“She’ll be fine,” Jay said, patting me on the shoulder. A tell-tale tingle crept up my spine at his touch, and I shifted nervously where I stood as heat gathered in my core. “Should I stay?”
I shook my head. “No, you should get home,” I replied. “You’ve already helped so much. Go and get some rest.”
He sighed. “I really don’t want to leave you,” he said. “But if you’re going to be stubborn like that, I’ll head off. Promise you’ll call me if anything bad happens?”
I nodded. “Will do. I’m going to sleep here,” I said as I pointed to the chair in the corner of Lizzy’s room. “Thanks again, Jay. You’re a real lifesaver.”
He lifted his hand up in a little wave, then gave me a boyish grin and walked out of the hospital room. My stomach did a flip-flop and it was only when he was gone that I realized I’d been holding my breath almost the entire time. Being with Jay was exhilarating, no doubt about that.
Lizzy was snoring softly in the bed as I curled up in the chair and tried to make myself as comfortable as I could. I was tired as hell, but I didn’t think I could sleep. Luckily, the lights in the room dimmed even more after a few minutes, and Lizzy’s rhythmic snores finally lulled me to a place of comfort.
***
“Kate! Wake up!”
A familiar voice roused me, and I opened my eyes and blinked. My skin felt scratchy and hot and my mouth was drier than I could ever remember it being. Lizzy was sitting up in bed and grinning at me, looking no worse for wear.
“Kate, look at these,” she said as she pointed to a gigantic bouquet on the nightstand of the bed.
“Holy shit,” I breathed. It was the biggest floral arrangement I’d ever seen—it was so big that it took up almost the whole surface of the table. “Who sent that?”
Lizzy gave me a curious smile. “Let’s just say I don’t think they’re for me,” she said. “Why don’t you read the card?”
I frowned, and standing up, I stretched. My limbs felt like they were all asleep and I had trouble shuffling the few feet towards the flowers. Up close, they were even lovelier. The bouquet was comprised of all different types: roses, tulips, peonies, lilies… all pink and white. It was beautiful. I lowered my head and sniffed the delicate aroma before searching for the note Lizzy had mentioned. There was a card printed on heavy white stock paper, and I took it with trembling fingers.
“Kate. Thank you so much for such an eventful evening,” I read out loud. “You’re right; they’re for me!”
“Duh,” Lizzy said. She rolled her eyes. “Is that all the card says?”
I blushed. “You already read it, didn’t you?” I said as my eyes skated over the ‘P.S.’ part on the bottom of the card.
“I’ve been awake for an hour,” she replied. “You were snoring like anything, though! I figured you could use your rest. A certain footballer must have tired you out…”
My blush deepened. “Okay, okay, shh. The other line on the card says: Fiddler’s Green. 19:30.”
“That’s a pub here in Manchester. And he wants you to meet him tonight! Are you going to go?”
I smiled.
We both already knew the answer to that.
Chapter Seven
Jay
Before going down to Fiddler’s Green, I noticed an odd feeling in my chest. It felt like my lungs were tight and my heart was pounding. It was the same kind of feeling that I had before a game—nervousness, mixed with excitement and anticipation. Whenever I thought about Kate, her curvy little body, her melodic laugh, her sharp mind…I couldn’t concentrate on anything else. I hadn’t felt this crazy about a girl in ages, and I couldn’t believe it was happening with someone that I’d just met yesterday.
As if to prove a perfect counter to my mood, it was pouring with rain outside. I took a taxi to the pub and waited for Kate nervously at the bar. Normally, when I was waiting for a girl, I’d have a pint or two, but there was something disarming about Kate, something that made me want to wait until she got here.
“Hey, Jay,” the bartender said. He reached out and we slapped hands. “How ya been?”
“Tops,” I said. “We won the other day, against those Liverpool bastards.”
“I saw,” he said with a grin. I’d been coming into this pub for ages, and everyone who worked there was like an old mate at this point. Plus, it was one of the few places I could go and not attract a ton of attention. Fiddler’s Green was a tiny little pub, in the heart of Manchester, and it wasn’t frequented by the kinds of birds who would have watched my games. It was more like an old man’s kind of bar, with dim lighting and dark wood fixtures everywhere.