Jaided

by Rose, Ashley

  "What? Oh, yeah, non-eventful. Like I said, just a chat."

  "Whatever. I'm not happy with either of you."

  "Yeah, we can see that but we don't really understand why ..."

  "Don't think I don't know what you two were talking about. You were talking about me."

  "Yes, we were."

  "You can't just go off and talk about me like I'm some emotionally incompetent three-year-old that needs to be taken care of. You can't just go off and talk about having sex with me and expect me not to care."

  Blaize took a step toward her. "Jaide, we didn't mean to ..."

  "Don't want to hear it, and you can say I'm being immature or overreacting or whatever, but the fact is that I don't really want to hang out with either of you right now."

  "You can't be mad at us forever."

  "No, but I live with Blaize, so I'm not too worried about missing any valuable time with him."

  Mason frowned. "I'm only here for another couple hours."

  "Yeah well, so is Ethan, and he makes much better company than you with your overbearing personality. So! I'm going to go see what he's up to, if you'll excuse me."

  She brushed past the both of them briskly.

  Once she was out of the room Mason and Blaize shared a hopeless look. ”What can ya do?” Blaize said.

  Jaide remained short with Mason for the duration of his stay, but gave him a sincere hug goodbye and apologized for being stubborn.

  Once the college boys had left, Jaide went back to her room and found Blaize waitimg to see if she was still mad at him.

  Jaide sighed. "Is the hot tub open this late?"

  "Uh, yeah, but ..."

  "Let's go. Get dressed."

  The hot tub turned out a lot steamier then she had expected but it ended up being very relaxing and by the end of the evening, everything was back to normal.

  Jaide finally got into bed beside Blaize. "How is your back feeling?"

  Blaize wrapped his arms around her. "Good, but I wish I could practice tomorrow."

  "I know, but you can't, so too damn bad."

  "There is one upside to this whole thing," Blaize suggested.

  "What's that?"

  "Well, the longer I'm injured, the more massages and hot tub sessions we get."

  "Who says they have to stop when your back gets better?"

  "Uhhh, I dunno. I'd feel bad about it. I owe you already."

  She smiled. "We could probably work something out."

  "Well now, that is something that is definitely gonna have to wait until my back is better," he said, in what sounded to Jaide, like a very suggestive tone.

  Jaide pulled back, surprised. "Blaize!"

  "Whaaat?" he asked innocently. "You started it."

  She laughed. "Yeah, whatever, it's late. Let’s go to sleep."

  "Can do."

  Tremaine crossed that sunlit field of wild flowers in a trek that she watched in her mind for hours on end until never did it seem to end. The meadow stretched away to infinity and at the very distant crossing of two paths, she envisioned Blaize bouncing a soccer ball made of woven yellow, cheery sunflowers, woven tighter by unseen forces.

  Chapter 14

  Jaide already had butterflies. They had a game today, their first league game of the season. She had taken some time to do some research. She discovered that this team was very good and very aggressive, causing injuries in almost every game they played and building up a good record of yellow and red cards. She lifted her head from Blaize's chest to look at the clock. It was 6 a.m. She knew she wasn't going to be getting any more sleep with worrying about the upcoming soccer game.

  She tried to climb off the bed without disturbing the sleeping boy but she didn't succeed. A hand gripped her wrist just as she thought she had gotten away.

  She turned back to look at him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

  "Where are you going? What time is it?"

  "It's early, go back to sleep. I'm just gonna take a shower."

  "Nothing's wrong?"

  She shook her head. "No, just not tired. Go back to sleep."

  He nodded and released her before rolling over and falling back asleep.

  She meant to head straight for the shower but instead, she gazed at the broad expanse of his back. The bruise had faded to a nasty brown and yellow by now and according to him, most of the pain had subsided. Other than the bruise, his back was perfect, all smooth and tan skin, broader at the shoulders and narrow at his hips.

