. We were in Spain and I think I was thirteen-fourteen. I spent eight days out of the fifteen in bed, vomiting. I just wanted to go home, too. At least there I had my PlayStation and a television that was in English.”
I giggle. “I can totally see you missing your video games and TV shows.”
We get out of the car, meeting each other around the front. He pulls me against him again, and I glance up at his side profile, wondering if he knows how much it affects me when he does stuff like this—like we’re a couple.
“My mum spoiled me for weeks after I recovered,” he states, grinning down at me.
I roll my eyes because his mum spoils him, anyway. She’s like no other mum I’ve ever met. She’s cool, funny, and so loving and protective it’s not even funny. His parents adore Banner and his sisters, Kacey and Louise.
“Your mum spoils you, anyway,” I point out, shoving my shoulder against his arm.
He glances down at me, smirking. “Yeah, she does.”
We step inside the cute little café they built into a newer building at the side of a factory. I scan the room and instantly relax. He was right, the place feels safe, secure, and not too many people sitting around to make me feel uncomfortable. The vibe was giving off a warm cosy place, and the family pictures hanging on the walls were a nice touch.
He steers me over to an empty table and sits me down, taking the seat next to be as opposed to the one opposite.
“Has your mum seen your new tattoo?” I ask him, picking up the menu.
Banner is covered in tattoos. I’m surprised he found room for any more. He’s had them since he was sixteen and looked old enough to get them. His mum doesn’t even care, and the school only made him cover them with plasters.
He glances down at the new semicolon on his thumb. He clears his throat, glancing back up at me, and there’s something in his eyes I can’t decipher. “She’s the one that helped me choose it.”
“She helped you choose it?” I ask, taking his hand and getting a closer look.
It just a simple, small tattoo. When we’ve spoken about them before, he’s told me at great length how each and every one meant something to him.
“Yeah, she did.”
