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‘There you go, mate.’ The team’s physio secured the final bit of tape over Carter’s shoulder. The old injury had flared up in training during the week.

He rolled his shoulder. It felt good with the tape. ‘Thanks.’ He pulled his jersey over his head and sat down to retie his shoes. The chatter in the locker room was too loud. He was too antsy. Standing back up, he swung his arms by his side then stretched out his calves.

‘What’s with you tonight?’ Ethan asked from the next locker.

‘Big game.’

‘Because it’s your first one as co-captain? Relax, man, you’ll be great. As always. Maybe secure a conversion or two this game.’

Carter flinched. He was yet to get one tucked away. ‘Yeah, thanks for the reminder.’

Ethan gave a laugh. ‘You’ll be right.’

Carter gave him a tight smile, letting Ethan think that’s all it was. He couldn’t admit the other, more consuming reason he was nervous: Indy. What if she didn’t come?

‘Let’s go, fellas,’ Isaac called from the doorway, spinning a football between his hands.

This was it. Squaring his shoulders, Carter stood behind Isaac, ready to run out after him. It was his spot as co-captain. Isaac deserved the lead and Carter was proud to be his second.

They started up through the tunnel, camera crews capturing every single step.

Isaac paused at the entry. ‘You ready?’ he asked Carter.

‘We’ve got this.’ It was the same response he gave whenever anyone asked him, but it didn’t come out as confidently tonight. He needed her to be here.

‘It’s time.’

Isaac took off at a sprint with Carter close behind. He took in the roar of the crowd, the flash of the cheerleaders’ pom-poms and the briskness of the night air that he’d soon be sweating in. It was their home crowd, so the vibe radiating onto the field was next level. He wished he could enjoy it.

Turning to the side, he executed a handful of long strides to stretch his legs before switching to the other side. Unable to wait any longer, he ran his gaze along the stands to the seats he’d sent Emery tickets for. They were empty. Pain filled his chest as he took his starting spot on the field.

She wasn’t here. He grappled with it, not able to process that right now. He had a job to do. And now he was co-captain, all eyes would be on him. He couldn’t buckle under the pressure.

‘Finally!’ Emery swerved Indy’s ute into a parking spot down a side street.

‘We’re like three blocks from the stadium. Surely there’s something closer?’ Indy hesitated to unclip her belt.

‘This will do. We’re already late from all the tra?c and those stupid road closures.’ Emery jumped out of the ute.

Indy squeezed her eyes shut. She could do this. She was going to see Carter play. Not just on the television but in real life. Would he be looking for her?

Emery banged on Indy’s window. ‘Come on!’

Indy startled but climbed out.

Emery stood on the sidewalk with her phone out, a maps app on the screen. ‘It’s this way.’ She pulled Indy down the street.

What if he didn’t want to see her? What if rolling up to his game wasn’t the right move?

Maybe they should do this somewhere more private?

Should she wait until after the game? Don’t be stupid, he wouldn’t have sent Emery the tickets if he didn’t want you there.

But he might’ve changed his mind. What if he’d had second thoughts?

‘Emery, slow down a bit.’

‘The first half’s almost over.’ Emery sped up.

They crossed another road and Indy had to jog to not get clipped by a taxi. She really hated the city. Emery must’ve misunderstood her change in pace and started jogging too.

By the time they reached the stadium, Indy was breathing heavily.

Emery released her hand to show their tickets and in they went.

There were stairs leading down to seats and up to what she assumed were more seats.

A siren sounded. She’d heard it on television before.

Half-time already. Indy caught sight of the green grass on the field, the white lines and a handful of players in black and teal jerseys.

Carter was down there.

She froze. People filed past her, heading for bathrooms, food stands and more drinks.

There were Scorpions jerseys, as well as the white and purple of the opposing team.

Cut-outs of players’ faces and colourful signs were being carried and lifted.

Carter’s face was the most popular. His name was on so many lips.

Indy stood like a statue in the middle of a swarm.

‘Indy?’ There was a tug on her hand. ‘Indy, what’s wrong?’

‘They all love him. I mean, I knew how famous he was. Bloody Mara knew who he was when he was vomiting in the bushes. But on the station … we were so far removed from it. He was just Carter. This is real. This is huge.’ She couldn’t stop looking at all the people.

They were all laughing, smiling. She caught snatches of conversation about the game.

‘Indy!’ Emery clicked her fingers in front of her face.

‘Hey! He’s still just Carter. This is his job.

He’s always been the footy player but that doesn’t take away from the man he was with you.

Like you said, he’s amazing and he wants you .

You know him on the one-on-one level, that’s the real Carter. ’

The real Carter. Indy nodded. ‘You’re right. Again.’

Emery smiled widely. ‘Let’s go get your man.’ She paused. ‘Right after we find a bathroom.’

It took a couple of laps of the stadium, but Indy and Emery finally found their seats as the other team kicked the ball and the second half started.

Indy had never seen football live. Or on the television before this year.

But she hadn’t missed a game yet this season.

She wouldn’t say she was watching the game as much as she was watching Carter.

Even driving down to Longview, she’d had the radio tuned to the footy station, a thrill running through her at every mention of Carter’s name.

She had no idea about the rules or the meaning of the crazy hand gestures that the bloke in the bright yellow shirt kept doing.

At least when she watched it on television, she could clue into some of the commentators’ words or get on board with their fury at wrong calls.

She liked the way the replays showed her why whistles had been blown.

But there was none of that sitting on hard plastic seats in the stadium.

