“Luca’s playing like crap,” Izzy announced, not bothering to sugar-coat it.
“He’s not doing that bad,” I defended, feeling like I had to.
“Oh, Elise, you’re sweet. Playing the role of the supportive girlfriend. Defending him. But come on. He’s playing like shit and you know it,” Ari teased.
“It’s not a great game…” I offered, ignoring her girlfriend comment. I didn’t have the energy to argue with them right now. If Ari and Izzy were as stubborn as their brother, and from what I’d already seen, they were worse, I’d be fighting a losing battle. A fight I wasn’t up for today.
“It’s a shit game,” Dana clarified. “But have you checked out number twelve? Who is he and where can I get one?”
If there was one thing you could always count on Dana for, it was to break the tension. She could also always be counted on to be checking out guys no matter where she went.
“Number twelve?”
“Yeah. Look at that arse! You could bounce quarters off it.”
Izzy had a wide, knowing smile plastered across her face. Somehow, she looked effortlessly chic all rugged up, while I was almost as wide as I was tall. “It’s not bad.”
“Not bad. He’s fucking hot!” Dana declared before handing me her drink and standing up.
“Oh shit,” I mumbled under my breath.
“What’s she doing?” Ari asked as Dana took off down the steps towards the fence.
“You don’t even want to know.” Setting her drink down, I wriggled down in my seat and pulled the hood of my jacket over my head.
“Nice butt, number twelve,” I heard someone call out. I didn’t even have to look to know who was making all the noise on the sideline.
She must’ve got the reaction she was after because she was encouraged to keep going. “Are you single, number twelve? Cos you don’t have to be.”
“Did I just hear that correctly?” Izzy asked, and all I could do was nod. I had no words.
“That’s fucking gold. Number twelve’s Dustin, and he’s married with two kids,” Ari laughed, and I couldn’t stop the smile from stretching my cheeks. I was going to feel so much better when Dana found out he wasn’t on the market.
The second half was almost as boring as the first. Luca made mistakes he usually wouldn’t, and he never really seemed comfortable out there. At least there was scoring, I guess, to bring a bright spark to the game. Shame it was the other team hitting the back of the net and not Luca’s.
When the whistle finally ended the game, I heaved out a sigh of relief. As the night had rolled in, the temperature had dropped and now it was close to freezing. At least that’s what it felt like.
“Well, thank God that’s over,” I declared, rising from my seat and collecting my rubbish.
“You coming down to the rooms?” Izzy asked.
“Not tonight. I’m sick, and the last thing I want to do is make Luca sick too. I’ll catch up with him in a few days,” I explained. It wasn’t the whole truth, but I wasn’t lying either. The last thing I wanted to do was give him a cold.
“He’s not going to like that.”
“I’m sure he’ll survive. You ready to head off, Dana?”
She looked as upset with me as Izzy sounded. Well, they could all get over themselves. I was tired and cold and going home to bed. Everyone could just deal with it. Occasionally I was allowed to be selfish, and tonight was my night.
Ari must’ve sensed Dana’s disappointment. “Dana, wanna come down with us and then we can drop you home?” she offered.
“Seriously?”
“Absolutely. We can introduce you to number twelve,” Izzy joined in.
Dana looked at me with wide, hopeful eyes. “Would you mind, Elise?”
I imagined this is what Luca felt like when Phoebe batted her lashes up at him. Completely and utterly powerless to say no. “Not at all. Go have fun.”
“You sure?”
“Yep. I’m going to bed anyway.”
Giving her a quick hug, I reminded her to have fun but not get arrested. She slapped my butt as I walked past, and Izzy and Ari offered their best wishes as I made a beeline to my car.
