by Ally Adams
She nodded. “You might be right Sassy. I might have overreacted, kind of panicked, you know? I need to go and talk with him.” She rose and I got up with her.
“Want me to drive you?” I only had two champagnes a couple of hours ago and was up to the task.
“No, I’ve got my car here, thanks.”
I walked her to the door and she hugged me.
“Thanks for helping me see sense,” Saffron said and pulled away. “I’m sorry I ruined your date.”
I shrugged. “You didn’t, I’ll see Nik again on Sunday. But you and Daniel, you love each other, you’ll sort it out.”
She smiled and opened the door, grabbing her keys and jacket from the side table. “I love you Sassy.”
“I love you, Saffy,” I said, and watched her head down the stairs. I closed and locked the door. Problem temporarily solved and Nik gone home to bed. Damn and I was so fucking horny. We were jinxed, I was never going to get to bed with Nik, at this rate, I’d have to get a vibrator. I wondered if German vibrators were any different.
*****
I sent a text to Saffron as soon as I woke the next morning and she texted back to report that all was good with her and Daniel and that she would call me later. Thank you saints in heaven for that, but I guess she wouldn’t be needing the dress in any hurry.
Ah, Saturday… all day, yes! I didn’t text Nik because I knew he’d be at training, but I would call him later to thank him for dinner and see if he took matters into his own hands last night. I wondered if he’d tell me if I asked? Probably, as he’s so direct. Mm, forget the vibrator—picturing Nik in the shower or lying in bed working his large erection worked for me.
I did my gym workout and finished with my sit-ups, all fueled with sexy thoughts of Nik servicing himself; doesn’t hurt to fantasize. Despite all my efforts at resisting him, if I didn’t have Nik soon I was going to implode and it wouldn’t be pretty. Bits of me all over the place—tragic. I showered and changed into a pinafore with a long sleeved shirt underneath, tights and boots. Today, I had plans and ninety minutes later, Max and I were swanning around the display stands at the Designer and Bridal Expo.
We worked together sometimes, slipping each other business where we could—as well as hairdressing Max did bridal make-up and the bridal market was a growing part of his business. Bridal dresses were a growing part of mine too, but I didn’t really want to make dresses, I wanted to design them; you know custom make and design for the bride. I had my own designs on my website and I liked to look at the bride’s figure and design what would accentuate her assets and hide those that she wasn’t as fond of featuring.
“These sites look like crap,” Max whispered in my ear as we passed a few ordinary looking stands. He was such a bitch sometimes.
“Here we are,” I said, and we stopped in front of the display where our businesses were on show. We didn’t want a stand of our own—too expensive and we were small fry in this game, but on the group stand we were given a small area to display our photos and cards.
“Looks good,” I said, eyeing off Max’s beautiful bridal hair and make-up photos with his business cards propped next to it. Beside his display were my illustrations of my bridal designs and a rack of my business cards. We played it cool as a couple of gals came over and hovered near our display. They were making a day of it with their sample bags in tow. I grabbed one of Max’s cards and so they could overhear, I started gushing to him.
“This guy did my sister’s hair and make-up; it was fantastic. I’m going to use him too,” I said, with a wink to Max and waved around his business card.
The girls reached for Max’s card and put it in their sample bags. We wandered off and left them looking at the photos.
“I owe you a coffee for that Sash,” Max said.
“Only if the business comes through, Maxie. Let’s get a seat.” We headed to the catwalk area where seats were filling fast. The next bridal parade was due to start in fifteen minutes. Next year I hoped to have a few of my own designs in the parades. We sat and I watched as Max ran a hand through his perfectly coiffured, sandy-colored hair. Everything about him said neat. I always felt a bit messy sitting next to him, like a whirlwind had ruffled me up but just missed him.
“It looks good,” I teased him.
“Mm, too blond.” He shook his head. I grinned and squeezed his arm as the music began to swell. I loved a good parade and then just to take the sparkle out of my day, I saw my ex, Adam—he was wearing a work pass around his neck—damn and the day was going so well. I sank a little lower in my seat and watched him; he was always as sexy as hell when he was working. The way he moved, the way he angled himself and the camera, and more fool me for thinking I’m special because so did the model on the catwalk that he was shooting. So special that he gave her a wink and she gave him a special smile. Sigh, thank God he’s my ex-husband. Max is right; it was a good thing he was out of my life.
Chapter 12
Game day! It was a beautiful day, clear and bright and we were going to beat the Houston Harriers. Right, got that sorted, now to the game. I didn’t sleep well but it was a great not sleeping well, if you know what I mean? I had visions of Nik kissing me, those blue eyes staring into mine, his shirt coming off and my hands running over that washboard stomach and all his other parts. I might never sleep again.
You would think I would learn to be just a little cautious after one failed marriage that was born from being impetuous in love. It appears I didn’t get that cautious gene. And first thing this morning, I got a text from Nik to say he couldn’t wait to see me at the game. I told him all the things I couldn’t wait to see about him—it was a long text. I can’t believe I feel this great, scary, scary stuff.
