It’s been a long, long day of training, and all I want to do is go home, take a hot bath, and have Jesse massage my legs, but all of that’s going to the wayside since I’ve got company tonight, in a girls’ night to end all girls’ nights.
Aria and Raleigh are in London and we’re hanging out for the next week, well six days if we’re getting technical about it, and I couldn’t be happier. If I could just get myself off the bench and move my body to the showers to clean myself off.
Abby shoots a towel at me, all grins, and evil laughs, and I would throw something back if I could.
I went hard today, harder than I usually do, wanting to secure my spot, wanting to make sure Coach Hansen doesn’t forget about me after the media circus that was last season with Jesse and me being a ‘football power couple,’ whatever that even means.
“How’s the leg?” Abby asks, glancing down at it, and I smack my hand over my right thigh, as if protecting it from her gaze. It hasn’t given me any real problems, other than the fact that I’ve been afraid to push harder and harder and get injured again (which is always easier the second time around since the damage is already done), but I’m just not able to rein myself in.
I love playing too much.
I was off for weeks and weeks and weeks last season, and I’m not repeating that mistake this season.
I’m not going to get stuck in my head again, overanalyzing every one of my movements, and I’m going to shake off the bad decisions that result in bad plays to get my head back in the game. It’s not always easy, but I think I’m getting better at it.
I think.
“How’s your face?” I ask, notching my chin towards the black eye she’s sporting, the result of an errant flying elbow that was more deliberate than accidental in a pre-season friendly that never really is friendly. “Better put some ice on that.”
“Why? Kent’s going to pamper me for the rest of the week, and I can probably milk out two if I pretend to be really cranky.” She grins, pressing her fingers gingerly against her bruise, the skin not even at its peak purple, tinged with red along the edges yet. It makes me a little nauseous just looking at it, her bright blue eye shining through all of that mess, clashing with her red hair.
“I see, I see. So, it’s all part of the game plan.”
Abby nods and starts pulling off her jersey, standing around in her sports bra, then untying her hair.
“No, seriously, how’s the leg? Do you need help walking?”
I huff a laugh and wave her off. “No, no. I’m good. I’m just…resting.”
Abby frowns at me and takes a few steps forward, boots clicking against the flooring. “Are you sure? Should I get Trainer Bee?”
I shrug, not trying to look alarmed. “I mean, you could, but then she’d just yell at the both of us for wasting her time…”
“It’s not a waste if it’s her job, Maple Syrup.”
I roll my eyes, but in all fairness, if I’m going to be called something because I’m Canadian, then Maple Syrup isn’t so bad. “I’m good. Just tired. Gonna get my period and all I want to do is eat and sleep like a bear preparing for hibernation.”
“Yeah? You’re sure you’re all right?”
“Yes, Abby. Jesus. I’m good. I’ll be fine after I’ve eaten something, promise.”
She keeps frowning at me. “Maybe you should tell Trainer Bee about the tiredness, eh? Just to make sure there’s nothing wrong.”
I glare at her. “I’m not pregnant, if that’s what you’re angling for.”
Abby raises her hands up, palms out, trying to look as non-threatening as possible. “Just check yourself out, all right? I don’t need a new winger. Besides, you did good today. We kicked ass.”
I smile tiredly, swiping at the sweat dripping into my eyes. “Yeah, we did. We totally did. Go take a shower, I’m gonna sit here for a few minutes longer.”
“All right. Yell if you need anything.”
Abby grabs her little basket of toiletries and a fresh towel with the club logo on it (in case we forget who we belong to, apparently) and heads towards the showers, towel secured around her chest.
I’ve already discarded my jersey into the laundry bin at the center of the room, along with my socks, and tossed my shin pads and boots in their respective bins for general washing and upkeep. My bag starts making noise between my feet, and I’m already grinning as soon as I pull my phone out, smiling even harder when I see who it is.
