“I always do,” I assured her.
“I meant on the field. Not with yourself.”
Chapter Six - Elise
“I can’t believe you’re making me do this,” I grumbled as Jaxson tightened his grip on my arm and dragged me up to the ticket booth.
“Oh shut up. You know you want to be here, so quit your bitching!”
Fuck Jaxson. I hated that he was right…again.
After paying for our tickets, he led me through the turnstiles before we attempted to navigate our way to our seats. Stepping inside the stadium, I was shocked to see just how many people, how many families were spending their Friday night out here in the cold.
“Want a drink before we find our seats?”
“Definitely.” The truth was I needed more than one if I was going to get through this in one piece.
Due to my complete stupidity, after Luca had left the other day, I’d come home and over a pitcher of margaritas and too many tacos I’d spilled everything. That was ten days ago. It seemed from the moment I told Jaxson about the flowers and the defending my honour, he’d made it a mission to find out everything there was to know about Mr. Conti, a.k.a. Mr. Sexy Shorts. Through the week I’d received daily facts and information he deemed I simply must know. He was also partial to sending through the odd photo or two he’d found on Google.
All his stalking had led us to this exact moment. Me standing at the football stadium on a Friday night in jeans so tight I could barely breathe and a purple jersey with the number seven plastered across the back and freaking the fuck out. But if I was going down, then Jax was coming with me.
While he lined up to get our beers and, if he knew what was good for him some hot chips, I leant against the rails and looked around. Every which way I looked it was like swimming in a sea of purple. It was everywhere. There were families with Mum and Dad both sporting jumpers while the kids wore jerseys, waved flags and had their faces painted. People were definitely invested.
“Ready?” Jaxson asked when he appeared beside me handing me a plastic cup.
Talking a big gulp, I looked up at him. Jax knew me better than anyone and knew how nervous I was about being here tonight. Even though Luca had no idea I was coming and there was no way he’d ever spot me in the crowd, just knowing we were in the same place at the same time had me on edge.
“Let’s do it,” I agreed, faking bravado. Maybe by the time I finished this disgusting warm beer I wouldn’t have to try so hard to fake it.
Winding our way down the steps, we got towards the bottom when I froze, reaching out and grabbing Jax’s shoulder. Spinning around, the arsehole had a grin on his smug face, which told me everything I needed to know. He knew exactly what he was up to, the shithead.
“Jax, where are our seats?” I asked through gritted teeth.
“Not much farther,” he answered, playing coy.
“Jaxson!”
“Fine, over there.” He pointed to a spare set of chairs in the second row. Right behind the bench.
“Tell me you didn’t?”
“I didn’t do what?”
“Are you coming or going? Some of us are trying to get to our seats.” A cranky, bald man slurred as he pushed past, knocking me right into Jaxson’s arms. Thank God he was strong enough to catch me or we would’ve both ended up on our arses.
“We need to move,” he whispered.
“Jax… I… I can’t.”
“Oh shush! You’ll be fine. I’m here and I won’t leave your side.”
“Promise?” I knew I was being whiny and clingy, but that’s what best friends were for. Besides, it was one hundred percent Jax’s fault I was freaking out right now. Had he have gotten us normal tickets, somewhere in the nosebleed section, I would’ve been fine.
“Promise. Now, let’s go. I want to get an up close and personal look at Mr. Perfect.”
“He’s not perfect,” I grumbled under my breath. Sure, he looked perfect and so far, he’d acted like everything I could ever want, but I wasn’t some naive twenty-two-year-old anymore. I was older. Wiser. More cynical. I knew no one was perfect. No matter how many abs they had.
I don’t really know what I was expecting to be honest, but whatever it was it didn’t include loud music, screeching, singing, and fireworks. When did a game of soccer become such a spectacle? Instead of making myself look like an even bigger loser than I felt, I just pasted on a smile and went along with it.
I thought I was playing it cool. Casual. Sitting there, smiling, drinking my beer, taking it all in. I was cool. Until number seven jogged onto the field hand in hand with a kid who barely reached his waist.
