Always You

by Tiara Inserto

  “You know I was and still am grateful you were there for Neela last year. But...”

  “I heard you mention his name, Mano. I didn’t mean to, but I did. If that Kyle fella is around—you know what I remember about him? He wasn’t worried about hitting me. He even saw I had the boys with me, and that only seemed to make him want to prove a point. But he wasn’t afraid of hitting me. And he knew who I was and what I do.”

  Blake waited. He could see Mano struggling with what he should say.

  “I’m not going to talk about what happened between Neela and Kyle,” Mano said slowly. “You have to ask her about it. I will tell you that I’m worried about her, about her safety.”

  “Is he on the South Island?”

  Mano sighed. “I don’t know. I spoke to Corrine today. She’s back from her mission and had gone back to their old building to see their neighbor. Some kid the girls would babysit sometimes.”

  “Leon?”

  Mano looked surprised. “Yeah. That’s his name. Anyway, Leon’s mum said Kyle had come by.”

  “Neela’s not unknown, especially after Rio. If he picked up the papers, he would see which team she plays on. He’d know she wasn’t living in Auckland anymore. Why go back to her old place?”

  “Neela thinks he’s making a point that he knows who the important people are in her life.”

  Blake raised his eyebrows. “He’s playing some sort of mental game with her? Trying to scare her by talking to people she knows? Has he approached anyone else?”

  “He’s never talked to me, and as far as I know, he hasn’t made contact with anyone else from the family.”

  Blake leaned back in his chair. “It doesn’t make sense, and that makes me uncomfortable.”

  Mano nodded. “Yeah. She won’t tell me why Kyle doesn’t just disappear. There’s more to this, but she doesn’t want me involved. Doesn’t want her brothers to know, either, and I can’t say I blame her. Joe and Sam would go crazy if they found out about him. Nothing good would come out of it. Kyle’s a loose cannon as it is.”

  Blake narrowed his eyes as he remembered Kyle’s words at the pub. Did Neela still owe him money? He started to ask Mano but changed his mind. “Is she worried he might be around?”

  “She won’t say. Just kept going on that I need to mind my own business.”

  “She told you off?” Blake couldn’t keep the smile off his face. “Why am I not surprised?”

  “It’s bloody irritating,” Mano growled, but a smile lingered on his lips.

  “I’m around, so let me know if I can help.”

  Mano leaned forward again. Elbows on his knees, he clenched and unclenched his hands. “I know you’re not keen on the idea, but maybe if you’re seen with her this summer, Kyle will get the message that she’s no longer alone. That there are people here who will protect her.”

  Blake’s eyes widened. Mano must really be worried to suggest that. “Would that really help?”

  “I don’t know. But I’m not going to be around this summer, and I am worried. She has to live her life. She’s still adjusting to being part of a family again, to having her brothers and sister around. She doesn’t talk to her father, and she doesn’t want her friends involved. She’s always been independent.”

  “You two are pretty similar, eh? You don’t let anyone help you out, either.”

  “Yeah, but I hadn’t realized what a pain it could be until now.”

  Blake grinned, then leaned back in the armchair and crossed his arms. “I don’t know, mate. I want to help, but I don’t want her to think she needs to spend time with me, especially not for marketing purposes.”

  “I know that. But if she feels that she’s returning the favor, she won’t mind doing it. She may even insist on it.”

  “You don’t mind that your cousin’s name may be tied to mine? Even if it isn’t true? I don’t want to ruin her reputation. Right now, I’m the laughing stock of the country.”

  “Do you remember when you first started at the Club? Well, here’s a confession. I didn’t ask you to share the house with me by chance. Connor Dane suggested I take you on as a flatmate.”

  “What do you mean, he suggested?” Blake eyed Mano suspiciously.

  The smile came back briefly. “Well, it was more like Connor telling me I should offer the spare room to you. He was the Club captain at the time, and you don’t say no to your captain.”

  “Why didn’t you want me as a flatmate?”

