Page 35

Six weeks later, my leg was better, and I couldn’t wait to start training at Ferndale with Shane. And because I’d done my exercises religiously, the physio had agreed I could play a match.

Shane’s dad was in hospital for another few weeks, so we hadn’t seen each other.

Between school, football and hospital visits, there hadn’t been much time.

But Shane had woken something in me. Something I didn’t think I even had.

It spurred me on to do my exercises and get back to me.

But not the old me. Shane had made me realize that I was more than football.

It was like he’d lifted a veil. One I’d been shrouded in for years, one that had stopped me from seeing beyond my obsession with football.

But now it was like I could see everything more clearly, and I didn’t have this constant twisting in my chest and an awful voice telling me I was worthless.

We messaged each other every day, morning and afternoon, and we FaceTimed every night before we went to bed.

I even talked to Mum and Dad about him. Mum had stopped asking after the night I’d come home upset, obviously putting two and two together.

Now she was obsessed with me inviting him for dinner.

‘Lexie?’

I turned round to see Shane jogging towards me, and there it was again, that slow-motion, breath-stopping, words-caught-in-my-throat feeling that made it impossible to move.

And then he was there, right in front of me, like the last couple of months had never happened.

I threw my arms round his neck and breathed him in.

We’d agreed not to see each other. Shane had wanted to concentrate on his dad, and I put all my efforts into studying and getting better, so this moment was everything.

Part of me was scared that it wouldn’t be the same.

That the rush of magic that had made everything so special was only the way it was because we’d had to sneak around. What if the spark was gone?

‘Hey,’ he said with a smile. And the electricity was back, rushing through my veins like adrenaline. He pulled me towards the clubhouse, so we were semi out of sight.

‘Hey,’ I replied.

‘I’ve missed you, Lexie.’

‘I’ve missed you too.’

I leaned into his chest as he stood against the wall, déjà vu from the night at the Dub. He didn’t take his eyes off me.

I reached up and pulled him towards me by his football shirt because I needed to feel his lips on mine, the lips I’d been dreaming about ever since our last kiss.

It was just like I remembered. Except better.

A spark that grew into a raging fire, my hands twisted in his thick dark hair, tugging gently to remind myself what it felt like.

Letting myself feel every feeling, his tongue on mine, his hands on my waist, finding the space above my shorts and under the green shirt I’d borrowed from Niall that was far too big.

I pulled away, hearing voices in the distance.

‘Isn’t kick-off now?’ I looked at the time on my phone.

‘Yeah, don’t worry, we always start late. Here, come on and meet Raj!’

Shane pulled me in the direction of the pitch, where kids had started to congregate, an array of green T-shirts. Some with numbers, some without.

I let Shane lead me to a man who was leaning against the broken fence watching the team do a warm-up, cigarette in his hand.

‘Raj, this is Lexie, the one I told you about.’

‘Ah, OK. So you’re the famous Lexie.’ Raj gave me a huge smile, white teeth luminous against his brown skin.

I smiled. ‘Yep, that’s me.’

‘Defence?’

I nodded.

‘Thank God. Poor Oscar needs all the help he can get. You’re starting.’

A smile burst across my face, and I grabbed Shane’s hand in excitement. ‘Amazing!’

‘You’re not at Westing now, Lexie,’ said Raj. ‘Shane, you’re up front, as usual.’

Ferndale had so few players that girls and guys were on the same team. Shane had been back playing for Ferndale for a few weeks now.

Raj sucked on his cigarette and blew the smoke in rings above us. ‘Are you ready to play for a real team?’

‘I can’t wait,’ I said. And I was genuinely excited. Yeah, part of me was sad that I wasn’t still with my old team, just because it was easier when you knew everyone, but I wouldn’t miss the stress of every practice and the constant overthinking about whether I’d get to play or not.

Then there was a girl standing beside us. Younger. About thirteen, maybe. She looked nervous and she was staring at me.

‘Are you Lexie?’ she asked. She was about a head smaller than me, elfin, with short red hair and a million freckles.

Shane stepped in to clear up the confusion. ‘Lexie, this is Grace. She’s been torturing me for ages to come back to Ferndale and I told her that it was you who gave me the balls to do it.’

Grace.

I smiled at her because I didn’t know what to say, and because I was still enjoying the relief of finding out who she was.

She laughed, her face now bright red. ‘You have no idea how happy we are. Shane is the best coach ever!’ Then she ran off to the other pitch to join her team.

‘Best coach ever,’ Raj muttered, rolling his eyes.

‘She seems nice,’ I said.

‘They’re all nice.’ Shane smiled.

‘What about you, mate? How are you doing with everything?’ Raj’s tone was low, serious.

I looked at Shane to catch his reaction.

He hesitated for a second then burst into life. ‘Ah yeah, man, all good. I’ve got some support now.’ Shane elbowed me and I leaned into him.

‘I’m glad to hear that. Oh, and the under-nines have been asking for you now that they know you’re back. Sorry, you know I can’t lie. They’ve a match after and are asking if you could stick around?’ Raj looked at Shane apologetically. ‘They really missed you coaching.’

‘You coached kids?’ I said.

Just when I thought I couldn’t love him any more.

‘Yeah, just a bit. I wasn’t very good at it,’ he said.

‘Don’t talk shite,’ said Raj, laughing. ‘You were the best coach we had. Didn’t you hear what Grace said?’

‘Of course I’ll hang around,’ Shane said.

‘Thanks, mate, they’ll be buzzing.’

‘Is that OK with you? I know we were supposed to hang out after. Would you stay too?’ Shane asked me.

‘Of course.’ I couldn’t wait to see him coaching.

He grinned at me, and I had to stop myself from kissing him again. ‘Should we start this warm-up then?’

He took my hand, and we walked over to join our new team.