Page 221 of Off the Pitch

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts as my Uber wound through the London traffic, back towards Jordan’s house. He’d given me a heads up that he was babysitting Mia that afternoon while his parents were with his grandmother at a physiotherapy appointment, in case I wanted to steer clear. Even though I hadn’t been around kids for a while, I figured it would make me look like a total dick if I avoided spending time with Jordan while his sister was around. Mia was important to Jordan, and if I wanted to be a part of Jordan’s life, then I was going to have to meet her sooner or later.

Besides, how hard could looking after one six-year-old be?

Jordan’s face when he answered the door suggested it was harder than I thought.

“What happened to you?” I said, noting the streak of silver glitter painting his cheek, which appeared to have several stars stuck to it.

“I made a mistake,” he said as he waved me into the house.

“Even I could have told you that things with glitter are never a good idea.”

“Well, I know that now!” Jordan shook his head and wiped his cheek, but all it did was smear the glitter farther across his face. I chuckled.

“Stop laughing, or I’ll put glitter on you too.” He pushed me towards the kitchen, sticking his head into the living room as he passed where I could hear the TV playing. “You okay, Mia?”

“I’m fine.” I looked over Jordan’s shoulder to see a small girl in patterned leggings and a colourful hoodie lying on the floor, her soft dark curls pulled up into two little puffs on the top of her head. She turned, looking at us with curious eyes. “Who’s that?”

“This is my friend, Félix. He’s here for dinner.”

“Okay,” Mia said, her expression changing to one of mild disinterest. “Can I show him my slime?”

“Of course, just be careful not to get it everywhere.” Mia grinned, hopping up and sliding past us to race towards the kitchen. Jordan and I followed at a more sedate pace.

“Slime?” I asked Jordan playfully.

“Yeah. I got one of those craft kit things from Argos for us to do. I thought it would be kinda fun, y’know? Mia loves this show calledThe Worst Witch,and this was the closest I could come to making potions. You can make your own unicorn slime with glitter in.”

“Ah, hence the stars,” I said, indicating his cheek.

“Fucking hell,” he grumbled quietly. “I made the mistake of picking one of the tubs up and the lid wasn’t on properly. It went fucking everywhere. Ant’s gonna murder me for covering his kitchen in glitter.”

“You shouldn’t say those words, Jordan,” came a small, but insistent voice from the other side of the kitchen. “Mum says that every time you or Dad says a grown-up word you have to put money in the box.” Mia frowned at him expectantly, and Jordan sighed, grabbing his wallet off the side and pulling out a twenty-pound note. He opened a cupboard and pulled out a small jar that was covered in a variety of small animal stickers. He unscrewed the lid and put the money in.

“Happy now?”

“Yes,” she said, leaning back over the table and poking at something bright and squishy looking that sat in a bowl in front of her.

Jordan looked at me and gave me a wry smile. “Sarah thinks Dad and I need to swear less around Mia, so every time she catches us, we have to put money in a charity box. Mia’s pretty good at calling me out on it. I think next time it’s full we’re gonna give it to this local LGBTQ youth centre since they’re fundraising for more resources. I’ll probably write them a cheque to go with it, since the jar’ll only be a couple of hundred quid at most. Maybe see if they’re interested in some coaching sessions too ’cos I know sport can be seen as pretty exclusionary sometimes.”

“I think it’s an excellent idea.” Warmth blossomed in my chest as I looked at him. It was the casual way he said it, like it was completely normal to volunteer time and money in that way. Just because he could. Jordan really was an extraordinary person, and every time I saw a little more of who he was, I felt more in awe of him.

The space where the heavy weight in my chest had been began to fill with something else. Something I couldn’t put a name to. Not yet.

Jordan gave me a soft smile, his lip curling up in the corner in the way it always did when he smiled like this—warm and genuine and soft. It made me want to kiss him desperately.

That would have to wait for later though.

Instead, I lowered my voice, leaning in to whisper, “it’s a good way of teaching you to be a good boy.”

Jordan snorted and shoved me in the ribs, and I laughed, sidestepping him to walk over to the table where Mia was still peering at her slime, sticking her fingers in the bowl and grinning as the galaxy-coloured goo wobbled.

“That’s very impressive,” I said, sitting down next to her.

“I want to take it to school tomorrow to show Mrs. Clarke. I think she’ll like it.”

“Did Jordan make some too?”

“Yeah, his is in that bowl,” Mia said, pointing to another bowl I hadn’t noticed. His was bright turquoise and streaked with stars and more silver glitter than I’d ever seen in one place. “Jordan, can I get mine out and play with it while I watchThe Worst Witch?Please?”

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