Still, Indy found herself picking up on patterns of play but not enough to answer every one of Emery’s questions.

‘I don’t know!’ she exploded after what felt like the hundredth question. ‘Maybe you should google it?’

Emery rolled her eyes.

The guy next to her stuck his head over. ‘Didn’t mean to eavesdrop—’

‘Mmm hmm,’ Indy hummed.

‘Maybe I could answer some of your questions.’ He smiled widely at Emery, and she launched into a repeat of everything she’d just asked Indy. At least the guy was wearing Scorpions colours.

With Emery occupied, Indy could go back to watching Carter.

He was so sure of himself. Darting around players with the ball, passing it off just before being tackled and kicking the ball every time his team had been tackled five times—she couldn’t help but count.

The crowd around her oohed and aahed but Indy wasn’t exactly sure why.

There hadn’t been any tries that required her to cheer yet.

That didn’t happen until well into the half. The Scorpions were playing along the try line when Carter kicked the ball early and it shot between two of the opposition players before the Scorpion with the number two on his back jumped on the ball.

All around her, fans were on their feet, yelling and screaming while, down on the field, the players seemed to jump all over each other. Indy clapped, but she was nervous for what came next. Carter needed to do that kick and he hadn’t been doing them very well so far.

‘What’s Carter doing with the ball and that cone thing?’ Emery asked and Indy smiled at her.

‘He has to try and kick it between the posts. It’s called a conversion, or something.’

Emery grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

Carter placed the fluoro green kicking tee barely a metre in from the sideline and balanced the ball on it.

The weight of expectation sat heavily on his shoulders.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead on his shirt.

He’d been planning on passing all kicks over to Diego, but the guy hadn’t been on the field when the try was scored.

He looked up at the posts where the ball needed to go.

The bright lights of the stadium got in his eyes and for a moment they were the sun and Indy was there, smiling down at him.

Only she wasn’t. She didn’t love him. She hadn’t come.

His gaze reverted to the football, blinking away the spots the lights had left over his vision so he could actually see it.

He tuned out the crowd around him and focused on the ball, picturing it bending through the air and sailing through the posts over the middle bar.

A little bit of spin. Carter took his steps back and across.

Letting his arms sway by his side, he looked from the ball to the posts.

The ball and the posts. The crowd. He couldn’t help it.

Indy.

There in the stands. Where he’d looked a hundred times before. He froze. Was she a mirage? She was smiling at him and Emery kept nudging her. Definitely not a mirage. Fuck, she came! What did it mean?

‘Come on, Hendrix!’ The call came from the sideline. ‘What are you waiting for?’

She was here. With a smile he was unable to wipe from his face, Carter relaxed his shoulders and took a breath.

Rocking back on his heels, he pushed forwards.

His leg was a strong line from his hip to his toes, taking the football cleanly.

It went up, bent left and went along the path he’d envisioned as if he’d drawn a line for it to follow.

Thank fuck!

He fist pumped the air and let out a cheer before picking up the kicking tee and passing it to a ball boy. Jogging back onto the field, he looked over his shoulder and up into the stands. She was here. He beamed like a lighthouse.

The rest of the game flew by. Carter may as well have been wearing a cape, because his feet barely touched the ground.

He darted between players, threw impossible passes and even caught a couple of intercepts.

The best part was he secured both conversions for the next two tries.

They beat the Taipans by the biggest margin ever scored between the two clubs.

But the whole time, he was resisting the urge to go to Indy.

The final siren rang but Carter didn’t flop to the ground with exhaustion. The energy already pumping around his body kicked up a notch. He turned and ran for the sideline.

‘Carter, can we grab a word?’

He kept going, pretending not to hear the reporter.

‘Nice work on those conversions, Hendrix.’ Beau slapped him on the back as he broke into a jog.

‘Sweet tackle breaks,’ Carter replied. They had a mutual agreement to be outwardly supportive even if they’d never be friends.

Ethan and Isaac stepped in his way, embracing him in a bear hug that lifted him off the ground. He glanced to the stands, happy to see Indy was still there, but she was on her feet.

Isaac grinned. ‘We won!’

Carter grinned back. ‘Five from five.’

‘Where are you trying to get to in a hurry?’ Ethan asked, letting him drop back to the ground.

‘Indy’s here.’

Their whooping faded in the distance as he ran to the stands and hefted himself over the barrier. Fans had gathered down the front and were shoving pens and cut-outs of his head at him to sign. Normally, he wouldn’t hesitate to give them his time, but he needed to get to Indy.

‘’Scuse me … excuse me. Sorry! I’ll come back … excuse me.’

He climbed over chairs and people moved out of his way, while others offered him a hand for balance. His eyes were only for the girl waiting for him. Finally, he reached the railing she was standing behind and climbed through.

‘Indy,’ he breathed. His heart soared when she launched herself into his arms. He buried his face into her neck, breathing her in and holding her tightly. God, she smelt so good. Holding her was something he never thought he’d be able to do again.

Carter pulled his head back so he could look into those beautiful big blue eyes. He ran the back of his fingers along her jawline. ‘I’ve missed you so much.’

‘Me too.’

He put a hand to her cheek. ‘I really want to kiss you.’

‘Me too.’

He breathed in sharply, then pressed his lips against hers. Cheering erupted all around them, but he paid it no mind. He was drowning in Indy.

She broke the kiss first, self-consciously looking around at the mobile phones aimed at them, before burying her head in his chest.

‘Head around to the clubhouse,’ he whispered in her ear. ‘I’ll shower and meet you there as quickly as I can.’