  “It wasn’t you, mate. I didn’t want to live with anyone I could work with. You know our business: we’re teammates one day and opponents the next. I wanted to keep my private and professional lives separate. But Connor said you’re the kind of fella who, if anything, could be trusted. He wasn’t wrong. So, I’m going to trust you with Neela this summer.”

  “Hang on —”

  “Whether you spend time with her or not, that’s up to you. I know you’re busy. But I’m asking you, as a friend, to just be available. You know, if she needs it.”

  “Do you honestly think being seen with me will keep Kyle away?”

  “I hope so. And if you can make it, go with Neela to her parents’ anniversary party. I know it will mean a lot to her sister, but it’s not going to be comfortable for Neela. There’s still a lot of pain there.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Her father married Laura six months after my aunty passed away. It took everyone by surprise, but Neela...well, let’s just say she moved to Auckland shortly after the engagement. Her father hasn’t quite forgiven her for not attending the wedding. It’s pretty important for their relationship that she shows up to this anniversary party.”

  Blake whistled softly. “Under those circumstances, I don’t know if I’d go, either.”

  “She’ll go,” Mano said confidently. “She won’t break her promise to her sister. But I don’t think it’s going to be fun for her. Uncle Malcolm is a good man, but he doesn’t forgive easily. And he never forgets.”

  * * *

  Blake didn’t see Neela on his morning run. When he returned home, he discovered that Scott had left a message asking him to call right away.

  “I’ve been tossing out the possibility of you and Neela in a marketing type campaign, and there have been a few bites.”

  Blake sat on his bed. “That was quick. We just talked about it late last night.”

  “The internet is a beautiful thing.”

  “Which companies? What kind of product?”

  “I can’t tell you yet. But if you can confirm with Neela that she’s still interested in doing something like this, she’ll need to sign a contract for me to represent her,” Scott explained.

  “I’ll phone her.”

  “Why don’t you give me her phone number?”

  “No chance, mate. Mano would kill me.”

  “Why doesn’t he like me, Blake?”

  “You flirted with his girlfriend.”

  “That was harmless.”

  “He didn’t think so. He may be a God-fearing Christian, but he’s very protective of people he loves.”

  “I’m not scared.”

  Blake grinned. Scott couldn’t entirely mask the nervousness in his voice.

  “I’ll speak to you later.”

  Blake scrolled through his phone until he found Neela’s name, newly entered last night after his talk with Mano. He knew she’d be up and would probably be heading to the gym in a few minutes. It was a schedule he was on. The glamor of his profession was in the big games and especially in the wins, but those wins didn’t happen without the daily grind of routine.

  He decided on a quick message to her phone:

  Blake: Heard from Scott. Call me when you can.

  She rang at lunchtime, just as he was changing out of his gym clothes.

  “Hey, it’s me. Mano gave you my number, did he?”

  “Yeah. Is this a good time to talk?”

  “Yeah, just finished at the gym. Headed home, but I’m working this afternoon
before the evening field session.”

  “I’ve just finished my workout. Want to go out for lunch?”

  Silence.

  “Neela?” Blake asked.

  “Is Mano still worried about me? I didn’t need a bodyguard a year ago. I don’t need one now.”

  “Mano will always be worried about you, but that’s not why I’m asking if you want to have lunch. I’m hungry, and I wanted to talk to you about your offer to... you know, be seen with me in public during the offseason.” There. He’d said it. And it had left a bitter taste in his mouth.

  “Well, to be honest, I didn’t think you’d take me up on the offer.”

  “Are you saying you’re not interested?” He hoped she didn’t hear the relief in his voice.

  “The offer is there, Blake. I wouldn’t have suggested it if I wasn’t going to follow through with it. But, yeah, let’s talk about it over lunch. Where are you? At the Club’s gym? Right—I’ll meet you at the sandwich shop on Picton Avenue. I’ll send you the address. Can you make it there in thirty minutes?”

