Page 81 of Couple Goals

‘You are always bringing the team together,’ Jacob observes. ‘On and off the pitch. You are always motivating and boosting morale, trying to make peace between players who have any personal friction. You’re always there for your teammates. And that’s wonderful. It’s inspiring. It’s appreciated. And in my opinion, it’s about time it was rewarded.You would be an excellent captain on a permanent basis, if you wanted to reconsider stepping aside from the team.’

Adriana blushes, looking down at her hands, taking a sip of water, not knowing what to say.

‘You’re always there for everyone else, Adriana. Now it’s time for you to be there for yourself. And if you’ll let me, I want to be there to support you too while you figure out what you want.’

He strokes her back lightly.

Adriana’s thoughts feel overwhelming again as she tries to think. What does she want? Well, him, of course. But does she want to be Captain of the Tigresses?

She gets up from his lap, reaching for her mocha, her hands shaking a little.

‘I don’t know if this will sound absolutely ridiculous,’ she paces around, watching the melting ice cubes as she swirls them gently round her glass. ‘But I had never even thought about wanting to be captain, so I never thought I might be considered for it either. I was really worried when Coach told me that you might have had something to do with it. Plus, it’s always been Maeve’s dream, so I had never dared to think about it. And I still truly don’t want to take it from her, I hate the way it makes it feel like I’m somehowstealingfrom someone I love.’

‘What if you were to allow yourself to believe that you are good at what you do, and that it is a good thing for everyone – yourself,your friends, your teammates – for you to do it?’ Jacob suggests.

‘Well, yeah. Yeah, that does feel…’ she laughs. ‘Really fucking good, actually.’

‘I know you’re worried about Maeve, and Kira, and probably everyone else too,’ says Jacob. ‘And that’s understandable, given how much you care about them. I think if you talk to them about it, they might surprise you by caring about you getting what you want too and if they’re really your friends, they should be proud of you for getting something that’s deserved.’

She blushes and then flops back onto the sofa to sit beside him.

‘The irony is, it was always Maeve who encouraged me to take myself more seriously as a player,’ sighs Adriana. ‘I used to help her lighten up and make friends with the team, and she used to help me train and believe in myself as a player. It’s part of why we work so well together. Well,usedto work so well together, at least… I’ve been avoiding her calls because I’m scared she’s going to say I’ve been such a traitor with the captaincy that she doesn’t want to be friends with me anymore. It feels now like I’m choosing between being the captaincy or her friendship, and I don’t even know if she would want that anymore anyway.’

‘Well,’ Jacob starts, sounding awkward. ‘I amprettysure she does want to still be friends with you.’

Adriana looks at him suspiciously.

He coughs, looking sheepish. ‘She actually messaged me.’

‘What?’

‘Yeah, she contacted me at my work email address to ask if I knew if you were okay. She was awfully polite about it. Like she didn’t want me to feel awkward about her knowing something had happened between us, but just wanting to know if I had information because she hadn’t heard and was really worried.’

Adriana flushes with pleasure and worry. ‘Oh Maeve…’

‘She asked a favour of me, actually.’

‘A favour?’

Jacob nods. ‘She asked that if I saw you, could I ask if you’d be free to meet her tonight after training. At…’ he checks his phone. ‘“The Old Pig?”’

Adriana smiles, but her stomach twists uncertainly. She still doesn’t know how a conversation with her old friend will go right now, but she owes it to her to try, and for them to both have the opportunity to clear the air. Jacob has helped her realise, she should put herself first instead of other people all the time. Now, she knows shedoeswant to be Captain of the Tigresses.

‘So what do you think, Addy?’ asks Jacob, softly. ‘Do you know what it is that you want?’

Adriana goes to him then. She reaches her hand to him, strokes his cheek, his head tilting back to take her in. She leans her lips close to his.

‘This,’ she says simply, and kisses him.

Chapter 28Maeve

Maeve sits alone at a large table in the back corner of The Old Pig.

It’s quieter than usual in the pub, whose eclectic pink decor consists of hundreds of decorations celebrating cartoon pigs. There are a few regulars sat on barstools, chatting to each other over their pints, a few young people with laptops who seem to be chasing essay deadlines, and a couple of other groups of friends laughing together.

Seeing the groups reminds Maeve it’s a place where she has so many memories made with Adriana here. It was where they came to celebrate Adriana joining her at the Tigresses. Over the years Adriana had charmed the bar staff so much that they added an orange liqueur cocktail named after the team. It was where Adriana had brought Maeve for Champagne to celebrate Maeve getting named Captain.

Her stomach twists at the thought, and she shakes her head, as if to try to dislodge her own worry. A bartender gives her a conspiratorial thumbs up, and Maeve gives them a grateful smile back.Maeve checks her phone and glances towards the door again, losing hope until she sees Adriana come through it.

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