Cobham was practically empty as I drove in the next morning. Stu had set up an extra early appointment to suss out the damage to my wrist and assess what I'd be able to do until it started to heal. The only other cars in the parking lot belonged to some of the backroom staff and, right in front of the entrance stood Frank's car.
By the time I headed back up from the medical rooms, the building hummed with activity. Music blasted from the changing room and the sounds of cutlery on plates and laughter echoed through the corridor I walked down. In a meeting room to my right, Frank motioned vividly to Jody and the other coaches, a diagram drawn on the whiteboard behind him. The distraction of his gala was clearly out of everyone's minds: with Burnley away on the weekend and a cup game tomorrow, it needed to be.
In the canteen, players and staff roamed around making coffee or eating breakfast. A group of my teammates huddled around a table looking at a laptop and what I guessed were pictures from Sunday night, but I veered away from them and towards the table where Abby sat alone, a plate of eggs and bacon her only company.
After the semi-awkward ride home with Mason, I'd tried to call her. She didn't answer then, nor did she answer later in the day when I sent her a message. Now, though, she shot me a smile and waved.
"Becks, hey!" she greeted as I took the seat next to her.
"Hey, Abs," I replied with a frown. "You good?"
She finished the mouthful she'd just taken and nodded. "Yeah, sorry about not replying to you yesterday. Just ended up being one of those hectic days, you know?"
I still kept my eyebrows lowered, not convinced that she was really as chilled as she was letting on. "So you're okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, all good." She waved me off, and before I had a chance to reply, carried on speaking. "How was the rest of your night? I saw some interesting pictures on Twitter."
"God, did the whole world see those?" I mumbled, shaking my head.
Abby chuckled. "Everyone that matters, yeah."
"I need some coffee."
With a sigh, I stood up and made my way over to the coffee machine. I waved at Kyle, who was one of the groupies surrounding the laptop, while I waited for the machine to warm up. Turning my head, I stared out into the corridor for a moment, letting my mind drift. Was everyone behind that screen staring at pictures of Mason and me? Did they all assume the same things Kyle had the previous morning?
As much as I'd tried to avoid it yesterday, curiosity drew me to social media. Just as Kyle and Natalie had said, my notifications were spammed with pictures from the gala. Mason with his arm around me on the carpet. Mason escorting me to Frank and Christine. Me laughing at Mason. The two of us dancing together. The two of us leaving together, Kyle and Natalie out of the frame.
I'd grown more and more panicked with each new picture, until one caught my attention. It was from when we'd walked the carpet, at a point where Mason had clearly made a side comment. We stood facing each other, smiling. But there was something more in both of our expressions; in the way we looked at each other. It was the same way he'd looked at me while we danced, the same way he'd looked at me in his entrance way. I was almost certain it was the same way I'd been looking at him since he told me he broke up with Liv.
The same thought of maybe things will be okay entered my mind when I saw that picture, and miraculously, it overruled the apprehension in my chest now as I imagined the pictures the team saw.
A figure passed by the doorway outside in the corridor, bringing me out of my daze. I didn't think anything of it, assuming it was another player arriving and making their way to the changing room, until Mason's familiar voice forced me to look up.
"Hart!" he called from the corridor. With a grin, he threw his hands into the air. "What are you doing here?"
I mirrored his smile as he entered the canteen, but my stomach lurched. We hadn't spoken since he'd dropped me off at my flat, following a kiss that left me reeling. My head had spun all morning as I drove to Cobham, wondering what would happen when I saw him again. Now that he was here, on his way to speak to me, in plain sight of most of our teammates, I made a hasty decision to just act as I had the last time we were at the training ground.
"What do you mean? Where else would I be?" I laughed.
He came to a stop in front of me. Clearly he'd just arrived, because he wore jeans and a hoodie as opposed to the training kit the rest of the team wore. Still grinning, he stepped closer and poked me in the arm.
"Um, I don't know, maybe resting your broken bone?"
"It's my wrist not my leg," I fired back with a shake of my head. Just as quickly, I perked up. "But I saw Stu this morning and it's actually not going to be as bad as we thought it would."
"Yeah?" Mason raised his eyebrows. "So I've been giving you all this sympathy for nothing?"
