Page 37 of The Fly-Half

“Any more questions?”

“Probably, but I can’t think of any for now.” I grinned. “I’m still processing.”

“Me too. But mostly because I can’t believe it took me this long to figure out how I feel about you.”

“West and Mason really did a number on you then,” I said with a gentle laugh.

“Yeah, but actually I think most of the credit has to go to Ryan. He was the one who made me realise I already knew how I felt and that I didn’t have to avoid it.”

“I’ll have to send him something as a thank you.”

Jonny chuckled. “I’ll give Aiden a call, get him to send some cookies. I should probably speak to him anyway. It’s been a while and if I don’t do it soon, I’ll get an obnoxious phone call asking me if I’m still alive.”

“I thought older brothers were supposed to be the bossy ones?” I asked. Aiden was only eleven months younger than Jonny and the pair of them had frequently butted heads growing up, but their relationship had improved as they’d gotten older and lived apart. I hadn’t seen Aiden for ages, but he’d recently opened a cookie delivery business and had insisted on sending Jonny a bunch of samples to taste, which he’d happily shared with me.

“Yeah, well, he might as well be, bloody menace to society that he is,” Jonny said fondly. “I should see what his plans are for Christmas, see if he wants to come and visit since Mum and Dad are going to Australia to see Auntie Jeanette.”

“Sucks you can’t go too.” The Christmas period was always a busy one for us as a team, with matches, training, and community outreach activities, so we didn’t really get much time off. Definitely not enough to make the seventy-two-hour round trip to Australia.

I didn’t think we even got seventy-two hours off.

“It’s okay. I’m not actually that fussed. I kinda like the routine we have for Christmas now with training and everything. I’m not sure how I’d cope with having two or three weeks off in the middle of the season. I don’t think I could even manage more than a couple of days. It’s bad enough in the spring with the international break for the Six Nations,” he said. “What about you? Have you got any plans? Are you going to make the trip back to your parents?”

“Not this year,” I said, shaking my head. “They’re going to spend it with my sister in Amsterdam since she doesn’t want to lug all of Nina’s baby stuff over here. Not that I blame her, plus travelling anywhere with a three-month-old sounds like hell. I kinda feel bad for missing her first Christmas, but she’s not going to remember it. Plus I don’t want to add any more stress toCourtney’s plate, so I’ve organised a hamper and some presents, and I’ll give them a call on the day.”

“It’s still, like, a month until Christmas. How are you this organised?”

“How are you not?”

Jonny chuckled. “Is that a hint?”

“No, it’s more me realising that you really are the sort of man who leaves his shopping until Christmas Eve.”

“Nah, it’s usually like a week or two before. Then I sit down and order everything in one go.”

I nodded, a thought percolating in my mind. “Are we… did you want to do presents?”

“Why wouldn’t we?” he asked with a raised eyebrow, looking genuinely stumped by my question. “We do them every year.”

“I know, but with us being together… I don’t know. These things can be so complicated in relationships.” Or at least, they always had been in mine.

“Well, they’re not going to be in this one,” he said firmly. “We’ll do presents, same as always. Just maybe increase the budget a little. And then we can spend the day together, as long as you don’t mind Aiden maybe gatecrashing. I don’t have to invite him, though.”

“No, if he’s on his own, he should come here. We can always see who else is around too,” I said, my heart so full of joy I thought it might burst. It shouldn’t have been this easy, or at least it didn’t feel like it should have been to me. But then again, this wasn’t like any other relationship.

This was Jonny, and I’d known him since we were thirteen.

He was my best friend in the entire world.

And hopefully, that would make all the difference.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Jonny

“I’m goingto assume that things went well since we haven’t seen you since Saturday night,” Mason said as he sat down next to me on Monday morning, his loaded breakfast tray clattering on the table. “You’re alive at least, so that’s one thing.”

“Good morning to you too,” I said dryly, shooting a smile at Devon, who was sat opposite me sipping his coffee. “Nice of you to join us.”

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