When I got to the ground, the Houston Harrier buses were already arriving, their fans decked out in burgundy and white. I knew Nik would be in the change rooms preparing, and I spotted his VW in the players’ parking lot—that gave me a little chill, knowing we were so close. I swung mine into the staff allocation. I thought about him getting strapped and iced, hmm.
I whipped up to the media room to check all was okay; later I would stay there to watch the match with the other journos. I had to twitter throughout the match with the key points like goals, penalties, injuries and any great action and then post at half-time and full-time on the Facebook page. I didn’t need to put out a release after the game because the media present had that covered and it went onto the national media wires. It was a bit of a fine line for Alice and me as she usually looked after the social media, but only in a social sense while I did the news angle. Tomorrow she would put up great photos from the game for the supporters. The radio networks especially followed my tweets because they were timely.
All was well in the media room and I headed off to the VIP marquee to see if Kay or Jim needed any help.
“Hey Sash.” I heard a voice and turned to see Alice leading the Saints’ mascot to the children’s area. “Thanks for saving you know who,” she grinned, “he’s one very happy Saint.”
I smiled back. “The things I do for this club.” I waved and kept going. On the way to the VIP area I passed by Shayne and a couple of the opposition management team. He gave me the thumbs up and kept going. I stuck my head into the VIP marquee area where a champagne brunch was being served to those guests who paid to be members and enjoy the benefits including VIP seating. Jim was on the microphone calling up some unsuspecting person to draw their raffle.
“All okay?” I asked, sidling up to Kay and squatting down beside her as she sat at the staff table.
“We’re under control, thanks for checking in though,” she said. “Um…” she looked over my shoulder and smiled. “I think someone is trying to get your attention.”
I turned to see Nik standing to the side of the entrance to the marquee, hiding as much as possible and beckoning me out. He was in the team’s training gear and looked wonderfully kissable. Unfortunately my boss Jim saw him at the same time.
&nbs
p; “Ladies and gentlemen; don’t say we don’t look after you here, look who has just dropped in.” He pointed the audience to the entrance where Nik’s eyes widened in surprise.
The VIP members turned to look at the entrance like a pack watching a tennis game and on seeing Nik, gave him a huge cheer and burst into applause. He froze like a deer in the headlights, gave an embarrassed sort of wave and began to back out with a quick chin up motion to me to follow him.
Jim was walking towards him. “C’mon Nik, not so fast, just a few questions for our loyal supporters and then we’ll let you go.”
Nik gave me a look that said rescue me and I smiled with sympathy and shrugged. Jim was my boss after all and he had Nik by the arm, even if he only came up to Nik’s armpit. The audience was still applauding.
“Now as you know,” Jim was saying, “Niklas Wagner or the Kaiser as the boys call him, joined us this season from Germany and we’re pretty happy to have him. So where’s home Nik?” Jim asked pushing the microphone in Nik’s face.
“Um, Berlin, but I’m really loving it here, especially the beach,” Nik said, winning the audience over.
A hand shot up in the audience which just happened to be attached to the arm of a very attractive woman in her mid-thirties or so. She looked as though she had just stepped off the set of The Housewives of Santa Ana.
“Ah, we have a question,” Jim said, nodding to the woman. “Just one because I know you’ve got to go and get ready for the game and we don’t want the coach down here looking for you.”
The woman stood up. “I was just going to offer Nik a home cooked meal if he got homesick. I make a very good Apple Strudel from an old German recipe,” she said. The audience burst out laughing, Nik grinned good-naturedly—it wouldn’t be the first offer he had—and he gave her a wave of thanks. He nodded to Jim and bolted for the door. Damn, should I be able to cook strudel? Note to self, check recipe.
“A round of applause for Nik, good luck today,” Jim was saying, as Nik made a hasty exit, diverting by me to grab my hand in retreat. I followed him out, laughing. I could hear Jim still carrying on about what a great game they were expecting from our new German recruit and how he had been a great asset to the team this season already.
Nik pulled me around the corner of the marquee and then stopped to look at me. He smiled. “Hello gorgeous Sah-sha, next time I’m texting you from outside to come out and meet me.”
“Hello Nik,” I said, and looked up at him with way too much excitement in my face, God I’m a pushover. “What are you doing here?” I asked, rubbing my hands up his arms.
“Ah you need to stop that,” he said, and leaned in to kiss me. I think the relief ebbed through us both at the touch of our lips, like we could get through the day now. “No really, you need to stop it.” I looked down and realized the track pants didn’t hide much. I giggled like a naughty schoolgirl.
“Thank you for being so understanding last night,” I said, touching his face.
“Is Saffron all right?” he asked.
“I think she and Daniel will be fine,” I said. His eyes watched me all the time, watched my lips as I talked, rose to my eyes, my eyelashes, back to my lips. This man was hellishly sexy.
“I didn’t sleep at all last night, you kept me awake,” he said, still holding me in his arms.
I loved that he was so upfront and just said things like that—not worried if it was too much to put out there or it made him vulnerable. God, this was freaking me out—how good I felt. I kind of thought after Adam that maybe I’d had a great love and that was it, now all the feelings were so raw and real, a second chance at love.
