The rest of the week flies by pretty fast and before I know it, it's Saturday.
James and I have definitely made up, and have moved on from our argument that we had at the start of the week.
I've noticed we've decided to communicate more effectively as well as discuss things further if we have any doubts, which is good. I think that's what we lacked in, our communication was good, but we never divulged into details.
Now we both voice our doubts and worries, it's been pretty good.
But today I am not worried about how James and I are going, because if I'm being honest, we're completely fine. We're better than fine, we're great.
My main concern today is the game. Bulldogs are playing the Crows down in ballarat so really, we should win this one, considering we have a home advantage cause who really wants to play down in cold ballarat? But then again, we've played Adelaide in ballarat for years, so they've probably worked out the ground by now, which isn't much use.
But I guess we'll just see how the boys go I guess.
I'm up early as it's an hour trip to Ballarat, and we're leaving the Whitten Oval at around 9:30, just so that we're there early before the traffic.
James is still sleeping when I get up, so I place a quick kiss on his cheek, trying not to wake him up before walking downstairs and making myself something to eat.
My goal in trying not to wake James up clearly didn't work when I see him walking down the stairs, yawning and rubbing his eye.
He doesn't say anything but instead walks over to me and wraps his arms around me.
"Good morning." I say looking up at him as I wrap my arms around him.
"Morning." He says in a raspy voice, letting out a smile.
"You didn't have to wake up you know. I would've woken you up before I left." I say and he smiles.
"Just wanted to spend more time with you." He says and I smile, before shaking my head.
"You're so cute." I say as I pop some bread into the toaster.
"And so are you." He says placing a kiss on my cheek before taking a seat at the bench.
"So what time are you leaving?"
"9:30." I say and James nods.
"Would you like me to drive you to the Whitten Oval?"
"If you have nothing else better to do, that would be great." I say and he smiles.
"I better go get changed then." He says and I laugh.
"Why. You look good the way you are." I say and he smirks.
"Any excuse to see me shirtless hmm?"
"You know it." I say and he chuckles as he walks up the stairs and I turn around, getting a fright from the bread popping up in the toaster.
I place both pieces on a plate before spreading some butter and jam on it.
A few minutes later James comes downstairs, in an Adidas jumper, and trackies and I smile.
"Thought you were more of a nike guy." I tease and he smiles.
"I'm one of those few people that like both."
"I can see that, you're whole wardrobe is full of Nike and Adidas."
"There's nothing wrong with that." He shrugs and I nod.
"Definitely not." I say with a smile as I finish off my toast before heading upstairs to finish getting ready.
I change into my footy gear, doggies trackies, with the polo underneath the jumper and some runners. I also pack some studs, just in case I'm on water duty today.
I walk downstairs where James is waiting for me, the keys to his car in his hand.
"Did you eat anything?" I ask and he nods.
"Yeah I had a muesli bar."
"That's not breakfast." I frown and he chuckles as he follows me to the car that's parked in the garage.
"I'll have something to eat properly later." He says and I nod.
"You better." I say as I open the door and jump into the car, James doing the same thing.
"So I'm dropping you off at the Whitten Oval right?"
"Yes." I say as he reverses out of the garage and starts the short drive there.
"You sure? Usually the boys would already be there since it's an hour drive..." James says and I shrug.
"I've been told to meet at the Whitten Oval." I say as James turns down Barkly Street.
"Interesting." He says and I nod.
James turns into the carpark and my heart sinks when there are literally no cars parked in the carpark.
Just a couple of people who work at the reception, and bulldogs shop.
"What the hell." I say looking at James who sighs.
"Have they already left maybe?"
"They said 9:30..." I say, with a sigh. "I'll call my brother." I add and he nods, watching me as I turn my phone on and dial Marcus' number.
"Good morning, whereabouts are you?" Marcus answers the phone and I frown.
"I'm at the Whitten Oval... I thought we were getting a bus to Ballarat."
"Didn't I tell you we we spent the night here? It was just easier for our preparations." Marcus says and I groan.
"No you didn't tell me." I say and Marcus sighs.
"Oh shit I'm sorry, I thought you knew."
"Well I didn't."
"It's alright, just drive down."
"James offered to drop me off at the Whitten Oval and there's no time for us to go home so I can get my car." I say and Marcus sighs again.
"I'll drop you off there." James says and I look at him.
"No you can't drive all the way to ballarat to drop me off." I say as Marcus lets out a chuckle.
"Put me on speaker." Marcus says and I sigh, taking the phone off my ear and pressing the speaker button, turning my volume all the way up.
"Hey mate, you guys are catching the bus back yeah?" James asks.
"Yeah, we are."
"I'll drive Tahls down then she can bus it back with you guys."
"Oh Worps you should stay for the game mate if you're gonna drive all that way."
"It'll be a bit weird if I'm at a dogs game don't you think?"
"True." Marcus says then sigh.
"Well you two work it out but Tahls, if you go home like you said you'll be late, best option is for Worps to drive you down."
