by Ally Adams
“I’m bribing him with my virginity?” I asked, just checking that I had the big picture here. It didn’t seem like that big a prize.
Cassie nodded. “Reel him in, Alice, starting right now. You’re going to text him this back...”
I grabbed my phone, opened his text and looked up at Cassie, ready to type.
“Type this,” she said, “Thanks T. Will apply tonight. Been so busy, hope all is well with you. Ax.”
I typed it, looked at Cassie, she nodded and I sent it.
“That just sounds boring to me,” I said.
“Ali, you’ve just said you’re going for a job at a club full of fit, handsome soccer plays and you’ve been so busy you haven’t had time to think about him. Hell, you’re even looking more attractive to me.”
I laughed. “Really? Thanks Cass, you’re a lifesaver.”
“You’ll see,” she said, “nothing more desirable than an unobtainable woman. Wouldn’t hurt to drop in the fact that you’ve got a date too, if you get the chance.”
I squeezed her hand and smiled with relief.
“He won’t know other women exist by the time you’re done,” she said, and sat back with a satisfied smile.
If only I was as confident in that thought.
Chapter 8
It was a buffet of good bods... a smorgasbord of sexy shapes... a feast of flesh... okay, you get the picture—it was my first day on the job and who would have thought I’d be working in an office with so much eye candy. I was ruined for life.
Arriving at my first day in the office was a pretty easy process—the interview a few days earlier went really well and I gave Deborah, the Human Resources lady, examples of my work experience and my results so far, including what subjects I had been studying. Deborah was also the accountant and managed the external technology contractor—such is the way with small companies. We pretended Lucas wasn’t my referee but I got the job within a day; it helped I’m sure. So excited. I transferred my remaining subjects to night lectures and Deborah said I could have time off for study and exams. So excited, did I mention that? I gave Lucas a call to thank him and he brushed it off. Mia said he wasn’t good at compliments that were personal, only professional. Fair enough. The best thing was that I hadn’t time to think about Tomás or Finn while I sorted out my new job.
So, day one—I was now officially part of the Saints’ marketing team and they were a great team. My boss was Jim Dixon and he was fun. He was mid-forties, short, wiry with a dry sense of humor... kind of like the Groucho Marx of sport admin. He looked after the advertising, branding, reporting and his team of three including me.
Also in our team was Kay who took care of the clubs and memberships from corporate sponsorships to the Saints’ kids’ club. She had the tough job of selling them, keeping databases and making sure all the benefits were delivered. Kay said it wasn’t a tough job when the team was winning, as everyone loved winners. She was in her late thirties, a mom of two and a big lady who kept hugging me and telling me I would be just fine... I loved her already.
The other member of our marketing team beside me—Alice Peterson, events coordinator, the Saints... sorry I had to say it all the time until it sank in—was Sasha Saxon who looked after media and merchandise... you know, the hats, scarves, jerseys, headwear and so on. Plus Sasha also wrote the club publications like the fan magazine and annual report. I liked her too. She was about twenty-two-or-three and she had no airs and graces. Sasha had bleached blonde hair, cut really short, and was thin and fashionable; she designed and made her own clothes and loved hats. Everyone remembered Sasha... especially when she introduced herself as, “Hi I’m Sasha Saxon from the Santa Ana Saints, try saying that five times fast after a night out!”
As well as events, I also scored the social media for the club—I was now looking after the Saints’ website, Facebook page, Twitter account and more. Oh the damage I could do... just kidding. God I loved my job and I’d been there only a day! And I scored—no pun intended, I was getting the hang of this, next I’d be talking about balls—I was also assigned player allocation for events and according to my new boss Jim, everyone out there wanted a Saint at their event.
Lucas was off limits as nearly every single request asked for him and his contract stipulated he would appear at ten events only per season as determined by his management. The rest of the team had to contractually give me five appearances a season and I was to work with the Football Manager, Shayne, to work these out. Give me five, oh yeah, I could just see me calling for that. I wonder if appearing at my place counted if I booked out Tomás for all five. I was so unprofessional.
