Page 139 of Off the Pitch

I could hear it now—the love in his words—and it made my head spin with delight.

“So, what pet would you like?” I said, attempting to change the subject because otherwise I was sure I would spill my secret, and I wanted the chance to spoil Hugo myself before I told him.

“Maybe a dog,” Hugo said after a pause. “We used to have a collie when I was little, and I loved her.”

“We’ll get a dog, then or maybe two. Then they can keep each other company if we go out.”

“That would be nice.”

“Well, if we’re living in a house with a swimming pool, we’ll certainly have room for a couple of dogs! Oooh, we could do dog agility if we had collies. I always thought that looked really fun.”

Hugo laughed, pulling me in for another kiss. “You’re perfect.”

“So are you.”

We spent the rest of the day at the ruins of Urquhart Castle, pottering around and chatting and watching boats going up and down the loch. I was exhausted by the time we got back to the cottage but more from my emotional revelation than anything else. But as I curled into Hugo’s arms that night, I knew that in him I’d found what I’d been searching for my entire life.

I’d found home.

Chapter Twenty-Two

HugoYour friend Volt doesn’t happen to have Twitter does he?

KitYes, he does, why?

HugoI think he followed me. I looked at his profile—it’s a bit more explicit than I expected

KitOh, I did his cover art! I think it came out rather nicely, don’t you think?

HugoI hadn’t actually noticed that

Kit

“Are you really taking photos of your boyfriend’s ass?”

“It’s the most perfect ass on the planet, of course I’m taking photos of it.”

I laughed as David casually zoomed his camera in on Christian, who was warming up with the rest of the team on the pitch in front of us. Hugo had invited me to watch Greenwich’s last preseason friendly, and their only preseason match at home with him and, despite the fact I knew virtually nothing about football, I’d decided to say yes.

Besides, it meant spending the whole afternoon with the man I loved and sharing something that was important to him. Plus, I was also slightly worried about how he’d react to being stuck in the stands watching instead of out on the pitch with the rest of his teammates.

It had been a week since we’d come back from Scotland and just over a week since my universe had inverted itself. I still hadn’t found the right moment to tell Hugo how I felt, but then again, he hadn’t said anything either. I hadn’t said anything because I wasn’t quite sure how to bring it up, and I thought Hugo hadn’t said anything because he was worried about how I’d react, which ultimately suggested that I’d have to go first.

“Are you okay?” Hugo asked, his question gently intruding on my thoughts. “You look a little concerned.”

“Hmm? Nope, I’m fine,” I said. “I just hadn’t realised how big the stadium would be. It looks a lot smaller on television.”

Hugo chuckled. “I know what you mean, but I can promise you it feels even bigger when you’re on the pitch and you’re surrounded by fifty-six thousand people.”

“Fifty-six thousand?” I thought my eyes were going to pop out of my skull. That was an insane amount of people. “How do you even concentrate? I mean it’s obvious that this place is designed to trap sound and make it absolutely deafening in here, so how on earth can you even think about what you’re doing. I can barely focus on my work if my music is too loud.”

“I just… tune it out,” Hugo said, a pensive look on his face. “When I’m playing, when I’m truly in the moment, I can’t hear them. Not really. If everyone is chanting and cheering then I can almost feel their energy and it lifts me up, but I couldn’t tell you what they were singing.”

“People sing?”

“Sometimes,” Hugo said.

“It’s quite fun,” David added from my other side. “I’ll teach you.”

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