Page 101 of Bad Boy Neighbor

But I don’t fucking care what he thinks.

Even if we do lose, I have it all.

‘All’ has a certain someone sitting in the crowd, ready to watch me play for the very first time.

And if everything goes according to plan, tonight will be the night.

In front of everyone in the stadium.

In front of everyone in Australia.

I want every person to watch as I officially make her mine.

Thirty

Gabriella

People-watching at a soccer game is on another level.

The stadium is packed. It’s a sold-out event, which, according to Pa beside me, has everything to do with Olly being back on the field.

Olly’s Ma and Pa are everything he described them to be. Ma is a doting mother always worrying about her son but not too overbearing which would drive him nuts.

Pa is every bit the man Olly said he is—strong, opinionated, and has the biggest heart. He loves to talk, and one thing always stands out—he’s damn proud of his only son. His exact words.

We met for lunch a few days ago, and according to Olly, they instantly fell in love with me. Meeting them sealed the deal, and if possible, it made me fall in love with him even more.

Our seats are right up in front, amongst other family members of the team.

The atmosphere is electrifying and tense, the music blaring through the speakers, intensifying as the minutes count down.

According to Pa, the away supporters are segregated to one corner of the stadium. There are not as many of them, yet both groups of supporters are vociferous in supporting their respective team.

The next ninety minutes is the most intense ninety minutes of my life.

Olly is on fire.

Pa is fixated on the game, so every few minutes Ma explains to me exactly what’s happening. It’s all fast and furious, action-packed with drama and tension. There are near-misses, penalty shots, and undeserved abuse hurled at the referee.

By the last five minutes, I’ve almost bitten off all my nails. The crowd is just as anxious, glued to the field or big screen. The time is ticking over, and just when we think it’s ending in a draw, Olly takes the ball off another player, gets past the last defender, and kicks it straight into the goal.

The crowd jumps in glory. I squeal in delight, clapping my hands and watching Olly’s teammates pounce on him in celebration. I’m so incredibly proud of him and had no idea how intense a game of soccer could feel.

The second they jump off him, his eyes scan the crowd until they gaze upon mine. He begins to walk toward me until a flock of reporters stop to interview him.

“Would you look at my boy?” Pa gloats with the proudest grin on his face. “Always knew he would bounce back. Just needed to find his feet again.”

Ma wraps her arm around me, placing her hand on my shoulder and bringing me in for a hug. “And find a reason to smile every day.”

I lean my head on her hand, welcoming the sentiment. It’s weird how someone I’ve known for just a few days, feels like family already.

Inside my pocket, my phone begins to vibrate. I pull it out, and there’s an incoming FaceTime call from Lana.

I answer the call with enthusiasm. “Hey!”

Both Lana and Sebastian appear on the screen, grinning like fools. Just like me, they are proud of Olly. Sebastian told Olly he would stream the game since they couldn’t be here.

“Did you guys see Olly? He killed it!”

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