Striker (Book 1 in the 'Striker' Trilogy)

by Michelle Betham

  ‘Well, I hope you’re looking after her,’ Jim went on, staring straight ahead as they walked together towards the dining room. ‘Amber. I hope you’re treating her right. She’s a very special girl.’

  ‘Know her well, do you?’ Ryan asked, suddenly keen to know more about the relationship between his boss and his girlfriend. He knew Jim was a good friend of Amber’s dad, he knew he’d been close to the family for a number of years – ever since he’d been a Newcastle Red Star player alongside Freddie Sullivan. But how close was he, really, to Amber?

  ‘I know her well enough to care about how people treat her,’ Jim replied, shoving his hands in his pockets as he turned to look at Ryan. ‘You’re a lucky man, to have her in your life. You shouldn’t take that for granted.’

  What was this? Some kind of lecture? Ryan was slowly getting more pissed off as the day went on. Was everybody out to get him all of a sudden? He was prevented from saying anything else by his phone ringing. It was Max. ‘I’ve got to take this,’ Ryan muttered, placing his phone to his ear and walking away from Jim. ‘Max. What can I do for you?’

  ‘You behaving yourself?’

  ‘For Christ’s sake, what is it with everyone today? I’m at the training ground, Max, what the frig can I get up to here?’

  ‘I wouldn’t put anything past you, kiddo. How you fixed for a photo shoot with the club’s sponsors next week?’

  ‘Just me? Or is the rest of the team involved, too?’

  ‘Just you. They want you to be part of a new poster campaign – you’ve got the right look, apparently.’

  ‘What kind of money are we talking about here?’

  ‘I’m in negotiations as we speak, but we’re looking at six figures, at least. I just wanted to make sure you were on board. Can I tell them yes? You’re not averse to taking your shirt off for a few hundred thousand quid, are you?’

  Ryan couldn’t help but smile. ‘Why not? At least it’ll get me out of the house for a few hours.’

  ‘Speaking of which, how are the cosy nights in coming along? I trust you’ve been a good boy since we last saw each other?’

  ‘I’m not in the mood, Max. I’m having a shit day…’

  ‘And those are the days we need to be aware of, Ryan. Remember that. Don’t let them get to you, kiddo. Fight it. You can do it; I’ve got faith in you.’

  Ryan just wished he had as much faith in himself.

  *

  ‘Are things going okay with you and Ronnie, then?’ Amber asked, sitting down on the edge of Anna’s desk, picking up a hole-punch and examining it for absolutely no reason whatsoever.

  ‘He’s just so lovely,’ Anna gushed, leaning forward and resting her elbows on the desk as she stared dreamily ahead of her. ‘I can’t believe he hasn’t already been snapped up.’

  ‘Well, the divorce kind of shook him up a bit, I guess,’ Amber said, putting the hole-punch back down and smiling at Anna. With her short dark hair and pretty face she was just what Ronnie needed. She’d given him a new lease of life and Amber couldn’t be happier for them. Ronnie deserved someone special in his life, and she hoped that Anna could be that woman. ‘But, I have to say, since meeting you I’ve never seen him smile quite so much.’

  ‘Really?’ Anna gasped, looking at Amber with wide, hopeful eyes. ‘Oh God, I’m so sorry, Amber. I must sound like some sort of star-struck teenager, I mean, it’s not like I never mix with footballers, is it? It’s just that, well, Ronnie’s different. And I can’t believe he even looked twice at me.’

  ‘Come on, Anna, you’re beautiful! And I’ll let you into a little secret here – Ronnie said exactly the same thing to me after your first date.’

  ‘He did?’ Anna asked, her eyes wide and hopeful again.

  ‘Yeah,’ Amber smiled. ‘He did.’

  Anna sat back in her chair, clasping her hands over her stomach. ‘It’s hard, though, I have to admit, him being away from the North East so often. I really miss him when he’s not here.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Amber sighed, sliding down from the desk. ‘Me too. But, at least he’ll be here over the weekend. He’s commentating on Red Star’s match against Spartans and, if what he told me was true, he’s going to be sticking around for a few days afterwards, too.’

  Anna’s face broke into a huge smile. ‘That’s good. He did say he was thinking of taking a few days off after the derby game.’

