The Athlete

by Elin Peer

  “Racism?” My eyes widened and my voice rose. “Take that back.”

  “I know it’s a very serious accusation but if you can’t point to anything specific about Hunter that will explain your hostile attitude, then I’ll have to conclude it’s because you have a problem with people from the Northlands.”

  “That’s bull. I don’t have a problem with men from the Northlands, and I’ve met more than five that visited the Nostalgia Park. I just don’t think he belongs on the team.” I hated how I sounded like an immature child and how he brought out the worst in me.

  “That’s not up to you.” Donna stated with her lips in a firm line.

  I looked away, humiliated by my own disgraceful behavior and her clear judgment.

  It was Hunter who broke the awkward silence in the room. “Look, I think you’re both taking this way too seriously. I’ve never been on a team where I liked everyone and for the record, I agree with Manu. I shouldn’t be here.”

  Pinching my eyebrows together, I looked at him. What was his game? When we first met I had specifically told him not to call me Manu or Ella. Why did he try to get under my skin so much? And how could I be mad at him when he agreed with me?

  “I think you are great ball handlers and all, but your version of soccer is just tame compared to what I’m used to at home. It doesn’t challenge me much and I miss my friends and family.”

  “Would you say that you are lonely here?” Donna gave him a sympathetic smile.

  He shrugged and it made me feel a little bad for him. Family was important to me and I knew he had a sister who lived in the Northlands that he probably missed a lot.

  With a sigh, I leaned my head back and looked up at the ceiling. “Okay. I’ll try and be nicer to him.”

  “That would be very much appreciated.” Donna turned to Hunter. “And you?”

  “What about me?”

  “Are you going to be nicer to Emanuela?”

  “I’m always super nice to her.”

  “Hunter, it takes two people to argue, and don’t think I haven’t noticed how you try to rile her up by using names she doesn’t like. I expect better of you.”

  “Yesterday we did an interview together and he called me Esmeralda.”

  “Tell you what.” Hunter clapped his hands together. “Give me a pen and I’ll write your name right here in my palm so I don’t forget it again.”

  Donna leaned back to get a pen while I confronted him. “How is it that you can remember everyone else’s name but mine?”

  “It’s a long name.” He took the pen that Donna was handing him. “I don’t suppose you would let me write it on your forehead? That way I will see it every time I look at you.”

  “Would you let me write something on your forehead?”

  “My name?”

  “Oh, I was thinking about something a bit more creative than that.”

  “Like what?”

  “Let’s see.” I pretended to be thinking hard. “Hmm… how about ‘lonely’ – that should remind me to treat you nicely out of pity.”

  Hunter’s face hardened and Donna gave a disappointed smack of her tongue.

  “What an awful thing to say,” she scolded me. “That is not the Motlander way, and I should be reporting you for improper communication.”

  “But you always say I can speak freely in here.”

  “Yes, but there are limits. Your complete lack of empathy is shocking.” Donna moved her chair forward and placed her hand on Hunter’s knee. “I’m very sorry you had to hear that. Please know that you are not alone here. We are many who appreciate you and are pleased to have you among us.”

  He moved his knee. “I’m fine. Trust me, she’s just entertaining to me.”

  For some reason it bothered me more to hear him talk about me as “she” than using all his ridiculous names to provoke me on purpose.

  Donna didn’t look like she believed him but she changed the subject. “Ultimately, what we all want is for the team to succeed. Can we at least agree on that?”

  Hunter and I both nodded.

  “Good; then let’s focus on the other area of concern that Coach Amy has addressed with me. Hunter, you still don’t treat men and women equally and it’s obvious that you go easy on the women compared to the men. We understand that it is different for you, but every team you’re going to meet will have more women than men, which means we have to find a way to make you get over your aversion to being physical with women.”

  He groaned. “Ever since I was a child it’s been ingrained in me that touching a woman without permission will be a death sentence. It’s not something I can just shake off. It’s like my nervous system registers that it’s a woman and I just can’t get too close.”

  “We understand, but you are no longer in the Northlands and the rest of the world doesn’t have strange rules like that. I know Amy has tried different approaches to solve this problem, but according to her they haven’t been successful.”

  “He won’t shower with us either. Every day he stays out on the field for half an hour longer than necessary just so he can avoid showering with us women.”

  Hunter had returned the pen to Donna, who was turning it in her hands with a speculative glance. “Yes, I know about that. Hunter and I discussed it already. The problem is that he has a sexual view on women which doesn’t serve him.” She looked down but I still saw the small smile on her face when she added, “At least not when he plays soccer.”

  An electric spark ran through my body and I sat up a little straighter, picking up on an energy from her that had me frowning. She was flirting with him. What most people didn’t know was that my family’s business included a club for naturephiles. I had never participated in the sex acts myself, but I had worked there enough to gain a familiarity with the dynamics between men and women who were open to this side of life.

