Striker (Book 1 in the 'Striker' Trilogy)

by Michelle Betham

  ‘You know what I mean, Amber.’

  ‘I’m not sure I do, actually. Look, I really think he’s changed, Ronnie.’

  ‘Jesus, come on, Amber. What do you think you are? Some kind of miracle cure? You’re better than that. The likes of Ryan Fisher don’t change, it isn’t in him.’

  ‘Well, maybe people like you should try and give him a chance. Stop being so judgemental.’

  Ronnie narrowed his eyes, looking at her as though he couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. ‘Okay. You’re scaring me now. What’s caused this sudden turn-around in your opinion of one of football’s most arrogant pricks? A couple of dinner-dates and suddenly you think he’s a saint?’

  ‘Maybe I’ve just learnt not to judge a book by its cover.’

  ‘Yeah, but it’s not just the cover, though, is it, Amber? It’s backed up by everything that’s inside, too.’

  Amber swung back around on her chair and started shutting down her laptop. She was tired and she needed to get home quickly tonight, shower, change, and then get herself over to the Tynebridge Stadium where she was covering a charity dinner for News North East that Newcastle Red Star were throwing. And it may be a night of working that lay ahead, but she still had to look good.

  ‘Look, Ronnie, it’s just a bit of fun, alright? And, if you remember, it was you who told me I should be having more of that.’

  ‘Yeah, but I don’t remember telling you to have it with Ryan Fisher.’

  Amber smiled at Ronnie as she closed the lid of her laptop and stood up, slipping her coat on and grabbing her bag up off the floor. ‘You jealous?’

  ‘As if,’ Ronnie smirked, following her as she walked towards the lift that took them down to the underground car park. ‘You’re in a bit of a hurry, aren’t you?’

  ‘That’s because I’m in a rush. I’ve got to get home, shower, find something glamorous to wear and get my arse down to Tynebridge for seven-thirty. Kevin’s got me covering this charity dinner the club are throwing tonight.’

  ‘Oh, right. I’m off there, too. Quite a few ex-Red Star players are going to be there, so I gather. Your dad’s going, isn’t he?’

  ‘Yeah, he is,’ Amber replied, stepping into the lift, closely followed by Ronnie. ‘I wondered why you were back up north again.’

  ‘Well, somebody’s got to keep an eye on you, obviously,’ Ronnie winked, sticking his hands in his pockets as he leaned back against the wall. ‘So, what’s your dad think about you getting involved with Ryan Fisher?’

  ‘He doesn’t know, yet,’ Amber said, standing by the lift doors as they opened slowly, stepping out into the underground car park, her heels click-clacking across the concrete floor as she walked quickly towards her car.

  ‘Christ, what have you and Fisher been doing all this time? Non-stop sex and no dates anywhere public?’

  ‘Pretty much, yeah,’ Amber smirked, flinging her bag into the passenger seat of her little Fiat 500.

  ‘Are you kidding me? Jesus, I go away for a couple of weeks and you turn into some sex-crazed cougar.’

  ‘Cheeky sod!’ she laughed, playfully punching his arm. ‘Look, we just didn’t see the point in advertising the fact we’re together, okay? Especially when we don’t really know what’s happening yet.’

  ‘So, it’s nothing serious, then?’

  Amber leaned back against her car, folding her arms. ‘No, Ronnie. It’s definitely nothing serious.’

  He stood beside her, copying her stance. ‘Good.’

  Amber looked at him. ‘Why do you say that?’

  ‘Because this is Ryan Fisher we’re talking about here. Remember? And I care about you. I don’t want to see you get hurt.’

  ‘He won’t hurt me.’

  ‘Won’t he?’

  She fixed Ronnie with a determined stare. ‘No. He won’t.’

  Ronnie looked out across the cold and unfeeling car park, his arms still folded across his chest. ‘What about tonight?’

  ‘What about it?’ Amber asked, looking at her watch. She really was going to have to make a move in a minute or she’d never be ready in time.

  ‘Are you and Ryan going to spend the entire night avoiding each other so as not to let the cat out of the bag, so to speak?’

  Amber shrugged, stepping away from the car and opening the driver-side door. ‘I guess we’ll just have to play that one by ear, won’t we?’