  She noticed a few red marks on the back of each shoulder, and then it dawned on her that she had made those marks. Things had gotten heated last night, but Blaize had slammed on the brakes before they got into anything serious.

  While it was incredibly frustrating, Jaide knew that Blaize was not Mason. Blaize had issues of his own and she needed to respect that. But Blaize was seriously driving her crazy, getting her all excited only to abruptly cut it off. She wasn't sure how long she was going to be able to keep it up. As with Mason, she had become accustomed early on to having sex as often as she wanted. This experience with Blaize was new for her. She giggled to herself at the irony of the situation. Normally it was the guy that always wanted more sex but here Blaize was, holding her off. He had some crazy strong willpower. She totally respected the fact that he didn't want to rush anything but she had an odd feeling that there was another reason he was putting it off.

  She decided to discard it from her mind for now. She didn't mind not having sex with Blaize as long as she got to spend time with him, even if he did drive her crazy. She finally tore her eyes off Blaize and climbed into the shower. She took her time, knowing that he was still going to be asleep when she got out.

  At breakfast with the rest of the boys, everything seemed normal. Jaide seemed to be the only one worried about the game they had in a few hours.

  Matt seemed to notice she was tense and spoke to her from across the table. "Something wrong, Jaide? You seem tense."

  "Just the game and everything. How come you guys aren't worried?"

  The boys all looked at her curiously.

  Bhrade answered her question. "Maybe because we are going to obliterate them?"

  "I thought they were good?” Jaide asked. “They've won all their games so far this season, and they are really aggressive."

  All the boys smiled at her as if it was cute of her to worry. Blaize wrapped his arm around her. "That's all true, but the teams they have played so far really sucked. Their team really has no talent, all brawn and no brain. They are all total jerks. We don't feel bad when we kick their ass every year."

  "They beat Arlington,” noted Jaide. “Isn’t that pretty good."

  Chance shook his head. "They only beat Arlington because Parker didn't play. Parker carries that team.""Why didn't Parker play?" Jaide asked. She noticed everyone had taken an abrupt interest in their breakfasts, spoons and forks busy, heads down.

  "Helloooo?" she called out. “Come on guys, we play Arlington in a few weeks.”

  Blaize sighed. "He got an MIP."

  Jaide shrugged. "That's not so bad, just a little slip up on his part."

  "And he almost got in an accident, DUI."

  "Oh. But that means he should be off the team for good. That sucks."

  "Yeah, that should be the case but not when your dad owns the whole town. He'll be back on the team for our game up there next weekend."

  "Well that's good, I guess. He seems like a good guy. Anyone can make those kinds of mistakes."

  The boys all shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. He's pretty dumb to drink during soccer season at all. Not to mention driving and getting caught."

  The conversation about Parker ended and the boys started to get pumped for the game. They did express some concern about Jaide's safety with the level of aggression that the opposite team was going to play with. Jaide told them not to worry about her, just focus on the game.

  Before Jaide knew it, she was sitting in the locker room, dressed in her jersey and listeni
ng to Coach along with the rest of the boys.

  "Now we know this team is aggressive and can break the rules, but I want all of you to keep your heads out there. We can beat them, that's pretty much a given, but we still need to stay focused. They are going to try to provoke a fight. Keep your composure. You all know my penalty if any of my players receive a yellow or red card. For those newcomers, I will refresh everyone’s memory. A yellow card will earn you five sets of suicides, and a red card gets you ten. Sound harsh? It is, and it's that way for a reason. My players don't get carded. Got it?"

  "Yes, sir!" the team said in unison.

  "Get out there and warm up."

  Coach motioned for Jaide and Blaize to hang back while the rest of the boys jogged out of the locker room. "Are you up to this game? Are you back at 100 percent?"

  Blaize nodded and Coach turned to Jaide for an answer also.

  "Yes sir, he's at 100 percent."

  Coach nodded, dismissing them. They jogged out to join the rest of the boys. During the warm ups, Jaide couldn't help but notice the other team and how big they all were. As soon as the start whistle blew, she could see that Coach had been right. They were very aggressive and didn't mind breaking the rules.

