Chapter 5 #2
I ride with Roxy to Archie’s place—a luxurious apartment building five minutes away from the stadium. We park in the garage, take the elevator up, and I’m shocked to see that there are only two apartments on that landing, Archie’s being the one on the left.
“Hey,” he says, swinging the door open after only a few seconds. His brown hair is still damp from the shower, giving him an even more boyish look. “Come on in. Welcome, Millie.”
“Thanks for having me,” I say, suddenly nervous. “I hope it’s okay that I’m here.”
He beams. “Of course. The more the merrier.”
We pass through a short entryway, which opens into a large, open-plan living room decorated in shades of grey and white.
The kind of modern that says “young man with money, but not without taste”—sleek surfaces, a few framed prints of abstract art, an enormous sectional couch, and a television the size of a small cinema screen.
There are even a couple of houseplants surviving in the corners.
Three people are sitting on the U-shaped couch, but a pang of disappointment tugs at my chest when I realise Callum isn’t among them. I spot Finn, Wade, and Cameron, all looking freshly showered—and far too effortlessly good-looking for men who just played ninety brutal minutes of football.
“Great match,” Roxy says as she saunters toward Wade. He takes her into his arms and kisses her tenderly, his palm grazing her hip.
“Thanks,” Finn says with a smirk, then faces me. “Was it your first match, Millie?”
I clear my throat, forcing a smile. “Yes, well, in real life at least. I’ve watched football matches on TV before. But it’s a lot more fun in the stadium.”
“Right?” Cameron nods, his eyes lighting up. “I always say that too. It’s like forming your opinion on an artist before seeing him perform live. They’re worlds apart.”
Archie reappears with drinks and hands them out before flopping into an armchair. “Good thing we won the first match you saw,” he says to me. “The way Philip described us—lost touch with the fans, complicated season, et cetera—you’d think we’re a bunch of losers.”
Wade rolls his eyes. “Come on. That’s not what he meant.”
I laugh. “Yeah, I don’t think so. And from what I’ve seen, the fans are behind you already. But I’m sure we can do better.”
“Isn’t Fallon coming?” Cameron asks out of the blue, his knee bouncing.
Finn frowns and checks his watch. “She’ll be here. She always joins us after our afternoon matches, and you know my sister and her routine.”
“Yeah. Maybe she hit traffic.”
Archie leans back against the couch. “She always insists on taking the long way because she knows it better, that’s why.”
“And Callum never joins you guys?” I chime in, my voice a little timid. Maybe he took the long way too.
They chuckle, and Finn leans down to grab his drink.
“Nope. Grumpy Cal likes to be left alone after games. He’s not exactly a people person.”
“Oh, yeah. I’ve noticed.” I sigh into my glass.
“The trick is to be as stubborn as he is,” Cameron says, his knee still bouncing like a metronome. “He’ll bend. Eventually.”
Wade scratches his head. “Yeah, you’re probably right.
The thing with Callum is that he’s here to play the game and nothing more.
Everything around it seems to bother him.
The politics, the fans, the media—it’s just not his thing.
Honestly, he’d probably be out of a job if he wasn’t such a phenomenal player. We need his physicality.”
They all nod in agreement just as the doorbell rings, signaling Fallon’s arrival.
I sink further into the couch, my mind drifting back to the match.
When it ended, the players walked to the edge of the pitch, applauding the fans who were chanting their names.
All except Callum. He’d turned straight for the tunnel—head down, already checked out.
In the beginning, I thought he had an issue with the media specifically, but Wade’s right.
He doesn’t even seem to care about his fans. And that will be a problem.
Fallon walks in, still unbuttoning her coat. “It was crazy out there,” she sighs before giving her brother a quick kiss on the cheek and sinking into an armchair.
As we all sip on our drinks, we start discussing social media, and the guys even ask me for some advice, scribbling mental notes about what drums up more fan engagement—video clips versus still images, behind-the-scenes peeks, that sort of thing.
A few minutes later, the conversation shifts back to today’s match and their position in the Premier League, which just shot up, thanks to the three points they gained.
“We’re getting back to our standards,” Finn says, holding his glass aloft like a toast. “Took us a bit of time to find our footing with Delatour, but I think we’re getting there.”
“Yeah, I actually understood some of his speech today,” Archie snickers.
“You know,” Fallon begins, already smiling, “Statistically speaking—”
“Oh, heck no!” Finn hollers, falling back into his seat with dramatic flair.
Archie crosses his arms. “What now?”
“Well,” she continues, unfazed by their theatrics, “a team’s league finish is sixty-five percent determined by their performance prior to January.”
Wade arches an eyebrow. “So, what, we’re doomed?”
She shrugs. “Not necessarily. There’s still a thirty-five percent chance you can turn this around.”
“Why do I even invite you over?” Archie asks with a loud sigh, though there’s no real spite in his voice.
“Oh, come on,” Cameron says. “Since when have we ever proved statistics right?”
Fallon opens her mouth to reply, but Roxy lightly nudges her thigh, and she closes it.
“We’ll get there,” Cameron says, his American accent even more pronounced. “We just have to keep working hard, that’s all.”
They all nod, and Finn shares a high five with Archie.
Soon, the chatter starts up again, and they’re all back to teasing each other or finishing each other’s sentences.
Archie throws a cushion at Finn for stealing his crisps, and Finn chucks it back with mock outrage.
Cameron teases Wade about nearly tripping during the second half, and Wade retaliates by threatening to post one of his old haircuts on Instagram.
A team both on and off the pitch, but somehow, it seems like this is where the magic happens.
And I’m sure the fans would love to have a window into these moments.