Try hard, p.33
Try Hard, page 33
I’d worried I was ruining Eve’s life, but here she was, looking happier than ever—which was saying something. And here I was, able to focus on things other than mean comments and spiralling thoughts. I was happier than ever too.
◆◆◆
While it was only my second match, the routine already felt familiar. That was more to do with just being around Eve, but I liked it. I’d spent so much time ensuring I was constantly jetting around the place, claiming it was all for work, when really, I was starting to accept, I’d been running from my life. If I didn’t stop, I wouldn't have to deal with all the things I didn’t like. Now, though, I was making connections, building something at home, becoming a regular at events. It was nice.
I parked Eve’s car and she switched her phone off. She’d spent most of the journey continuing to coordinate the fallout of her statement. Andra had been right when she’d said Taylor would be back in contact fast with details for the podcast. We’d barely been on the road for fifteen minutes before the email with the proposed date for recording and some initial suggested questions had come in.
She smiled at me before glancing around to check nobody was watching us. “Ophelia,” she said, taking my hand.
“Archer,” I replied, amused.
“Do you want me to keep my distance tonight?”
“What? Of course not.”
Her smile turned a little sad. “I can’t promise you it’s not going to be louder or busier out there tonight. I can’t promise how the fans that attend are going to have reacted to my message. We know they were trying to take pictures of you last week and I don’t really have any way to protect you. I know this isn’t the life you’d have chosen—”
“I would choose you in every life, no matter what it looked like. Even at the height of your fame, if you’d tracked me down and asked me out, I’d have accepted without a second thought. That hasn’t changed.”
“You’re telling me that was an option this whole time? All those resources I had at my disposal and I didn’t even think of putting them to the very best use I could possibly have found?”
I laughed. “Maybe this was supposed to be our story all along.”
“Yeah, maybe.” She frowned. “Still. I could have had another decade or so with you. What a waste.”
“You’ll have plenty of them with me. And we can make the most of every single one.”
She leaned in to press a kiss to the back of my hand, like the hero in a medieval piece. “Is that a promise?”
I nodded, feeling like my insides were glowing. I wasn’t above swooning when it came to her. “Absolutely. And I’m not running scared of whatever tonight brings.”
She looked bafflingly overwhelmed, like she didn’t believe she was worth the trade of whatever her fans and the media would bring. She absolutely was. Always had been, always would be.
“You are magnificent,” she said, leaning in for a quick kiss.
“So are you. And you will always be worth whatever comes our way, my Eve.”
She hummed contentedly and I couldn’t get enough of Eve Archer happy. She deserved to spend every day of her life being the happiest person on the planet. Of course, she made me the happiest person on the planet, so the competition was fierce. I’d do what I could to get her the title, though.
I glanced out the window. “So, ready to face the public?”
“With you by my side? Always.” She hesitated, her hand over the door handle. “If we win tonight, I want to celebrate with you…”
“Yes, Archer. Celebrate like we’re the only two people on the pitch.”
She laughed as we got out of the car. “I don’t think you really want me to forget everyone else is around.”
I snorted, feeling my skin prickling intriguingly. “Okay. Fair point. Save that part for when we get home.”
“Mm. We’ll see if I can last that long.”
I was shaking my head as we heard someone calling our names, and, even through Eve’s distracting comments, it registered how nice it was to have her friends calling out to both of us, as if I’d always been there.
We looked across the car park to where Hurley and Brooke were waiting for us.
“Figured you’d be along any minute now,” Hurley said, grinning widely. “And, you know, Brooke thought you might not want to walk out there alone given… everything.”
Eve laughed as she laced her fingers through mine, setting my pulse racing. “Glad to see you’re as unbothered by it all as ever.”
“Mate, if I’d ever treated you like Eve fucking Archer, global sporting superstar, you’d have kicked my arse and quit the team.”
“You know, good point. No ass kicking, though. Not my style.”
“Yeah, because you say it ass these days, like you’ve forgotten where you come from.”
I looked up at Eve. “No, she remembers exactly where she came from. Every second of the life that built us both. She’s just lived a little more now.”
Eve looked like she was melting, even as Hurley choked on a laugh.
“God, you two are sickeningly cute,” they said, wrapping an arm around Brooke.
“Let’s just be glad they didn’t draw the whole thing out forever and just got together,” Brooke said, beaming at us.
I frowned as Eve pointed out, “We have known each other since we were eleven years old. We might have drawn it out a little…”
“Yeah, okay. I’m glad I wasn’t there to watch every tortuous second of that.”
“But,” Hurley continued seamlessly, “we absolutely want to hear every second of it, so definitely come over to our place for dinner and tell us the whole sordid tale.”
I laughed, leaning into Eve’s side. “That sounds nice.”
“It really does,” she agreed, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.
We hesitated, Hurley looking at both of us.
“You ready for this?” they asked.
“I’ll stick with you all night,” Brooke told me before looking at Eve. “We’ve got her covered.”
