Page 33 of Offside Play (Love The Game #1)

Cody

“ M r. Clements?”

I lifted my head from my hands. “Yeah?”

The man standing in front of me gave me a brief, professional smile. “Mr. Nielson is asking for you. Down the corridor, first door to the left.”

“Thank you.” Unfolding my body from the uncomfortable plastic chair, I rose to my feet, taking in the man’s lab coat for the first time. “Do you know— Is he okay?”

“He will be,” the man assured me. “We took him down to the hospital for scans, and he’s back here with the physio now. He’s got some ligament damage, but no tears. Two weeks rest, then a gradual return to training. All in all, I’d say he got off lightly. That was a nasty tackle.”

“Thank fuck,” I whispered, slumping back against the wall.

Two weeks . I’d been sitting in this corridor for over four hours, torturing myself by imagining every worst-case scenario in my head.

Torn ligaments, broken bones, surgery, rehabilitation.

The possibility that I might have witnessed the man I loved lose the thing that made him the happiest.

I hadn’t even dared to think about the other complication. The one that I’d brought upon us both.

“Indeed,” the man said, his professional smile morphing into something more genuine. “Best not keep him waiting.”

When I knocked on the door and entered, I couldn’t help myself. I strode over to Jude, who was propped up on an exam table, and wrapped my arms around him, burying my face in his neck. “I’m so fucking sorry,” I rasped. “I was so scared, and I?—”

“Hey. It’s okay. I’m fine. It looked worse than it is.” Pulling back, Jude studied me, concern in his widening eyes. He lifted his hand, brushing a trembling finger across my cheekbone. It came away wet.

“Shit,” I mumbled, releasing him to rub at my eyes. “I’m sorry. I should just leave you?—”

“You’re not going anywhere, okay?” His hand found mine, and he gripped it firmly. “Stay.”

A throat cleared behind me. “Apologies for interrupting this touching reunion, but we need to go through the rehab plan.”

I turned to see a guy seated at the foot of the exam table, watching us with an amused expression. I hadn’t even noticed him when I’d entered the room, too focused on Jude.

“Sorry,” I said for the third time in the space of a minute, sinking into the unoccupied chair next to the exam table.

“Don’t apologise to my physio. He doesn’t deserve it.” Jude grinned at the guy, who rolled his eyes.

“Remind me why I work with footballers again?” Holding up his hand when Jude opened his mouth to reply, he continued speaking.

“Moving on to the rehab plan. I want you on complete rest for the first week. No weight-bearing at all. Then we’ll start gentle movements and build up from there.

All being well, you should be back in time for the match against Palace. ”

Jude nodded. “Sounds manageable.”

“I’ll email you the proposed schedule. If you experience any pain or discomfort, or you feel as if you need more time out, we can adjust it as necessary.” He gave Jude a reassuring smile. “I don’t envision there being any issues, as long as you stick to the plan.”

“I will. I have Cody to make sure I do.” Jude’s fingers tightened around mine.

“Good. Right. I’d better go and brief the gaffer on your situation.” He climbed to his feet. “Complete rest for the first week, Jude. I mean it.”

When we were alone, I released Jude’s hand and steeled myself. Fixing my gaze on the side of the exam table, I began to speak, my voice cracking with my words. “I think I fucked up. Badly.”

Fingers clasped my jaw, raising my chin so I was forced to meet Jude’s gaze. “Whatever it is, we can work it out.”

My eyes fucking filled again. Pinching my brow, I inhaled, then exhaled. In, then out, until I was no longer at risk of completely breaking down.

“You don’t understand. When you got injured, I—I fucking lost it. I ran onto the pitch trying to get to you. The stewards had to drag me back. And the whole time, I was telling them that I needed to be with you. I told them you were mine.”

His mouth fell open. “Oh. Fuck.”

“Yeah. It gets worse, though. Not only did they kick me out of the stadium—or would have, if it hadn’t been for the intervention of your assistant coach, who managed to sneak me into this building, but there were cameras everywhere.

People were recording the whole thing on their phones.

I’ve probably just outed our relationship to the entire world. ”

My hands began to shake as the full force of what I’d done hit me.

All the years of staying away from the media, trying to protect my privacy—it had been for nothing.

And this could affect Jude even more badly than me.

He was already under the spotlight with his move to Glevum and the interview that had mentioned his bisexuality.

I’d destroyed fucking everything in thirty seconds of pure panic.

Jude was silent for a long moment, processing everything. “It’s okay,” he said finally. “We can deal with this.”

“How? How the fuck are we supposed to explain the fact I was in such a state that I launched a one-man pitch invasion to get to you?”

I thought he’d become angry, or upset, or any number of negative reactions. But he didn’t. No, he laughed. My incredible boyfriend, who I absolutely didn’t deserve, laughed .

And in that moment, my head cleared, and everything clicked into place. Instantly.

“A one-man pitch invasion,” he repeated, still grinning. “Glevum’s PR team can spin it?—”

“No.”

“No?” His smile died away. “What do you mean, no?”

“I mean, no, I don’t want to spin it. I don’t want to lie, or make excuses, or pretend this was something it wasn’t.

” My words grew more and more certain, and I realised I believed them with every fibre of my being.

“I ran onto the pitch because I was fucking terrified you were seriously hurt, and I couldn’t bear the thought of not being able to get to you. That’s the truth.”

“Cody—”

“I thought my privacy was important. I thought it was better to hide myself away, to keep people at a distance, to avoid any situations that might make me uncomfortable. I thought I was better off alone, the way I have been all my life. But then you came along.”

The words felt like they’d been building inside me for months. Maybe they had. Maybe I’d been too afraid to even think them before. But I wasn’t afraid anymore.

“Me?”

“Yeah. You. What’s that line from that old movie? ‘You had me at hello.’ Well, you had me at ‘huh.’”

“It doesn’t really have the same ring to it.” His voice was joking, but his bottom lip trembled, and his eyes shimmered.

Leaning forwards, I brushed a kiss over his mouth. “I want to be brave. Like you. You told your agent you were bisexual before you’d even signed with Glevum. You made sure the club knew who you were from day one. You don’t give a fuck about what the media says about you.”

“I do. I just…I try to ignore it. It’s not so bad. I’m nowhere near as well-known as a lot of the other players.”

“My point is, you own who you are, and that’s what I want to do. I don’t think I’ll ever be comfortable with the media spotlight, but if you’re willing to go through this with me, I’m prepared to deal with the fallout. Because you’re worth it to me. You’re worth everything.”

“Fuck,” he whispered, tears beginning to fall from his gorgeous green eyes. “Are you saying you want to come out and tell the world we’re together?”

“Yeah. That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“What about w-when you go home? What about your career? There’ll be a lot of media attention on you then.” The tears were falling faster now, and I pulled him into me, wrapping my arms around him as I pressed kisses to his soft hair.

“I am home.”

He stilled. “ What ?”

“I’m not going back to Canada. I’m staying here with you. I love you, Jude. I’d be a fool to let you go.”