“I don’t even know who’s playing.”
It didn’t seem to matter that either one of us didn’t know which teams were playing that day. It didn’t take us longer to figure out we loved sport, which proved the perfect opportunity to spend time together.
A date Cooper arranged and that I couldn’t argue with. And didn’t want to.
“I think it’s the Pies. But don’t quote me on that.”
Whenever someone goes to the MCG for a football game, Collingwood is the team playing. I know it’s their home turf, but they couldn’t have possibly played every game of every round there.
We were wrong. It wasn’t the Pies at all.
It turns out to be my team, Hawthorn. I was delighted to see their brown and gold jumpers parade onto the field. And the view from a corporate box, ideally situated at the back of the ground, was unlike any other game I had been to before.
I should have paid more attention to the corporates when I was sitting in the seats amongst the masses, eating hot dogs and drinking beers from plastic glasses. It was a rite of passage for an Australian football fan.
Yet when the rain pelted down five minutes into the first quarter, our cover from the cold and wet didn’t seem so bad.
This sort of atmosphere suited Cooper. He loved the sound of the crowd. He loved the raw when something happened, even when it wasn’t a goal being kicked or a point being scored.
He cheered on the players. He cheered on every crowd member as they yelled with undeniable joy.
And then he was at ease with the money side of things, the free-flowing wine, food and servers doting on us. He was this extraordinary hybrid of the private school kids who didn’t always need the finer things in life.
It’s where I knew my friends got it wrong, not only with Cooper. They couldn’t understand anyone who didn’t fit the mould they grew up with. If only they spent the time to get to know my man. They would be proven wrong. Maybe that’s why they didn’t dare; to be proven wrong was worse than living in denial.
I would never forget this entire experience, but I couldn’t focus on any of it. I couldn’t give Cooper my full attention.
As distraction engulfed my whole demeanour, my boyfriend continued to ask what was on my mind. I couldn’t pretend it was nothing. Yet I couldn’t bring myself to tell him.
The launch date was looming.
And I hated how, for the second day in a row, this issue had overtaken the time I spent with him. I tried to forget. A couple of champagnes should’ve done that.
But every time the crowd fell silent, or the other punters in the private box ceased their chatter, I felt myself relieving everything, repeating what I had to do repeatedly in my brain. You have to get out of Douglas’ grip. You have to find your escape before it’s too late.
On the drive home, Cooper wouldn’t let the subject go. I didn’t blame him, though.
“My love, you are being so quiet. You’re starting to scare me.”
I let out a short sigh. “I’m sorry, I am. I’m stressed about work. And I don’t know what to do about it. ”
Cooper was looking at me, trying to figure out what to say next. Of course, he wanted to take it away from me and make everything better. He knew he couldn’t do that.
Instead, he held my hand and said simply, “Just talk to me. You never know what might come of it.”
You’re reading The Andie Chronicles, the 2023 romance-fiction series from the 1 Lovelock Drive (1LD) universe.
By the way, this all started when Andie turned thirty-five, and her then-boyfriend didn’t call her.
Or the day after that.
Or the day after that, too.
Everything started to unravel when her BFFs got into bed with her ex, too… ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️
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A little lost on what’s happening at 1 Lovelock Drive?
Well, you see, Andie’s break-up started back in February and so much has happened since then. These stories will help you catch right up! xx