***
The moment I stepped inside the door, I started peeling off the layers, dropping them at my feet. Once I was naked, I stepped under the scalding hot stream of water and rolled my neck, hearing the cracking and creaking of my aching bones. When the water started to cool, I stepped out, dried off, swallowed down a couple of cold and flu tablets, pulled on my favourite fluffy pyjamas with ice cream cones all over them, and collapsed into bed. I hadn’t realised how tired I was until my head hit the pillow. Right now, the world could explode outside my window and I wouldn’t have moved. My big weekend plans included sleeping, sleeping and perhaps a nap. After plugging my phone into the charger, I set it to silent and closed my eyes.
I lost track of the hours. I know I’d woken up a few times to use the bathroom, take more medication and grab another bottle of water, but that was about it. I was just so damn exhausted. Even stumbling out to the kitchen to grab another drink took everything out of me. The last time I’d woken, I’d convinced myself a change of scenery would help and dragged my blanket out to the couch.
A banging at the door interrupted my dozing. Blinking my eyes, I waited for them to adjust. When the knocking came again, I kicked off the blanket and sat up, rubbing the crusted sleep from my eyes. As I went to stand, I wobbled before falling back down again. Taking a deep breath, I tried again but the room spun around me, and I was forced to grab hold of the arm of the chair to keep my balance.
Frustrated, I blew my breath out.
“I’m coming in so you better be wearing pants!” announced a voice I’d recognise anywhere.
Realising it was only Jax and knowing he had his own key, I curled back into a ball and yanked my blanket back over my legs, waiting for him to breeze through the door and start lecturing me. True to form, he didn’t disappoint.
“Geez, you look like shit!”
“Love you too, Jax.”
“Sweetheart! Seriously though, you look terrible. You okay?” I loved how Jax could go from pissed-off bitch to kind, caring and compassionate in the next breath.
“I’m fine.”
“Yeah, you’re not.”
“I’m just tired. And cold. So fucking cold,” I admitted, tucking the blanket up under my chin.
“When was the last time you ate?” Jax asked as I noticed the plastic bag dangling from his hand.
That one was a brain buster. “Um…chips at the football?” I guessed.
“That was Friday!” Jax squawked, and I was waiting for the old lady next door to bang on the wall and tell us to keep it down. “It’s Sunday afternoon. I’m feeding you.”
I didn’t have the energy to fight with Jax right now. If he wanted to fuss about, then he could go ahead. He stormed past me, and I laid back and closed my eyes. When he started banging and crashing in the kitchen, I knew I wasn’t going to get any rest while he was here. This time when I sat up, I moved slowly, giving myself time for the room to stop spinning.
On wobbly legs, I made my way down the hall, leaning heavily against the wall. “I’m going to have a quick shower while you do…whatever you’re doing,” I told Jax, and he just looked up at me.
“Good! I love you, Elise, but damn, girl, you smell rank!”
“Gee thanks.”
After a quick shower and scrubbing the fuzz from my teeth, I was starting to feel at least a little bit human. Stepping out of the bathroom, I saw my bed had been stripped and something smelt amazing. My stomach rumbled loudly.
“Was that your stomach or your arse?” Jax asked crudely.
“Don’t be a jerk. What are you cooking?” I probed, trying to peer around him to the saucepan bubbling on the stove.
“Chicken soup.”
“Yum.”
“I also got chocolate, tea, ice cream, tissues and more cold and flu tablets.”
This right here was why I loved him. He always knew what I needed even before I did. “Thank you.”
While he ladled soup into a bowl, he shooed me towards the table. A minute later, he set the steaming bowl in front of me before popping two pills into my palm and handing me a bottle of water.
The moment the first spoonful of hot soup touched my tongue, I moaned embarrassingly loudly. I could hear Jax in my room swearing and cursing, but I didn’t care. I was too focused on inhaling my dinner.
As I was scraping the bottom of the bowl, I was dreaming about a fresh crusty bread roll smothered in butter.
“Well you look a bit better now,” Jax smarted as he dropped into the seat next to me.
“I feel it.”
“Good. I hate it when you’re sick.”
“It’s not much fun for me either,” I reminded him.