I reached out a fist and pushed it against his chest, hard enough to make him step a foot back to steady himself, but soft enough to make it flirtatious. The sweet sound of his chuckle sent my heart racing.
"Stu said I can't do any contact work this week, but then next Monday if it feels fine I can train normally," I reported, puffing out my chest.
"Hart, that's great news!"Â Closer than before, Mason gave my shoulder a squeeze. "So Ajax next week is a maybe?"
I nodded, trying to hold back a smile. "I don't want to get my hopes up, but maybe, yes."
"Savic versus Hart part three," Mason teased, slipping his arm around my shoulders and pulling me against his side.
"More like Savic versus Mitchell part two." I felt Mason's body heave with a sigh as my arms, on instinct, wrapped around his torso. "Plan on giving him another concussion?"
"Only if he picks another fight with you."
The coffee machine hissed to life and began spewing out my morning drink. I looked at it with a small grin, hoping Mason wouldn't spot the flush in my cheeks. Stepping out of his hold, I grabbed my mug.
"You want a coffee?" I asked, glancing behind me.
Mase shook his head. "Nah, I should get changed. I'll see you in a bit."
I watched him leave the canteen, my chest warm. While I did, I realised for the first time the drop in noise levels coming from behind me. Slowly, I turned and saw most of the group stood at the laptop staring at me, a mixture of emotions of their faces. Kyle had a knowing smirk, Lucia and Marta wore the same frown, Diego and Spencer grinned, and Rodri wiggled his eyebrows.
Overwhelmingly self-conscious, I lifted a hand in a half-hearted wave. The group shared some looks between them before focusing back onto the laptop. Diego mumbled something under his breath, and the group was giggling by the time I made it back to Abby.
She, too, gave me a look that said a thousand words. Her eyebrows basically merged with her hairline they were raised so high and her pursed lips made me think she was biting her tongue. I slumped into my seat and took a moody sip of my coffee.
"Have something to say, Abs?" I sighed as she leant forward on her elbows.
"You guys hooked up," she blurted, her eyes wide and suggestive.
My own eyes widened as I threw a look around us: thankfully no one was close enough to overhear. Panic surged through my body at the thought of anyone else knowing, despite the assurance I'd felt moments before.
"How do you know? Was it Kyle; did he tell you?" I demanded in a low voice, leaning close to Abby. My heart raced as she frowned and laughed. "Abby, tell me."
"Oh, my God, so you did?" I bit down on my lip and looked away. "Oh, my God, Rebecca! You hooked up with Mason!"
"Can you keep it down?" I insisted. Clearly sensing the urgency in my voice, Abby shrugged. "How do you know?"
"Are you kidding?" She pointed to the coffee machine. "No one acts like that if they haven't hooked up, not even you two."
I covered my face with my hands. Oh no oh no oh no. I tried to clutch onto my confidence, but it was disappearing at a rapid rate. Falling back into my seat, I swore under my breath. Abby, meanwhile, nudged my foot under the table.
"Hey, why does Kyle know?" she asked. I inched my hands away from my face. "Why did Kyle know before me, huh?"
"Kyle was there," I said, reaching for my coffee. At Abby's raised eyebrow, I rolled my eyes. "He was sleeping at Mase's house, so he saw us in the morning."
"Makes sense. So, what happened?"
I felt a blush creeping up my neck and let out an awkward chuckle. "I don't know? We went back to his house and then made some tea and then..." The memory of what happened made me stop.
"And then you made passionate love all night?"
Face on fire, I gave Abby a hard stare. She just grinned at me, her eyes shining with sassiness. Despite myself, my lips twitched with amusement.
"Something like that," I murmured.
As soon as I said it, Kyle fell into the seat next to me. He looked from Abby, who was almost in hysterics, to me, probably the colour of the tomato sauce on Abby's plate, and narrowed his eyes.
"What's going on over here?"
"We're talking about Beck and Mitch's love making," Abby giggled.
"Oh, God," I muttered under my breath as Kyle gasped dramatically.
"You told Abby? I thought you didn't want anyone knowing!" With a huff, he crossed his long arms.
Abby spoke before I could defend myself. "She didn't tell me, I figured it out." Kyle's pout lessened as he straightened up. "I mean, did you see them just now?"
Now, Kyle laughed. "You should have seen them yesterday morning."
