Page 21 of Offside Rule

I stopped to face her, a small smile on my lips. “She will, and in case she doesn’t, we had a lot of fun. Didn’t we?”

Her frown deepened before she gave up and offered me a nod. “We did,” she admitted, but it was almost as if she didn’t want to justify that kind of sum. “I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard.”

My grin reached my ears as I looked down at her. “Me neither.”

It was true. My entire life, I had focused on showing my father what he had lost through football, and made sure I hadn’t given my mother a reason to leave me too. I hadn’t had time to smile, have fun or enjoy a simple sunny day. No. I had just done my best, so that the last person closest to me wouldn’t disappear.

Truthfully, I knew my mother was never going to do that. She loved me too much to do so, but there was a part of me that thought that if I didn’t give her a reason to stay, she wasn’t going to.

I didn’t know where my father was, or if he even knew about my career, but I hoped he knew enough to make him regret that he’d left us all those years ago.

And if there was one thing I wanted more than that, it was having a family of my own.

“What are you thinking about?” Arianna asked as we walked toward the train station.

My time here was ending, and as much as I wanted to make this last longer, I had to get back home for our last match.

I glanced at her, and for the first time in my life, I didn’t feel the need to lie about my thoughts. “Just about the way I’ve wasted my life until now.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I never do anything for myself. Just for others,” I admitted. My jaw twitched, and my hands found shelter in the pockets of my pants.

Today was something beautifully unusual for me. I felt like a kid after a long time of continuously being at war with myself and fighting for the best version I could be. Everything I was feeling now was thanks to Arianna.

Because she had let me do something for myself—spending time with her.

Arianna wanted to say something, but I spoke first. I grabbed her hand and forced her to listen to what I was about to say.

“I know you might think I’m wasting my time by being here. Shit, you might even think that I’m playing some sort of game, or that I’m looking for just a one-night stand, but Arianna, you have no idea how wrong you’d be,” I breathed out, ignoring the people walking past us. “You are the first thing I’ve ever done for myself.”

Her mouth fell open, and I was surprised by the tears quickly filling her eyes. Arianna stammered, trying to find her words as she blinked uncontrollably. To me, she looked as if I’d just told her I loved her, and I wasn’t sure if she was about to vomit, or burst into tears.

I couldn’t bear the silence, so I found myself talking again. “I can imagine just how desperate I may look by flying to Venice for you, and canceling my flight to spend more time with you. You can call me selfish, but you’re the reason I realized how fucking great it is to do some things for myself. It’s goddamn addicting, and I want more.”

Arianna blinked one more time, swallowing. “You canceled your flight?”

My mind replayed what I’d said. I hadn’t even thought about what I’d said, because it had just flown out of me.

Shit.

She wasn’t supposed to know that.

“I—” I started.

Arianna grabbed me by the collar of my shirt. “Xavier,” she demanded. “Yes, or no?”

“Yes.”

Before I knew it, I was a prisoner of her hands—her fingers dug deeply into my shoulders as she rose on her tiptoes to smash her lips to mine. I groaned in approval, and squeezed her by the small of her back, pressing her tighter to me.

We both melted into each other’s arms, and I held on to the feeling of her—her soft lips, her strong grasp, the little moan that passed her lips.

“Che bello!” I heard a woman’s voice call, and we broke apart, analyzing our surroundings. I had to blink a few times to return to the real world.

The woman walked away after giving us a thumbs-up, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Arianna soon joined me, pressing a hand to her stomach.

“Come on, you’ll miss your flight.” Arianna smiled at me, and I was surprised when she gave me a kiss on my cheek.

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