  *

  ‘Whoa! Freddie Sullivan’s little girl really has grown-up, hasn’t she?’

  Amber swung round, finding herself face-to-face with Newcastle Red Star’s new boss, Jim Allen. She’d successfully managed to avoid him for a few weeks now, but it looked like that had been nothing but a minor stay of execution. Although, if she thought she could get away with it, she’d turn and run straight to the Cooper Suite – where the dinner was being held – and forget this had ever happened.

  The way his eyes looked her slowly up and down in the knee-length black sheath dress and matching stiletto-heeled ankle boots she was wearing made her feel more than a little uncomfortable, but, short of turning her back on him and walking in a completely different direction to where she needed to be, she had no choice but to speak to him. Even though it was the last thing she really wanted to do.

  ‘I’m thirty-seven, Jim. I grew up a long time ago. I had to. And you more than anyone should know that.’

  There. It was done. She’d seen him, she’d spoken to him, that was enough. But as she turned to go he gently grabbed her arm, swinging her round to face him. ‘You look beautiful, Amber.’

  Amber could feel her cheeks flush, her heart picking up the pace as far as beats were concerned. This wasn’t how she’d wanted the night to start. She had work to do, she didn’t need this.

  ‘I’m working, Jim.’

  He reached out and touched her face, the palm of his hand resting lightly on her warm cheek as his green eyes looked right into hers. ‘It really is so good to see you…’

  ‘I don’t need this…’ She tried to walk away from him but he somehow managed to grab her hand, giving her no other option but to stop and face him again, even though all she wanted to do was get away from him, into the safety of the Cooper Suite.

  ‘I’ve signed a four-year contract, honey, and considering your line of work, it’s gonna be pretty damn hard for you to avoid me forever.’

  She stared into his eyes, wishing this wasn’t happening but knowing it had only been a matter of time. The second she’d heard Newcastle Red Star had appointed him as their new manager she’d known this day would come. She’d known she was going to have to face him again, after years of trying to forget he even existed. ‘And this… this relationship we have… We need to do something about that, don’t we?’

  ‘We don’t have a “relationship”, Jim.’

  He smiled at her, that full-on, all-American smile that had made him one of the most lusted-after football managers by bored housewives and female football fans alike. To describe him as a good-looking son-of-a-bitch wouldn’t be too far from the truth, but Amber had messed with Jim Allen one time too many. And been hurt badly in the process. ‘Now, y’see, I don’t agree with you there, Amber. I think we have what people might call a “special” relationship, don’t you? Jesus, sweetheart, you are taking my breath away in that dress. I guess my baby girl really did grow up into a beautiful young woman.’

  Amber felt her stomach turn, a sick feeling taking over. ‘I’m not your “baby girl”, Jim. Not anymore. And you don’t get to do this to me again, okay? You don’t…’

  A door opening at the far end of the corridor made them jump apart, and Amber took that as her cue to walk away from him, her heart still thumping so hard inside her chest it hurt. She felt breathless, the need to compose herself before she entered the Cooper Suite a necessity now. So, taking a few long, deep breaths as she approached the huge double doors that led into the suite, she shook out her dark red hair, closed her eyes for a second just to make sure she was focused, and then made
her way into the room.

  It was crowded, and she craned her neck to see if she could find Ronnie, or her dad, or even Ryan, but she couldn’t see any of them. Not yet, anyway. So, moving away from the doors she made her way to the bar, ordering herself a small glass of red wine. She was working, so it was minimum alcohol tonight. Unfortunately. Because that encounter with Jim Allen had shaken her slightly. Now that he was back up north she could feel that panic she’d tried to suppress for all those years well up inside her again; panic that people would find out just what had gone on, that her father would one day discover the truth. And she really didn’t want that to happen. He didn’t need to know, nobody did. It was enough that she had to live with the constant memories every time she saw him; she didn’t want her father to have to cope with that, too. Jim was a friend, a good friend of her dad’s. He had been for a long, long time. Although, if Freddie Sullivan knew exactly what had happened between Jim Allen and his daughter he may not think he was such a good friend after all.

  ‘You look as though you need that.’

