Perhaps Emma was right, and Jack was probably developing feelings for Crawford, because things started to turn very awkward with him and his teammate. They both looked a lot at each other, and they knew it. Fortunately, their friendship came back. Now they talked, went out to eat sushi or meals from food trucks, and spent most of the time together. Lawrence and Crawford never formally talked about those miserable two weeks, but at least it wasn’t happening anymore. He was happy to have his friend back, and enjoyed every minute of interaction with him. Lawrence started to wonder if he should confess his feelings, but the fact that Crawford already denied having a crush on him was holding him back. Besides, he was still exploring his sexuality and, even if they stayed as friends, he would be happy anyway, awkwardly happy.

On the other hand, we had anxious Crawford, whose heart started to beat faster than ever. Lawrence became a bit touchy after developing a possible attraction to his friend, and that turned Crawford nervous. ‘Perhaps it’s his love language with friends that he trusts’ was thinking Crawford, every time his head spun around when Lawrence hugged him. But he also found it really weird that all these hugs and affection came out of nowhere.

The weather was hot, so Crawford wanted to hang out with some friends at the beach. He would invite Lawrence and Logan Riley, and he also didn’t want Bernard to go with them, as he was being really annoying, a bit of a pain for him. So he wrote a message for Logan and Lawrence, and waited for them to respond.

The beach was a place that Crawford loved, but he didn't go for a long time, because he was away from his family who usually went with him, and he didn't have the courage to organize a catch-up with his team. This time, sunny days began to appear more often, and he felt more confident to ask his close friends to hangout with him.

Crawford’s friends answered. It turns out that Logan was busy, because he had a date with a girl he met.

Logan: I hope you have a good date like me :)

Jack: Stop it.

Logan: Sorry, I wanted to say that, I know it's not true hahaha.

In fact, Logan knew that Crawford wanted it to be true, even if he didn't admit it, but Riley didn't want to bother him. He knew that, now, what his friend needed the most was support, in his own way, of course.

That left Crawford with Lawrence alone, again.

Lawrence asked Crawford to pick him up at his house, because he didn't want sand in his car, he's the kind of guy who takes care of all his stuff, it just brings him mental peace.

When Crawford arrived at Lawrence's home, he just took a moment to admire his big house, with its big entrance and its big trees, then he rang the doorbell at the big gate, which opened automatically after a few seconds. He crossed the big path towards the opened door, where Lawrence was.

“That's a big ass house.” Said Crawford.

“Yeah,” Lawrence chuckled. “How are you?”

“Pretty well, n’ you?”

“Same.”

“Let's go.”

Crawford’s car had only a radio, so you had to change channels to find something you liked. After looking for some music, the radio played Queen's ‘Play The Game’.

“Ooo, I like Queen.” Said Lawrence.

“Okay!”

Freddie Mercury's soaring vocals and the harmony of the song created a beautiful ambient in the car. Lawrence could not think of anyone but his friend at that moment, and he seemed to be enjoying it, feeling the melody through his body.

Crawford was –again– overthinking. He didn't know the existence of that song before, but the lyrics were making him contemplate how far his friendship with Lawrence had come, and how, despite that, he couldn't help but feel love for him. He began to wonder if he could handle not confessing to his friend, or if it was worth it to keep his secret while suffering. After all, what was holding him back? Lawrence had already expressed that he didn't care if he was gay and, furthermore, why would he throw their friendship away? Lawrence befriended Crawford, and he was genuinely worried when they turned distant. The worst he could say was ‘no’, their friendship would remain intact.

Crawford and Lawrence arrived at the beach. The sand was warm and soft, like a massage on their feet. The ocean waves were dancing with elegance. That beach atmosphere felt, somehow, quite similar to Crawford’s dream, or at least that's what he thought when he immediately remembered it.

Lawrence applied sunscreen on his body, especially on his face. While they waited some minutes for the lotion to be absorbed by his body, they received some greetings and photo requests from football fans who were also at the beach. Crawford always appreciated when fans came to him.

The ocean was so cold that you could feel as if you were freezing. Crawford dipped his feet into the water bit by bit, while Lawrence plunged into the water like a bomb, ignoring the temperature.