  ‘He wants to spend some time with you, Anna. He really does.’

  ‘Amber… thanks. For introducing us.’

  ‘My pleasure,’ Amber smiled, checking her watch. ‘I’m just glad you two hit it off. He deserves someone like you. Someone who really cares about him.’

  ‘And how are things with you and Ryan?’ Anna asked, leaning forward again, resting her chin in her hand as she looked at Amber.

  ‘We’re ticking along,’ Amber replied, wondering if that was really the best description of her and Ryan’s relationship. Is that all they were doing? Ticking along? She’d thought they’d moved on from that. Yet that’s how she’d just described their state-of-play. Ticking along. ‘We’re both having to get used to a whole new routine, y’know? But he is kind of gorgeous, and he doesn’t always act like the egotistical idiot he’s sometimes been labelled as.’

  Anna smiled at Amber. She really did have a pretty smile. Amber could well understand why Ronnie had fallen for her. ‘Everything’s alright, then?’

  Amber looked at her. She’d become quite close to Anna since her and Ronnie had become an item, and it had been a long time since Amber had had a close girlfriend she could confide in. Did Anna want to be that kind of friend, though? Amber had always been slightly wary of opening up too much to people incase they didn’t really want to get that close.

  ‘You can talk to me, Amber. Really. I mean that.’

  Amber looked out of the window, out at the muddy pitch down below, the housing estate in the distance that backed onto the training ground, the grey sky that was casting its murky glow across everything, making it all seem slightly more damp and depressing than it probably was. ‘I just can’t seem to get a handle on him, Anna,’ Amber began, turning back round. ‘I mean, everything was fine this morning, when he left to come here. And yet, by the time I turn up he’s in the middle of a kick-off with Gary Blandford and his mood seems all edgy and agitated.’

  ‘Have you managed to talk to him yet? Since you got here, I mean?’

  Amber shook her head, absent-mindedly fiddling with the cuff of her jacket. ‘I haven’t had a chance. Jesus, Anna…’ Amber sat back down on the desk, sighing heavily again. ‘I know I grew up with a dad who was a famous footballer, but he never really went in for that extravagant kind of lifestyle some of them want to lead nowadays. Things were different back then. We were comfortable, well off, but both my mum and dad were very grounded. Very – normal, I suppose. If that’s the right word. And now I’ve suddenly been thrust into a relationship with what I used to consider the worst kind of footballer. And I never wanted to be a WAG, y’know? Ever. I can’t mix in those circles; I can’t be like those women, although I know I shouldn’t tar everybody with the same brush. It’s just that, some of the wives and girlfriends who get in that Players Lounge on a match day really freak me out. For some reason. I always feel like I should be running out to get myself a pair of five-inch silver-heeled ankle boots and a French manicure before I come to the match.’

  ‘I know how you feel,’ Anna sighed. ‘I’m not like that, either. That’s why I like Ronnie so much, because he never did subscribe to that kind of lifestyle.’

  ‘But Ryan has,’ Amber said, staring out of the window again, watching as her dad and Colin Bailey started setting up rows of cones along the pitch ready for the afternoon’s training session. ‘And I’m still not sure I’m going to be able to cope with that.’

  Anna frowned as she looked at Amber, an expression Amber caught as she turned back around, quickly fixing a smile on her face. She couldn’t let anyone know the extent of Ryan’s pro
blems, or how confused her feelings really were where this man was concerned.

  ‘I’m just being silly,’ she said, still smiling. ‘It’s been that long since I’ve been in a serious relationship that I’m letting every tiny detail bother me.’

  ‘It’s understandable,’ Anna smiled back. ‘Especially with Ryan being so high-profile.’

  Both of them looked up sharply as the door opened and Jim Allen walked into the room, and Amber didn’t miss the look most of the girls gave him as he walked through the large, open-plan office on his way to his own office at the other end of the floor. They were almost swooning!

  He stopped by Anna’s desk, smiling at the pretty P.A., and Amber couldn’t help but notice her blush. Jesus, this guy certainly left an impression wherever he went. And that wasn’t always a good thing.

  ‘Amber.’ Jim turned his smile in her direction. ‘I wasn’t expecting to see you up here. I thought you’d be downstairs, with Ryan.’