  Thanks to all the free kicks due to the other team’s fouling, Jaide's team scored in the first five minutes. The longer the game went on, the more pissed the other team got. They truly didn't have much talent. They relied all on their muscles to plow their way down the field.

  Jaide was in possession of the ball and was inside the penalty box. She made a move to pass the ball, but an illegal slide tackle from behind knocked her legs out from under her and she crashed to the ground.

  She landed heavily on the other player and before she could get off, the boy shoved her off roughly, mumbling some obscenity. Jaide ignored his comment but didn't get up right away because of some pain in her shoulder. She had landed on it wrong. She looked up to see the other player standing over her.

  "This ain't a bitch league, sweetheart. Let the boys play."

  Grr, who was the only member of her team close enough to see the tackle and hear the comment, took some purposeful steps toward the boy. "What the fuck was that? That was illegal. You could have seriously hurt som ...”

  Jaide had gotten to her feet and cut Grr off by grabbing his arm and walking in the opposite direction. "Don't even think about it. I'm fine and who gives a shit about that dumbass’s comment? It doesn't get to me. Don’t let it get to you."

  Grr nodded and went back to his place on the field. The ref gave the other boy a yellow, and awarded Jaide a penalty kick since the offense was committed inside the penalty box.

  Blaize jogged up to her quickly. "Are you ok? I saw you holding your shoulder."

  "Just a little tweaked. No big deal."

  Blaize nodded and cleared out of the penalty box with the rest of the boys so that she could take her kick. Jaide scored the point easily. She had been practicing her PKs with Bhrade after practice, and this goalie was nowhere near Bhrade's level.

  By halftime, the score was 3-0 and the other team was getting more pissed off by the second. They were throwing elbows and talking trash non-stop. Jaide's team was doing a damn good job at ignoring them, she thought.

  Halfway through the second half, Jaide and Grr were isolated in the far corner, working over a defender from the other team. Grr received her pass and made for the goal but out of nowhere, another defender arrived. The two opposing defenders crashed into Grr, taking him down.

  Jaide gasped. They hadn't even tried to disguise the foul. It was downright malicious. The two defenders leapt off the ground but Grr rolled over onto his knees and coughed. He had gotten the wind knocked out of him.

  Jaide rushed over in time to hear one of the boys make a comment. "Yeah, get on your knees. That’s where you belong, faggot."

  Jaide's jaw dropped at what she had just heard. She gripped the boy who had spoken by the shoulder and whipped him around to face her. "Excuse me? What did you just say?"

  The bigger boy laughed. "You gonna stand up for the queer? I said he belongs on his knees because he's a faggo -"

  Jaide hauled back her fist and slugged him across the face as hard as she could. The boy’s head and shoulders snapped around from the force of the blow and he staggered, almost falling. A teammate caught him before he hit the ground.

  "You bitch!" he shouted, putting a hand to his mouth. He lunged for her just as the rest of the players and refs on the field arrived.

  A ref caught the boy before he reached her and a couple boys ran to Grr to help him up.

  Jaide's blood was pounding in her ears. She had never been so pissed off in her life. Her knuckles hurt. She heard a whistle blowing somewhere close by. Matt appeared in front of her, a severe expression on his face. She didn't resist as he grabbed her arm and headed for the sidelines. They paused while the referee flashed a red card at her and instructed Matt, as her team captain, to escort her off the field.

  Matt sat her down on the empty second bench, the one that was not occupied with the second stringers. Across the field, she could see the two boys both getting red cards, no doubt for the tackle. No one but she and Grr had heard the nasty comment they had made.

  Matt handed her a bag of ice and turned back to the field but she stopped him. "Matt."

  He turned back, he still looked very disappointed in her and spoke sharply. "I don't want to hear it, Jaide. That was uncalled for. You can't pull shit like that."

  She hesitated only a second before she stood to speak in his ear so only he could hear. "He called Grr a faggot and a queer."

