than Maisie, Mom, and a few close friends, and I intended on keeping it that way.
With a few minutes to go, Oliver attempted a long drop goal but it missed just past the post. It didn’t make any difference to the game, and he’d already put twelve points on the board, but I heard a fan nearby mutter “typical” under his breath.
I glanced over at Maisie who had heard it too. She looked pissed. Not much made Maisie angry, but she didn’t like hearing Oliver insulted. He’d shrugged off the insult from the boys earlier, but that had to have hurt. Maisie had helped by asking for his autograph, but to have that one mistake from eight years ago still following him around was unfair.
People still blamed him for one mistake he’d made at the age of eighteen when the expectations of an entire country were on his shoulders. I was doing the same thing. I was just as bad as those boys earlier and the one sat in front of me now.
Oliver had changed since he acted like a jerk to me, just like he’d changed on the pitch since he missed that crucial drop goal. I couldn’t keep him at arm’s length just on the off chance he might be nasty to me again.
It dawned on me; I was scared. Scared he would treat me badly again. Scared he wouldn’t want me when he saw me naked. Scared I would still want him after the summer was over and we went home.
I glanced over at Maisie again and saw a girl who was never scared. She wasn’t scared when she was on the field. She wasn’t scared to meet people even though she was regularly bullied because of the burn marks on her face. If my younger sister could handle what was thrown at her then I sure as hell could too.
“Will you be okay on your own tonight?” I asked Maisie.
“Sure, why?”
“I was thinking of grabbing drinks with Oliver tonight. We should probably catch up. If he wants to that is.”
Maisie smiled. “I’m sure he’ll want to.”
“You can come too,” I offered, although it was probably obvious I didn’t want her to. “We’ll do dinner instead of drinks if you like.”
“No, that’s fine. I’ll hang out with him another evening. It’s about time you let your hair down.”
“What will you do?”
“Well… I suppose if Olly is out with you, then Shaun will be bored. Maybe I’ll hang out with him.”
“I suppose I walked into that one,” I admitted. “We’ll have to see what Oliver says. And Shaun may not want to; he seems like quite a shy kid.”
“I’m sure I can bring him out of his shell.”
“I’m just going to pretend I didn’t hear that and carry on watching the game.”
“Good idea.”
I bit my tongue to stop myself from laughing at Maisie’s confidence and sheer joy for life. I could do with taking a leaf out of her book. Maybe tonight I would let my hair down and have fun for once? I was due a good night out and I had a feeling Oliver was more than capable of showing me a good time.
So much for being brave. I couldn’t even find the courage to ask Oliver if he wanted to go for a drink. Fortunately, Maisie did it for me by saying she wanted to hang out with Shaun and that Oliver and I should do our own thing. Neither of us took much encouragement.
“We could do dinner if you like?” Oliver asked. “You wouldn’t believe how hungry I am after that game.”
“Let’s just go to a dive bar and grab some wings or something,” I suggested. “I’m not dressed for anywhere fancy.”
“You’re in England now, remember. I doubt we’ll find a bar that specializes in wings and American beer. And if we do, I’m not going anywhere near it. I know there are jokes about rugby players drinking piss for dares, but we don’t go as far as drinking American beer. We’re not animals.”
“Alright ‘smartarse,’” I said, emphasizing the ‘arse’ in my best English accent. “You choose where we eat.”
I genuinely didn’t care where we ended up; I just wanted to spend the evening looking at Oliver. He had that
With a few minutes to go, Oliver attempted a long drop goal but it missed just past the post. It didn’t make any difference to the game, and he’d already put twelve points on the board, but I heard a fan nearby mutter “typical” under his breath.
I glanced over at Maisie who had heard it too. She looked pissed. Not much made Maisie angry, but she didn’t like hearing Oliver insulted. He’d shrugged off the insult from the boys earlier, but that had to have hurt. Maisie had helped by asking for his autograph, but to have that one mistake from eight years ago still following him around was unfair.
People still blamed him for one mistake he’d made at the age of eighteen when the expectations of an entire country were on his shoulders. I was doing the same thing. I was just as bad as those boys earlier and the one sat in front of me now.
Oliver had changed since he acted like a jerk to me, just like he’d changed on the pitch since he missed that crucial drop goal. I couldn’t keep him at arm’s length just on the off chance he might be nasty to me again.
It dawned on me; I was scared. Scared he would treat me badly again. Scared he wouldn’t want me when he saw me naked. Scared I would still want him after the summer was over and we went home.
I glanced over at Maisie again and saw a girl who was never scared. She wasn’t scared when she was on the field. She wasn’t scared to meet people even though she was regularly bullied because of the burn marks on her face. If my younger sister could handle what was thrown at her then I sure as hell could too.
“Will you be okay on your own tonight?” I asked Maisie.
“Sure, why?”
“I was thinking of grabbing drinks with Oliver tonight. We should probably catch up. If he wants to that is.”
Maisie smiled. “I’m sure he’ll want to.”
“You can come too,” I offered, although it was probably obvious I didn’t want her to. “We’ll do dinner instead of drinks if you like.”
“No, that’s fine. I’ll hang out with him another evening. It’s about time you let your hair down.”
“What will you do?”
“Well… I suppose if Olly is out with you, then Shaun will be bored. Maybe I’ll hang out with him.”
“I suppose I walked into that one,” I admitted. “We’ll have to see what Oliver says. And Shaun may not want to; he seems like quite a shy kid.”
“I’m sure I can bring him out of his shell.”
“I’m just going to pretend I didn’t hear that and carry on watching the game.”
“Good idea.”
I bit my tongue to stop myself from laughing at Maisie’s confidence and sheer joy for life. I could do with taking a leaf out of her book. Maybe tonight I would let my hair down and have fun for once? I was due a good night out and I had a feeling Oliver was more than capable of showing me a good time.
So much for being brave. I couldn’t even find the courage to ask Oliver if he wanted to go for a drink. Fortunately, Maisie did it for me by saying she wanted to hang out with Shaun and that Oliver and I should do our own thing. Neither of us took much encouragement.
“We could do dinner if you like?” Oliver asked. “You wouldn’t believe how hungry I am after that game.”
“Let’s just go to a dive bar and grab some wings or something,” I suggested. “I’m not dressed for anywhere fancy.”
“You’re in England now, remember. I doubt we’ll find a bar that specializes in wings and American beer. And if we do, I’m not going anywhere near it. I know there are jokes about rugby players drinking piss for dares, but we don’t go as far as drinking American beer. We’re not animals.”
“Alright ‘smartarse,’” I said, emphasizing the ‘arse’ in my best English accent. “You choose where we eat.”
I genuinely didn’t care where we ended up; I just wanted to spend the evening looking at Oliver. He had that
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