Cody:
People? When? The removal team probably won’t even finish until tomorrow evening
Me:
I know. Don’t stress. It’s just gonna be our friends from the team and their families. Saturday after the match. They know about the furniture situation
Why don’t you invite some of the Cheltenham Storm people?
Sixty minutes into my first game back against Crystal Palace, and I was flying. On top of the world. Unstoppable. And Cody was there in the stands, in his rightful place with the partners and families of the players, wearing a football shirt with my name on the back.
I knew the cameras would focus on him, given that this was the first match he’d attended since he’d run onto the pitch, but he’d assured me he didn’t care. Here, his profile was much lower than it had been in Canada, and even there, the media were apparently losing interest due to the fact that he was no longer an active NHL player.
There’d been an unexpected upside to this whole thing, too. Although we’d only made a few waves internationally, locally, it had been a whole other story. Cheltenham Storm, originally a struggling hockey team languishing at the bottom of the EIHL, had been pulled into the spotlight thanks to their connectionwith Cody. They’d never managed to sell out their arena before, but not only had record numbers signed up for their season tickets, but they’d also completely sold out of jerseys and merch on their web store. According to Ross, they were having to put in an emergency order for more stock.
Who knew that my Canadian boyfriend’s illegal one-man pitch invasion would have such a positive effect?
“Jude!”
I spun around to see Lars setting up for a goal kick, and I nodded, bouncing on my feet. When the whistle blew, he passed the ball straight to me, and I booted it to Grant. He was tackled by one of the Palace midfielders, but he managed to dribble the ball around him and sent it flying towards Reuben, perfectly set up for a shot at the goal.
I held my breath as the leather connected with Reuben’s boot, and then he smashed it straight into the top corner.
“Yessss!” I ran for my teammates, piling on top of them as the crowd went fucking wild.
Best. Feeling. Ever.
36
Cody
Curling my fingers around the kitchen counter, I exhaled slowly.Breathe, Cody. You can do this.
It felt as if I’d blinked and gone from post-game takeouts for one to co-hosting post-match parties. Me. Hosting a party? What the fuck had I been thinking when I agreed to Jude’s plan?
Arms slid around me from behind, and Jude pressed a soft kiss to my nape. “Come outside. Everyone’s excited to see you.”
“Are they?” I said hoarsely.
“Cody.” He gently turned me around. “Course they are. They’re your friends, and they want to see you in your new home.”
“Ournew home.”
“Yeah. Ours.”
I’d cashed in some savings when Jude had insisted that he wanted us to be equal owners. Maybe some people thought it was too soon, that we were foolish to buy a place after a relatively short time together, but neither of us cared.
And here we were. In a house that belonged to us, with people from both sides of our lives descending on us and expecting us to host them. Fuck.
“What do I do? I don’t know how to host a party. I never even fucking go to parties.”
Jude ran his palm down my back, smoothing away some of my tension. “I’ll tell you what you do. You go outside and talk to your friends. That’s it. That’s all you have to do. The food’s been sorted by the caterers, the fridge is stocked with drinks, and Reuben’s made a playlist that, honestly, I don’t think we’re gonna have time to get through.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it. Now, give me a kiss, and let’s go.”
Sliding my mouth over his, I lost myself in kissing him, the remainder of my tension melting away. “Thanks. I’ll try?—”