  Amber swung round, a smile instantly lighting up her face when she saw him standing there, handsome and sexy in a dark grey suit and white shirt. The memories of the lunch time sex they’d had at his flat just a few hours ago – the last time she’d seen him – made her stomach flip over and dance those ridiculous somersaults it seemed to dance every time he was around now, but that was good. She could cope with Jim Allen tonight knowing Ryan was around. Knowing she could go back to his place after all this was over and forget what had just happened.

  ‘Yeah. It’s a pity I’m here to work, though.’

  ‘Not all night, surely?’ Ryan asked, leaning back against the bar, his hands in his pockets.

  ‘Well, I think I’m allowed to have a little bit of fun,’ Amber smiled, sipping her wine. ‘Look, I know you don’t want anyone to know about us…’

  ‘I never said that, Amber. Did I?’ Ryan looked her straight in the eye and she felt a little shiver run right up her spine.

  ‘No. No, you didn’t.’

  He looked out over the room as it began to slowly fill up with local celebrities, sportsmen, Red Star players past and present. He didn’t really want to be there, if he was honest. This kind of gig wasn’t his thing, but it came with the territory. And anyway, now that Amber was here things could only get better. ‘I kind of assumed it was you who didn’t want to tell the world you were with me.’

  Amber looked at him. ‘Ryan, I… I don’t… What’s actually going on with us?’

  ‘Apart from great sex?’

  ‘Be serious, will you? My night hasn’t exactly got off to the best of starts so I don’t need…’

  ‘Do you want to talk about it?’

  She looked away for a second, catching the eye of Jim Allen as he walked into the room, her heart leaping about like it was on some kind of trampoline as he held her gaze, causing her to look away first. ‘No. I don’t want to talk about it.’

  ‘Amber…’

  She took another, longer sip of wine, shaking out her hair as though that would rid her of all the negative energy seeing Jim Allen had created. ‘I want to be with you, Ryan. Okay? I don’t know what we have here, exactly, or even where it’s going. All I know is that I like being with you. I like being around you.’

  ‘I like being around you, too, Amber.’

  She looked at him, slightly taken aback because she’d half expected him to run a mile. She wasn’t exactly telling him that she wanted to get married and have his babies, but considering the type of person Ryan Fisher was, what she’d just told him almost constituted a serious relationship. But that was the last thing either of them wanted. At the minute. ‘You do?’

  He smiled, a smile which wiped all thoughts of Jim Allen clean away. For now. ‘Yeah. Jesus, Amber, I’ve never met anyone like you before, so don’t think for a minute I’m giving you up that easily. And besides, we’re having fun, aren’t we?’

  ‘Yeah. We are.’ She really wanted another drink but she’d just seen Kevin walk in so she had a feeling best behaviour was going to be called for from now on. She really wished she didn’t have to work tonight. The last thing she felt like doing was mingling with a roomful of local celebrities, grabbing a word here and a short interview there. She just wasn’t in the mood. But that was what she was here to do. Whether she liked it or not.

  The touch of Ryan’s hand on her hip made her turn her attention back to him as he gently swung her round to face him. ‘Wanna give them something to talk about?’ he grinned, and Amber couldn’t help but grin back. Why did he make her feel sixteen again? And was that ultimately a good thing? She’d done a lot of things at sixteen she hadn’t been proud of, and it wasn’t a place she particularly wanted to re-visit. Even though circumstances could mean she had no choice.

  ‘I really don’t know what I’m getting myself into with you, Ryan Fisher. But, do you know what? I’m tired of being sensible, boring Amber. I’m tired of being serious all the time. I need some fun, before I forget how to have it.’

  ‘Sounds like a plan to me,’ Ryan smiled, pulling her against him, kissing her slowly. And maybe it wasn’t the wisest of places in which to make their relationship public, but it was done now. They couldn’t exactly press rewind.

  ‘Okay, handsome. As much as I’d like to stay here with you, I’ve got work to do.’ She looked over towards Kevin, who was staring back at her with raised eyebrows and an expression that asked “Is there something you want to tell me?”

  ‘You coming back to mine later?’ Ryan asked, reluctantly letting her go. She looked incredible tonight in that tight black dress and those killer heels. Although, he had no doubt that he’d rather see that dress down around her ankles. She could keep the heels on, though. Jesus, that image was giving him a hard-on he was going to have put back in the box until later.