“Why didn’t you call? I would’ve come over and taken care of you.” The sad, puppy-dog eyes Jax was using on me was making my heart hurt.
Reaching out, I wrapped my hand around his. “I know you would’ve. But honestly. It’s just a cold. I’ve been asleep since Friday. There’s nothing you could’ve done.”
“I could’ve been here,” he grumbled, and I felt like the world’s biggest bitch.
“I know you would’ve, and I love you for it. But, Jax, I’m a big girl. I know you’ve always tried to look after me. Especially after Michael made you promise to, but it’s okay. I was just a kid then. I’m all grown up now. I need to learn how to stand on my own two feet. And I need you to let me.”
As much as it hurt me to say those words, this conversation had been a long time coming. I’d been putting it off because I knew no matter which words I used, it was going to hurt him. Hurt us. Once they were out there, I’d never be able to take them back. I think the final kick in the arse I needed to force me into action was Luca. If we had any chance of being something real, Luca needed to be the number one man in my life, which meant it was time for Jax to take a step back. He’d always be there and always be a huge part of my life, but I needed to give Luca a chance.
“I know.”
“I love you,” I reminded him. If he was going to be angry at me or hate me right here in this moment, then I needed him to remember that no matter what. I loved him.
“Love you too, sweetheart.”
Jax stood up and I panicked. I thought he was going to leave, and that’s the last thing I wanted him to do. “Where are you going?”
“To put clean sheets on your bed.”
“You’re not leaving?”
“Sweetheart, you’re never getting rid of me, so get used to it.” He dropped a kiss on my head and left me sitting there staring at his retreating back, relief flooding me.
***
An alarm woke me before the sun, and I rolled over into a hot, hard and very smooth chest. Cracking my eyes open, Jax was already climbing out of bed. I couldn’t even remember going to bed. The last thing I remembered was lying on the lounge, my heavy head in Jax’s lap while he played with my hair and we watched 27 Dresses.
Tucking the blankets back up under my chin, he bent down and kissed my forehead. “Go back to sleep. I’ve already called in sick for you. I’ll come back and check in on you this afternoon.”
“Mmkay,” I mumbled sleepily.
***
Jax appeared right on schedule, but this time I was up, dressed, and I’d made the bed. I was sitting on the couch eating chocolate biscuits and sipping my tea when he strode through the door.
“Hey, Princess.” He greeted me with a smile.
“Hey, Sexy.”
“Ooo. Sexy. I like that.”
“Thought you might,” I teased with a wink.
“You feeling better?”
“A million times better.”
“Great to hear. Now I can kick your arse.”
“Kick my arse? What’d I do?”
“Where’s your phone?”
“On the charger.”
“And is the charger turned on?”
“Oh.” Yeah, didn’t check that. I was lucky I even managed to plug it in.
“Yeah. Oh.”
“I didn’t mean it…” I started to defend.
“I know. But people worry about you. I worry about you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Oh, sweetheart. You will be.”
With his chest puffed out like a peacock, Jax strutted past me, shaking his arse as he went. A moment later he returned, my phone in his hand. “This should be good.” He smirked, dropping it in my lap and making himself comfortable.
I looked down and saw the seventeen missed calls and thirty-four unread messages. Shit! This wasn’t going to be pretty. When I groaned, Jax chuckled. “I’m ordering dinner. Pizza?”
“Get garlic bread.” I was going to need it.
I called in sick again the next day. I was feeling better, but I didn’t think I’d have the energy to keep up with my kids. Besides, I was binge watching a TV series and had three episodes to go. One more day and I’d have that sucker finished. So I’d laid around, stuffed myself on popcorn and Oreo’s, and caught up on my show.
I was bored by lunch time.
I’d returned all the missed calls and messages and ended up feeling like the world’s biggest arsehole. Luca had really been worried about me from the sounds of things. I’d called him back, leaving an apologetic message. I assured him that I was okay and told him not to worry, but he hadn’t called me back yet.