  Amber looked at him, those green eyes boring into hers with an intensity she could well do without. Whether he was aware of the fact or not, what he was doing wasn’t fair. Just him being there wasn’t fair. But there was nothing she could do about that. ‘It’s not like you to encourage your players to fraternise with their partners in the middle of a training session,’ Amber said, keeping her voice steady and her eyes locked on his.

  ‘Five minutes can’t hurt. And you’re a sensible girl, aren’t you?’ Jim’s eyes continued to bore right into hers. ‘You won’t distract him, will you? You know the score… Listen, Amber, seeing as you’re here, can I have a quick word? Before you go?’

  ‘Erm… yeah. Okay.’

  ‘In my office, if that’s alright?’

  Amber looked at him, trying to work out what he was playing at. If he was playing at anything. Did he really just want a word, and if so, what about? And when the hell had she become so paranoid about everything? The second Jim Allen had turned up back on Tyneside, that’s when. So, shouldn’t she be running downstairs to grab every precious second she could with Ryan before he disappeared back onto the training pitch? Instead of putting herself in another situation where she could be left alone with Jim.

  When they reached his office he stood aside to let her through first before following her inside, closing the door behind him. Amber immediately walked over to the huge picture window at the back of the room that looked out onto the main training pitch. Her dad and Colin were now standing on the touchline with their arms folded, chatting away. They’d no doubt be putting the world of football to rights, if Amber knew her dad.

  ‘A little bird tells me your boyfriend is starting to let his feelings get in the way of his football,’ Jim began, leaning back against his desk, folding his arms.

  Amber turned around, frowning slightly. ‘Colin told you? I thought he…’

  ‘No, it wasn’t Colin. Colin doesn’t tell me anything if he doesn’t think I need to know about it.’

  ‘Then… Was it my dad?’

  ‘I saw it, Amber. Just because I wasn’t outside at the time it doesn’t mean to say things escape my attention. I was up here, in this office. And you can see the view for yourself.’

  Amber continued to look at him, the frown still etched on her face. ‘You don’t know what it was all about, though, do you? I mean, none of us could hear what they were saying to each other, even those of us…’

  ‘I don’t think we needed to hear anything to know what it was all about. Honey, I’m around these guys a hell of a lot, I hear snippets of conversations all the time.’

  ‘So? What’s that got to do with Ryan?’

  ‘A lot of these guys have made a play for you, haven’t they?’

  Amber’s frown showed no signs of going away. ‘Yes, I suppose so, but… they were just trying it on, Jim. You know what they’re like. A female reporter is still a bit of a novelty in the world of football and some of them start acting like over-excited schoolboys when one appears… Are they saying things to him? To Ryan? Are they winding him up?’

  ‘What do you think?’ Jim replied, walking over to her.

  ‘Jesus,’ Amber sighed, throwing her head back. No wonder Ryan was acting like that. His mood was delicate enough as it was, with everything that was going on, so it was obvious the slightest thing was going to set him off. And he really didn’t need that. ‘I’d better go see him.’

  ‘Amber, hang on…’ Jim said, turning to grab her hand as she walked away towards the door. ‘Can I…?’

  ‘Can you, what?’ she asked, pulling her hand away, but not before she’d left it there for a couple of seconds longer than she should have done.

  ‘Is he right for you, honey?’

  She held his gaze for a few seconds, reaching out to grab the door handle, giving her no excuse to stay alone with him any longer. ‘I don’t think that’s got anything to do with you.’

  ‘If this relationship starts to affect his game…’

  ‘It won’t, alright? I’ll make sure of that.’

  Before he could say anything else she walked out of his office, closing the door firmly behind her, striding purposefully through the maze of desks and cubicles, almost running down to the dining room, where she hoped Ryan would be.

  ‘Hey, gorgeous!’ His voice stopped her just before she reached the dining room and she swung round to see him standing there, leaning back against the wall, his arms folded, a smile all over his incredibly handsome face. ‘I’ve been looking for you.’

  She walked over to him, grabbing his t-shirt and pulling him closer, quickly kissing his mouth. He tasted good – a mixture of energy drink and mint. ‘Well, it would appear you’ve found me. You not eating?’