“Yo, Aria,” I say, the locker room reception not the most ideal for a phone call conversation, but shit, it’s so good to hear her voice, and the knowledge that she’s actually in the same city as I am has me reeling, fighting down the butterflies that twist and turn in my stomach with a kind of roller-coaster excitement. “You just got in?”
“Maddie! Holy shit, I’m in London! Well, Croydon, but I’m here, I’m here!” she yells at the top of her lungs and I don’t have the heart to pull my phone away from my ear. “I can’t believe it, man. I’m here, and you’re here, and Raleigh’s…Raleigh’s flight should be coming in within the hour and I can’t wait to see you both.”
“You sound…chipper.”
Aria laughs. “Yeah, I had a nap. It was glorious.”
“Oh, it was that kind of nap, was it?” I laugh, untying my hair and unraveling the braid bit by bit one-handed.
“Holy shit, no. We’re at Ayden’s parents’ house. But I feel better now. I’ve had two cups of tea and some chocolate chip cookies that Mrs. Stone made, and everything’s really great here. It was just super nice to wash off all that plane smell, you know, and I feel energized. Plus, Ayden’s dog, Raven, is a lot of fun to hang around with, and exceptionally good at fetch. Right, boy? You know I’m talking about you, huh?” Aria’s speech dips down into baby talk as she talks to the dog, and I can’t help but grin, forcing myself to stand up, to shake my legs out.
“I can’t wait to see you guys.”
“Yeah, I know, me neither. Raleigh’s gonna be headed your way in the next couple of hours, and I’m still in Croydon right now. What was the plan for tonight, anyway? It was the only time I had unaccounted for in my itinerary. I just have the words ‘hang out with Raleigh and Maddie.’”
“An itinerary? Really, Aria?”
“Hey, you know me, I plan everything out, and then when nothing goes according to plan, I get irrationally upset.”
“Isn’t that how you met Ayden, though?”
She snorts. “Yeah…in a way. So, I guess it all works out then, huh?”
I stretch at the waist, grunting when something pops along my back, first the left side then the right. “You guys are coming to my exhibition game in a couple of days, right? It’s gonna happen here, at Redwall Park.”
“Yeah, yeah, of course. I’ve got those tickets you sent me in my email, and we’ll all be there, promise.”
“It’ll be nice for you to see me play.” I sound like a little kid, excited that the people she loves are going to watch her play a game she loves. But it does feel a lot like that, and I’m not gonna feel sorry about it.
“I’ll be yelling my head off, don’t you worry.” Aria sighs, fighting back a yawn, which in turn makes me yawn. “’Kay, I’m gonna get dressed in a nicer top and put on some makeup, and I’ll meet you at your place in a couple of hours, all right? Sound good to you?”
I nod, before realizing that she can’t see me. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll order us some boring food because I’m starting a new season and can’t eat shit for now.”
“Yeah, yeah, sure, no problem. Just as long as we’re together. That’s what I’m looking forward to the most, not the food.”
I make sure that Aria has the address to my apartment and then disconnect the call, moving to the showers once and for all after I get all my stuff, and securely stow my phone away.
I’ve got plans and I need to hurry up.
Jesse’s waiting for me in the parking lot, my still-wet hair tied at the top of my head in a messy bun, my joggers and club shirt on, bag slung over my body crosswise, sneakers scuffling against the gravel.
When I get to Jesse’s SUV and heave myself into his car, he presents me with one of my favourite protein bars, the ones I usually keep in my bag for this very occasion but ran out of and forgot to replenish my stock.
“Oh, shit, God bless your soul, Windy,” I say, stuffing my bag at my feet and ripping open the protein bar with something close to violence, tearing off the first bite while settling back into the passenger seat, eyes fluttering closed.
“Thank you,” I mumble around my first bite, sighing at the not-so-great taste, but knowing it’s not going to hurt my calorie-count and has enough protein to keep me going until Raleigh and Aria show up at my place for the first time that we’ll be together in eight months.
