Kick Back

by K J

  “Cameron. My parents decided to name me before I was born but they didn’t want to know my sex so they hedged their bets with a generic non-specific name.” Sophia widened her eyes, and Cam pointed at her face. “Yep. They’re unusual. At least they didn’t name me Sunny. I’d be an adult entertainer by now.” Sophia took a second to remember Cam’s last name—Weathers—then cracked up, laughing so much that she leant to the side. Cam grabbed her hand.

  “Careful. That’s nature down there.”

  Sophia shook her head, her smile still pushing up her cheeks, and Cam laughed with her, her lips parting, which created curves, like long dimples. Suddenly, Sophia’s brain turned to mush. Smile lines. Yum. Her stomach tightened in arousal. God, she really wanted to go on a date with this woman. But Cam doesn’t do dates that lead to hard and fast sex, which leads to ‘that was great, thanks’, and the inevitable goodbye. But that was all Sophia could offer. Her gaze dropped to Cam’s lips. Maybe? Cam’s smile dissolved softly, and Sophia watched her brown eyes darken.

  “Yes, you can,” Cam breathed. Sophia shuffled a tiny bit and leaned closer.

  “I can? But…”

  “Yes, Soph. Right now, you can.” She brushed her lips over Sophia’s, then held still. Sophia could feel Cam’s soft smile, then she nudged forward, pressing and nibbling, feeling Cam reciprocate, and it was good, so good. Cam turned her shoulders, and Sophia swiped her tongue across Cam’s top lip. And again. Sophia felt the hint of another smile on Cam’s lips, which opened, granting access to Sophia’s tongue, and white light exploded in her head. Oh God. A single jolt of desire flared at her core and she groaned into Cam’s mouth, as their tongues gently touched, then twisted together, pushing and pulling. Her mouth savoured every moment of the kiss, tasting, exploring. Cam’s quiet whimper sent sparks of heat to all corners of her body.

  Then suddenly, just as she was about to lift her hand and smooth it around Cam’s neck, cool air touched her lips, and her eyes flew open to stare at Cam’s face. She blinked, as Cam touched her index finger to her own lips, and they held each other’s gaze for a long moment, breathing softly.

  “I think I’m a bit stuck on you,” Sophia said quietly. Cam caressed her lips again.

  “I’m a bit stuck as well, actually.” Her eyebrows pushed together, as if that concept was new and perplexing. Sophia reached out and drew a line along Cam’s jaw.

  “You’re not going to have that dinner with me, are you?” Cam’s lips parted, and Sophia’s gaze drifted. “Are you?”

  “No.”

  Sophia dropped her hand, following its descent with her eyes.

  “But let’s not rule it out.”

  Sophia’s head shot up. “Oh?”

  Cam’s lips quirked. “It’s still there on the page.” She pointed to an invisible notebook in the air, then pretended to write. “See? Written three times. ‘Sophia Lindstrom has asked Cam Weathers out on a date’. The last one there,” she pointed again, “hasn’t been crossed out.”

  Sophia smiled in resignation. “I’ve said it already, but you’re such a smartarse.”

  Cam bumped her shoulder. “I know. I’d say I’m sorry, but I’m so not.” She zipped up the backpack, wriggled it over her shoulders, then stood, and put out her hand. With a sigh, Sophia allowed herself to be helped up, and found her body close to Cam’s. “By the way,” Cam’s eyes sparkled up at her from behind her glasses, “you’re a spectacular kisser.” They held eye contact, the air between them highly charged. Then Sophia smirked.

  “You’re not awful either.” The comment earned her a smack on the shoulder as Cam walked past to lead them back through the forest.

  ***

  Sophia wondered why it was that the return journey from anywhere always seemed faster than the outward one. Every time. Just like their trip down the range, and back into Melbourne, finally coming to a halt next to the footpath outside Cam’s 1980s apartment block. Sophia balanced the helmets on Flo’s seat and turned.

  “Thanks for today.” She gave a single nod. “I was not killed by nature, I hugged a tree, I left the trail, which I still think was an appalling idea.” She pointed her finger at Cam who was silently laughing. “And I found out you can kiss.”

  Cam bit her lip and looked up and around before settling on Sophia’s face. “Thanks. For coming today, and for sharing yourself with me.” Her gaze skidded sideways again. “So, you’ll be off practising more of that spectacular kissing on a girlfriend soon, yeah?”