As for the rest of the office... well it was very, very satisfying with a mix of current and former players holding office positions. The Saints had their own security staff who worked in a small office next to mine; the two men were both current Saints players—The Russian (I still didn’t know his real name) who was a forward on the team and defender Eddie Mosley who I heard just got engaged. Both gorgeous, both just on the other side of the wall from me—a plaster sheet away. The Football Manager Shayne Williams was an ex-NY Red player who finished his contract and wanted to move back to California. He now worked in the Saints’ admin and was eye candy if you liked your man a bit more mature. The coach, Johan, had his office in the same building and so did the assistant coach, the assistant football manager, the physio, the stats guy... too much to take in for one day. There were a few ladies as well, like Deborah in Human Resources, Brenda the Personal Assistant to the CEO and Suzie the receptionist. I’m sure they appreciated the scenery too.
Throughout the day players came and went as they dropped in to see whoever they had to see, but Sasha told me they didn’t come to our side of the office much unless they needed additional tickets, merchandise or were visiting The Russian and Ed. Today though, just before training started onsite at four p.m., Lucas wandered in and dropped down in the chair in front of my desk. Kay and Sasha’s mouth dropped open. Jim walked by and greeted him. Lucas knew Jim by name—I guess Jim was a bit of a fixture at the Saints.
“Hey Lucas.” I looked up at Mia’s man and captain fantastic.
“How’s your first day going?” he asked.
“Taxing,” I teased. “Much harder than going to college for three hours a day. But I’m loving it. Hey thanks again.”
He held up his hand. “They didn’t even call me for a reference,” he said. “I think Deborah knew your lecturer and that person you work with at... the lost planet or something.”
I nodded. “Planet Events. Ah you’re very modest, but I suspect you had some impact on me getting my dream job,” I said with a big grin.
Lucas smiled and shook his head.
“You’ve met Kay and Sasha haven’t you?” I asked, introducing the two ladies in my shared workspace—technically it was their workspace, as I’d been there one day.
Lucas rose and shook their hands. “Sure, Sasha’s always trying to get me to talk with journos and Kay’s scored me some merchandise for friends.” He smiled at them. My, he was charming.
“Anyway,” Lucas said, “got to get to training. If she becomes too much trouble, ladies, just let me know,” he said with a grin towards Kay and Sasha. He turned back to me. “I’ve got some tickets for Frank and Ryan for the next game if they want them,” he said referring to Dad and my brother.
“They’ll love them, thanks.”
With a wave he was gone. I saw Sasha Saxon of the Saints fanning herself.
“I am never washing my hand again,” she said.
“Eww,” I said and Kay grimaced.
“Isn’t he a lovely lad?” Kay smiled. “I would just love to hug him and feed him a roast.”
Sasha and I looked at her.
“My feelings are not at all maternal,” Sasha assured her.
And then The Russian went past—all six-foot-five of him—and we all stopped to watch. I caught Kay out.
“Was that maternal?” I asked, looking at her
suspiciously.
She blushed and bit her lip before answering. “I may be married with children but I’m not dead. Besides, I’m a big girl, I like them big,” she said.
Sasha and I giggled like naughty kids.
“No I didn’t mean that, I meant tall, well-built... oh never mind.” She shook her head at both of us and looked away, still smiling but trying not to. “You might be a bad influence, young lady,” she said with a look to me.
“I hope so,” I teased her.
Chapter 9
Finn Lalor looked very sexy in jeans and a black bomber jacket over a white T-shirt. Actually, he looked more like he was going to sign up for the Navy Seals. Finn had this new buzz cut which made his face look lean and angular and his eyes noticeably bluer. His fair hair was shaved to stubble length and it was the sexiest I’d ever seen him in our three years at college. He was so different to Tomás—fair to Tomás’s dark hair, blue eyes to Tomás’s chocolate eyes and broad while Tomás was trim, muscled and agile. I felt small beside him, which was kind of nice.
