Overtime (Playing The Field Book 1)

by Rebecca Barber

  An hour and two coffees later, I was sitting in my car in my parents’ driveway, trying not to freak out. Maybe that double shot macchiato was a mistake. The need to pee had me pulling up my big-boy pants and heading inside.

  Using my key, I knocked as I pushed open the door and stepped inside. The fear of walking in and seeing something I could never unsee was enough to have me announcing my presence. Something I’d learnt a few years back when I stopped by to see my little sister one afternoon after training. There wasn’t enough bleach in the world to erase those images from my mind.

  “Mum? Dad? You guys home?” I called out.

  “Kitchen,” Mum replied a moment later.

  After swinging through and dropping a kiss on Mum’s cheek, I dashed to the bathroom and relieved my anxious bladder. Washing up, I returned to the kitchen to find her pulling a loaf of fresh sour dough from the oven.

  “Smells amazing,” I told her as my stomach rumbled, secretly praying she wasn’t making it for any special occasion other than my lunch. I’d been known to put away half a loaf when it was still warm, and today wasn’t the day things were going to change.

  “Thanks, sweetie. What are you doing here, Luca?” she asked, obviously thrown by my unexpected appearance.

  “Well, I can leave if I’m in your way…” I offered, starting to rise from the chair only to be slapped around the ear with her red and white tea towel.

  “Sit your butt down.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Don’t ma’am me, Luca Joseph Conti.”

  As much fun as riling the old girl up was, I didn’t have time to waste. “Dad around?” I asked as she pushed a glass of fresh orange juice towards me.

  “In the shed,” she replied. Without waiting, she pushed open the kitchen window and yelled for him. What made me almost burst with laughter was barely a moment later, the sliding door screeched, and Dad stepped inside, wiping his dirty hands on an old rag hanging from his pocket.

  “Son! What are you doing here?”

  “Heard Mum was cooking so I stopped by for lunch,” I teased.

  “Bullshit! Your mother’s always cooking, and you don’t just appear. Want to try again?”

  That was the thing about having a family as close-knit as mine. They knew you so well that when you did something out of character, they all lined up to call you out on it. I guess I’d become more than a little predictable.

  Taking a swig of my juice, I tried to buy myself a little time. Mum and Dad both stared at me silently, waiting. Knowing it was now or never, I manned up. “Well, I actually wanted to talk to you both, if you’ve got time.”

  Mum reached across the counter and gave my hand a squeeze. “You know we have all the time in the world for you, Luca.”

  Dad clamped a hand on my shoulder, encouraging me to go on. “What’s going on, my son?”

  “I’ve decided to…” Fuck! It was so frustrating. Why was this so hard? “I’m retiring,” I ended up blurting out.

  “Retiring?” Dad asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “It’s not because of those nasty reporters on TV, is it?” Mum questioned defensively.

  With a shake of my head, I confirmed it was my decision. No one had pushed me. It was one hundred percent my call. Mum and Dad were amazing about it. I couldn’t figure out why I’d been so worried. They didn’t even flinch.

  “No, Mum. It’s all me.”

  “And you’re happy with it?” Mum asked nervously. I loved my mum. She was so worried about me being okay with all of this, she didn’t seem to care about the retirement itself as long as I was fine.

  “Yeah, I am. I think it’s time. My heart isn’t in it anymore.”

  “Well if you’re happy, then we’re happy, aren’t we, dear?” Mum confirmed, turning to Dad who just nodded along.

  “Of course we are.”

  Even though I knew Dad was saying exactly what Mum wanted to hear, he meant it. He might be completely smitten and under her thumb, but he’d never bullshit. Not about something like this. If he had something to say, even his admiration for Mum wouldn’t stop him.

  I didn’t realise how much I needed their approval until they handed it over on a silver platter. My parents were the best. Letting go of the breath I was holding, my shoulders sagged as relief flooded me.

  “What’s next?” Mum asked.

  “Honestly? I’ve got no idea.”

  “You’ll figure it out. It’s not like you need to decide today, is it?” Dad asked, ever the voice of reason.