It felt like being part of the team, even if I’d be crushed if I tried to play. But the team was bigger than just the players. It was like a family—partners, children, friends… Everyone was part of this thing that was so much bigger than I was, but I got to be a piece of it. Eve had given me that, too.
Eve looked down at me questioningly, only speaking when I nodded and squeezed her hand tightly. “Let’s do this.”
I wasn’t entirely sure what I’d thought we’d find, but it hadn’t been the group of Eve’s most emphatic supporters splintering.
Most of them were standing in the same spot I’d seen them last week. They cheered when they spotted us, holding up signs of support and ones that announced ‘no photography.’ Eve looked completely moved and overwhelmed by the gesture. She clearly hadn’t been expecting that either.
Two of them stood off in a different section of the stands, still taking photos and looking absolutely devastated that Eve wasn’t with them, but they didn’t say anything. And maybe that was a representation of the whole day—the whole saga. There was a small contingent who couldn’t and wouldn’t allow themselves to get it, but most people loved Eve and knew enough to respect her wishes, choices, and happiness.
Maybe it wouldn’t last forever. I was sure the pictures would pick up again at some point, but, if most of them thought twice before splashing pictures of the two of us just celebrating her local team’s wins on the internet, I knew we’d both take that.
And it seemed like those wins were going to keep coming.
The rivalry on the pitch was electric—much more friendly than aggressive, but both sides cared deeply. Standing on the sidelines with Brooke and the rest of the team’s partners and families was indescribable, second only to watching how alive and amazing Eve was on the pitch. She moved like it came as easily as breathing.
And, when the final whistle blew, she bolted from the field and straight towards me. Her smile was enormous and she stole my breath long before she whisked me up into her arms, spinning the two of us as we laughed together. It was like something straight from a film, and I really liked the ending of this one.
She slowed and I slid down in her arms to kiss her. Despite my reservations about the public, they simply disappeared into the background as our lips met. The moment wasn’t about them. It was about Eve and her success, about how much I loved her, and about the fact that we were finally together. Teenage me had dreamt about these moments with her. They were even more incredible than I’d had the ability to imagine.
“I love you,” I said against her lips, as she continued to hold me a couple of inches off the ground. How she still had the energy after a whole game was beyond me, but I’d take her never putting me down, so I wasn’t complaining.
“I love you too,” she said, pulling back to grin, her eyes tracing over my face, taking in every inch of me.
She put me back on the floor and I reached down for the brown paper bag Dai from the refreshments table had slipped me earlier.
“I got you something,” I said, holding it out to her.
She eyed it and me curiously. “Am I opening it here?”
“Mm. Yes.”
She pulled the bag open, stared inside for a second, and burst out laughing. “Where did you find it?”
I held my hands up. “It was all Dai. I had to call in some contacts to reach him, but he came in clutch.”
“I’ll say.” She pulled one of the cans of Tizer from the bag.
When I’d bet her a Tizer, I hadn’t actually realised they’d be trickier to track down these days, but the amusement on her face was worth the effort.
She shot me a look. “So… do you want to tell me why I get two? I’m guessing one is for winning the match?”
I nodded, moving in to wrap my arms around her again. “And the other, I’ve actually owed you for a very, very long time.”
“How?”
“You get that one for winning my heart. And it’s all yours, entirely. Always has been.”
She lifted me up again, pulling me into a desperate, delighted kiss.
And, when the rest of the team swarmed around us, sweeping us up into the celebrations, we both went readily, feeling like we were exactly where we were meant to be.
Epilogue
Eve
“You’re such a tryhard,” Soph said, standing at the door of Mum’s guest bedroom.
I grinned, glancing at her in the mirror where I was checking my suit. “I mean, obviously, but how so this time?”
She scoffed, letting herself into the room and flopping down on the bed. “Because I know you’re not putting this much effort in for Kieran and Kim.”
“Gotta look nice for their wedding.” I paused and shot her a look over my shoulder. “But yeah, I’m just trying to look worthy of Ophelia.”
“You could show up in a bin bag and she’d be all over you. It’s fucking ridiculous.”
I laughed. The fact that she was probably right was, frankly, unbelievable. After all this time, I couldn’t believe I finally got to love Ophelia, got to be the one she loved in return.
I’d loved her for so long, listened to a million love songs, watched movies and read books and thought I understood the depths love could reach. But… actually being with her? It kept going forever, deeper and richer, and more blissfully overwhelming than I could have ever understood. It was the best thing.
I turned to look at Soph. “And you’re telling me that’s not similar to how you feel about your mystery person?”
She harrumphed, folding her arms as she looked at me. “I don’t remember that being the topic of conversation.”
“Correct. It wasn’t. Now, it is. Join me here. Maybe even tell me their name…”
She studied me for a minute before her shoulders slumped. “I almost ruined it.”
“What?”
“With the whole… Fia thing.”
“Oh, right. Shit. Sorry.” I sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Is it going to be okay?”
She nodded slowly. “I think so. I’m just going to feel like a fucking fool for the rest of time.”
“Hey, we’re all fools in love.”
