Final Score

by Michelle Betham

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  ‘Kevin! Oh my God, I had no idea you were coming down here!’ Amber threw herself into the arms of Kevin Russell, her old boss from News North East, clinging onto him as he swung her around before putting her back down, pulling her in for another hug.

  ‘Well, your dad thought it’d be a nice surprise. And seeing as I’m on the last couple of days of my holiday and I had nothing better to do, I thought I’d come down with Freddie and pay my beautiful ex-employee a visit. And it gets me out of doing any more decorating. There’s only so much wallpaper a man can hang in a fortnight.’

  Amber couldn’t believe how excited she was at seeing Kevin again. It brought back memories of old times, when things had been less complicated and she’d been in complete control of everything in her life. Those memories seemed like a lifetime ago now.

  ‘And I have to say, Amber, I never thought I’d see the day when you’d be pushing a pram and heating bottles at two o’clock in the morning. But that baby of yours, he is one cute kid! Hard to believe he’s half Ryan Fisher’s.’

  Amber leaned back against the wall of the tunnel that led out onto the pitch at Parkfield, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her skinny black jeans. ‘I think he looks like Ryan, don’t you?’

  ‘Sweetheart, he’s only a few months old. To be fair, he doesn’t really look like anyone just yet.’

  Amber couldn’t help smiling. ‘Humour me. I’m a new mum. And anyway, despite whatever’s going on between me and his daddy, Ryan Fisher is one good-looking bastard, and I’d be quite happy for our son to grow up as handsome as he is. I may have to vet every single one of his girlfriends, of course, because no one’ll ever be good enough. But, yeah, I’d love him to grow up as handsome as Ryan.’

  Kevin looked at her, saying nothing, just raising an eyebrow.

  ‘What was that look for?’

  ‘Nothing. How’s life as one of football’s better-looking reporters, then? Max Mandell treating you okay, is he?’

  ‘Max is a superstar, Kevin. He’s been brilliant.’

  ‘We miss you back home, you know. You brightened up the office – and I’m not just talking about that hair colour – even though you could be a right temperamental pain in the arse at times.’

  Oh, it was so good to see him again! Despite the myriad changes that had gone on around her over the past couple of years, Kevin Russell still seemed to be the same man he’d always been, and that was something of a comfort to Amber. And looking at him now, well, there were times when she longed for those days when she’d walk into the News North East offices and he’d be standing there ready to give her some assignment she really couldn’t be bothered to do. The days when Ryan Fisher hadn’t existed in her world, and Jim Allen was nothing but a memory she’d hoped to keep very firmly at the back of her mind. Yeah. And that had worked, hadn’t it?

  ‘And married. Again! You like to keep the journalistic world on its toes, I’ll give you that. How are things with Jim?’

  She fixed him with a look. ‘Things are fine.’

  ‘You sure?’

  ‘Oh, you’re just what I need.’

  Kevin raised that eyebrow again. ‘Nice to see the old Amber hasn’t left us completely.’

  ‘Yeah, well, try telling that to Ronnie.’

  ‘Ronnie just worries about you, Amber.’

  ‘You been talking to him?’

  ‘I’ve been talking to everyone, kiddo.’

  ‘Is nothing in my life private any more?’

  ‘Well, after that photo shoot you did for Ice magazine I’d say, no. Not really. Some of the lads back in the office had those pictures up all over the staff-room walls. Made me feel quite uncomfortable they did. I mean, you’re almost like a daughter to me and I don’t want to see you wearing nothing but a Newcastle Red Star scarf. I’ll leave all that to Jim Allen.’

  She couldn’t help smiling. ‘But you had a look, though, right?’

  ‘Of course I did. I’m only human. Just don’t tell your dad.’ He smiled at her. ‘You sure you’re alright? Freddie says you’ve been working yourself into the ground over the past couple of weeks, and that’s never a good thing.’

  ‘I like being busy.’

  ‘Oh, believe me, kiddo, I’m well aware of your work ethic. But even the best of us need to slow down at some point.’

