NICK: O’Connor Brothers #3
Page 33
The referee’s whistle signals the end of the match, and I jump to my feet, as exhilarated as if he’d just won the World Cup. But I’m happy, because Nick got his victory, and I know that tonight, he’ll want to celebrate it with me.
As the kids gather around the senior coach, Nick turns to face me, gesturing for me to go out and join him on the field.
When I get there, I realise that his hands are hiding something behind his back.
“What’s that?”
“A present.”
“For me?”
He smiles at me – but it isn’t his usual smile.
“Show me.”
He sighs, heavily. “Okay.”
He hands me a T-shirt.
“What…?”
“Read what it says.”
I unfold it and stand there, frozen.
“You don’t have to wear it right now… You can keep it and put it on as soon as you’re ready. Once you put that shirt on, I’ll know that you’re mine forever. Because, Casey, you’re everything. You’re my past, my present and my future. I could never imagine what my life would be if you hadn’t come to save me. Thank you for dropping into my life. Please, never leave me, because I need you. Without you, I have no direction, no way of determining who I am. Without you, I don’t exist. And I want to stay in your life forever.”
I lift my gaze up to him.
“Just think about it, okay?”
I hand him the shirt and he looks at me, terrified. “Oh, okay. I get it…”
I take off the top I was wearing and throw it onto the grass.
“Oh, fuck,” Nick says, shocked. “For a moment there, I thought you had nothing on underneath.”
Luckily, I was wearing a vest top under my T-shirt. But in that moment, I didn’t care: I’d have stripped completely naked just to wear his shirt.
“Can you give it back?” I ask, grasping his hand.
He hands it to me, shaking.
I take it and tug it over my head, letting it slip down my body.
“Casey…”
“Did you really think I had to think about it, Nick?”
He looks at me, incapable of speaking.
“Do you not think that all these years were long enough? Nick O’Connor, you’re…you’re…”
Nick grabs my waist and lifts me up; I wrap my legs behind his back and look him straight in the eyes.
“So, does that mean that…?”
“Yeah. Right now.”
Nick holds me close to him, pressing his mouth against mine. In that one kiss, there’s love, there’s passion, desire, friendship, intimacy… There’s us, and our future. I always knew that Nick would be a forever.
Because I’m made for Nick O’Connor. My life could never be any other way.
“Hey! Guys, what the fuck?” Someone interrupts us. “Do you think that’s appropriate? There are kids here!”
Nick slowly lets me down, as we realise that the whole family has run out onto the pitch.
I turn towards them. Ryan’s the first to notice my top.
“Oh, holy shit!” he yells, his hand flying up to his mouth.
“What? What’s happened?” Ian asks, turning his gaze to the writing on my chest. “Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck!”
I burst out laughing, as Nick flashes him his middle finger.
“Who’s going to tell Mum?” Ryan asks, concerned.
“This is such bad news for us,” Ian grumbles through gritted teeth. “Now we’ll be her next crusade.”
“Can someone please tell me what’s going on?” Chris asks, before reading my T-shirt, too. “Oh, my God! Oh, my God!” she cries, jumping up and down and clapping her hands together.
“Oh, Jesus!” Riley exclaims, finally catching up with the group. “I was definitely not expecting that!”
“Were you scared someone was going to whip her away in front of your eyes?” Evan asks, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Were you scared of a little challenge?”
“You never had a hope, kid,” Nick says to him.
“We’ll see about that.”
“What the hell’s going on?” Dad makes his way over to the O’Connor huddle. “Oh, no!” he exclaims, smacking his forehead with the palm of his hand.
“Well done, Nick,” Jamie says, smiling. “In perfect O’Connor style, too. Never half-arsed, and always in public.”
“I think it’s a great idea,” Martin says. “You have my respect, mate. Apparently there’s more to you than a pair of marble arse cheeks.”
“What would you know about his arse?” Jamie turns to him.
“Please, champ. Everyone knows about his arse.”
“Looks like someone’s been paying more attention than others, though,” Jamie shoots back.
Nick turns me towards him, away from the chaos we’ve created. He takes my hands and looks at me, his expression overjoyed. In his eyes, I can see everything: our world, our future, every chapter we’re about to write together. It’ll be a little crowded, with a few bumps along the way, but we’ll be happy. We’ll have everything we’ve ever needed.
We’ll have us.
“That T-shirt suits you so well,” Nick says.
I lower my gaze and take another look at what’s written:
The coach’s wife.
“It’s perfect. Like you.”
“Please, no bullshit. I’m an idiot. You’re the perfect one here. I think you were sculpted in some sort of factory in the North Pole. Yeah, definitely. Anyone as dreamy as you would have to be a Christmas present.”
I burst into laughter, reaching onto my tiptoes.
“I might never take it off.”
“I think I could handle that.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“I’ll let you know later, when I’ve seen it from another position.”
“What position are we talking about here?”
Nick flashes me a cheeky smile.
“My favourite one.”
“Me on top?”
He shakes his head. “You inside me.”
Playlist
Don’t Look Back In Anger, Oasis, What’s The Story Morning Glory
I Remember, Damien Rice, 0
Somebody Told Me, The Killers, Hot Fuss
Stay, Thirty Seconds To Mars, Stay
Stop And Stare, OneRepublic, Dreaming Out Loud
A Beautiful Lie, Thirty Seconds To Mars, A Beautiful Lie
When I’m Gone, Three Doors Down, Away From The Sun
You Saved Me, The Winery Dogs, The Winery Dogs Special Edition
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Also By A. S. Kelly
THE FOUR DAYS SERIES
Rainy Days, Four Days #1
Sweet Days, Four Days #2
Bad Days, Four Days #3
Lost Days, Four Days #4
THE O’CONNOR BROTHERS SERIES
Ian, O’Connor Brothers #1
Ryan, O’Connor Brothers #2
Notes
24. Nick
1 Don’t Look Back In Anger, Oasis, (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?
25. Nick
1 I Remember, Damien Rice, 0