to my chest. We’d spent the whole day and night after the awards dinner making up and talking everything through, and I still couldn’t quite believe she’d agreed to give me another chance. Brushing her hair out of her face, I dropped a kiss on the end of her nose, then reached over to my bedside table to grab my phone. I held it up in the air, then took a quick selfie of us both.
“What’re you doing?” Olivia mumbled.
“You’ll see.” I tapped at my phone until I’d finished my task, then lay back. “Check your phone, baby. And be thankful you unblocked me from your social media yesterday.”
She raised an eyebrow but turned over and picked up her phone. I watched her expression as she scrolled through her notifications, a huge beaming smile spreading across her face.
“Oh, Luke.” She sighed. “I guess this means we’re official now, huh?” Her gaze met mine, her blue eyes sparkling happily.
“Yep.” I grinned. I’d posted the selfie of us on all my social media accounts with the caption “you made me smile again” and tagged her in the image. I’d also changed my relationship status, and I could see the comments already rolling in as our friends reacted to the news.
Stretching, I yawned. “First things first, I need coffee. After that…what do you want to do today, my beautiful girlfriend?”
Olivia stared at me from under her lashes, a shy smile on her lips. “I like the sound of that.”
“What?” I knew what she was talking about, but I wanted to hear her say it.
“You, calling me your girlfriend.”
“Well, you are my girlfriend. And I love you.”
Her gaze turned soft, and she melted in my arms.
“I love you, too.” She reached up and kissed me, carelessly throwing her phone onto the edge of the bed.
Pulling her on top of me, I cradled her in my arms. She wriggled against me, letting out a breathy moan, and my dick hardened in response. “I can wait for coffee.”
“Good, because I want you inside me, now.”
“You have such a way with words,” I laughed.
“Shut up and kiss me.”
Standing at the pub bar waiting to be served, after a long week at work—during which my colleagues seemed to find it endlessly amusing to rib me about finally committing myself to a relationship—I turned to Alex. “We’ll be at the game tomorrow.”
He turned to me, grinning. “Cheers, mate. I appreciate the support. I’m assuming by ‘we’ you mean you and Liv, yeah?”
“Uh-huh. Speaking of support, don’t forget you promised to come down to the youth centre. Do you think you can rope any of the other players in? The boys are really excited about meeting professional rugby players. Although they probably won’t be so excited when they meet you in person.”
“Ha. You’re so fucking funny. Yeah, I can probably get some of the others to come.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
He studied me. “You’ve changed, you know? Not just the Liv thing. Doing all this stuff with the teenagers—I’m proud of you.”
“I wish I’d had it when I was their age. Anything I can do to help someone that might be in the same situation as me.” I shrugged, glancing over at the wooden booth where Olivia sat with Ethan and Avery. She caught my eye and stuck her tongue out at me playfully. Smirking, I shook my head at her and blew her a kiss.
Alex followed my gaze. “I’m glad you finally got your act together. You’re a lucky man.” A strange expression flashed across his face, pensive and wistful.
“I am lucky,” I agreed, eyeing him closely. I’d never seen him look like that before, and I wasn’t sure whether to say anything.
“Don’t you forget it.” He waved at the bartender. “Two pints of IPA, a Coke, and two glasses of Sauvignon Blanc, please, mate.”
“Hey. You’re that rugby player, aren’t you? Alex Bryan?” The bartender scrutinised him, and Alex’s contemplative expression was instantly wiped away, replaced with a wide, pleased smile.
“Why, yes I am,” he preened.
“I knew it. Could I have your autograph, if you don’t mind?”