  "What?"

  "That's why I punched him, not just because of the foul. Just ... well, just beat them ok? I really need to beat them."

  Matt pulled back. His severe expression was replaced with a reassuring one. "Just take care of your hand. We got it covered. Our boys are pissed. You’ve never seen these boys play when they're pissed. It’s a sight."

  Jaide nodded and sat back down. The situation on the field had cleared and they restarted play. Matt sat on the bench beside her. Without a word, he cleaned the blood off her hand and bandaged each knuckle quickly.

  He gave her the hand back. "Ice."

  She pressed the ice pack Matt had given her to her sore knuckles.

  The assistant coach left and she sat on the bench, feeling very alone as she watched the game continue.

  Coach Thacker came to stand near her on the lone bench. He didn't speak to her or look at her. He kept his eyes on the field with his arms crossed calmly over his chest. He was obviously very angry and disappointed at her.

  "Coach, I'm really sorry."

  "You should be. That was a mistake on your part."

  "I know."

  "What I don't get is your hypocrisy."

  She was confused. "I'm not sure I know what you mean, sir."

  "You get on Garret's case for trying to stand up for you and then you go and belt a guy for fouling him."

  Jaide kept her mouth shut. She didn't know if Coach knew that Grr was gay and even if he did know the truth, it wasn't a valid excuse. She shouldn't have punched the guy. "He made a comment I wasn't ok with."

  "I don't give a shit, Williams. I'm your coach. You know my rules. You owe me ten sets of suicides at practice. There is no excuse for that. You are lucky they don't suspend players for red cards in this league. You could have been out for the whole season with a stunt like that. I might even bench you for a few games myself. I can't have you pulling that shit in an important game. It would cost us the post-season."

  Her heart fell into her stomach. "I'm really sorry, Coach."

  "I'm not hearing what I want to hear from you."

  She hesitated. "What do you want to hear?"

  "I want to hear that you won't do it again."

  Jaide couldn't say that because if she heard another comment like that, she would probably punch someone again, whether she wanted to or not.

  "Well?"


  "I'm sorry, Coach. I can't promise that."

  "Why the hell not?"

  "If I hear a comment like that again, I'll probably do the same thing. I can't control myself." She felt sick to her stomach as she said this. She wanted to be a part of this team so badly.

  "Damn it, Williams, you better come up with a damn good reason why I shouldn't bench you or you're not even getting on the bus to Arlington. We play ‘em in a few weeks, after the break.”

  "Yes, sir." Jaide wanted to puke, but swallowed hard and focused on the game.

  Her teammates were kicking ass. She had never seen them play with so much aggression. They were getting fouled left and right but it didn't faze them. They just continued playing and the ref called numerous advantage calls in their favor.

  Matt must have spread the word about the comment Grr had received. That was the only explanation for the new behavior. Her team looked downright furious.

  The whistle finally blew to signal the end of the game. The score ended up being 7 - 0, and the opposing team made more lewd comments even as they were leaving the field.

  The post-game locker room talk from Coach was short. He congratulated them but made it clear that Jaide's action was neither condoned nor acceptable.

  Once he had left, she prayed the other boys weren't as mad at her as Coach was. She felt someone hug her tightly. Looking up, she saw that it was Grr. As it turned out, none of the boys were the slightest bit mad.

  Blaize examined her injured hand and Leith and Bhrade congratulated her on her punch.

  "That was amazing, Jaide!"

  "You almost knocked him on his ass!"

  "You guys aren't mad?" she asked.

  "Mad? Why would we be mad?"

  "I got a red card. I broke the rules."

  "You were just throwin' down for our boy here. Nothing wrong with that." Chance grinned.

  "But Coach is really mad at me."

  Blaize shrugged. "He's not as mad as he's letting on. He’s the coach. He has to pretend to be really mad at a player when they break the rules."

  "He says I need to come up with a good reason why I should get to play next game or he's not letting me go to Arlington at all."