I was still in my work gear... a cream sleeveless dress with a full circle godet skirt and matching high heels. I got the dress on sale and just love it; there was a red version too but I’ve got so much red in my wardrobe—where was I? I get a bit carried away when it comes to shopping, but I’m very, very good at it and I was dressing to impress in my first week given the office talent was so impressive.
“You didn’t come to our game on the weekend,” Finn said, once we had settled into a booth at a bar near our college.
I’m sure that was the first time ever Finn noticed that I wasn’t at a game. He didn’t notice when I was present-and-accounted for last season, and I bit my tongue from mentioning that. Saved by the waitress—I ordered a cola and Finn ordered a beer, producing his I.D. He placed a leg around each of mine—straight into the intimacy. How many times had Finn done this and how many girls had welcomed it? Might be best not to go there.
“So did you win?” I asked.
“Of course.” He grinned at me. Yep, he was the package.
I told him about my new job and he looked kind of impressed. He told me what he planned to do after college, how he was sweating on a NFL contract to play in the big league and how his parents wanted him to get his career started. I listened attentively like a good groupie.
The bar was getting noisier and when we finished out drinks, Finn glanced at his watch. “Want to get out of here?” he asked.
“Sure,” I said, expecting him to say he had to be somewhere and ditch me. I reached for my purse.
“I’ve got this,” he said.
“Thanks, Finn.”
Nice, very nice. We rose, he took my hand and led the way out of the bar. My heart beat was starting to pound again and just the feel of his skin on my skin had my girl parts very happy. Did I mention how good he smelled? An aqua scent; I could lick it right off him. And nice butt too... I was just far enough behind him to get a good glimpse of it and those broad shoulders.
We got to the parking lot and Finn moved towards his car. “Let’s go back to my room and hang for a while. I can drop you back later to get your car if you like?” he said.
I was so busy watching his arm flex as he reached into his back jeans’ pocket for his keys that his words caused a delayed reaction—my alarm bells started ringing. God I hate being sensible but we weren’t going back to his place to play Scrabble and if I said no...
“Um, that might be moving a bit fast for me.” There I said it. The night was still young enough for him to find a replacement.
“All good.” He shrugged. “We’ll just hang for a bit. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”
I nodded. “Okay. Why don’t I follow you there in my car and then you don’t have to go out again later?” I suggested.
“Yeah, that would be good. Is that you?” He pointed to my small blue car.
“That’s me.”
I looked at my Toyota Yaris—Dad had bought it for me when I started college. He was going to buy Ryan his first car too. Mom’s life insurance was a bonus none of us wanted. When she died, it paid off the house, set up a college fund for Ryan and me, and gave Dad some money to help raise us. We would have given it back in a heartbeat to have one more day with her.
“Okay, don’t lose me,” he said, with a grin. I kept his black car in sight and five minutes later we pulled up at his student apartment block near the college.
“I’ll give you the tour,” he said, and again grabbed my hand and raced me through the building.
I hurried to keep up with him. Finn greeted other students as we passed through, some of which I recognized from classes or seeing them in the library or at games.
We got to Finn’s floor and the door to the area was open. Two guys sat with consoles on their laps trying to beat each other at some war game and a girl sat on the arm of the couch drinking cola and watching them. She gave us a wave. It was like a large, open plan area with lockable bedrooms around the borders and a bathroom every few rooms or so. Finn unlocked a door and hustled me in. He relocked it.
“Welcome to my pad,” he said, taking off his jacket and throwing it over a chair.
It was a decent size room with a double bed, desk near the window, a two-seater couch and a small table with a TV on it. I put my bag down on the edge of the couch.
“Kick your shoes off,” Finn invited.