“How don’t you freeze with this water?”

“I do! But you get used to it quickly if you plunge into it, it's refreshing.”

“Okay, I guess I'll do it then!”

Crawford copied his friend Lawrence, and he regretted it immediately. However, a few seconds later, he felt energized and forgot about the coldness of the ocean.

They spent a while swimming and chilling at the sea, until they both got cold again, and returned to the surface. 

“Uh, crap, I forgot my towel.” said Crawford, shivering.

“Oh, uh… you can use mine.” Lawrence made some space for him on his towel.

Lawrence shared his towel with Crawford and got close to him, beginning to feel a sudden wave of heat across his cheeks. ‘Maybe the sunscreen didn't work well’, he thought, but the sensation wasn't similar to getting burned by the sunbeams. He could feel the sea breeze going against his warm face, and sounds from seagulls or the ocean waves became noticeable with the silence.

‘Is this liking someone?’ he thought. Maybe he was into his friend, Victor, after all. Being ‘gay’ was a word that used to scare him, but now that he was right next to Crawford, being so close to each other, he felt like it wouldn't be that bad to like someone of his same gender. He was finally accepting it, and it felt beautiful.

When they started to get used to their bodies being so close, a child approached them slowly and timidly waved his hand at them.

“M-may I t-take a photo?”

Crawford and Lawrence exchanged looks.

“Of course buddy!” Said Lawrence.

The kid's expression changed completely to happiness when the footballers nodded in agreement. His parents got closer to using their camera and quickly took a photo. After that, the child went back to his parents running with pure joy. The family said goodbye to the football super stars, who sat down on the sand again, with Lawrence’s towel covering them.

“Y'know, Jack, I've always loved when people recognize me, I feel important, like someone who leaves a mark in the world.”

“Well, it's true. Seeing the ones who admire you, kids who wanna be like you, people who think you are their saviours, it's truly an amazing feeling.”

“Yeah.” 

“Besides, I'm sure you're already leaving a mark on this world. You already left one in my life, so…”

Crawford felt a rush of adrenaline, he thought it was the perfect moment to confess his feelings and finally free himself.

“J-Jack… I h-have something to tell you…”

“Oh, what is it?”

“I…”

“Yes?”

“I-I never told you why I drifted away from y-you.”

“Hey, don't worry, it's over now. You probably were mad at me or something.”

“No, I wasn't, you did nothing bad…”

“Oh, then, what was it?”

“It was because… I…” Crawford was trembling “Gosh, this is so hard…”

“Don't worry, take your time.”

“I like you!” Screamed Crawford.

Lawrence's eyes went wide.

“All those rumours… were true… I like you, man.”

Crawford sighed, and made eye contact with his friend again. Lawrence was red in the face, extremely red.

“Gosh, I'm free!” said Crawford, exhaling all the air that he was keeping in his lungs.

“You know… I wouldn't say I don’t feel the same…”

“...wait- what?” 

“I said… I couldn't exactly… not say that there isn't… a denial of me partially… not liking you?”

“Dude, you could just say you're not interested.”

“I don't… I'm not trying to… r-reject you.”

“Then, do you like me or not?”

Lawrence took the deepest breath of his life.

“Yes… it's highly probable that I… like you.”

“Hey, don't be scared.”

“Sorry, it's just… I've never felt so awkward before, I'm sweating, my cheeks feel hotter than ever...”

“Oh, I thought you were burned by the sun.”

“I don't think so, this feels way different… I've never fallen in love before, not in my whole life…”

“So, what do you wanna do?”

“...Maybe we should… try dating.”

Both Jack and Victor had their hearts racing.

“Okay” Crawford mumbled.

The car, on the way back home, was totally silent. Crawford was driving, while Lawrence was just sitting on the passenger's seat.

“Hey, um…” Crawford was doubting.

“Oh, tell me.”

Lawrence looked at how his –perhaps– couple, reached out his hand towards his, which he grabbed slowly. Now, his cheeks were turning red again, but this time it didn't feel awkward, it was more like a spark, a sheepish spark.

Part 2 coming soon.