The next morning, I’d woken before the alarm, dressed and was in my classroom before seven-thirty. Having a couple of days off, especially when they were unplanned, inevitably resulted in walking into a shit storm, and today was no exception. After tidying up and organising some paperwork, I grabbed my whistle and hat from my desk, left a note for today’s substitute, and headed down to the bus line where parents were already gathering with their kids. Today’s sports carnival was going to kick my arse, but it’s what I signed up for.
After ushering the kids onto the bus and collecting permission slips, I climbed the steps and dropped into the front seat, checking the list twice. Everyone was here. Everyone except Trish. Digging my phone out of my pocket, I text her to move her butt.
“Sorry I’m late…”
Looking up, I was surprised to see it wasn’t Trish clambering up the stairs. It was Corey.
“Corey? What…what are you doing here?”
“I’m coming with you.”
“Where’s Trish?” I asked, trying to keep the panic from my voice.
The door hissed as it closed, and Corey dropped into the seat behind me, leaning forward so I could feel the warmth of his breath on the back of my neck causing goose pimples to break out, and not in a good way.
“I swapped with her,” he confirmed smugly.
“Great,” I gritted out.
Turns out, the shit storm had only just begun.
Chapter Twenty-Three – Luca
This was a bad idea.
A very bad idea.
Not that it was going to stop me though. Some days I wondered how I was so stupid.
Finding a parking spot two blocks away, I reversed in, shrugged on my jacket, and collected the coffees before heading towards the noise. The sound of kids’ laughter, parents’ encouraging words, and whistles blowing had me smiling from ear to ear remembering the days when I was just like them.
Crossing the road, I ducked between cars and stepped up onto the grass, careful not to slip. The last thing I needed this morning was to be caught on camera slipping arse over head on the wet grass and ending up wearing my coffee.
When I made it to the edge of the field, I tried to spot Elise. I had no idea where she was or what she was wearing. Taking a sip of my own coffee, I started down the edge of one of the fields hoping to find her. Or at least someone who’d be able to point me in her direction.
Passing a game of netball that seemed awfully rough for a non-contact sport, I watched on silently as o
ne of the parents tore strips off their kid for fumbling a pass. It was disgusting. The poor girl hung her head and stumbled over her own two feet as her mother reamed her out for being clumsy and costing her side a goal.
I wanted to walk by and stay silent.
I should’ve walked by and stayed silent.
Damn it!
I couldn’t.
I just couldn’t do it. This was why kids gave up sports and ended up hiding in their rooms, too afraid to make a mistake. So what? She missed a pass. Everyone did it. She didn’t need to be torn to shreds in front of her friends for it.
“You’re doing great, wing attack,” I called out, forcing myself to sound cheery.
That shut her mother up quickly and earned me the stink eye, not that I gave a shit.
“Good call,” one of the other parents offered, giving me a small nod.
Within seconds, all the parents, except for the disappointed bitch, were all calling out messages of encouragement, and although it took a minute, slowly but surely smiles spread across the kids’ faces.
Not wanting to steal the attention, I slipped away trying to keep my head down. I passed a game of touch football, more netball, then found the one game I actually understood. Standing at the corner of the field, I watched as the kids dribbled the ball and passed it between them, and I have to say, I was impressed. Some of them were good. Really good. Better than I was at their age, that’s for sure.
When an errant shot at goal headed in my direction, my reflexes kicked in before my brain, and I let it bounce off my chest before landing it at my feet and bringing it to a stop. It wasn’t until I heard the audible gasps around me that I realised what I’d just done. Making a spectacle of myself was definitely not on my priority list of things I’d intended to do today. But me, being the idiot I was, had done just that.
When I kicked the ball back to the kid who was headed in my direction, he cracked a wide smile, showing off his crooked teeth.
Overtime (Playing The Field Book 1) Page 14