Never Really Over

Chapter 13

Jenny's message has John's stomach churning for two reasons. Firstly, he can think of few things less enticing than a 'surprise' party. Instantly he starts internally cringing at the thought of walking into the room and having to feign surprise. He thinks he might have preferred to not know, that would be better than having to spend the days leading up to his birthday on Thursday worrying about how to act. Secondly, Georgia... He's certain she won't come, and he tells Jenny so, it's been years without contact, why would now be any different!? But Jenny is adamant that Georgia is coming. It's just his luck that at almost the exact moment he stops pining for her she shows her face again.

He heads home to Barnsley for a week with his family before he joins up with the England U21s ahead of this summer's tournament. Beth will visit for his birthday, but until then, she has to work. He misses her, but he's trying not to fixate on that too much, because they are about to spend weeks apart and dwelling on it won't change anything.

John was shocked when Georgia replied to his request to meet up. In two years, she hadn't as much as much as replied to a text, and now she was agreeing to go for a drink with him. He was nervous about seeing her. Terrified of how he'd feel, what if all the feelings he thought had faded away came rushing back the second he laid eyes on her?! What would that mean for him and Beth?! He knew Beth was nervous too; he could tell by the way her voice faltered when he spoke to her on the phone and told her he was going to tell Georgia about them. She wasn't nervous about their secret getting out, that wasn't the problem. She was scared he'd change his mind and decide it was Georgia he wanted after all, and he couldn't reassure her that wouldn't happen, because he was scared too.

In his haste to get the meeting, and any inevitable confrontation over and done with, John arrived over half an hour early at the pub. It was the same pub his dad would pop to for a pint after work on a Friday before bringing home a chippy tea and the same pub his granddad had proudly taken him to buy his first legal pint when he turned 18. It was a comfortingly familiar place; John didn't think the décor had been changed in his lifetime and he was sure you could still smell decades old cigarette smoke in the air. Here he was just John, it wasn't like going out in Liverpool where inevitably he'd hear people whispering 'That's John Stones' when he walked up to the bar. He liked it. It was good to be home, as he got older his appreciation for his hometown grew, and he started to put his prior fascination over big cities down to youthful ignorance.

He ordered himself a Diet Coke then sat at the same table he'd occupied with Gigi's family the time they came here for her dad's birthday meal. He'd had Scampi and Chips, that Gigi had stolen half of, after only ordering soup because she claimed she wasn't hungry. He was lost in his phone when the door opened, reading the comments on an Echo article about Everton's disappointing season and what it meant for the manager's future.

"John?" He glanced up and there she was, standing by the table smiling shyly at him. It was a nice day, warm weather full of the promise of summer. She was wearing a black dress decorated with cherries, it was cute, very Gigi. Her hair was tied back in a loose ponytail, a few stray strands framing her face, but it didn't look like it had changed, it was the same shade of fiery red and the same length as the last time he'd seen her. She looked exactly how he remembered her, not a day older, still as fresh faced and pretty as ever. She was beautiful, he knew that, his mum always said she was an English Rose.

"Hi!" He got to his feet, feeling awkward, no idea how to greet her. He never thought there would come a day he didn't know what to do with himself around Georgia. "I don't know what to do," he laughs eventually. "I nearly offered to shake your hand."

When Georgia laughs, her entire face lights up, "Come here you," she pulls him into a hug. "Happy Birthday!" It is like hugging Jenny. But John isn't shocked, because the second he saw her, he felt nothing. Not even a hint of attraction. Not like when he sees Beth and his hormones start going wild, when he hugs Beth now, it's never just a hug, he can't ever stop his hands from exploring her body or keep his lips to himself. But for Georgia, nothing has changed, John's arms around her make her feel safe and loved, maybe more than ever because he's very clearly psychically stronger than he was the last time she saw him. His chest is broader, his arms are thicker, Georgia feels her heart start to race as their chests press together.