  ‘Yeah,’ Amber smiled, shaking her hair out again, quickly running her fingers through it. ‘You bet I am.’

  Leaving him standing by the bar she walked over to Kevin, who was still looking at her with raised eyebrows and a surprised expression.

  ‘If the wind changes you’ll stay like that,’ Amber pointed out, taking a glass of something sparkling from the tray of a passing waiter. Sod it. One more drink wouldn’t hurt.

  ‘How long has that been going on?’ he asked, jerking his head in the direction of Ryan.

  She took a sip of what tasted like champagne. ‘Long enough.’

  ‘Shit! Amber!’

  ‘What? What difference does it make to you? You said it wouldn’t hurt if I got closer to Ryan Fisher.’

  ‘I didn’t say shag him for news stories, did I?’

  ‘Oh, you think I’m with him purely to get you scoops from the sporting world?’

  ‘No, of course not…’

  ‘I’m joking, Kevin. Look, it’s just a bit of fun, alright? It won’t affect my work, I’ll be professional at all times – when I need to be – and if there is any juicy news from the world of football that I think we should know about, I’ll make sure Ryan tells us first, alright?’

  Kevin looked at her, his eyebrows thankfully returning to their normal position. ‘You’re a dark horse, Amber Sullivan. I always thought you and footballers…’

  ‘Yes, well, you know what thought did.’ She took another sip of champagne and scanned the room, noticing her dad deep in conversation with Jim Allen. Her stomach momentarily lurched again as his eyes briefly met hers, a million memories flooding her head that she quickly pushed aside. She turned her attention back to Kevin. ‘Right. I’d better start mingling then, hadn’t I? Is Alec here with the camera yet?’

  ‘He’s just setting up,’ Kevin replied. ‘I’ll give you a shout when he’s ready. Go on. Go talk to your dad for five minutes.’

  Amber watched Kevin walk away, reluctant to go over to her dad while Jim was still around.

  ‘So, it’s all official then?’ Ronnie asked, sidling up beside her, a pint in one hand, th
e other stuffed deep in the pocket of his black suit trousers.

  ‘Why is everybody suddenly making me feel like I’m twelve-years-old? I’m thirty-frigging-seven, and Ryan isn’t my first boyfriend.’

  ‘Touchy,’ Ronnie smirked, taking a sip of lager.

  Amber nudged him, unable to stop herself from smiling. ‘Fuck off, Ronnie.’

  ‘Nice. Does your new boyfriend know what comes out of that mouth?’

  ‘He’s more concerned with what goes in it,’ she winked, walking away from him, finally plucking up the courage to go over to her dad.

  ‘Oh, that’s ladylike, Amber. That’s very ladylike,’ Ronnie shouted after her. Amber just gave him a dismissive wave over her shoulder as she walked away, trying not to let the sick feeling in her stomach take over as she approached her dad, who was still talking to Jim Allen.

  ‘Amber,’ Freddie Sullivan said, giving his daughter an almost stern look. Was he really going to start lecturing her on boyfriends? At her age? Really? ‘Jim tells me you two have already caught up with each other?’

  She looked over at the handsome American. He might be forty-eight-years-old now but he hadn’t lost any of those good looks that had made him the pin-up player of his day. If anything, he’d only got better looking. ‘Yeah. We have. Briefly.’

  ‘And I’ve told her she’s looking beautiful tonight,’ Jim smiled, a smile loaded with more meaning than Amber cared to think about. ‘Your new boyfriend really is one very lucky man.’

  Amber swallowed hard, trying desperately to keep the smile on her face, although she wasn’t altogether sure it had travelled to her eyes.

  ‘Don’t you go wearing him out now,’ Jim winked. ‘We’ve got a big match this weekend. I’d hate our star player to be – tired.’ He turned away from her and smiled at her father. ‘I’ll catch you later, Freddie. Good to see you again, after all this time.’

  ‘You too, Jim.’

  Amber watched him walk away, swallowing hard again before she looked at her dad, sighing the second she saw his expression. ‘Jesus, Dad, come on. Don’t start, alright?’