  “Thankfully, no. I’m not sure I could handle any more decisions this week.”

  “So what happens now?” Mum enquired.

  It took me half an hour to share what I knew, which wasn’t much. There’d be a press conference announcing my retirement at some point soon, and then I’d keep playing until the end of the season. There was very little hope of making finals this year, which meant, if I was lucky, I had five games to go. Five games, then there’d be no early morning runs or sweaty gym sessions. No more shoebox hotel rooms with a snoring teammate. No more cramped plane rides. No more training sessions. No more teammates. No more coach. No more soccer.

  “Holy fuck,” I muttered as the reality hit me like a Mack truck to the side of the head.

  “Luca!” Mum chided, swishing the tea towel at me.

  “Sorry, Mum.”

  “You okay, son?” Dad asked.

  Chapter Fourteen – Elise

  Waking up to a good morning text from Luca was certainly unexpected, but it put a smile on my face. A smile I couldn’t remember ever having before coffee. When at the eleven o’clock recess break I was still smiling, Trish began the interrogation on me, while I stuffed hunks of my triple-chocolate muffin in my mouth.

  “Someone got up on the right side of the bed this morning,” she commented, sipping her tea.

  “Or got out of the right bed, huh, Elise?” Corey added, dulling the infectious happy feeling deep in my gut.

  “It’s just a great day,” I dodged as I popped the last piece in my mouth and dusted my hands on my thighs.

  “Sure.”

  When my alarm sounded, five minutes before the bell was due to ring, I dashed to the bathroom before heading back down the corridor towards my classroom, stopping by the front office to collect a bundle of things and say hi to the ladies there. Kathryn, Marnie, and Margaret were formidable, but man did they get shit done. I was smart enough to stay on their good side, but I’d seen them unleash when someone didn’t. If a simple g’day and the occasional box of chocolates helped smooth the way, then it was an investment I was more than willing to make.

  The rest of the day couldn’t come fast enough. Somehow, I’d managed to convince Jax to slightly modify Taco Tuesday to be Tight-Arse Tuesday. Instead of going out and spending more than we should on tacos and margaritas, we were doing scrambled eggs on toast, and Jax was bringing a bottle of wine someone had given him.

  Hurrying home, I tidied up, changed into my yoga pants and sweatshirt, and got all my adulting done. I was still cranky at myself for wasting my Sunday, so I was on a mission to catch up. After folding the never-ending mountain of laundry piled on the couch, I unpacked the dishwasher and wiped down the counters. Blasting my favourite boy band playlist, I bounced around picking up and cleaning, even to the point I dusted the windowsills. Then my phone rang.

  Without looking at the caller ID, I answered. “Bitch! Get your skanky arse over here. I’m so fucking bored I’m dusting.”

  “Skanky arse?” A deep amused voice chuckled.

  “Fuck! Shit! Oh my god!” I dropped my phone, sending it clattering to the floor. Bending over to pick it up, my suddenly very sweaty hands struggled to get a decent grip. By the time I lifted it to my ear, I was burning with embarrassment.

  “Elise? Elise, are you there?”

  “Shit!” Coughing down my humiliation, I tried to pretend I wasn’t the complete loser I felt like. “Hi!”

  “Hi.”


  “Luca?”

  “Ah, yeah. Were you expecting someone else?”

  Well duh! Did he really think I answered the phone calling everyone skanky? “I ah, I thought you might be Jax ringing to tell me he was running late. He’s on his way over.”

  “Oh.”

  I wanted to read deeper into his ‘oh’. It didn’t sound right. “We get together every Tuesday just to check in. Usually it’s tacos and margaritas, but I wasn’t really up to it tonight so we’re just staying in.”

  “Sounds fun.”

  “Usually it’s just Jax picking on me about wearing the wrong thing or reminding me that wearing my hair in a ponytail all the time isn’t sexy. Actually, I don’t even know why we’re friends.”

  “You love it.”

  “I guess I kinda do.”

  “Well then, I better let you get back to your dusting...”