  I watched Donna carefully as she continued, “That’s why I’ve come up with a suggestion that I think will help you, Hunter.”

  Studying them both closely, I was trying to read his body language. Had they already been physical? He waited for her to continue but didn’t flirt back.

  “The solution is exposure, of course. You need to spend more time in the presence of women. Only then will you learn to see them as nothing to be afraid of.”

  “I’m not afraid of women.”

  “No, I meant that you won’t be afraid of touching them.”

  “Amy already tried that. She had every woman on the team hug me before practice every day this week.”

  “He stood stiff as a board,” I commented without looking at Hunter, but he retorted fast.

  “I was probably more relaxed than you’d be if my entire team were asked to hug you.”

  “Your team?”

  “The Warriors. If twenty large Nmen came to hug you, I bet you’d be scared shitless.”

  “I thought we were your team.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “I’m not scared of you. Why do you assume I’d be scared of them?”

  “Because you’d know that every one of those men would be thinking of you in a sexual way,” he challenged.

  I tilted my head. “Are you saying that you thought of sex every time you hugged one of us this morning?”

  He frowned. “No. But that’s different.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m not attracted to every female I see.”

  “So why do you assume that all your warrior teammates would be attracted to me if they hugged me?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Because you’re alive and breathing, which is a step up from jerking off or fucking a sex-bot.”

  Donna gasped while I ignored his insult and asked my next question before I could stop myself. “What about Donna? Would you want to have sex with her?”

  He jerked his head back and this time Donna’s eyes expanded with interest. “That’s none of your business.”

  From the way Donna was biting her lip I could tell she re
ally wanted the answer to that question.

  “And me? Do you want to have sex with me?” I pressed him further with a knot in my chest. “Or am I too masculine for your taste?” I still hadn’t forgotten how he had called me bossy and masculine on his first day of practice.

  Hunter was angry now and when he folded his hands into fists, I braced myself for his answer. “I would rather stick my cock into a beehive than come near your pussy. And you wanna know why?”

  I held my breath; his intense stare was uncomfortable.

  “Because you’re so fucking toxic. My dick would surely get acid burns from rubbing against you.”

  “Hunter!” Donna gasped.

  I stood up. “Are we done here?”

  “No. Actually…” She signaled for me to sit down again, but my whole body was shaking with indignation and anger.

  “I was about to tell you about my suggestion. My idea was that Hunter should live with a woman for a while. I discussed this with Amy and I volunteered.”

  I made a not-so-charming sound. Of course she had volunteered. Donna was ready to study Hunter up close. I wasn’t blind. From the first time I saw him, I’d recognized him for what he was: every woman’s forbidden fantasy. Maybe that’s why it had pissed me off that he didn’t want to touch me, only to be hugging with Donna twenty minutes later. Yeah, that first day, I’d gotten over my initial attraction to him real fast.

  “What are you saying?” Hunter’s eyebrows were pinched together.

  “That I volunteered to live with you for a while.”

  “No.” His answer came fast and it surprised me, and from the looks of it, it surprised Donna too.

  “Coach Amy and I agree that it would be an excellent idea; however, she thinks you would benefit the most from it if you lived with one of your teammates.”

  “Who?” Hunter and I asked at the same time.

  “Well, we figured that it would be good for the two of you to spend some more time together. It might sound counterintuitive to spend time with a person you don’t like, but getting to know one another on a deeper level can help.”

  “In what twisted universe does that sound like a good idea?” Hunter turned to stare at me when I said nothing. “I thought you would be protesting too.”

  I was speechless and needed some seconds to gather my thoughts. My voice trembled. “There is no way I am living with him.”

  Donna folded her hands in her lap again. “Hmm, I was afraid you were going to say that. I suppose we’ll have to find someone else then.”

  “What if I don’t want to live with a woman?” Hunter got up and stood next to me, looking down at her. “Did you ever consider that?”

  “It’s normal to have a roommate here. It’s really not a big thing.”

  “That’s what you said about showering too, but it is a big fucking thing to me.”

  “There’s no need for you to be so upset. Please lower your voice, Hunter.”

  “What if I can’t control myself? Why would you put a woman in danger like that?”

  “That’s just your worst fear talking. I don’t believe you’d hurt a woman and neither do you.”

  “No, but I wouldn’t get any sleep, knowing that there is a female in my apartment.”

  “But that’s the whole idea.” Donna’s voice was soft and placating. “If you slept next to a woman every night, you would become desensitized. It would become routine to you and you’d stop seeing us women as only sexual beings.”

  His hands flew to his hair. “You people are out of your minds.” Storming to the door, he turned around. “And just for the record. I don’t see women as only sexual beings; I have a sister and I have female friends too, and this may surprise you but I don’t want to fuck every woman I see.”

  The door slammed behind him and it left Donna and me to stare at each other.

  She sighed. “That didn’t go so well.”

  “What did you expect?”

  “To be honest, I was hoping you’d see the merit in my suggestion. If you two don’t find a way to reconcile your differences, the whole team will suffer.”

