As Liam continued to listen to the coach's words, he felt a mix of great joy and tension inside him. Since he hadn't been getting playing time in matches for a long while, he needed to make good use of this opportunity.
After the coach announced the decision, Lydia was waiting for Liam to look at her. The coach had determined the squad and tactics a few days earlier, but since Lydia had promised Liam an opportunity in return for his help, she had made a recommendation to the coach about giving him a chance to play. As the assistant coach, she observed players' performances and their impact during matches, so Coach Connor trusted her judgment. When Liam finally looked at her, his happiness clearly visible on his face, Lydia smiled back at him. The look on her face made it obvious that she was thinking, "It's thanks to me." There was a great sense of happiness inside her. It was as if she was even happier about Liam playing than Liam himself.
A few days ago, Lydia might have reacted to this decision without any emotion. She might even have given Liam a condescending look with a sense of ego. But growing closer to him, and seeing his polite personality when she stayed at his place overnight, had changed her opinion of him.
After the coach finished speaking, the players went to take showers. Since they were comfortable in the club environment, they usually took off their T-shirts in the locker room. Although Lydia and the other female staff members had felt a bit shy at first, seeing the same scene after every training session had made it feel normal to them. At that moment, she caught a glimpse of Liam's bare chest as he headed for the shower. Her mind drifted back to Liam's body from the night before. She found herself imagining touching his body again. Realizing what she was thinking, she felt embarrassed and returned to her work.
Liam celebrated the coach's decision with his teammates. They needed to make the most of the chances they were given. Max and Andrew were younger and therefore less tense. But for Liam, this was his last chance to stay at the club this season. After showering, he set off to go home. Although the training sessions were exhausting, they had become routine, so they didn't strain his body as much anymore. Still, he felt some mild aches and needed a bit of rest.
Just as he was about to leave the club, he felt a touch on his back. The first thing that caught his attention was how small and delicate the hand felt. Realizing it was Lydia touching him, he turned to her with a slight smile.
"Coach Lydia, I actually wanted to talk to you as well."
Liam wanted to thank her for helping him make the squad, but he had forgotten after the shower.
"It didn't look like that at all. It was obvious you were about to leave the club," she said with a slightly annoyed yet sweet expression.
"It slipped my mind. Thanks to you, I'll have a chance to play in the next match. Your help was really important to me."
Hearing this, Lydia felt a sense of accomplishment. With a gentle smile, she said, "You helped me yesterday too. I should be the one thanking you. Actually, there was something else I wanted to say."
Curious, Liam replied, "Of course, go ahead."
Lydia had called someone to take care of the water and electricity installations in her new home. However, they had called her earlier that day to inform her that the work wouldn't be finished yet. Since she wouldn't be able to stay there again, she thought about staying at Liam's place once more. The moment this thought crossed her mind, an involuntary grin appeared on her face. She didn't quite understand why she felt happy, but all she knew was that she was glad the work at her place wasn't finished yet.
In a gentler tone than usual, she said, "The work at my place won't be finished today either. So… could I stay at your place for one more day?"
Liam hadn't been expecting this. Another chance to grow closer to Lydia had fallen right into his lap. With a big smile on his face, he replied, "Of course you can. You can stay at my place anytime you want."
Lydia was happy that he agreed. Even though she had expected him to say yes because of his polite personality, she had still felt a bit tense inside. His words—"You can stay anytime you want"—surprised her slightly. After thinking about it for a moment, she assumed he had just said it casually.
Looking around and seeing no one nearby, Liam stepped closer and gently fixed Lydia's slightly messy hair. Lydia hadn't expected this, and her face immediately turned red. Before she could say anything, Liam added, "If you want, I can wait for you near the public transportation stop. We can go home together."
Hearing this, Lydia remembered the closeness they had shared on public transport that morning. They had held onto each other because of the crowd. Thinking about it made her smile faintly. But then she remembered that she still had work to finish and felt disappointed that they wouldn't be able to go together.
With her slight sadness visible on her face, she said, "I still have some work to do at the club. Coach Connor and the technical staff and I need to sort out a few more things. I'll leave in about half an hour. I'll come later."
After hearing this, Liam said goodbye and headed to public transportation.
Since his current priority was increasing his closeness with Lydia, he decided to wait for her to finish her work. That way, they could go together and have another chance to grow closer.
While sitting on a bench, he looked around and watched the people passing by. Seeing children running around reminded him of old memories. He remembered playing all day long with his neighbor's daughter, Sandra, when he was little. Although they had been very close, Sandra had started acting distant toward him when she entered adolescence, and they gradually drifted apart. Even now, although they talked occasionally, they rarely saw each other. He would only run into her when he went to visit his mother, exchanging brief conversations.
Lost in thought, he suddenly noticed Lydia standing in front of him, watching him.
"When did you get here? I didn't notice you arrive," he said.
Smiling, Lydia replied, "I just got here. I didn't want to interrupt your thoughts. You seemed really deep in thought—what were you thinking about?"
"It wasn't anything important. Watching the kids just reminded me of my childhood."
Lydia thought to herself, 'I wonder what Liam was like as a child. He was probably just as polite as he is now.' Pulling herself back to the moment, she asked, "Why didn't you go home? It's been half an hour since you left the club."
As if he had been expecting the question, Liam replied, "You said you had a short task left, so I waited so we could go together."
Hearing this, Lydia felt a surge of happiness inside her. The disappointment she had felt about not going together vanished instantly. Learning that he hadn't left because of her made her even happier.
Even so, she didn't want him to wait for her for that long. Putting on a slightly annoyed expression, she said, "Going together might be nice, but instead of waiting for me that long, you should leave earlier next time."
Liam loved the expression she made when she pretended to be annoyed. After looking at her face for a moment, he said, "I didn't wait that long anyway. Next time, I'll leave earlier."
At that moment, the bus that would take them to Liam's place arrived. Since it was evening rush hour, the bus was as crowded as it had been in the morning. After boarding, they found a spot in the middle. When the bus started moving, they stood very close to each other. This time, Lydia didn't wait for Liam to make the first move and wrapped her arms around his waist. Liam looked at her in surprise.
Giggling softly, Lydia said, "We came like this this morning too. If I hold you like this, the ride will be more comfortable."
In the past, Liam would never have guessed that Lydia could act this sweetly. He responded in kind and held her tightly. However, her behavior and the way her blouse revealed the shape of her chest caused him to become involuntarily aroused. His erection pressed against Lydia's abdomen. Since she had experienced the same thing that morning, Lydia noticed it but continued holding him.
As the bus moved, the contact became more pronounced, causing a feeling of arousal between their lower bodies. Growing bolder, Lydia quickly moved her hand to the area of his pants. The moment she felt his hardness in her hand, her face turned bright red and her heart began to race. She quickly pulled her hand back so Liam wouldn't notice.
Liam had felt the slight touch of her hand. He realized that Lydia was starting to act more boldly. Opening her status window, he saw that her closeness level had risen to 34. It had been 33 at the club, and this contact had increased it by one more point.
Seeing how quickly Lydia's closeness level was rising in response to physical contact made Liam think that he could act even more boldly today.