  “Oh, okay.” Now it was my turn to sound disappointed. The thought crossed my mind to invite Luca to join us, but I really needed a night of girl talk before I saw him again. “Well, have a good night then.”

  “You too, Elise. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Looking forward to it,” I admitted. I may have been beyond nervous, but it wasn’t enough to make me cancel.

  “Night. Don’t stay up too late.”

  Luca hung up, leaving me standing in the middle of the lounge room staring at my phone, waving around the feather duster.

  “Do I even want to know?” Jax asked as he barrelled through the door in true Jax fashion.

  “Bite me,” I replied, poking my tongue at him.

  “I would, but I don’t know where you’ve been!”

  “You’re a bitch!”

  “Yep. And you love me anyway.”

  While Jaxson set a couple of bottles of wine on the bench, I put away the duster and washed up. Waiting for Dana, we chatted about absolutely nothing at all. I could see how badly Jax wanted to interrogate me, but he was holding back. Part of me wanted Dana to take her time, just so I could watch Jax squirm, but another part of me was kind of worried the longer he held back, the closer he was to bursting.

  Dana was my best girlfriend. She was the best friend a girl could ask for. We’d known each other since kindergarten when a fight over a purple crayon ended up in hair pulling and name calling. More than twenty years later, we were still causing trouble whenever we could, and if cocktails were included, then I couldn’t be held responsible.

  I heard my phone chirp with a text, and before I could grab it, Jax pounced.

  Dana: Leaving now. Start cooking, I’m starving

  “I’m replying for you.”

  “No you’re not.”

  “Yes, I am.”

  I watched as Jax punched in my pin code, making a mental note to change that as soon as he left, before he started typing. Reading aloud as he went.

  Elise: Hurry up, skank

  “You didn’t actually write that, did you?” I asked Jax, knowing full well it’s exactly what he would’ve written.

  “Hell yeah! I need her to hurry the hell up so I can find out what’s up with you and your hunk of spunk.”

  “He’s not mine,” I grumbled.

  “Yeah right. Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart.”

  Instead of arguing, I focused on cracking eggs into the bowl and got dinner happening. Shaking my head, I started cackling like a hyena.

  “What the fuck is so funny?” Jax asked as he poured me a glass of white.

  “We’re three successful, independent adults and we’re having scrambled eggs for dinner,” I managed to get out before snorting.

  “Hey, little miss judgey! We’re having wine.”

  “And that makes it better?”

  “Ah, yeah. Wine makes everything better.”

  After popping a couple of slices of bread in the toaster, I poured the egg mixture into the frypan, hearing the instant sizzle. Jax sat at the bench watching me move around the kitchen, sipping his wine and babbling about this guy he’d met at the gym. Apparently, the gym was now his favourite go-to place for eye candy, which was hilarious because I was pretty sure Jax was actually allergic to sweat.

  Just as I was spooning eggs onto plates, Dana burst through the door looking completely frazzled. “I’m here. What’d I miss?”

  “Did you get dressed in the dark?” Jax replied, not missing a beat.

  What the hell was going on with Dana’s outfit, I had no idea. She wore thongs with mismatched socks, grey yoga pants with a weird stain on her thigh, and a long sleeve pink shirt that was at least three sizes too big.

  “What?” she squawked, kicking her thongs off and dumping an armful of junk on my kitchen counter. Her haul looked like a five-year-old got hold of his mum’s credit card and raided the lolly aisle of the local grocery store.

  “Whose wardrobe did you find that top scrunched up in the bottom of?” I asked.

  “We’re not here to talk about me. We’re talking about you tonight, Elise, so don’t even try to turn it around on me.”

  “If that’s the case, can you at least let me eat first?” I nudged their plates towards them before grabbing my own and heading towards the couch.

  Flicking on the TV, we were soon engrossed in some trashy reality show while we stuffed our faces and judged, rather harshly, the people on screen. After clearing away the plates, I stacked the dishwasher, topped up wine glasses, and grabbed the chocolate biscuits and some of the other goodies Dana had delivered.