  ‘Kevin, honestly, I’m fine. There’s just… there’s a lot going on right now, that’s all. I’ve just had a baby, I’ve got married, and then there’s all this work with Cloud Sports and filming back-to-back episodes of Back of the Net. Not to mention all the stuff Max keeps shoving in front of me. I think it’s all just caught up with me.’

  ‘Okay. I’ll quit with the nagging. I suspect you’re already getting enough of that from plenty of other places.’

  ‘You got that right,’ she sighed, but then her whole demeanour changed as Jim walked over, that beautiful, heartbreaking smile covering his handsome face as he held his hand out for Kevin to shake.

  ‘Hey, Kevin! Good to see you. Amber didn’t say you were coming down here.’

  ‘That’s because Amber didn’t know. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. I haven’t seen her in too long, and I had some spare time, so… anyway, what’s all this about, huh? Ditching Red Star to come back down south. We’re missing you up north.’

  Jim slipped an arm around Amber’s waist and she snuggled in against him, slipping her hand just inside the waistband of his black pants.

  ‘Circumstances, Kevin. Things were changing, and, well… it was becoming untenable, staying at Red Star.’ He looked at Amber, leaning over slightly to plant a quick, light kiss on her lips. ‘I want things to work between me and this beautiful girl here. That’s why we needed to get away.’

  Amber stared up at him, and suddenly all the sound and the noise of a match day that had, not seconds earlier, surrounded her just seemed to melt away, to disappear. He was the only one she could see.

  ‘I’ll leave you to it,’ Kevin said, and for a second Amber turned her attention from Jim back to her old boss.

  ‘I’ll see you later?’ she asked, hopeful he wasn’t just here to watch the match and run.

  He smiled at her, reaching out to take her hand, giving it a quick squeeze. ‘Of course you will.’

  She watched him walk back up the tunnel, stopping briefly to chat to people who were milling about inside, before she looked back at Jim. ‘Shouldn’t you be in the dressing room?’

  ‘Colin’s doing his pre-match rant.’

  Amber laughed, leaning into him as he hugged her waist tighter. ‘Are they taking any notice?’

  Jim shrugged. ‘Who knows? But you know what happened when that lot at Newcastle Red Star ignored him.’

  Amber turned so she was standing right in front of him, his arms falling loosely around her. ‘I wish we could get out of here, Jim. Away from everything. Just you, and me.

  He kissed her quickly, and all that did was make Amber want him more. ‘I know, baby. But real life has a habit of getting in the way of all the good stuff we really want to do.’

  She slipped her arms around his neck and hugged him, resting her head on his shoulder, her eyes immediately falling on Ronnie as he hung around at the other end of the tunnel, talking to another of their Cloud Sports colleagues. He met her gaze, only briefly, but it was enough to start something up in Amber that she couldn’t stop now.

  ‘Have you got time for a little pre-match playdate?’ She smiled, moving her mouth closer to Jim’s as she spoke.

  He grinned, letting his hand fall onto her bottom. ‘What’ve you got in mind, beautiful?’

  ‘Your office, five minutes.’ She kissed him slowly, sliding her hand around the back of his neck, ignoring all the noise and the sound of the stadium filling up outside. All she was aware of was the sound of her heart beating and a voice inside her head telling her this was okay. What she was doing, it was okay. And it didn’t matter what anyone else thought. ‘Five minutes.’ She smile
d, watching as he walked back up the tunnel, one hand in the pocket of his black pants, the other one raking its way through his hair.

  ‘What was that all about?’ Ronnie asked, arriving by her side.

  ‘What was what all about?’

  ‘Public displays of affection never used to be Jim Allen’s thing, so having to watch you two all over each other isn’t something I’m keen to make a habit of.’

  ‘We’re not kids at a high-school disco, Ronnie. It’s good to see Kevin here, isn’t it?’

  ‘It’s always good to see Kevin, and please stop changing the subject. We need you up in the studio in fifteen minutes. You gonna be there?’

  She looked at him, saying nothing.

  He let out a heavy sigh, leaning back against the wall. ‘Amber, babe, it really doesn’t have to be this way.’

  ‘You made your feelings towards my marriage very clear, Ronnie.’

  ‘And you think I’m the only one feeling this way? Why the hell am I the one getting all the crap thrown at me?’