“I didn’t say love!”
I laughed. “Did you have to?”
“If you keep that up, I actually won’t let you meet them.”
“Oh, because meeting has definitely been on the table so far?”
She looked at me and I suddenly realised why she was here. It wasn’t to give me a hard time. It was to give me an invitation.
I worked hard to keep my expression neutral.
After a moment, she looked away, down at her nails like she couldn’t care less what was happening. The stiffness in her muscles gave her away, though. “So, I was thinking that, maybe, you know, if you’re not too busy or whatever, it might be… okay… if we all got dinner together. They really want to try that new restaurant, Elixir, in town, and I was thinking that if they saw you and Fia together—and, you know, me not drooling all over her—then it might… make things more… solid.”
I tried not to be patronising with Soph—or anyone—and it wasn’t anything to do with me, but I was proud of her. She really cared about someone and she was putting herself out there. Not just in a flirty way like she had with Ophelia, but in a real, emotional way. Whoever her person was, they were good for her.
“We’d be delighted,” I told her.
“Ugh. You’re both going to be so insufferable all night, aren’t you?”
“Do we come in another setting?”
“No. You’re perfect for each other. Nobody else would be able to stand either of you.”
I laughed around the happy sigh threatening to escape me, just like every time I thought of Ophelia. “Wouldn’t matter. I wouldn’t love anyone else the way I love her.”
Soph studied me. “I can’t believe it took you so long to actually get with her. You’re famous. You could have looked her up whenever you wanted.”
I shrugged. “I didn’t know she felt the same way.”
“Hm. She was better at hiding her feelings than you were.”
“Hey! You didn’t know. I was doing fine.”
She laughed. “Yeah, because I was busy thinking about how hot she was, and I didn’t think we’d ever be into the same person.”
“Yeah. Makes sense.”
“Don’t worry. The person I’m dating isn’t your type.”
I stifled a laugh at the way she almost tripped over dating. I was happy for her. “I think my type is Ophelia Pendrick, and that’s me done for the rest of time, so yeah, I’m not worried.”
“Ugh. Gross,” she said without malice as she stood up. “Now, you’d better get going because—ah, there she is now.”
I grinned at Soph’s apparent supernatural skills as the doorbell sounded through the house and we heard Mum and Herc bolting for the door to let Ophelia in.
We were looking forward to when we were back in London, back in our regular lives—or, rather, building our new regular lives—but there was something so fitting about the fact that we were getting our first few dates while in Eddlesworth, calling on each other at our parents’ homes, just the way we’d both been wishing for all those years ago.
I paused only momentarily to tell Soph to send me the time for dinner and we’d be there.
“Tomorrow night?” she shot back. “If I wait too long, I’ll chicken out. And you can never, ever mention that I just admitted that.”
I laughed, heading down the stairs like Ophelia was a homing beacon I couldn’t stand to be apart from. “Sounds good.”
And, then, everything else faded from relevance.
Ophelia Pendrick in a beautiful, feminine tuxedo, tailored perfectly to her incredible figure. She was the loveliest thing.
She turned to look at me, seeming equally as impressed, which felt ridiculous. I had nothing on her.
“Not bad, Archer,” she said, approaching the bottom of the stairs to meet me.
She’d told me after the match that, when I looked at her, her fears about who else was watching and what they were doing faded into nothingness, that the only thing that mattered was the two of us. I’d understood then, but it was true now, too. My poor mother, sister, and dog felt very far away indeed.
“You look beautiful,” I said, stepping into her embrace like I was coming home.
Ordinarily, I’d think a couple of weeks of dating would be too little to want someone around constantly, but I’d been waiting for her for so long that I didn’t want to lose a single moment with her. I wondered how long we’d last before I was begging her to move in with me—probably with another Tizer, just for the symbolism of it.
“So do you,” she murmured, leaning in for a kiss.
The fact that she initiated things like that in front of other people felt like flying. She was so happy, so confident these days. She’d always seemed confident, but it was different now, like she finally believed it too.
“Disgusting, the pair of you,” Soph said, moving to squeeze around us.
Mum laughed. “Leave them alone, Sophie. They’re in love.”
“So are other people, but they manage to keep it under wraps.”
Ophelia and I shared a look like we both heard the way Soph might have been including herself in that statement. Tomorrow night was going to be very interesting indeed.
Mum moved to look at us both, taking a picture like we were heading off to prom. “You both look great. Have a fantastic night, and send our regards to the couple.”
“Not mine,” Soph called from where she was now rummaging in the fridge. “I couldn’t care less.”
“Noted,” I laughed before giving Ophelia a look. “Shall we?”
She nodded and told my mum, “We’ll see you later, then.”
I felt giddy. She knew she was welcome here. She spoke to my mum like she was completely comfortable. Sure, we spent every night together, either here or at her parents’ place, but I still couldn’t believe my luck. Maybe I’d never stop thanking every lucky star that I’d made it to this point.
We headed out and I held Ophelia’s door for her before climbing into the driver’s seat and heading over to the wedding.