  Sophia pulled her head back. “What?”

  Cam shrugged, then a smile, too bright to be real, appeared from nowhere. “Oh, you’ll want to go on dates with her rather than me, especially on a Sunday.”

  Sophia twisted her mouth. “I don’t do relationsh—uh…I like spending my Sundays with you. We’ve had two so far, and we could have some more doing other things, if you know what I mean.” Sophia quirked an eyebrow, then watched Cam’s face shut down. She sighed. "It’s okay. Forget it. You’re not going to date—” She twisted her body, stomped away two steps, then whirled back around. “You’re a tease, Cam. Far out.” She flung her hands in the air, like she was tossing seeds in a field.

  “I am not.” Cam was incensed, her eyes blazing.

  “Yeah, you are. You kiss me like nobody’s business.” Sophia arranged her index and middle fingers into a ‘V’ and thrust them forwards. “Twice! Then you say you don’t want to date me.” She shook her head, her mouth turned down. “You wouldn’t anyway, you know, because you’re so closed off to the very thought of me.” Sophia stepped forward, then tapped herself in the chest. “You see a template.”

  Cam’s hands found homes on her hips. “You’re still hiding behind your walls.”

  Sophia grit her teeth. “I’m not Rachel!”

  Cam wrapped her arms defensively about her torso, a hand cupping each elbow. “I know. I do know that. But you can’t even look past the idea of you and me as a bit of a fling, but I can. Very clearly. You nearly said it just before. You don’t do relationships. But I do.”

  Sophia clenched her teeth again. “I can't let you in, Cam. You'll leave.” Cam regarded her for a second, then theatrically peered about. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m looking for your crystal ball, because apparently you can see the future.” They glared at each other for a long moment. “And also? Thanks so much for that pile of judgement about my level of commitment to a relationship. Nice.”

  Sophia closed her eyes. “I’m…it’s just…love, relationships? They’re pointless because people always leave, Cam.”

  “God, how much pain does it cause you to be so walled off?”

  Sophia scoffed. “Same amount as it does you.”

  Cam’s eyes grew round. “Wh—? I don't wall off.”

  “Yes, you do! Rachel literally gave you the bricks and mortar and said go for it, build a wall.” Sophia waved a hand between them. “You look at me and you see Rachel.”

  “I don’t,” said Cam softly. They stared at each other for a minute.

  “So there’s that.”

  “Yeah. There’s that.”

  “This sucks,” Sophia muttered, then she levelled her gaze at Cam. “It hasn’t been crossed off the page, this…?” She wiggled her finger between them. “Can we leave it there? Not ruling it out? Just in case?”

  Cam ran the edge of her tongue across her bottom lip. “We can do that.” She sighed, and took a step backwards. “Just in case.”

  Chapter Eleven

  The size of the crowd surprised Cam, as she leaned her back against the railing and faced the stands. It was a difficult thought to have floating in her head, because to be surprised by an extra thousand or so people was a sad indictment on the state of the regular attendance numbers. Chewing a little on her bottom lip, she made her way up the concrete steps to the sixth row, which she’d discovered was the perfect viewing location in each of the various grounds for watching the game play, the positioning of the players, and the skills at work. Cam
rolled her eyes at herself. The sixth row is really great for perving on Sophia. Admit it. Because the idea of Sophia hadn’t left Cam’s mind since the hike.

  “Cam! Hi.” Ben’s voice made her jump.

  “Shit, what is it with you Lindstroms and frightening the crap out of people?” Cam fired a glare up at Ben who was leaning on his knee, one foot resting two steps higher than the other. He grinned at her, straightened, and Cam saw that he was holding hands with a beautiful, petite Chinese woman.

  “Cam, this is my partner, Lin. Can we sit with you?”

  Cam shook her head good-naturedly, but scooted over two seats. “Absolutely. Hi, Lin. Great to meet you.” Lin settled into the plastic seat beside her, while Ben stretched his long legs into the aisle.

  “You, too.” Lin turned slightly, and grinned, her eyes sparkling. “Nice.” She pointed to the supporter’s beanie Cam was wearing. “So, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  “Uh oh.” Cam grimaced, and Lin laughed, a pretty feminine sound, which made Ben turn and smile affectionately.