  Burying the coffee table beneath the sugar coma waiting to happen, I settled back on the couch, hugging a cushion to my chest like it was a shield.

  “Ready?” Jax asked, and my heart skipped a beat.

  Fuck no! I wasn’t ready. I doubted I ever would be. I wasn’t used to being the focus of attention, and in my short time in the spotlight, I’d come to realise, I didn’t like it. Jax was usually the star of this show, something he loved, but he was stepping into the shadows and giving me my turn to shine. I could only hope my time in the sun was fleeting.

  “I haven’t had enough wine for one of your interrogation sessions,” I admitted, chugging down what was left in my glass. As much as I didn’t want to talk about it, it was Dana and Jax. They knew everything there was to know about me, and they were the people in my life who were least likely to judge me for being a big ole whore bag. They wouldn’t share any dirty details either.

  “Oh, come on, Elise. It’s not that bad. We just need all the dirty details on luscious lover boy Luca.”

  “There are no dirty details!”

  “Why do you always insist on doing things the hard way?”

  “I don’t!”

  “Would you two stop fighting? I have more important things to do than sit here and listen to you bitch and moan like an old married couple,” Dana scolded with a huff.

  “And do those important things have a name?” I challenged.

  “Elise! What time did you get home?”

  Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I found myself wondering how exactly I answered their questions. Honesty was really my only option since my poker face sucked, but maybe I didn’t have to give them every single detail. “Luca dropped me home around two,” I offered confidently.

  “Wow! Dinner went well then?”

  “Dinner was great.”

  “Where’d you go?”

  For the next twenty minutes, I answered question after question as they were thrown in my direction. Just when I thought I’d survived the inquisition, Jax tossed a curveball at me. “Wait! Hold up a second, Dana. She’s way too calm. There’s not enough squirming happening here.”

  “Wh-what do you mean?” All my bravado was gone instantly. Just when I thought I’d had them fooled, Jax outed me. Sometimes I hated that he knew me so well.

  “Two o’clock in the morning or the next afternoon?”

  “Fuck!”

  “I knew it, you big ho bag! You got down and dirty with Mr. Sexy.”

  “I did not!”
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  “I’m calling bullshit!”

  “Question,” Dana piped up, while I shot death glares in Jax’s direction. “Is he as big as I imagine?”

  “Big?”

  “You know. Big?”

  “Oh my god. Tell me you’re not asking me that.”

  “Of course she’s asking that. We’re all dying to know,” Jax clarified, leaning forward in his seat, looking at me like I was about to share with him some super-secret he needed to know.

  “That’s exactly what I asked.”

  “Seriously! You’re crazy. I don’t even know why I’m still friends with you two. How would I even know that?”

  “Oh, honey, if you can’t figure that out then Jax needs to explain a few things to you,” Dana offered, patting my hand.

  “Surely you got up close and personal? Got your hands on it? Your mouth? Rode it like a cowgirl until you lost your voice from screaming yourself hoarse?”

  “I hate to disappoint you, Jax, but Luca’s cock and I, we haven’t met. Sorry.”

  “Yet.”

  “Yet what?”

  “You haven’t petted his trouser snake yet.”

  “You’re crazy!”

  “Wait a minute!” Dana shrieked, jumping to her feet.

  “Are you saying Luca Conti, that hot hunk of man meat, licked you like you were his favourite lollipop and didn’t get anything in return?”

  “He didn’t even ask,” I confirmed.

  “So, you don’t know what he’s packing?” Jax repeated, not even bothering to mask the shock and disappointment.

  “But that bulge? Tell me you at least rubbed up against it?”

  “Dana! I can’t even look at you right now. You have something slopped down the front of your shirt, and I don’t even want to know what that splotch is.” I laughed, draining the rest of my wine as I pointed to the bright red patch on her boob.

  “Fuck it!” Lifting her shirt to her mouth, she licked the spill. “It’s just sauce. But stop changing the subject! Luca… tell me you got your hands and your mouth on that anaconda he’s hauling around.”