As the pair continued to make fun of me, I just sipped my coffee in silence. I'd been expecting this kind of treatment from Kyle, sure, but I hadn't anticipated the unease that came with it. Imagining this from the whole team made me shudder: there was no way any of them would hold back if they knew what had happened. And, God, what if the fans knew?
"Stop looking so sad, Beck." Abby's comment pushed my thoughts to the back of my mind. She and Kyle stared at me, both of their expressions sympathetic. "We're just messing with you, you know that, right?"
"I know," I said, forcing out a chuckle. "And I'm not sad, trust me."Â I left it there, lost for words at how to explain the mess in my head.
Abby and Kyle exchanged another look, but before either of them could reply, Annika and Fran entered the canteen. I fixed my gaze on Abby.
"Do not tell anyone, yeah?" I said in a quiet voice. "No one."
"If they don't figure it out themselves." I lifted a pointer finger as Abby's chuckle died. "Yeah, yeah, of course not."
Fran left us no time to greet her. Slipping into a chair, she faced me with wide eyes.
"I heard a rumour about you and Mitch," she said. For the umpteenth time since I'd entered the canteen, my stomach dropped.
"What was the rumour?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at Fran's concentrated expression.
"That you guys had a better time after the gala than at it."Â Her eyes lit up in satisfaction as Kyle snorted out a laugh beside me.
"What's your source? Twitter?" I replied, shaking my head. "Come on, Fran."
"So it's not true?" Annika added. I shook my head.
"I don't buy it," Fran mumbled. "Mitch looked way too happy in the changing room."
"I was with them all night," Kyle said from my side. "I think I would have seen if something happened."
Annika shrugged and, after staring at me a second longer, Fran changed the subject. I flashed a smile at Kyle. He could tease me as much as his heart desired, but at the end of the day I knew he meant no harm. And I doubted Fran and Annika would have accepted my denial without Kyle's input. With sickening dread in my chest, I wondered how I'd fend off the rest of my teammates and the questions they'd no doubt have without him.
***
Not very convincingly, apparently.
From the moment we left the canteen and up until lunch, teammates approached me demanding to hear some spice. Every time, I denied anything happening, but I sensed doubt from most of them. I watched as the same players sought out Mason, too, clearly needing to hear both sides before they decided to believe us.
Scrutinizing eyes and suspicious mumbles followed me as we entered the canteen. I purposefully chose a seat furthest from Mason: apart from keeping him in the corner of my eye all morning, we hadn't interacted again. The last thing I wanted was to fuel this fire by the flirtatiousness I seemed unable to avoid. Instead, Olly and I spent lunch engrossed in YouTube videos.
When it came time for the team to head back outside, I was almost relieved to see Stu at the doorway waving me over. I stepped into the corridor after the medic, teammates moving past us towards the changing rooms.
"Afraid you'll have to sit out this afternoon, Beck," Stu greeted me, hands on his hips.
"Yeah, I thought I might."
With a sigh, I turned my head as Mason's face flashed past my right. He shot me a smile, but he had vanished behind the head of Thomas before I could return the gesture. Facing Stu again, he motioned over his shoulder in the opposite direction to the pitches.
"So, what are we doing today?" I asked as I followed after him. "Watching New Girl? Or Strictly?"
Stu let out a deep chuckle. "We are doing a special program put together by Sam. But maybe I'll pop Strictly on in the background."
"Boo," I pouted. "We spent all morning running already."
"Instructions from the top, Beck." When I glared at him, Stu just shrugged. "But I'll be doing it with you, so we can suffer together."
"Stu and Beck back in the gym," I teased. "What a throwback."
"The good old days," he joked back.
I pulled a face as Stu pulled open the door to the gym. Across the room, Elena and Lucia, who were still nursing injuries after the Spurs and Ajax games, were doing rehab with the physios. Spanish music boomed through the gym, no doubt their doing.
Stu led me over to the treadmills and explained what Sam wanted me to do. We started with some interval training, and then after a longer than anticipated break dived straight into the most intense core and leg session I'd ever done. By the time we finished, Stu had retreated into his office for a snack, Elena and Lucia were long gone, and I found myself lying on the floor, unable to clench my stomach again to stand up.