  ‘Because you’re the one whose opinion matters the most.’ Her eyes were locked on his. ‘You’re the one I care about, the one I don’t want to lose over this but if you can’t accept…’

  ‘He lied, Amber.’

  ‘It’s over, Ronnie. It’s done.’

  He stared at her for a couple of beats, and Amber felt her heart almost ice over. ‘Yeah. Carry on like this and it will be. I’ll see you up in the studio.’

  She threw herself back against the wall, closing her eyes and breathing in deeply, taking a few seconds to compose herself before she almost ran the short distance to Jim’s office.

  Stopping outside only briefly, she turned around and leaned back against the door, listening to the sounds coming from both the home and away dressing rooms, hearing some familiar voices from the Newcastle Red Star players who were Endleigh’s opponents for the Saturday evening televised Cloud Sports match. She could hear Ryan’s voice, his laugh loud as it echoed around the dressing room, drifting out into the corridor, and she felt her stomach give an involuntary leap that she hadn’t asked it to take.

  She hadn’t seen him yet. Ryan. But she knew she was going to have to face him at some point, knowing that what he’d suspected – what he’d accused Jim of. Ryan had been right. And that still bothered Amber.

  Closing her eyes she swallowed hard, trying to push that to the back of her mind, instead pulling forward everything Ronnie had said. Was he right, too?

  As a small bubble of anger mixed with frustration took over from the guilt, she pushed back against the door, going inside and kicking it shut behind her. Jim was leaning back against his desk, his arms folded and a slight smile on his face.

  ‘You wanted to see me?’ He raised an eyebrow and Amber felt her stomach contract in the most beautiful way. Ronnie wasn’t going to make her feel guilty about loving this man. He had no right to do that. None. And as for Ryan…

  She smiled, walking slowly over to him, pulling him closer to her by his tie. ‘Do you have any idea how sexy I find you on match days?’ she whispered, her fingers loosening his belt, playing with the zip of his pants. ‘All – powerful and dominant, and so, so hot!’

  He returned her smile, sliding a hand up under her shirt but she pulled it away, shaking her head as her fingers curled around his. ‘Oh no, mister. You don’t get to call the shots this time. You may be in charge of that team out there, but in here I think you’ll find I’m in charge.’

  ‘Well, I ain’t complaining about that, baby.’

  She closed her eyes as his lips touched hers, and so began the process of blocking out everything that didn’t matter, and replacing it all with the only thing she wanted to think about right now. Him.

  Nipping his bottom lip with her teeth she smiled at him, her fingers gripping the lapels of his suit jacket, his erection already digging into her, but that was good. That was what she’d wanted.

  ‘What are you…?’

  ‘Sshh. No talking, okay? You just lean back and enjoy the ride.’

  ‘Amber…’ He let out the loudest groan as she sank to her haunches, finally unzipping him, taking him in her hand and wrapping her fingers tightly around his hardness. ‘Jesus, baby, you freakin’ kill me!’

  ‘I said, no talking,’ she whispered, watching her hand as it moved slowly back and forth along him. She loved the feel of him there in her grasp; hot and throbbing and ready for her.

  Her heart had started to beat wildly now, her breathing already faster, and she briefly closed her eyes again, once more running her fingers over his still-growing hardness, eliciting another long, deep moan from him.

  Then, keeping her eyes closed, she leaned forward slightly, taking him in her mouth, running her tongue lightly over him as he tried to stifle yet more groans. She could feel him lean right back against the desk, his legs opening just a touch wider in response to her actions, his hand in her hair, pushing her closer to him. And she responded, taking him deeper, gripping his thighs tighter as her tongue continued to stroke him, the taste of him sending her stomach on another wave of beautiful contractions, her body shivering with anticipation.

  ‘Jesus, Amber, baby… I’m gonna come, right now,’ he groaned, but she already knew that, she could feel the way his whole body stiffened as that killer climax she’d wanted to tease out of him rushed forward so fast.

  But she took him, all of him, keeping him inside as he came hard, and she swallowed him down, because she wanted to taste him. She wanted to capture every tiny part of him, to have him all, in any way she could.

