Memories

XCVI

COVER ME IN SUNSHINE

'Cover me in sunshine
Shower me with good times
Tell me that the world's been spinning since the beginning
And everything will be alright'

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The mess that Thalia had stirred up in the press went on for weeks before she finally shut it down. Kevin was coming out to visit her that weekend, and she didn't want to hide away her relationship with him any longer. 'Hey, are you sure you're okay with this?' she'd asked him the night before her game. Kevin didn't have a game that weekend, so he was flying out on the Friday to watch her play.

'Of course,' Kevin had replied, walking around his apartment and packing his things. He was holding his phone and Thalia moved with it, watching Kevin bounce around on the screen as he frantically moved from room to room. 'Why wouldn't I be? You're my wife, and besides, Aaron and Katelyn have probably had too much spotlight on them for the next few years.'

'Mm, agreed,' Thalia said. 'The next time they'll be in the press is at Neil and Andrew's inevitable wedding.' Kevin stopped and stared at Thalia through the phone, a slight frown on his face. 'What?'

'Do you know something I don't?' Kevin asked. Thalia's eyes went wide and she shook her head. Neil was out of the apartment, getting groceries for the weekend, as both Kevin and Andrew were visiting. The two were playing Andrew's team that night, and Thalia was surprised that he hadn't driven out last night to spend the day with Neil before playing him in the game.

'No, but if I did, you know I wouldn't be able to keep it a secret from you for very long.' Kevin huffed a laugh and continued his packing.

'That's total bullshit.'

'No it's not! Remember when Allison proposed to Renee?' Thalia said defensively. 'I couldn't keep that from you for less than a few days.'

'I'll never get tired of hearing you say that,' Kevin said, placing his phone on his dresser and beginning to fold his clothes. Thalia raised an eyebrow. '"Remember when" I never thought I'd see you again, let alone hear you say shit like that.'

'You sap,' Thalia joked. She heard the click in the door and knew Neil was home. She jumped off the kitchen counter where she'd been sitting and headed over to the front door, her phone in hand.

'Hey Neil!' she exclaimed as her brother walked in through the door. He startled and almost dropped the paper bags he was carrying. Thalia began laughing and showed Kevin the mess that was Neil Josten. 'What'd you buy? What'd you buy?' she asked excitedly as Neil walked past her to the kitchen to put away the food.

'Healthy things, I hope,' Kevin said from the phone. Thalia chuckled. Neil rolled his eyes and produced a tub of chocolate ice cream from one of the bags. It was for Andrew, Thalia knew, - probably a bribe for playing well in the game that night - but it made her smile grow even wider because Kevin couldn't see it. 'No, I know that smile, what did Neil buy?'

'Love you Kevin,' Thalia said, smiling back at her husband. 'I'll see you after the game, okay? Love you baby.' Thalia hung up before Kevin could say it back and lunged at the ice cream. Neil swiftly moved it out of the way and Thalia groaned. 'Come on, Abram, I haven't had ice cream in weeks.'

'Days, Anne.' Neil said. He put the ice cream in the freezer and stood in front of it protectively. 'We ran out of ice cream three days ago because you were crying about missing Kevin instead of calling him, so you ate almost a whole tub.'

'It's not my fault I have to do long distance,' Thalia whined. 'You and Andrew are only a few hours away, but Kevin's on the other side of the country.'

'We have a game in a few hours, Anne,' Neil reminded her and Thalia groaned again. 'Come on, we have to get to the stadium.'

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Neil and Thalia were put on as the starting strikers  - fan favourites, apparently, because the crowd cheered so loudly Thalia could still hear them inside the plexiglass box when the doors had locked - and Franklin, their offensive dealer for the first half, passed the ball to Thalia when the buzzer rang. 

'Anne!' Neil yelled from the other side of the court. Thalia took three steps and passed the ball at the wall by where Neil should be. She looked and saw that he'd gotten the ball in the net of his racquet, and was taking his ten steps almost straight towards his mark. Right before he slammed into her, Neil threw the ball to Franklin, who bounced it off the wall beside the goalkeepers head and Thalia smacked the ball into the goal, lighting up the lines bright red.

The rest of Thalia's twenty minutes in the first half were much the same. The three had only been playing together for a few months, but they were pretty good at it. It helped that Frank knew a bit of French, so they used it to their advantage on the court. 

As Thalia and Neil walked off the court, Andrew, from the other side of the plexiglass wall, walked on. He was nonchalant as ever, but seemed almost tense. Thalia put it down to not having seen Neil for weeks.

After the game, Thalia begged their coach to let her go on press - she'd practically been banned after that first game - and he eventually agreed when she told him why. She and Franklin approached the reporters with big smiles and hearts of mischief. 

'Thalia, Kevin Day was seen coming to watch the game tonight,' one reporter asked. 'Is he stalking you?'

'No, actually,' Thalia said. 'And it's Josten-Day. I lied when I said I'd married Aaron Minyard - but not that we're close friends. I just wanted to stir up trouble. I'm honestly surprised that the PR team didn't know about the shit Neil and I did in college. But anyway,' Thalia continued. 'To properly answer the question I was asked a few weeks ago; yes, I  am married to Kevin Day - Kevin Josten-Day - and we are very happy.' Thalia turned and headed for the showers, then, not having anything more to say to the reporters and figuring Franklin could deal with the rest.

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Getting back to the apartment was tricky, since there were still people hanging around in the carparks and many cars on the roads. Thalia and Neil got back after Andrew and Kevin did, but the two had keys because they visited often, so they weren't waiting outside for the siblings.

'Ah, Andrew,' Thalia said. He was sitting on the sofa eating straight out of the ice cream tub. 'You played tremendously tonight, however your other goalkeeper, not so much.'

'I cannot control the inferior teammates of mine,' Andrew said

'You look like a sad teenager who's just gone through a breakup,' Neil said, chuckling as he sat beside Andrew on the sofa. Kevin was cringing at the blonde from the armchair.

'You look like you're going to get diabetes before you're thirty.' 

'Maybe I will, Kevin,' Andrew replied. 'But that will not stop me from eating this ice cream. You can either watch me or not; it's your choice, really.'

Thalia laughed and walked over to kiss Kevin on the cheek, but he turned at the last second and caught her mouth. She smiled into the kiss and closed her eyes for a moment. Then she sat on the floor in between Kevin's legs, holding his hand over her shoulder.

The four conversed for the next few hours until Thalia stood to go to bed. She'd played over half a game - not something she was unused to - and was feeling tired. The boys weren't late to follow - Kevin slipping into her bedroom quietly and getting into the bed next to her, and Neil and Andrew heading off to Neil's room - and eventually there were no more sounds in the apartment except the rise and fall of Kevin's breathing behind Thalia.