  ‘I’m not hungry,’ he replied, sliding his hand up under her jacket, his fingers gently stroking the small of her back.

  ‘You’ve got to keep your strength up,’ Amber whispered, running her hand lightly over his rough, bearded chin, her eyes focusing on his extremely kissable mouth. A mouth she suddenly wanted to feel touching her in places that nobody but him should be seeing.

  ‘It’s not food I want,’ Ryan said, moving his mouth closer to hers. She could feel him hard against her thigh, and that just made her want him more. A sudden urge she couldn’t back down from now. Because it would help block out all thoughts of Jim Allen? Did it matter? Whatever the reason, she wanted him. Now.

  ‘I’m sure my dad’s going to be working you very hard this afternoon.’

  ‘Then it seems only fair that his daughter helps me with the warm-up exercises, don’t you think?’

  Amber couldn’t help smiling, suddenly feeling like a teenager again, about to do something she shouldn’t. And she knew all about that, didn’t she?

  ‘Come on,’ he said, taking her hand. ‘I know where it’s quiet at the minute.’

  They ran like a couple of kids sneaking off somewhere they shouldn’t, out of the admin block, back outside into the freezing winter sunshine, and Amber clung onto Ryan’s hand, quite happy to let him take her wherever he was heading, which turned out to be the now-quiet and empty dressing room back over in the training centre. Kicking the door shut behind him, Ryan didn’t even stop to catch his breath, pushing Amber back up against the wall, kissing her hard, his hands pulling at her jacket. She wriggled out of it quickly, throwing it onto the floor, desperate to keep the momentum going, not to let this moment pass them by, even though she was more than aware that anyone could walk in at any minute. Including her father. For once in her life she was letting the excitement and the danger take over and sod the consequences.

  ‘Come with me,’ Ryan breathed, taking her hand again as they walked across the dressing room, over to the showers.

  ‘Ryan…’ Amber began, knowing where this was heading but still feeling a fleeting rush of panic.

  He grinned, pulling off his t-shirt to reveal that hard, toned body that had made women go weak at the knees – including Amber. There was something about those tattooed arms that just did it
for her.

  ‘Oh, Jesus,’ she groaned, running her fingers over his chest, her heart racing, her breath almost catching in her throat as she looked at him. Young, beautiful, and all hers. What the hell was she so worried about? Yes, this man was driving her crazy but she’d never had so much fun. When she and Jim had been together – if being together was what you could call it – living dangerously had always given her a kick. There was no reason why she couldn’t go there again. She’d been an expert at it back then. And what was happening here was one hell of a turn-on.

  She closed her eyes and gave in to it all, the feel of his lips on her neck, his hands stripping her naked, giving her shivers the likes of which she hadn’t felt since – well, she hadn’t felt like this in a long while, and it was way better stress-relief than anything else she’d ever tried.

  ‘This is crazy,’ she groaned as his fingers trailed lightly over her breasts, his mouth almost touching hers.

  ‘You up for this, then?’ he smiled, although even he must have been totally aware that it was a purely rhetorical question.

  ‘Somebody could walk in here any second, Ryan.’

  ‘Then they’re gonna get themselves one hell of a free show, aren’t they?’

  She felt her stomach flip over a dozen times, making it feel as though every butterfly there could possibly be was now flying loose inside her. The excitement and anticipation was killing her; a beautiful pain, a sick ache that took over everything was all she felt as she stared into his deep-blue eyes. ‘So, what are we waiting for?’ she smiled, stroking his cheek with her thumb, pressing her lips against his as he reached back to turn on the shower.

  Warm jets of water started cascading down over them, soaking their skin, and they had to hold on to each other even tighter as their bodies became wetter, the steam of the shower turning the room hotter until the atmosphere was heightened to impossible levels. Every ounce of frustration and fear and confusion that Amber seemed to feel on a daily basis with Ryan seemed to just melt away as he pushed her back against the tiled wall, lifting her up and holding onto her tightly as she wrapped her legs around him, groaning loudly as he pushed inside her, every thrust taking her further and further away from the memories of Jim and a past she may, deep down, still want to revisit, but knew she never could. And why would she want to when she had everything she could possibly need right here?