Page 61 of Matched

“Charlie.”

We both jumped, Charlie’s head whipping around to the left to see his housemate Ander standing in the kitchen doorway.

“Shit.” Charlie’s gaze turned pleading as he stared at Ander. “Ander. Please.”

Ander took up a casual pose, leaning against the door frame with his arms folded across his chest. “Something you want to share?”

“No,” Charlie immediately bit out, and Ander held his hands up.

“Don’t worry. My lips are sealed.” He glanced behind him. “Ourlips are sealed,” he amended, and I groaned as Elliot appeared in the doorway, both of them looking between us with undisguised curiosity.

“Ander—” Charlie began again.

“You don’t need to explain. I’ll just use my imagination to tell me why you’re trying to smuggle one of my teammates out of our house at—” He paused to glance at his phone. “—8:42 a.m.”

Charlie exhaled harshly. “Shouldn’t you be in bed sleeping off a hangover or something?”

“Me? Nope. My body is a temple.”

Elliot snorted and then gave Ander a warning look. “We won’t say anything. Whatever’s going on is none of our business.”

“But—” Ander began.

“None of our business,” Elliot repeated, grabbing his arm and dragging him back inside the kitchen. The door closed firmly behind them.

“Sorry,” Charlie whispered. “I know we agreed it would be easier not to tell anyone.”

“They won’t say anything.” Ander was a good guy, my teammate, and I highly doubted either him or Elliot would out us.

With a nod, Charlie breathed out, his shoulders slumping. “Yeah. What am I thinking? I know they wouldn’t say anything to anyone.”

“Then we’re good.” Stopping by the front door, I glanced back to make sure we were really alone, and then I cupped his cheek, rubbing my thumb across his soft skin. “I’ll see you soon, okay? Come to football practice this week if you’re not busy.”

“I’ll check my work schedules, but I’ll try to make it.” His lips met mine in a soft kiss that was way too brief. “Text me later.”

“I will.”

And I did. I made a half-hearted effort to resist, but I barely managed to last twenty minutes after leaving his house behind before I pulled up his contact details on my screen and tapped out a message.

And if we were still texting back and forth hours later…no one but the two of us needed to know.

24

I’d never felt more like the odd one out. Here I was, about to take a seat next to the other people watching the training session—other people who had a much more valid reason for being here than I did. It was a big practice today, involving both the first and second teams, on the biggest grass pitch that was available. Everyone wanted to be ready for the cup semi-final.

To my left, Elliot, Leo, Niccolò, and Noah were here for their boyfriends, straddling the benches, deep in discussion about the upcoming semi-final cup match. To my right, there was a group of girls sprawled out across the grass—sisters, friends, and girlfriends of the players. And there I was, in the middle of no man’s land.

It was probably my imagination. No, it was definitely my imagination. I’d trained with this team. Two of the players weremy housemates. The team captain lived next door to me. I had just as much right to be here as anyone else.

Even so, I felt weirdly uncomfortable, and I knew why.

Ander and Elliot knew something had happened between me and Nate. I hadn’t confirmed anything, and they hadn’t even asked, but it was easy enough to guess. How else could I explain the two of us creeping down the stairs like burglars in the early morning?

I’d come prepared today, though. I had my earbuds in and a baseball cap pulled down low over my face, shading my eyes. Greeting the guys with a nod, I sank down onto the bench with my phone already clasped in my hand, ready to provide a distraction.

I kept my gaze averted from the group of girls—or one girl in particular, with long, golden-brown hair. She’d noticed me when I’d walked up, her wide-eyed gaze darting to mine before shifting away again. It was probably a shock to see me here.

Fuck, whywasI here?

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