Final Score: Part Two (Game On 6)

Just when I thought the wedding couldn’t get any more romantic, the lead singer of the band told us to go outside as there was one more thing to see. It took a while to usher everyone from the party tent out into Leah and Radleigh’s huge yard. The evening had gotten cold and dark, and I wrapped my arms around Izzy to keep her warm, her back pressed to my front. She looked at me over her shoulder and smiled before facing front again, waiting to see what was about to happen.

All around us, many other couples were standing in a similar position to Izzy and me, the guys’ arms wound around their partners to block out the chill. Bree and Jude stood beside us, the two of them laughing about something, their eyes lit up with complete love for one another.

I hoped Izzy saw that in my eyes when I looked at her. As improbable as it was, we’d survived the distance. It hadn’t been easy, but it’s amazing how much easier it is to maintain a relationship with Facetime and Skype. At least we could see each other when we were talking. Not gonna lie, it sucked not to be with her all the time, but we were in a strange position. Since we’d only had a couple of weeks together when we first met, we were just used to the distance. We hadn’t been together then separated, we’d grown the relationship via insanely long calls and as many visits as we could fit in between my job and Izzy being at uni.

A loud bang startled me from my thoughts, accompanied by a bright flash of purple stars lighting up the sky.

“Oh!” Izzy gasped, again looking over her shoulder at me and smiling. “I love fireworks!”

Her sweet enthusiasm made me smile. “Me too.”

I hoped the kids hadn’t fallen asleep in the house yet, because the noise of the explosions would surely wake them. On the other hand, they’d looked pretty exhausted when Deanna and Mitch had led them out of the party. Maybe they were tired enough to sleep through it. I looked up to the house and laughed. Deanna, Jayden, Jamie and Grace were all watching through the window. I guessed Mitch was putting Jessica to bed.

A strange sensation travelled through me as I slowly looked back up at the magnificent display in the sky. My eyes had scanned the people watching; Freya and Miguel were holding each other tightly, and Miguel whispered something to her that made her laugh; Josh and Christina were staring skywards, mouths open in awe, Leah’s parents stood beside them wearing matching expressions; Bryce stood beside his date, and she kept glancing up at him as he watched the show. And of course, Leah and Radleigh. Radleigh had his arms around Leah from behind, and although they were watching the fireworks too, they had some kind of loved-up bubble surrounding them. They looked so happy.

“Hey,” Izzy said, turning in my arms. “Are you okay?”

I gave a slow nod. “Sure.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “Jesse…”

Of course, she saw through me, and I sighed. “I’m just thinking about all my friends. About how fortunate I’ve been to work with these people.”

She smiled softly. “It’s okay if you’re having second thoughts. I’m not going to be upset if you need more time, or even if you’ve totally changed your mind.”

Looking into the eyes of my gorgeous English rose, I sighed. The crazy thing about her words was that she meant them. Every single one. It still blew my mind that I’d found someone so selfless and understanding. “I’ve made my decision, Iz.”

I just hadn’t told anyone yet. Well, nobody apart from my family and Richard. I’d had many, many long talks with my boss before I’d reached a conclusion. He had been awesome. Didn’t try to pressure me one way or another. And after what felt like endless conversations, I’d made my choice. Soon, I’d be leaving Westberg and signing a contract to play for one of London’s biggest teams.

I hadn’t taken the decision lightly. In fact, I’d barely slept for weeks as I bounced back and forth over what to do. Me moving to the UK had never been a part of my plans, not even when I started dating Izzy. We’d discussed her moving to L.A once she was done with uni. It was a long time to be apart, but we realised we had time on our side. We were so young; too young to need to hurry to be together. Of course, we missed each other like crazy, but we didn’t want to be the kind of couple who screwed up our entire futures to be together, only to find we weren’t really compatible.

But then the offer came. It was a chance for me to be with Izzy all the time. The drawback was leaving behind my parents and my sister, and all the friends I’d made in Los Angeles. And that was a hell of a downside. I’d been through a lot, grown up a lot with the people surrounding me, and the idea of not seeing them every day? It hurt like hell. But I had career to think about. A future to think about. After weighing it all up, as much as leaving would suck, I wanted to go the England. Who wouldn’t? Sure the weather isn’t so good, but the UK is like the holy grail of soccer.

And I could be with my girl. We were planning to move in together as soon as we found a place that was convenient, and until then, Izzy’s parents insisted I stay with them.

I smiled at Izzy as she still had concern in her eyes. “Izzy, come on. You know this is what I want. I want to be in England with you.”

She nodded. “I know. I’m just scared that maybe you’ll regret it. Maybe you’ll resent me for taking you away from your home.”

“You know that’s not true. You know all the reasons I’m doing this. Whether I had you in my life or not, I’d want to make this move. Having you just makes it so much better.”

A smile began to spread across her face as my words filtered into her head. “I can’t wait. I just… I can’t wait.”

She wound her arms around my neck, fireworks still going off around us, and pressed her lips to mine.

Bryce

I was supposed to be relaxed. I’d had enough champagne to loosen the knots in my neck and shoulders, but I couldn’t shift the tension I carried there.

Bringing a virtual stranger to a wedding made me more nervous than I expected.

I’d introduced Clare to as many people as I could, and we were sitting at a table with Jesse and Izzy – two of the most laid back people in the world - which made things a little easier. I’d just introduced Clare to Leah, and we stood beside our table, talking, as people around us blew the bubbles that had been laid out, while many others hit the dancefloor. Some guests were by the bar, and others, like us, were just chatting.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t come over earlier,” Leah said, taking Clare’s hand. “Weddings are way busier than I expected!”

Clare smiled at her, her full lips curving upwards in a gorgeous smile. “It’s no problem. It’s always a little manic, and you have lots of people here who want to talk to you. Completely understandable.”

“It’s really good to meet you. Bryce has told me a lot about you.”