  “No, no. All good, believe me.” Lin crossed her legs, and rearranged her jacket. “I hear you and Soph have been on a couple of dates.”

  “Ah, nope. Not dates.” Cam crossed her ankle over her knee, as Lin’s eyebrow lifted.

  “Okay?”

  “Think of them more as…experiences.”

  Ben snorted, as he watched the players running warm up drills. “I bet you any money that she’s flirted like hell with you on these experiences,” he smirked, emphasising the final word. “Soph flirts like it’s air.”

  “Oh, yes. I’ve been on the receiving end of that oxygen tank,” Cam said, deadpan, which caused Ben and Lin to chuckle. “But I know what she’s doing. It’s a defence mechanism.” Lin cocked her head, regarding Cam seriously. “Flirting is supposed to attract people to you. For Sophia, it keeps them at arm’s length. It keeps her in control.” Cam lifted a corner of her mouth, and reset her glasses on her nose. “It doesn’t get her very far.” Ben laughed, but Lin continued to study Cam.

  “I bet she finds you challenging. She flirts with you, and you ignore it. Then you make your move, probably taking charge as well.” Lin nodded slowly. “You must frighten the crap out of her.” She ran her hands through her long, black hair, pulling it away, then flipping it over her shoulders. An evil smile crept onto her face. “Good.” They sat companionably for a few minutes, as the players scattered to various positions on the field, and the siren sounded to start the game.

  Lin turned to Cam again, her dark eyes serious. “Please don’t let her frighten you away. I think you’d be very good for her. But, if she’s not good for you, you have to walk. Nothing is more damaging than a person who actively sabotages you to protect themselves.”

  Cam studied her for a second. “I don’t scare easily. I happen to think she’s worth it.” Lin beamed, patting Cam’s knee.

  “I do, too.”

  Cam continued to look at Lin. “You’re quite forthright.” She twisted her mouth in contemplation. “I like it.”

  Lin raised an eyebrow. “Mm. I find it cuts through a lot of stupid bullshit.” There was a respectful mutual nod.

  “Babe, you should probably watch at least some of Soph’s game, since we made the effort to come see her play,” Ben grumbled good-naturedly.

  Cam peered around Lin. “If you’re here, then who’s running Provender at the moment?”

  Ben tipped his head. “Yousef. He’s our senior sales guy. Awesome bloke.” He smiled at Lin. “I’ll be getting him to cover more shifts as we get closer to…” He made an explosion gesture with his fingers, and Lin smacked his shoulder.

  “Benjamin Lindstrom. Keep that up and I’ll be withdrawing all sorts of privileges.” Ben snapped his mouth shut, and blushed, which sent Cam into a fit of giggles. Lin turned her head towards Cam. “He’s a six feet tall adult who can be reduced to a pile of embarrassed goo by the mere mention of sex.” Cam rolled her lips together.

  “I’m beginning to discover Sophia is a little the same. Just not the six feet bit.” She pointed vaguely at Lin’s front. “How far along are you, assuming that boom was the awful analogy for child birth?”

  “Four months. Not that you can tell.” She ran her hands down the front of her jacket. “I’m hardly showing, and if my body wasn’t craving thirty daily orgasms because of all the pregnancy hormones, I wouldn’t have even known.” There was a strangled noise from the other side of Lin, and Ben stood.

  “Anyone need a drink, or something? I’ll grab an assortment.” He gestured in their general direction, then took the steps two at a time, disappearing under the stands to where the food stalls were located. Cam and Lin looked at each other, and cracked up.

  The match continued, players streaming up and down the field, with the red football being thumped with deadly accuracy between the two white centre goal posts. The idea that a goal was worth six points still completely bamboozled Cam. It made no sense at all, yet people just accepted it as an immutable fact. Sophia was playing as a forward today, which, after two months of observing the sport, Cam knew to be a position where she was to mark the ball and kick goals. The marks were one of Cam’s favourite skills to watch. Judging the flight of the ball, then running towards it, and leaping, even using the back of an opposition player to lever yourself up to the height of sometimes nine feet, to then catch the ball in mid-air, astounded her. It was athletic and beautiful.