  When he reached the sandwich shop, Neela was waiting outside. She nodded as he approached. “I have sandwiches. My shout since Mano said you’d paid for the pitas the other night. Chicken or ham. You choose.”

  “Thanks. We’re not eating inside?”

  “No maître d’ in this one, mate,” Neela said. “There’s a small reserve not too far from here. You won’t be stared at as much there. How’s your ankle?”

  “Really well. I think I can start doing some full-on skirmishes soon. The boys are ready to give me a good workout. Must say I’m looking forward to some physical contact. There’s only so much gym work one man can do.”

  Neela led them to a small picnic table that was shaded by long branches of a jacaranda tree. She unpacked the sandwiches and brought out a bowl of cut fruit. Blake added two bottles of water to the table as he climbed over the bench to sit opposite Neela. He reached for the ham sandwich, pleased by the surprisingly large amount of salad and tomatoes included.

  “Anyway,” Blake began. “Scott said he’s heard from a couple of companies, and there’s some interest in using the two of us in an advertising campaign.”

  “That would be quite a coup. They know it’s a woman rugby player and not two of you lot from the National Team, right?”

  “Scott’s not the type to overpromise and underdeliver. He’s a good agent. There are a few things you need to look over before he pursues this further. I’ll send you his email.” Blake took another bite of his sandwich. “This is good. You eat there often?”

  Neela nodded. “Yeah. It’s all fresh stuff, and it’s equidistant from the gym and the field. But back to this ad campaign. This would be good for me, but you have a bunch of things already lined up. Can you commit to another brand?”

  “I don’t know yet, but any endorsement is good. Extra money can’t hurt. I’m one of the lucky ones. People seem to think I’m marketable.”

  “You are. You come across as honest.”

  “Honest?”

  “Yeah. What did you want me to say? Sexy? You’re no Connor Dane, Blake. Sorry to burst your bubble.”

  Blake grinned. “I thought my underwear campaign was pretty sexy.”

  She snorted. “Sorry, mate. You’ve got a good body and all, but you can’t pull off sexy. You’re the boy next door who mums and daughters think is cute.”

  He laughed. He should have felt a little insulted; instead, Neela’s frank assessment of his attributes mirrored what his own family thought.

  He handed her a serviette to wipe the mayonnaise off her lips. She took it, her head turning as the sounds from the nearby play structure reached them. Two children were screaming and laughing as they swung on the monkey bars.

  “Do you remember being that age?” She continued to watch the children.

  “No, do you?”

  “Yeah, I do actually,” Neela said. “I remember my father giving me rides on his back. I used to watch him practice the taiaha in our backyard, and he’d tell us kids about his childhood. I miss those times.”

  “Why?”

  Neela’s eyes grew distant. She seemed far away, in a different place, at a different time. Her voice was soft. “It was all black and white then, wasn’t it? Things either were or weren’t. It gets complicated as we get older.”

  He wanted to reach across the table and hold the hand which rested there. But he wasn’t sure how she’d take his offer of empathy. The moment passed when Neela scrunched up the paper that had carried the sandwich. “So, I’ll contact Scott. Now, do you want to talk about us being seen together in public?”

  “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  “I wouldn’t have offered if I weren’t serious. I owe you.”

  This time it was Blake who avoided eye contact as he crossed his arms. “Just to be straight, I don’t want you to feel like you owe me. You don’t.”

  “I can’t help what I feel. I know you won’t hold this over me. That’s not the point of my offer. Besides, I think you’d make a good captain.”

  Blake couldn’t hide his surprise. “Really?”

  “Hey, if there’s one thing I know, it’s who’s a good rugby player. You’re good. Besides that, the players like and respect you. But with all the time you boys have in front of the media, everything counts. Opinions about your personal life, despite what everyone says, still count. Character counts.”

  “Yeah, I’m starting to recognize that more and more. So, how shall we do this? We need a first date.”

  Neela grinned. “I reckon all we need to do is tweet a photo of us and we’ll start the ball rolling.”