  “But you can’t force him to live with someone.”

  “Ahh.” She waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “I’m sure he just needs some time to think about it. I don’t know why he overreacted like that when it’s a sound idea.”

  I walked to the door.

  “Emanuela.”

  “Yes.”

  “That thing he said about your private parts, please don’t take it personally. He needs to learn how to be kinder in his rejections, but if you think about it, it’s really a good thing that he’s not attracted to you. I mean with you being teammates and all.”

  “Oh, believe me, I have no interest in him that way.”

  “Good. But remember that you promised to be nice to him. I expect you to be a leader and solve this problem.”

  I opened the door.

  “Oh, and would you mind asking around to see if anyone on the team would volunteer to live with him for a while?”

  “He said no.”

  “Yes, but that’s because we’re pushing him outside his comfort zone. Trust me, dear, it’s the only place people grow. He needs this, and we all depend on you to help him see it.”

  With a loud sigh I turned. “How about this: if Hunter and I can find a way to work together, will you let him live alone?”

  “Maybe. But only if he stops going easy on the women on the field. We can’t use him in the defense if he’s not willing to block them.”

  I sighed again. “I know.”

  “Find that peaceful place within yourself and draw on the maturity that I know you have. This is one of those times where you have to put your own preferences aside and do what’s best for the team. With a brother like yours, I know you have it in you.”

  I closed the door before she could ask me any questions about Jonah. The news predicted that in less than a month, he would be the first male to ever be elected to the Council of the Motherlands. Donna had told me several times that my brother had her vote for sure.

  CHAPTER 5

  Team Building

  Hunter

  Nostalgia Park was like nothing I’d ever seen in the Northlands. It was a huge area built to resemble different time periods in history, and in each section there were things to try out and staff dressed up in costumes to make the experience more authentic. The entrance to the park itself was impressive and built to resemble a time traveling device.

  On the wall was a sign that kept track of how many “time travelers” had visited the park in the eight years it’d been open. I gaped when I saw the number of almost twenty-eight million people. That was almost three times as many as the entire population in the Northlands.

  I wanted to see everything and was drawn to the center of the park where a beautiful castle stood with four round towers, tall exterior walls, and a huge drawbridge; I was dying to go see it up close. Sander pointed to it and informed me that three years ago the team had been in the Renaissance period for a re-enactment of a royal wedding followed by a banquet. He was laughing as he described how Amy and Silas had gotten to play king and queen.

  This year, the park had closed to the public the Pre-War section that took us back to a primitive time around the early twentieth century and ended in the most technologically advanced period in human history in 2060.

  We began our morning competing in four teams as cowboys. I was fast to learn the technique of the lasso and I loved the slingshot, but my favorite part was when we had to make a horseshoe from iron. The heat from the fire, the sound of metal clanging against metal was like something out of an old movie, and with my strength I had an advantage. Several of my teammates were nervous and needed help from the blacksmith to complete their horseshoe, but not me. I watched him demonstrate it once, and then I went to work. Overall, my team did well, not least because Emanuela was on it and she’d spent one summer as an instructor in this part of the park.

  At lun
chtime, we had to prepare our own food and what should have been a nice social bonding experience evolved into yet another competition between Emanuela and me.

  “I’ll have you two baking bread,” the instructor who had worked as a blacksmith before was now pointing to Sara and Emanuela. “I’m giving you a bowl of dough and a set of old-fashioned matches. Your job is to build a fire and bake the bread.

  Sara held up her hands and took a big step back. “I can’t do that. I’m afraid of fire. I told you when we did the horseshoes.”

  I was quick to step up. “I’ll do it.”

  “Are you sure?” Sara asked me.

  “Of course. I’m trained to survive in the wild. Making a fire sounds like child’s play to me.”

  Emanuela didn’t look happy but she took the bowl with the dough and walked over to an area marked with stones around it. Small logs were placed in a neat pile next to it and an axe sat on top along with a box of matches.

  “Do you want me to do it?” Sander called out to Emanuela and held up a basket. “We can switch and you can go dig up potatoes if you want.”

  “Thank you but I’m fine.” When Emanuela set down the bowl of dough and picked up the axe, I asked, “Have you done this before?”

  “No. When I worked here the guests didn’t make their own lunch and they were certainly not allowed to use an axe. I don’t know what Cole was thinking.”

  “Who’s Cole?”

  “My older brother.” She nodded to the instructor, who was now busy helping some of our teammates.

  “How many brothers do you have?”

  “Why do you care?”

  Damn, she was defensive. I gave a small shrug. “Just making conversation, that’s all.”

  It took a full minute before she answered, “I have four brothers and six sisters in the family unit.” She pointed to a man who was busy demonstrating something to the team that was responsible for making dessert.

  “That’s Jonah, he’s my younger brother. We’re only one year apart. He and I are the only ones who aren’t part of the family business on a daily basis any longer.”