  Then, as if to demonstrate the very thought in Cam’s mind, Sophia dodged around her opposite number, breaking into an electrifying sprint, her gorgeous face set in concentration, her eyes clearly watching the football as it journeyed on its arc, and then she leapt, hands reaching, legs slightly bent, to grab the ball out of the air, and land, her thigh muscles giving one single solid shudder, then they bunched as she spun to sprint towards the goal. Cam’s mouth was dry. Oh dear God.

  Lin turned to her. “Yeah. You said that out loud.” Her face was mischievous, as Cam turned to squint at her. Then Lin laughed. “Please hang around, Cam. I like you.”

  Cam smiled. “I’ll see how I go.” Then she cocked her head. “Why isn’t Sophia the captain?” Lin smoothed her thumb over the top of the other one, and paused as if to give proper consideration to the question.

  “She cares too much. It’d paralyse her to be the actual team captain. She’s an inherent protector but needs distance to be able to do that. She needs the distance for herself.”

  Cam smiled. “She’s Captain Marvel,” she muttered softly, and Lin tapped Cam’s knee again.

  “You’ve worked her out. Oh, you have to stay now.”

  ***

  Sophia followed the flight of the ball as it left her boot, and soared through the two middle uprights. It never got old, that feeling when skill, talent, training, and a bit of luck came together to create that perfect kick. It was a thing of beauty. Accepting the quick congratulations from a few teammates nearby, as the others were scattered down the other end of the one-hundred and eighty-five metre long field, she broke into a jog to get back to her position in time for the centre bounce. Sophia had noticed as they’d finished their warm-up before the game that the women’s AFL executive board were present, sitting in the first row behind the team benches. Lawrence, Dennis, and Carmichael had been conspicuously absent at the games so far, even though they’d had plenty of chances with seven matches played. When a couple of players had mentioned that point to Craig, he’d shrugged and suggested that the board were on top of things as he and Dominic were keeping them up to date with how South Melbourne were going. Sophia had figured as much. There were twelve teams, so that meant six games to get to each Saturday. Maybe they were spacing their visits out. Today, they’d been joined by an older woman, perhaps in her forties, decked out very elegantly in a red business skirt and jacket combination; an outfit which made her look completely out of place amongst the other spectators.

  Sophia chuckled as she reset herself next to her opposite nu
mber. Fitz’s head had shot up when she’d spotted the woman, taking in the black hair styled into a bob, chiselled features and slim physique, and Sophia was convinced that it was the pair of red heels that had tipped Fitz over the edge into Ga-Ga Land. She hadn’t sounded too coherent in the pre-match huddle, that’s for sure. Sophia reached down and yanked her socks up, glancing in resignation at the grazes on her shins. One of the players in Ultimate Frisbee who’d been visiting from the US had been stunned to discover that AFL players didn’t use any protective padding at all, not even shin guards. She grinned ferociously, as Kelly, her opposition, jostled her.

  “Enjoying the game, Lindstrom?”

  “You know it, Stringer.”

  “Try to keep up.”

  “You’ll be chasing my boots, mate.”

  The umpire tossed the ball into the air and the centre forwards ran towards each other and smacked the ball away. Then every player was on the move. Sophia flew down the boundary line, one arm up to indicate she was open, but the play shifted to the other side of the oval. She began a series of short runs up and down the edge while she waited for the ball to come her way. It’d be nice to have the GPS trackers to wear like the men do. I reckon I do the same ten kilometres per game. She was on her offensive run, when she spotted Craig and Lawrence at the sidelines; Lawrence gesturing angrily at Craig, at the substitute bench, at the stands. Sophia slowed to spin around to restart her run, and saw Lawrence gesturing at a photographer on the fence, holding a telephoto lens.

  Her defensive run was interrupted by Kelly calling for the ball, alerting Sophia, but it was a false alarm as the ball was kicked further down the field. She spun around again. Craig had stepped into Lawrence’s space, but suddenly the coach’s shoulders slumped and he beckoned over the teenage volunteer runner in his hi-vis vest, pointed to Erica, the tall blonde sitting on the bench, then at Mel out in the centre of the oval. Sophia slowed her jog. That was a weird substitution. Mel and Erica didn’t have the same body type or skill set to swap positions. Mel, a self-proclaimed tank, was an older rookie at twenty, played seriously and skilfully, and once she got to know people, would light up a field with her smile, animating her dark dimpled birthmark above her left eyebrow.