“You kept me awake all night too,” I said, “You’ll be busy on the ground, but I hope it’s a good game or else I’m bound to fall asleep in the middle of tweeting.”
He grinned. “Ye of little faith, Sah-sha, it will be a great game. We didn’t make plans for tonight. I will go and have a few drinks with the boys and then I can meet you if you like?”
“That would be great. I’ll go to the Ska Bar but you don’t have to come there, we can go to my place if you don’t want to party on.”
“I’ll get there and then we can go to your place later, ja, I mean yes?” he translated.
“Yah,” I teased him, well it sounded like that anyway. He gave me a satisfied grin as though he had everything worked out now. He took a deep breath and pulled away.
“I’ve got to go before Lucas realizes I’m missing and kicks my butt. Walk me back?”
“Sure.” We walked through the grounds towards the players’ rooms when I heard a wolf whistle. I turn around to see Dan, the journo from the local radio station; I gave him a wave.
Nik glared past me. “Who was that?”
“Dan’s just an old friend, he’s a sport reporter for K-Talk, and he produces the sports show that Russian crashed on Friday.”
“Does he like you?” Nik asked, his eyes narrowed as he continued to glare in the direction of Dan.
“Of course, I’m likeable,” I said, declaring the obvious.
Nik rolled his eyes as he turned to face me, his lips were a thin line. “I know that Sah-sha, but that’s not what I mean. Is he—”
I cut him off. “I’m not interested in him.” I grabbed his jaw. “Unlock your jaw.”
He swallowed. “It’s not locked.”
“Your jaw is locked and your eyes are narrow,” I said, releasing his chin from my grasp.
“Is he in the media box with you?” Nik asked.
“Every game, all last year too. I’ve known him a long time. I’m not interested,” I said, keeping it as black and white as I could. My ex-husband had played horrendous jealousy games with me and I wasn’t going there again and I wouldn’t inflict that on anyone.
He made a guttural sound in his throat. I leaned up and kissed him and his jaw relaxed; he looked down at me and smiled. He walked with his arm around my shoulder, while I was nicely tucked next to him. I loved that he was tall and muscled but not a wall like The Russian. Nik was fit and agile. We came around a corner and got sprung. Someone called out his name and before we knew it, he was mobbed by fans that had got to the grounds early to spot the players. I looked around and beckoned for one of the security guys to come over and help clear the way to the rooms. It’s part of the marketing team’s job—it’s better if we or security move the players along, than have the players tell the fans they can’t stick around. He signed autographs as he continued to weave towards the gate. We got separated and I saw him look back when he got to the change rooms and look for me. He found me for a second, gave me a smile and disappeared.
Fuck I was in so much lust and like, and maybe love, who knows but I hadn’t fallen in this deep for a long time. Come on in my heart was telling me, the water was just fine.
*****
I got my laptop set up in the media room; I loved working from there, such a great view of the game. The room was filling up and I chatted to the usual journos as we waited for the game to start. Drinks and sandwiches were delivered and everyone helped themselves. I grabbed two Diet Colas… not that many of the journos wanted low-calorie, just me and Carla—one of the ladies from The Sports Daily—and I took one over to her. She was a big girl, a former professional basketballer who now reported on sports.
“Thanks Sash,” she took it and opened it right away. “Was that the Kaiser I saw you cozying up to before? That new?”
“Pretty new,” I said, taking a gulp of my drink. She reached for a couple of sandwiches.
“I could have sworn you told me that you’d rather masturbate than go out with a player when you worked around them all day,” she teased me.
“Yeah, well my fingers got sore,” I shot back and she laughed.
“Lucky bitch,” she said, and squeezed my arm. “What about that Russian? I met him at the press conference the other day, he’s huge—a very good size for me. Is he single?”
“He’s a wall,” I agreed. “Newly single.”
She groaned. “Not touching that.”
“I’ll let him know that if he needs a date for the Best and Fairest Awards though, that you’ll play handbag?” I asked.
“Hell yeah, that I could do, and he’d actually be taller than me which would be nice for a change,” she said. I grinned and headed back to my chair next to Dan and within minutes the game began with the teams running on the field. My stomach always fluttered with nerves; I can only imagine how the players felt with all that pressure on them. It was even more intense now that Nik was in my orbit.
The Houston Harriers came on first, did a lap and got a good response. They were a good side, third on the ladder so far, we were second so it was going to be a competitive game. Then the Santa Ana Saints came on, led by Captain Lucas—he stopped and gave each player a pep talk as they moved past him. I loved watching the boys come out to play; The Russian was all fired up, well as much as he could be given he didn’t do anything with any great pace; Ed was doing short, sharp runs, back and forward and sideways; Tomás was jittery but that was part of his job as goalkeeper; and my Nik looked calm and superb. I saw his eyes sweep over the other side of the ground, assessing the Harriers, then he had a few words to Lucas before jogging into central midfielder position. The siren went and I drew a breath as the game started.
I put my radio earphone bud in one ear so I could hear the radio live commentary which was set up in the next room, and kept my other ear free to hear any comments around me. The game was tight; neither team gave each other any ground and I had to keep tearing my eyes off Nik to make sure I watched all the guys. I tweeted randomly as play unfolded.