"Alright fine, see you soon." I say before hanging up and sighing.
"I don't want you driving back on your own." I say and he nods.
"I'll be fine babe."
"No, I'll just be worried."
"So you want me to stay?" He says with a little smile and I nod.
"I'm not gonna force you to stay but I would rather carpool back with you then sit in that bus." I say and he laughs.
"Now you're being too picky. I'll drive you down and drive back home, I'll stay on call with you if you like?"
"I can't have my phone as soon as I enter the venue."
"Alright, then I'll text you when I get home then okay?"
"Okay." I say with a smile. "You just have a solution for everything."
"Of course I do." He says, putting the car in drive and beginning our journey to ballarat
-----------------------------------
"Just pull up here." I say as we approach the carpark that is virtually empty at Mars stadium.
The security guard asks for a pass, and I hand mine to James, which he lets us through.
James parks the car in one of the empty car spots before looking at me and I smile.
"Thank you so much for driving me."
"Anything for you." He says and I smile, leaning in and placing a kiss on his lips.
"Please take it easy on the road okay?"
"I promise." He says before pulling me into a hug and placing a kiss on my cheek.
"You sure you don't wanna stay?" I ask and he nods.
"If I'm being honest I do. But I know I can't." He says with a sigh and I nod.
"It's alright, I'll see you back at home." I say leaning in and placing another kiss on his lips before getting out of the car, walking around to the boot and grabbing my stuff out of there.
I wave to James, blowing him a kiss as I walk into the stadium, showing the guard my pass before being let in.
I spot Marcus straight away when I get down to the rooms and he chuckles.
"You made it."
"Yep." I say and he smiles, pulling me into a hug.
"So sorry I didn't tell you." He says as I look at Em who laughs.
"I should've reminded him to tell you."
"It's alright, I'm here now right?" I say and they both nod.
"I thought James was gonna stay."
"Nah, he's headed home." I say and they both nod as I feel some arms wrapped around me.
I turn around to see it's Baz and I smile, embracing his hug.
"I thought you weren't gonna rock up."
"Baz, you know I always turn up."
"True." He says with that adorable smile.
"That smile ain't gonna work on me mr, go warm up." I say and he groans.
"I just wanted to have a chat with you."
"We can have a chat after we win okay? But right now you need to get your ass out on that field and start warming up."
"Yes boss." He says rolling his eyes and I laugh as I watch him walk away.
"Hey Tahlia, glad you made it, heard it was a bit of a disaster this morning." Chris Grant says and I nod, then chuckle.
"Yeah, it definitely was, let's hope the game isn't a disaster." I say and he chuckles.
"Definitely won't be, but we all have mornings like that, no big deal."
"Thanks Chris." I say and he smiles as he walks off to talk to some of the boys.
I start doing some stuff around the rooms helping set up before the boys run out and I'm sitting along the boundary line near the bulldogs cheer squad.
If I thought this day already was a disaster, well this game topped it off....
----------------------------------
"We're the pride of south australia, and we're known as the Adelaide crows." Adelaides theme song rings through Mars Stadium and I sigh, walking over to the bench to help pack things away.
We lost by one point, one damn point, in a game that was so frustrating.
If I'm being honest we should've lost by way more then we did cause we played so shockingly, but at the end of the day we just weren't good enough.
Literally nothing went our way, everything we tried to do would just end up in an Adelaide player marking it, or a goal or set shot to them.
Like I said, we should've lost by more but it is what it is I'm afraid.
I walk down into the rooms a few minutes before the boys do, and let me say that when they walked in, everyone was flat. Super flat.
They all had their heads drooped down, walking over to grab a drink before plonking themselves on a chair.
It's not a very lovely sight if you'd ask me. From such a high last week, beating Essendon to this. And what hurts even more is that it was only a point.
I walk over to Baz and Aaron and sit across from them on the floor.
"Hey." I say and they both look up, sighing before looking down again.
"I can't fucking believe it." Aaron says putting his head in his hands and I sigh.
"Hey, don't beat yourself up, you did your job, you kicked a couple of goals."
"It just feels like I did nothing, I was struggling." He says looking at me and I sigh.
"We all were struggling." Baz says and I nod.
"Look, it's fucking heartbreaking, we just needed a goal to win, or even two points but it is what it is now. Please don't beat yourselves up about it, it's going to do more harm than good. I know, you guys tried your hardest, but with the week we've had with boys going down to injuries, Wally losing his mother in law, Varcoe losing his Mum, and Hunts on leave, it's pretty self explanatory that it would've affected you lot. Not using it as an excuse but it's so hard when you find out about these things happening. It's been a fucking tough week so please don't beat yourselves up, we have next week to redeem ourselves." I say and both Baz and Aaron nod, before they smile looking behind me and I see Bevo standing there.
"You should coach." He says and I let out a chuckle.
"I'll leave coaching to you." I say and he chuckles a bit.
"Some of what you said is very spot on, and I was just about to address the group about these things."
"Thanks Bevo." I say and he smiles at me, before looking at the group and beginning to address them....