I took them off and put them near my bag and suddenly he was right next to me. He cupped my face in his hands and I looked up at him. He was something, and so close I could see his body definition through his T-shirt.
“You’re very pretty, Alice.” He smiled at me and then began kissing along the edge of my neck.
Oh God, this was good. Then his hand began to move down my body and up under my skirt.
“Finn,” I whispered. I had never had sex but I was pretty sure all my feelings were from pure sexual frustration. I ached below in that area that wanted his tongue on it and my nipples were on full alert. Virginity was such a curse. I wanted Finn, but this was just what I experienced with Tomás, this was just sex and if I was just into sex it would be great. But for the record, Tomás would have been my first choice in that category; Finn and I were still on our official first date if you could call it that and not quite at the jump-my-bones stage.
His fingers began to slip between my panties and my skin. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“Finn,” I said, again trying to get his attention.
“Mm?” He moved to my lips and began to kiss me, wet kisses, his tongue touching my lips and pushing between them.
Just do it, my heart was saying. But then my brain joined in... ‘Really, is this what you’ve been waiting for? This is what you call special?’ Shut up head space, I argued with myself.
Finn steered me towards the bed and I felt myself falling back on it. He was on top of me, his hand making its way up my dress again which was an open invitation given it was a full-skirt and fairly short anyway. Fuck, I was in serious trouble now, this was going places I wanted to go but didn’t want to go, if that makes sense. I didn’t mean to lead him on and I did follow him to his room to hang for a while... I think our definitions of hanging out were different.
“Finn.” I pushed his hand away and brought it up to my waist.
“Sorry,” he said. “Too fast?” and without waiting for an answer he began to kiss me again—his hand running over my top, over the fabric of my dress and over my breast. I could barely think; the sensation was wonderful and I wanted that nipple to be free and sucked. Down below I was aching with a dull kind of vibration, a needy feeling. From the huge bulge pushing against my leg I was pretty sure Finn was thumping too. My brain was still issuing warnings that sounded like a car alarm.
There was a loud knock at the door and someone just barged in.
Finn looked up and frowned. “Fuck, what?”
I quickly pulled my dress down.
“Sorry brother, but your car
alarm is going off.” I recognized one of the team and he gave me a chin up movement and a smile. He then ran his eyes down my legs. Finn jumped up and I followed.
“Fuck it,” Finn said. “Sorry Alisha, won’t be a minute.”
“Alice,” I said.
“Yeah, sorry, Alice.” He grabbed his keys and pushed past the guy at the door who continued to stand there. I straightened my dress and my hair.
“I’m Matt,” he said, still eyeing me up and down. I wondered if the team shared.
“Alice,” I said, and moving past him, I slipped my shoes on and grabbed my bag.
“You’re leaving, so soon?” he said.
“Yeah, I’ve got to get home. Can you tell Finn I’ll call him?”
“You could check out my room if you like,” Matt said. He gave a nod to the door across the room.
For fuck’s sake, what am I? The college bike.
“Thanks, but I told my dad I’d be home by seven. I’d better shuffle.” I held my breath as I moved past him, hoping he didn’t grab me or do anything stupid. I hurried down the stairs, expecting to see Finn but I didn’t pass him on the way. As I drove out, I saw him at his car, leaning against it and talking to some girl.
Thanks Finn, you ass. I breathed a sigh of relief. Finn was never interested in me, just interested in a one-night stand and doing the girl he thinks one of the Saints is doing. It made me realize that Tomás had been a gentleman... he could have had me but he didn’t. God, men! I wish I was a lesbian.
Chapter 10
The text message ping woke me out of my complacency; I was in my bedroom doing my last college assignment—all four thousand words of it—and I had started to nod off. It was after ten and Dad and Ryan had already turned it and I should too with work tomorrow. I dreaded looking at my phone—I had spoken with Mia and Cassie earlier so I was expecting this to be a text from Finn asking if I want to hook up again. No Finn, get fucked. I wonder if that text would be direct enough.