My breath hitched.
My knees trembled.
I spilt my beer all over me.
“Shit!” I exclaimed, bouncing up out of my seat, swatting at the liquid soaking through the denim. I have no idea what I thought it was going to achieve, but I kept at it.
“You okay?” Jax asked, eyeing me warily.
He’d probably never seen me like this before. Jittery, nervous, and a complete wreck. I’d never felt like this before. I didn’t like it. Not one little bit.
Pouting, I dropped back in my seat and forced myself to look around and not to focus on how good a certain player’s butt looked in those shorts. Even though they weren’t tight, the way they hung off his narrow hips had all sorts of butterflies in my stomach taking flight. I needed another drink and I needed it now.
Before I knew it, the anthem was sung, the whistle blown, and the game was underway.
For five minutes I watched the ball get passed back and forth and back again, seemingly not going anywhere. It was crazy. And by the ten-minute mark, I was bored.
“Holy hell, Elise,” Jax exclaimed, nudging me in the ribs with his elbow.
“Ouch!”
“Sorry. But, honey, have you seen that?” he asked, pointing to the middle of the field where one player stood by themselves concentrating on what was going on ahead of him. I didn’t need him to turn around so I could check his number to know it was Luca. I already knew. He hadn’t starred in every single one of my filthy fantasies over the past week for me to not recognise him.
“Yes, Jax, I know that’s Luca,” I sighed, pretending to be unimpressed. The truth was, I was more than impressed. Everything about him was impressive. While I might’ve spent a week giving Jaxson shit for being an online stalker, the reality was I was doing my own research. I’d spent more than a few nights staring at images of the man I’d learnt, at the peak of his career, was Australia’s best.
“Elise, you know I love you, but you seriously need to listen to me.”
If Jax was starting a sentence like that, I was terrified what was going to come next. “Jax, there are kids around,” I reminded him.
“Honey, if you don’t take that Italian stallion for a ride, I’m disowning you,” he declared, and from the serious look on his face, I knew he meant every single word.
“That’s a little over dramatic, don’t you think?”
“I am over dramatic, darling. But it’s not about me…”
“It’s always about you.”
“True. But today it’s not. Today it’s about dusting off those cobwebs, changing out of those granny panties I know you’re wearing—” I scowled at him. I wanted to argue but there was no point. He wasn’t wrong. A fact I hated. “—and go and ask that gorgeous hunk of man meat out for a drink and then some.”
“Then some?”
“Fine! Be boring. Start with a drink.”
Behind us I heard snickering and turned to see three women gawking at me like I’d grown a second head or had an accidental nip slip. I felt my cheeks burn. I was sure they’d heard every single word that had come out of Jax’s mouth. I wanted to crawl under my seat and hide. After I killed him of course.
“Sorry,” I apologised meekly before turning back around.
When a soft hand landed on my shoulder, I almost had a heart attack. “Sweetheart, there’s nothing to
apologise for,” the older lady said. “We’ve been coming to these games for a while now and we’ve certainly heard worse. Don’t even worry about it. I think it’s kind of funny. Don’t you, girls?”
The ‘girls’ were the same age as me, or at least close to it. One of them, the one with the most beautiful porcelain skin I’d ever seen, answered. “Yeah, it’s fine. At least it would be if you weren’t talking about our brother.”
“What?” I didn’t mean to screech like a banshee but couldn’t help it. Beside me, Jax scoffed before falling into a fit of full-blown laughter.
“Luca is your…your brother?” he confirmed. I wished he’d let it go. While I could pretend she hadn’t said it, I was living in denial. And no matter what people said, denial was a lovely place to hang out.
“Yep,” replied the other. “Our older brother.”
“Fuck me,” I swore before clamping my hand over my mouth. Being a teacher, I knew better than to swear in public. While I wasn’t averse to dropping an f bomb here or there, I tried to restrain myself, at least when kids were around.