Not long later we're on the bus, straight back to the Whitten Oval.
I turn my phone on and see there is a message from James saying he made it home safely, and I smile at it. I open the message and send a reply, telling him that I'm on the way home.
He responds straight away which doesn't surprise me as he's probably been waiting for a response from me all day.
"Let me guess, Worpel?" Baz says peering over my phone and I nod.
"Yep."
"What's he saying? How he wants some rudie nudies later?" Baz says and I laugh, like actually die of laughter.
"Oh my god, I haven't heard that phrase in years."
"So he is?" Baz says with a smirk and I shake my head.
"No! I'm just telling him that we're on the way home." I say and he shakes his head, snatching my phone from my hand.
"I don't believe you." He says as he reads the texts then sighs.
"You're right."
"See."
"I was hoping for some juicy texts."
"Between me and James? You're crazy." I say and he shrugs.
"Surely there's some in there."
"Nope."
"Wow, you two are boring."
"We aren't boring. You're just too much." I say and he shrugs.
"Maybe, maybe not." He says and I laugh. "But honestly how's it going?"
"It's going good. Thanks for asking." I say and he nods, then smiles.
"I really am happy for you Tahls, you've been through so much that you deserve this happiness and as much as I joke around and take the piss out of you and James, I am happy that you have finally found someone."
"Aww Baz." I say pulling him into a hug and placing a kiss on his head. "love you."
"Love you too." He says and I smile.
"Worps wouldn't like that."
"One, he isn't here, and two, knows you're like my little brother." I say ruffling his hair and he chuckles.
"Okay good, cause what happened with Naughts, I could tell he was getting a bit jealous." Baz whispers and I nod.
"Yeah, we had an argument about it, like a massive argument."
"And you worked it out?"
"Of course we did." I say and he nods.
"Good."
"Some of it was my fault for being so touchy with Aaron."
"Can agree with that, but I also pulled Naughts aside and told him to just be careful, the last thing we want is for Naughts to get his face punched in."
"Agreed. But I can confirm it won't happen again." I say and Baz nods.
"Good."
"Since you know everything about my relationship anything going on with you? You've been a bit happier lately." I say and he smiles a massive grin and I raise an eyebrow.
"OOHHHH BAZ!" I say and he chuckles, blushing a little bit.
"Since when?"
"A couple of weeks ago I made it official with her."
"I need details, who is she, what does she look like." I say and he smiles.
"I was getting there if you could just let me finish."
"Sorry." I say and he smiles.
"Her name is Gemma." He says and I nod.
"Ooh show me a pic." I say and he smiles, unlocking his phone and pressing into photos where he pulls up a photo of the two of them, handing the phone over to me so I can see it better.
"Oh my god she's gorgeous." I say as I look at the photo.
"I know." He says and I look up to see him in full awe of her which I find cute.
"Well, hope this one doesn't end up like the others." I say and he nods.
"I don't think it will."
"Good." I say as we finally arrive at the Whitten Oval.
"Where did you all park since there's no cars here?"
"On the grass where we usually park." Baz says and I laugh.
"God I'm so stupid." I say and he smiles.
"Is James here yet?" He asks as we get up and walk out of the bus, grabbing our stuff.
"Yeah he's parked over there."
"Alright, I'll see you soon." He says and I smile, saying goodbye to him as well as the other boys before walking to the car and jumping in.
James leans in to kiss me straight away which I find cute.
"Hey." I say and he smiles.
"Hey, I won't even bring up the game." He says and I nod, then sigh.
"It was just a bad day, it's been a tough week."
"Yeah exactly. But those one point losses hurt bad."
"Can agree, but when you've experienced a grand final loss, nothing hurts as much."
"True." He says and I smile as he drives out of the car park.
"I made dinner for you."
"Did you? What did you make?"
"You're favourite."
"My favourite? I don't have a favourite."
"Well it's one of your favourites." He says and I chuckle.
"Well I'm not gonna even bother guessing cause I'm exhausted and hungry, but did I mention Baz has a girlfriend."
"Really?"
"Yep, he told me on the bus."
"Aw did you have a little bonding moment with Baz?"
"I did, he asked how our relationship was going."
"And what did you say?"
"I said it's going great." I say and he nods then smiles.
"Baz said he's very happy that I've finally found you and some happiness."
"He's a great kid, for the shit he cops about being cocky and up himself on the field, he definitely isn't like that off the field."
"Exactly and that's what people struggle to understand, Baz is such a kindhearted person that whatever he does on the field is due to the emotion of the game."
"Yep, us AFL players are two very different people on and off the field."
"You sure are." I say and he smiles as we pull into the driveway and begin to spend the rest of the evening together....
***
Got a bit carried away in this chapter lol, but I thought it would be cute to give Baz and Tahls a moment.
Well, Baz is probably gonna be suspended for two weeks... not great that's for sure but emotions make us do stupid things, let's just hope he learns from it!
With that being said Baz is very kind off the field.
Anyways hope you guys enjoyed the update
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