Page 82 of Off the Pitch

“Okay, you can take the blindfold off now.”

David reached up with both hands, sliding the tie up over his eyes, pulling his glasses out of his pocket before sliding them up his nose and blinking around at the scene before him—the whole garden lit up with the soft glow of fairy lights and candles and me kneeling in front of him with an open ring box and a nervous smile.

“David—”

“Yes.”

“But I didn’t even ask the question,” I said, trying not to laugh as he knelt in front of me. There were tears welling up in his eyes, and I could feel my own eyes prickling, my heart threatening to burst out of my chest.

“I don’t need you to. I’m going to say yes anyway.” David held out his hand, and I slid the ring onto his finger, secretly dancing because it fit perfectly.

“You know, I had a whole speech prepared about how much you mean to me,” I added, as David pulled me in for a kiss. There were a million butterflies in my chest, making it difficult for me to breathe. I didn’t think it was possible for anyone to be this happy.

“Do you want to say it now?” David sniffed, rubbing his eyes and gazing down at his hand as if he wasn’t sure this was real.

“I could, if you want,” I said, pressing another deep kiss to his lips. “Or maybe I could show you instead? Maybe we could use that tie too?”

“Hmm, that sounds like a good plan. And maybe, if there’s time, you can tell me later.”

“Perfect!” I laughed, throwing myself into his arms. We ended up in a heap on the patio, trading deep kisses under the stars.

“There is one more thing, though,” I said, pulling away for a second. “I want to tell you before I get distracted.” David raised an eyebrow, so I continued. “I talked to Tamal and Lucas, and I want to come out publicly. I want to show everyone that being gay has no impact on my ability to play, and I want to be able to share pictures of you and tell everyone how amazing you are. I know it won’t be easy, but I was wondering if that would be okay with you?”

I smiled, nervously twisting my fingers. We’d managed to keep everything under wraps for a year, mostly because everyone at the club had been amazing about it. I knew Lucas and my agent, Stephan, had made it very clear that anyone making the knowledge public without my consent would be in deep trouble, but everyone seemed to be genuinely fine about it. It helped as well that the British media didn’t seem particularly interested in my love life, and whenever David and I hung out in public, we were very careful—I mean, we displayed less public affection than Liam and Jordan, and nobody had ever considered their relationship anything more than a bromance.

Still, I’d promised David no more hiding, and although he’d said he didn’t need the world to know, I realised that I did. I needed to show them that gay or not, I could still be England’s captain. I could have everything I’d ever dreamed of. And I wanted others to know they could too.

The smile David gave me was brighter than the summer sun.

“I will always support you,” he said between kisses. “I’m so fucking proud of you, and I love you so much. And if you change your mind, that’s okay too.”

“Nope, no going back now,” I said, shaking my head. “I’ve made my decision. Whatever happens with the World Cup, I’m doing it when I get back. I’ve hidden away my whole life, and it’s time to break away from my past and embrace who I am.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure I can help you with that,” David smirked, raising an eyebrow and skimming his fingers up my thigh.

“You really do have a filthy mind.”

“You love it!”

“I really do.”

David leaned in for another kiss, his tongue caressing my lips, and I crawled into his lap, wrapping my arms around him.

Two years ago, I couldn’t have imagined my life being this perfect. Now, I couldn’t imagine it being anything less. I’d always pictured my life being one way, never thinking it could be different, and now it was everything I’d never allowed myself to hope for.

I never would have believed my life would change at an art gallery with David strolling back into my life holding a plate of canapes. To think about it now seemed insane. But there were a lot of things I wouldn’t have believed back then. Now I knew better.

Yes, the future was scary, but that didn’t matter. I had David by my side, and together we were unstoppable.

The End

Hat Trick

Hat Trick

David & Christian

David

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