  ‘For suck’s sake, Amber…’ he breathed when she finally released him, standing up and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. ‘What the hell brought that on?’

  She smiled, pulling him back together. But she wasn’t finished with him yet. She still had plans. ‘You too tired to play some more?’

  ‘What did you have for lunch today?’

  ‘Are you too tired?’ she repeated, slowly unfastening her shirt and slipping it off, tossing it aside. ‘Because I’m only just getting started.’ She was supposed to be somewhere else, she knew that, and she wasn’t exactly being professional here, but she didn’t care. She really didn’t care. She was ceasing to care about much, to be honest. Apart from her baby boy and her beautiful husband, nothing else seemed to matter any more.

  ‘When did I get so damn freakin’ lucky?’ Jim whispered, pulling her against him, unclipping her bra and throwing it aside, immediately lowering his head to cover one of her nipples with his mouth, his warm tongue flicking back and forth, making Amber’s insides almost melt.

  Stepping between his legs she pushed her breasts further towards him, arching her back slightly, letting out the quietest of moans as his tongue continued to flick over her naked skin, his fingers stroking her waist, pushing her jeans down ever so slightly over her hips.

  ‘Jim, baby, I haven’t got – we haven’t got time for this.’ She pulled away, crouching down to pick up her discarded clothes before backing off towards the door, her eyes locked with his.

  He smiled, shaking his head as she leaned back against the door, her shirt hanging from her fingers. ‘You playing games with me, Mrs. Allen?’

  She kept her eyes on his as she unfastened her jeans, pushing them down a little further, just a touch, so they sat just below her hip bone. Sliding a hand down inside her jeans she moved her legs slightly further apart, shaking her head, their eyes still locked together as he stood up and walked slowly towards her.

  ‘You’re gonna do that without me?’ he asked, raising an eyebrow, an action that made Amber’s heart jump and her stomach dip.

  She didn’t reply, just kept her eyes on his as she continued to touch herself.

  ‘Because, if you are, I sure as hell need to watch.’

  She looked up at him, her stomach flipping over so many times it was making her feel quite dizzy. ‘When we get home…’ she whispered, pulling her hand away from herself, ‘you can watch
. In fact, I’m gonna make you watch.’

  ‘Jesus–fucking–Christ!’ he groaned, throwing his head back. ‘And you expect me to go out there now and work?’

  She smiled, pulling her shirt back on. ‘I’m not sure you have much choice, Mr Allen.’

  He slipped an arm around her waist, lowering his mouth down onto hers in a kiss that literally made Amber’s knees go weak. ‘Legs wide open, no panties… is that what I can expect?’

  She pushed herself against him, her fingers playing with his hair. ‘Do you want me naked?’

  ‘Oh, Jesus, baby, you have got to get out of here before this gets out of hand.’

  She smiled again, running her fingers lightly over his rough jawline. ‘I’ll see you later, handsome.’

  He waited until the door was closed behind her before he sank to his haunches, dropping his head and pushing both hands through his hair. He was never going to be able to let that woman go. Every day it just got harder and harder to deal with, the thought of her walking away from him. And there’d been times when he’d wondered if he should have stayed away, never given this relationship another chance. Times when he’d wondered if he should have moved down here without her and saved himself all the pain that could still be coming his way, because Amber wasn’t stupid. She’d told him she couldn’t walk away, she’d told him that, and for a second he’d believed her. For a second. But out there, in his new sanctuary, was the man who could still ruin it all. A man who still had that bond with Amber that Jim could never have, and no matter how much he tried to believe that didn’t matter, it did. It mattered. And it was still a problem that Jim needed to fix, before it was too late.

  *

  ‘You’re very quiet,’ Debbie said, turning to look at Amber. They were sitting up in one of the executive boxes, watching the last few minutes of the game play out, a game Amber’s husband’s team was winning. But only just. Ryan had been like a dog with a bone for most of the match, always clipping at the heels of the Endleigh defenders, trying to infiltrate their defence, managing to pull one goal back for Newcastle Red Star, but it didn’t look like it was going to be enough. With only a minute of injury time left Endleigh were leading 2-1, another successive win for a side that had gone from strength to strength since Jim had returned to take over.