“How are you, Maddie?” Jesse asks, and I glance over at him, his entire body turned towards me, blocking out the driver’s side window in case anyone comes gawking. Which they won’t, because this is private property and there are apparently rules about being photographed on private property. But that doesn’t mean jack when those camera lenses can pick up the size of the pores on my face from a thousand meters out (or something like it).
“Good,” I say, still chewing, looking over at him and wondering how he could look so handsome after practice.
There’s still some residual redness to his cheeks like he’s been running for a long time, and his smile is soft as he looks at me, making me want to squirm in my seat, those butterflies flapping their giant wings, making my belly swoop. “How are you doing?”
“Better now,” he says, tilting his head at me. “As always.”
“Huh,” I mutter, wiping at my mouth with a hand. “It’s almost as if you love me or something,” I say, blowing him a tired kiss while the aches and pains of a long, hard day of training are making themselves known as I sit here, relaxing. I need my foam roller and a hot, hot bath with a pound of Epsom salts thrown in immediately.
Jesse’s got the A/C on, but at my slightest shiver he’s letting the windows down, leaning over into the backseat to pull out one of his own hoodies he stashes back there for this very occasion. My hair’s still wet, and I’m tired and hungry, which doesn’t do good things for my body temperature apparently.
“Thanks, Jesse,” I sigh, finishing up my protein bar and giving my jaw muscles a workout from hell. “What are you up to tonight?”
Jesse shrugs. “Going to stay home. Watch a movie. Like I did before you came into my life.”
“Well, shit, that sounds kind of lonely.”
“Why? I don’t mind being on my own so much. It’s just better when you’re around. I’m glad, though, that you get to see your friends.”
“Now I feel a little guilty that you’re going to be all alone. Can’t you go out with some of the guys?”
“I was invited to Tourinho’s kid’s birthday party,” Jesse says, musing out loud. “Maybe I’ll go to that.”
“How old’s the kid?”
Jesse shrugs. “Six, I think? What do six-year-old kids even like?”
“Cookies. Without a doubt, cookies. If Tourinho spoils his family as much as I think he does, you can’t buy the kid anything that he doesn’t already have. So just bring cookies from that bakery we tried out before we went back on our diets. Have I told you how much I hate dieting? I miss pizza, so very much.”
“I know, baby, but cheat meal isn’t until the weekend.”
“You’re going to make me eat a vegetarian pizza made of something stupid like cauliflower crust, aren’t you?”
Jesse grins, and wow, it makes me stupid, having the intensity of that smile directed at me, and only me. “I’m not going to say anything.”
I sigh and kick at my bag, being petulant as shit. I’m gonna get my period and I want pizza. Is that really too much to ask for? Really? I grind my teeth and clench my jaw, huffing out an annoyed breath. “Fine, fine. It’s all fine and dandy.”
“I didn’t get my kiss hello,” Jesse says nonchalantly, as if he’s commenting on the weather, on the colour of his car, on nothing remotely interesting, but his words make me hold my breath.
“Here? Now?” I glance around, knowing we’re exposed. “Wouldn’t it have been better if we were inside the training center, behind a closed door?”
“Says the woman who won’t let me kiss her in front of her teammates.”
“Listen,” I say, holding up a hand, but he’s already grinning, and I know that whatever I’m about to say is a lost cause. “That’s our place of work. We can’t be kissing all the time. We need to show respect.”
“Says the woman who accosted me in front of our locker room before her friendly game because she wanted some of my good luck.”
I roll my eyes. “You keep bringing up all of my violations of said rule like you plan on not following them,” I say, pushing a hand against his chest when he advances, but my own elbow betrays me and buckles, bringing Jesse that much closer to me, his smile practically all I can see.
“Ugh, fine. But this has to hold you off until tomorrow.”
“Oh, I plan on kissing you very thoroughly, Maddie Chase.”
I snort, helpless against him. Jesse’s kisses are always good, and always welcome (except when I’m actually playing, and I really have no time for that).
“Fine, then, your Windship. Make it count.”
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