  “What? You want to start now?”

  “I know you have an account. I don’t. But many of the girls on my team do, so if we tweet a picture, I’m fairly certain they’ll see it.”

  He made a face. This still didn’t feel right, even though it was Neela’s idea. “I don’t know. I usually take my dates out for dinner, especially on a first date. Someplace nice.”

  “We got to make it believable, right? My friends know I’m not a French restaurant type of date. This is perfect for me: a packed lunch between training sessions.”

  Makes sense, but... “Okay. But this isn’t the first date.”

  Neela smiled, and Blake was suddenly ten years old again. He was back on the school field during recess. Her face had lit up just for him. He had almost made his first try before being tackled. Seeing her look at him with approval made the pain from being thrown to the ground by the bigger kids disappear. His ten-year-old scrawny self had made the most popular girl in primary school smile. He remembered thinking there couldn’t be another girl prettier than Neela Smyth.

  Now, years later, that same smile stunned him once again.

  “What’s wrong? Is there something in my teeth?” Neela picked up a serviette and brought it to her mouth.

  He shook his head. “No. Never mind.”

  He took a deep breath as he pulled out his phone. He’d done crazier things. Being in a pretend relationship just to give himself an edge for the captaincy would be one more thing he’d be able to share with his grandchildren. And Mano had asked. At the end of the day, captaincy or not, he would always be ready to help out a friend.

  “Okay, let’s do it, then. You ready?”

  Blake got up from his side of the bench and sat next to Neela. They were both dressed casually in shorts and t-shirts. When he sat down, he was suddenly aware of how much of their bare skin touched. He cracked his neck and told himself to focus on getting the camera ready. Relax!

  “Right. Uh... smile?”

  She laughed. “Why are you so nervous? You’ve done this a million times with strangers.”

  “How would you know? You just said you don’t have an account.”

  “I have foolish friends who follow you.”

  “Do they now?”

  “Don’t get big-headed. They follow everyone on the National Team.”

&nb
sp; Blake held up the phone to catch the selfie. Neela put her head next to Blake’s and smiled.

  “Really, Blake? Smile! No one is going to believe you like me with a face like that.”

  “Why don’t you do it, then?”

  “You have the longer arm. Stop complaining. Smile and shoot. Or do you have too many clothes on?”

  He couldn’t help it. Laughter erupted, and his shoulders shook. Neela grinned.

  “Okay, okay. Got it. I’m smiling. See?” Blake said.

  He held up the phone again and leaned closer. He knew she had come straight from the gym, but she smelled fresh. Earthy. Real. He took the picture, then showed it to Neela.

  “That’s not bad,” she said.

  Blake re-examined the picture. She was right; it wasn’t bad. They actually looked good together on screen, comfortable and relaxed. Who knew? Blake quickly typed a caption before he sent the picture to Twittersphere.

  “You know, we don’t have to make this complicated,” she said as they started to tidy the picnic table. “Our lives don’t have to change too much.”

  “You’re right. I’m just not good at pretending to be something I’m not.”

  “We’re not talking about faking a relationship, maybe faking the dates. We’ll just spend some time together, that’s all.”

  “How many times do you think we should...uh...go out?”

  Neela shrugged. “How many times did you and Lindsay go out before people took your relationship seriously?”

  “I don’t know. She’ll know. I can ask. The attention was new for her.”

  Neela paused. “Are you still in touch with her?”

  “Who? Lindsay? Yeah. Why not? We’re friends. I try to stay on friendly terms with my ex-girlfriends. Even Carla.”

  “Really?”

  “I don’t understand why that’s odd.” Blake looked at his watch. “What time is it in Los Angeles? About four o’clock?” He quickly typed on his phone, then looked up at Neela. “This was nice. Why haven’t we had lunch before?”

  “Didn’t we say we’re starting fresh?”

  Blake gave her a sideways glance before reaching for his bottle of water. “You’re right. We did.”

  “Why didn’t you call me?” she challenged him.