The Own Goal ✔️

Part 52

Sunday.

It's actually not awkward at all waking up with Craig.

We stand in my kitchen, Craig in last night's clothes and me in pajamas.

"I need to start getting ready to get to Birmingham" I tell him.

"Is that polite talk for telling me to get lost?"

I giggle "no, not really, but I do need to get a move on"

"Ok, so I need to think of something exciting for us to do the next weekend you don't have Mia" he smiles.

"Actually, Jack hasn't got Mia his next weekend, he'll be at St George's Park for the England camp. He's mum and dad normally still have her if he can't, but I'm sure they are going away"

Craig raises his eyebrows "ah right, well I mean I'm happy to hang out with you and Mia if you are ok with that?"

"Yeah, I mean I don't want to wait like a month before I see you again!" I smile at him.

"So, er is Jack playing in the Euros?"

"I don't know, I don't think he knows for definite, but I think he's hoping to"

"I've got tickets for the first game at Wembley" he says coyly, with my mates. "will you go, like Jack must get family tickets?"

"I actually don't know if I will, I don't normally go to his games......sometimes his parents take Mia to home games"

"But it's England! In the euros! The atmosphere is always electric!"

I laugh "I'll maybe go if they get to the last rounds, I'm not overly into football in general"

Craig finishes his tea and we share another kiss before he leaves.

****

Standing in Jacks kitchen I help Karen arrange sausage rolls onto plates.

"You seem very happy at the moment Chelsea" she says.

"I am" I smile back to her.

Jack walks into the kitchen and steals a sausage roll. I watch him chuck it into his mouth and promptly spit it out when he burns his mouth. I laugh.

"Fuck sake coulda told me they were hot!"

"I would have thought the fact we're removing them from bloody baking trays might have been a hint they were out of the oven Jack!" Karen snaps. Which just makes me laugh more.

An hour later and Jacks kitchen is full of his family. There's a group of his younger cousins gathered around Mia in her high chair ready to blow out the candles on the amazing cake Jack has had made featuring all her favourite characters. Kevin offers me a glass of wine which I decline as I've got to drive home. Jack shoots me a look across the room when he hears me.

We all sing and cheer as Mia is helped to blow out her candles.

Jack brings the cake over and gives it to Karen to start cutting up. He comes up next to me and talks quietly so his mum doesn't hear him "ya know ya can stay the night, have a drink to celebrate Mia's birthday"

I stare at him "I don't think so Jack"

He smirks "nah I'm not suggesting nuffin' jus' being practical......are ya workin' tomorrow?"

"No, but that's irrelevant"

He chuckles "nah it ain't! Have a drink, stay the night.......then ya can take Mia home with ya tomorrow"

"Oh I see, so you're trying to get out of the drive to Manchester tomorrow are you?"

"Nah nah I'm not....... jus' being practical"