I heard the creak of the gym door open, followed by the bang of its closing a moment later. I kept my eyes upwards, convinced it was one of the physios coming or going. But the familiar sound of Mason's voice forced me to turn my head.
"You alive down there?"
His feet came into my view, followed by his upside down body. I grinned as he stopped above me, hands on his hips and his face full of amusement.
"Barely," I sighed. "I think I might have the weakest core in the Premier League."
Mason chuckled and held out a hand. "I know for a fact that isn't true."
I took hold of his hand and let him pull me to a standing position, letting out a groan as my stomach tensed. My chest swelled as I met his warm eyes. He squeezed my hand, sending a rush down to my toes.
"What's up, Mitchell?" I asked, tightening my hand, too. "What are you doing down here?"
"Came to find you, obviously," he replied, his eyes scrunching up. "Been a little hard to get a word in today."
"God, tell me about it." I shook my head. "Don't think the team's ever given me this much attention before."
Mason's smile faltered as he tilted his eyebrows. "You okay?"
He shifted his hand around mine and, glancing down, it looked as if we were about to start a thumb war. A hint of apprehension appeared in my chest, but the sight of our entwined hands brought upon enough affection to overwhelm it.
I looked back up to find the same expression on Mason's face that had been in that picture. "Yeah, I am."
"Okay, good." The concern disappeared from his face. "So, remember when I asked you about dinner with Pippa tonight?"
With a grin, I nodded. "I remember."
"Well, Cal has kind of included himself and his girlfriend, but Pippa and I both want you there, too, if you want to come." My stomached lurched. But, just as quick, it dropped. "I booked at that fancy new steakhouse in Mayfair, and I know you don't eat that much red meat, but I checked and they definitely do chicken dishes, too, and obviously vegetarian stuff, so..."
Mason trailed off with a frown. Clearly I hadn't been able to hide my hesitation, because his face fell. I swallowed, suddenly feeling too hot.
"You're going out?" I managed to ask.
"Iâyeah." Confusion washed across Mason eyes. "Is that... Do youâ"
"I don't know if going out is such a good idea, Mase," I said quietly. Mason's expression hardened and, with a sinking heart, he let go of my hand. I left it dangling in the air for a second before lowering it to my side. "Just with everyone going so crazy about Sunday, and with all the questions, and just... I don't know if I'm ready."
Mason nodded. "Yeah, okay, guess that makes sense. Should have thought of that."
"I'm sorry," I mumbled.
The hurt on his face made me curse myself for the quick dismissal. But, at the same time, reason won over the desire to spend another night with him. I knew it made more sense to let all the talk about us settle instead of giving the world more reasons to question us. So why did it feel so wrong?
"No, it's fine," he replied. He smiled, but it was obviously forced.
"Hey, what about tomorrow?" I suggested. "The cup game? How about we all go together?"
"Yeah, sure," he replied, his upbeat tone strained.
We stared at each other in silence. I wanted so bad to just forgot that stupid nagging in my head, but I couldn't this time. Still, though, the disappointment in Mason's eyes twisted my heart.
"Um, I should go shower," he eventually said, looking over his shoulder. "It's getting kind of late."
"Okay."
"See you tomorrow?"
I waited for his hand to find my shoulder, or my arm, or for him to draw me in for a hug, but instead he just lifted a hand to fix his hair. I nodded and swallowed back the lump in my throat.
"Yeah, see you tomorrow."
With a final nod, he spun around. I watched him cross the gym and exit, feeling sick. Should I have just agreed to go? I survived today; how bad could things be if someone happened to see us out for dinner together? Abby's words flashed through my mind for the millionth time. It's no big deal.
I threw my head back and examined the ceiling above me. For the first time, it felt like regret outweighed what worries I had. It wasn't quite enough to make me run after Mason and change my mind, but I wondered just how much longer that voice in the back of my head would hold the power. Somehow, it didn't feel like long.
***
A/N
Hey everyone!
Just wanted to say that I'm really sorry this update has taken so long - unfortunately I had to spend my time writing my final thesis, so Beck and Mason needed to be sidelined for a bit. Don't worry, though: I definitely plan to finish their story, and hopefully the last few chapters won't take as long as this one.
Thanks for all the support (and patience) up until now! Please keep voting and commenting, it means the world seeing how invested people are in this story!
- Abby