“Elise!” Jax chastised, knowing my rules.
Facing the front, I buried my head in my hands. When my hair fell down around my face, I was grateful for the curtain to hide behind. By the time I’d pulled myself together enough to sit up again, I was scouting the exits trying to figure out the quickest way out of there.
“Dear,” the soft voice came, and like I was on autopilot, I turned to face the older woman. She was beautiful in her own way. Her hair was grey at her temples and deep laugh lines were etched on her face. She reminded me of my own grandmother. “Are you Elise, the schoolteacher from Westview Primary?”
Wait!
What!
Unable to form words, I nodded, still stunned.
“It can’t be!” Porcelain retorted, bouncing in her seat.
“She’s the one,” the girl sitting between them confirmed.
Dumbly, I asked, “I’m the one, what?”
Chapter Seven - Luca
“Fuck yeah!” I cheered as I banged my locker.
We’d won. I don’t know how and I don’t know why, all I could be sure of was when the ref’s whistle sounded calling time on the game, we were ahead on the score board two to one. At half time I was feeling like we had a chance. Even though we were down one–nil, for some reason I still thought we could come from behind and win.
“How’d that happen?” Alexi asked, sitting on the bench untaping his wrist.
“No idea,” I confirmed.
You’d think after your first win of the season people would be leaping out of their skin celebrating. This wasn’t like that though. This was eerily different. It was like no one wanted to make too big of a deal out of it in case it wasn’t real.
“What the hell was that?” Coach Fischer boomed as he stomped through the door, his chest puffed out and a beaming smile on his face. “Not only our first win for the season but a come from behind win too. You should be proud of your efforts. Jameson! Where’s Jameson?”
Jameson was our goalie, and if I knew him half as well as I thought I did, my bet was he hadn’t quite made it to the locker room yet. It’d become a habit, mainly at away games, to try and secure a win with the ladies, although I could see him cashing in tonight’s win for all it’s worth and going for the double.
“I’m here! What’s the problem?” he asked dramatically as he stepped through the doorway, hands above his head like he’d just won a title fight.
“I’m too old for this,” I muttered to myself.
“You and me both, brother,” Alexi replied, offering me his fist.
After Coach had praised Jameson’s efforts and went through his laundry list of all the things he liked about the game, we were dismissed. After a quick shower, I changed into a pair of dark jeans and a button-down and dug my phone from the bottom of the bag.
Turning it back on, I couldn’t help but smile when I saw the number of missed messages. It was on nights like this that I loved having a big family. They made sure I didn’t forget to feel awesome about playing a good game.
Flicking through my messages, I saw all the cheerleading, even from Dad who was usually the most reserved of the lot. Tonight though, it seemed even he’d gotten excited.
Then there was Izzy. If anyone had promoted themselves to the position of making sure my ego was kept in check, it was Izzy. Any little thing she could find to bust my balls over, she pounced on it. I don’t think in the past twenty years she’d ever once missed an opportunity. Even when I lived overseas, she’d message or email me to let me know of my poor wardrobe choices for an interview, and if I thought that was as bad as it got, the moment she met Stephanie, my ex-girlfriend, the gloves came off. Until that moment, Izzy had only been toying with me.
Izzy: Get your smelly butt out here. Got a present for ya
Great! That meant not only was she here in person to ruin my buzz, but God knows what nasty surprise she had waiting for me.
Waving goodbye to a couple of the guys, I slipped out the door and back down the tunnel. I knew where they’d be. Every time someone came to the game and waited to catch up after, usually for food, they were standing by the hot dog van.
Making my way there, I got stopped a couple of times by kids wanting selfies and an autograph while their dads congratulated me on finally getting a win. I don’t think they even realised the backhanded compliments they were dishing out when they added the word finally.
Rounding the corner, I spotted Mum before anyone else. I didn’t think she was here. Especially considering Dad had been messaging me including photos of the TV.
