Cross the Line

“Yeah. Sure, it hasn’t been easy, but I’ve gained more than I’ve lost. I got you, didn’t I?”

This time, his smile reached his eyes. “True.”

“Not only that, but now we’re official, I can take you back to my hometown one day. Show off the hot British bad boy I managed to charm into being my boyfriend.”

He pulled me closer, his voice a husky murmur against my lips. “I’d like that.”

16

JANUARY

We were on fire. That was the only way to describe us. Or, in the words of the local press, who must’ve been having a quiet week because they’d been hyping my return to the team way more than was necessary:

Could there be a better pairing? Watch out for Kian Courtland and Preston Montgomery III, the star strikers of Alstone High’s football team. With this dynamic duo reigning as an unstoppable force on the pitch, and the experience and intuition of Carter Blackthorne at the helm, the coveted championship trophy is well within Alstone High’s grasp.

I wasn’t complaining, though. I was fucking good at what I did, and it had only been my stupidity that had got me suspended in the first place. Now, I was back where I belonged.

This game was important for so many reasons, the first and foremost being that it was the quarter-finals of the championships, and we were playing our biggest rivals, Highnam Academy. It was my first game back, and I soaked up the atmosphere, reacting to the roars of the crowd, my heartbeat pounding loud in my ears as I passed the ball back and forth to my teammates, intercepting the Highnam defenders and claiming possession of the ball. Flying down the field, my eyes scanning for any openings I could take, my feet knew what to do before my brain could catch up.

Carter passed me the ball, and my foot flew out, sending it straight to Preston. Highnam didn’t have a hope of intercepting that pass, and they knew it. Preston’s foot connected with the ball, and he sent it straight into the goal.

The stadium went mad, and I ran for him, jumping onto his back and fist pumping the air with one hand while my other gripped him around his neck. He laughed, holding on to my thighs

as the crowd roared around us. The euphoria of scoring a goal and being here with him fizzed through my blood.

“I love you!” I shouted the words in his ear, and he froze beneath me. Sliding off his back, I pulled him into a hug, as our teammates piled on us, celebrating the goal. His eyes found mine in the midst of it all, a question in them, and I mouthed the words to him again.

I love you.

A bright, beaming smile lit up my golden boy’s face, before he was being tugged away from me, and we were back in the game.

There was no time to talk, and maybe I should’ve waited to tell him, maybe there was a better setting than in the middle of our biggest football game of the season so far, but I couldn’t hold it in any longer. He needed to know how I felt about him.

I loved him.

He was my entire world.

At half-time, I jogged off the pitch with the rest of the team, and Preston caught up with me as we entered the changing rooms, where our coach was waiting to talk to us. “Did you mean what you said?” His voice was low next to my ear.

“Yeah, I meant it, Golden Boy.” I hooked my finger around his, before releasing it and taking a seat on the benches. I felt his gaze on mine, and I turned to catch his eye, throwing him a wink. He stared at me, happiness radiating from him, and my heart stuttered. I’d managed to do that. Managed to put that huge smile on his face, to make him the happiest I’d ever seen him. He opened his mouth to say something, but the coach began speaking and we both turned our attention to him.

There’d be time to talk afterwards. Right now, we had a football match to win.

As soon as we hit the football pitch and the whistle blew, Highnam Academy were all over us, muscling through our defence line and scoring a goal. Carter held the team together, refusing to let us falter, and we rallied, working as one to block their constant attacks, while still creating our own chances. The end of the game drew closer with no further goals from either team, both of us too evenly matched.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my teammate Chris get taken down by a foul. Carter looked over at me, and I nodded. We were already into added time, and this was our last chance. He took up position on the sideline and booted the ball in a curving arc, over the heads of the Highnam players. I leapt into the air, my head connecting with the ball, and I sent it straight into the back of the net.

The roar of the crowd was deafening. My teammates piled onto me, shouting and cheering as we celebrated, knowing there was no chance Highnam would be able to score now. And less than a minute later, the whistle sounded to mark the end of the match.

We’d won.

I was grabbed from behind and spun around, Preston’s mouth coming down hard on mine. Twisting my arms around him, I spread my hands across his shoulders, loving the feel of his muscles under my palms. He growled, kissing me harder, before pulling back, both of us trying to catch our breath.

His sapphire eyes met mine.

“I love you, Kian.”

I nipped at his lip, and he reciprocated, clasping my face in his hands, before dragging his tongue across my lip piercing. Lunging forwards, I kissed him again, before drawing back. “Preston.” My forehead rested against his. “I love you so fucking much. This isn’t the time or the place for what I want to do to you, but what do you say we get showered and go celebrate somewhere more private?”