“Mum!” I called out as I reached her side. Wrapping my arm around her shoulders, I hugged her tight. I might be a grown-arse man, but there was still something about hugs from your mother that just made everything in the world better.
“Good game, Luca.”
“Thanks. I didn’t know you were coming. You should’ve told me.”
“Why? So you could stick me upstairs in one of those fancy boxes? No, I’d prefer to sit out in the stands where I can smell the grass and see the sweat. Makes it real.”
“Okay.” I was beginning to think Mum was losing it. She sure was acting weird.
“Don’t I get a hello?” Arianna asked, rubbing her belly, something I noticed she was doing more and more each time I saw her.
“Hey, baby mama. How’s my nephew doing in there?” I asked, kissing her on her forehead as she leaned against me and sighed. Looking down at her, I could see she looked tired. I don’t even know why she’d come. If anyone had the perfect excuse to sit at home, eat ice cream, and watch those crappy reality shows she loved so much, it was Ari.
“He’s been playing soccer with my bladder all week. This one is definitely like his uncle.”
“So what you’re saying is, he’s already awesome,” I offered with a wink. Ari just rolled her eyes at me. Something she did often.
“Ready for your surprise, Luca?” Izzy interrupted.
From the wicked look on her face, I knew she was up to no good. There was mischief there. I stole a glance at Ari and Mum, but neither of them were giving away her secrets. Mum just smiled, and that’s when I knew I was truly screwed. If Izzy was up to something and Mum wasn’t only in on the joke but also on board with it, I should be truly terrified.
Faking confidence, something I’d gotten sadly good at over the past couple of years, I let go of Ari and stood up straight, preparing for whatever Izzy had planned. “What are you up to, Iz?”
“Turn around, pretty boy.”
Damn I hated when she called me that. With one last glance at Mum, I turned slowly and my mouth dropped. Standing there in front of me, looking as nervous as I felt, was Elise. She looked so tiny in her jeans and jersey that hung from her shoulders. The caveman in me, the one I was barely keeping control over, wanted to spin her around and check what number was on the back of her jersey. Instead, my face split into a huge smile.
>
“Elise! What are you doing here?” My normally deep voice cracked like it had when I was a pimple-faced teen.
“My friend, Jax,” she pointed to the guy standing beside her with his arms folded across his chest and a smug smirk on his face, “made me come.”
Taking a step forward, part of me was testing her. Seeing if she bolted as I closed the distance between us. Surprisingly, she didn’t move a muscle. Instead, she held her ground and kept her eyes locked with mine. She was either tough as hell, or she was one damn fine actress. Either way, her confidence had my dick hardening in my jeans.
Breaking her hold, I looked over to Jax. “Hey, man. Thanks for convincing Elise to come out tonight.” I offered my hand, and he took it firmly. Behind me I could hear the snickers and didn’t have to turn around to know who it was. But I’d deal with my sisters later.
“And on that note, darling,” Mum interrupted. I was frustrated by her interruption which forced my attention from Elise, part of me was still convinced if I turned away even for a second, she’d vanish.
“Yeah, Mum,” I tried to keep the annoyance out of my voice, but it wasn’t very convincing.
“If you’re okay here, we’re going to head home.”
“Oh, okay. Thanks for coming tonight.”
Grabbing my shoulders, Mum lifted up on her tippy toes and kissed my cheek before whispering in my ear. “She’s one of the good ones. We like her.”
That was all it took and I was done for.
Elise McCoy owned me and she had no idea.
Five minutes, a dozen hugs, and a dozen more promises, and they’d left. Thank God. After waving them goodbye, I turned back to Elise who was shifting her weight back and forth looking like she was going to bolt any second.
“So, what’d you think?”
“Honestly?”
“Always.”
“It wasn’t what I was expecting.”
“I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing,” I replied nervously.
“Can it be both?”
This girl was not going to make it easy on me. At every turn she had me questioning my moves and second-guessing myself. She was definitely different.
Overtime (Playing The Field Book 1) Page 4