“Anaconda? Really, Dana?” I shook my head at her dramatics.
“Don’t play coy. I know you’ve seen the photos. I sent them to you,” Jax joined in.
“For the last time, I didn’t see, touch or taste his trouser snake.”
“Why the fuck not?”
“It wasn’t like that,” I was getting the shits having to defend myself. “I had a great night. It’s the first date I’ve been on in a long time. And you know what? So what if I didn’t fuck him? He didn’t act like I had to. If anything, he was the one holding back.”
My outburst must have shocked them. It wasn’t very often I lost my cool and lashed out, so when I did, people tended to stop and pay attention.
“Then that’s all that matters,” Dana conceded.
“Yeah, sweetie. We’re glad you had fun.”
“I did!”
“We’re just jealous you got so up close and personal with that Italian stallion,” Jax confessed with a shrug, not that it surprised me.
“He’s right,” Dana added as she opened another bottle of red.
“When are you seeing him again? Wait! You are seeing him again, aren’t you?” Jax was on the edge of his seat.
I could’ve tortured them. Played coy. Dodged their questions, but I knew them both well enough to know in the end, I’d be the one suffering. Instead, I told them we had plans to hang out on Wednesday.
Jax smirked. “Hang out? What are you, thirteen?”
“Who asks someone out on a date on a Wednesday? Wednesday’s are for carb loading and cocktails, not dating.”
“Luca’s playing away this weekend. So, it was either Wednesday or Sunday.”
“And you didn’t want to wait that long! That’s so sweet!” Dana squealed. Anyone would think she was the one going on a date. Actually, I couldn’t remember the last time Dana had had a date. She was too damn picky for her own good.
“Yes. I’m seeing him Wednesday. And no, I have no idea what we’re doing.”
“Ooooh! That sounds fun! Don’t forget to wax your hoo-ha!” Dana reminded me.
“Since when do we say hoo-ha?” I asked, unable to stop the giggle from escaping.
“Fine then. Pluck the pussy. Shave your snatch.”
“Oh my god! Please stop!” I begged.
Four hours, another three bottles of wine, and two embarrassing texts from Jax to Luca, and I was crawling into bed, already dreading the morning alarm and the hangover that would inevitably follow.
“I want to die,” I grumbled as the alarm went ballistic and I rolled over straight into a hot, hard warm chest.
“Shut that thing up,” Jax complained, putting his pillow over his head.
“I gotta pee.” Pushing the blankets back, I fell out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom and got ready for work.
After I’d woken Dana from where she was snoring on the couch—she was exactly where we’d left her after she’d passed out, probably from exhaustion after her hot night the night before with the cop who’d pulled her over for speeding then proceeded to talk/fuck her way out of it—pouring coffee down their throats, I kissed their cheeks and sent them on their way. Not before they casually reminded me to shave, pluck or wax every nook and cranny I had.
***
Hours later and I still couldn’t believe Jax had actually used the words nook and cranny.
With my headache finally starting to subside, I bit into my boring lunch of a vegemite sandwich and dug my phone out of my bag. The same phone I’d been deliberately ignoring and pretending didn’t exist all morning.
Hoping and praying I’d dreamt that Jax was sending texts from my phone to Luca while he held it high above his head, leaving me to jump around trying to get it back, I opened my messages. Seeing I had an unread message from Luca, I dared to look.
Elise: What size shoes do you wear?
Luca: 13. Why’s that?
Elise: You know what they say…big feet, big…
He didn’t answer.
I didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. I didn’t know Luca well enough to know if he’d see the funny side or if he’d be offended. I hoped not. So seeing his new message, one that looked like it’d only come through in the last half an hour, surprised me
Luca: How’s your head feeling this morning?
Elise: Honestly?
His reply was almost instant.
Luca: Always.
Elise: Surprised.
Luca: ???
Elise: You’re still talking to me
Luca: LOL. I’m not that easy to scare off
Elise: 2 questions
Elise: 1 – did you really just LOL me
Elise: 2 – stalker?
Luca: We still on for tonight?
I had no idea how I was supposed to answer that. As the shock was wearing off that he wasn’t running for the hills despite Jax and Dana’s best efforts, I was beginning to realise just how much I was looking forward to seeing him.
Elise: If you’re still up for it
Luca: I’m up for anything
Elise: I’ll keep that in mind
Luca: You do that
Chapter Fifteen – Luca
Texting with Elise brightened up my hectic day. I thought retiring meant slowing down, but it seemed like I was completely wrong. In fact, it actually meant trying to cram six months’ worth of commitments into six weeks. On top of all the things the club wanted me to do, niggling at the back of my mind was what the hell was I to do next?. Unemployment wasn’t something I was looking forward to, but I had no idea what I even wanted to do. Or where to start.
It was eleven in the morning when Marianne, our team publicist and resident ball buster, dropped a bombshell on me before answering a call and disappearing down the halls, leaving me hyperventilating. If the pressure of pulling off an incredible date with Elise tonight wasn’t enough, I’d just been told a press conference was happening this afternoon to let the world in on my secret.
With my heart pounding, I shot a group message to the family, letting them know what was going on. The last thing I needed was for them to be blindsided when it showed up on the nightly news. Immediately my phone started going crazy.
Arianna: What time do you want us there?
Sienna: Phoebe’s got swimming today so can’t make it. Good luck!
Mum: Dad and I will be there
Isabella: Nathan will take the kids. I’m there
It wasn’t the reaction I was expecting but I probably should’ve. My family had always had my back, so I don’t know why I thought today would be any different.
Luca: You don’t have to come. It’s just a boring press conference. I was just giving you a heads up
Mum: Luca, what time do we need to be there?
Knowing this was a battle I couldn’t win, I conceded.
Luca: 4:45 for 5
Arianna: See you there
Needing to get out of here for a couple of hours, I grabbed my crap and jumped into my car. Spinning up dust in the car park, I took off and headed towards the shopping centre. I had a plan in my head, and now I just needed to pull it off. I knew I could’ve asked for help and had someone run my errands for me, but I needed the distraction.
After braving the crowds, I managed to get home and get a workout in before calling Elise. The last thing I wanted to do was cancel our date tonight, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to get through the press conference then to her place on time, and I refused to be late. It took a bit of convincing but somehow, I managed to talk Elise into being ready at four-thirty instead of seven.
I was fine right up until the moment I stepped into the shower. That’s when the nerves and stress started creeping over me. Quickly I shaved, washed my hair and, ignoring the raging hard-on, I flipped the water to cold and stood there until I shivered and my balls shrivelled up.
Dressing quickly, I pulled on a pair of navy slacks before digging a shirt out of the ironing pile. Ironing was something I only did when it
was absolutely necessary and, unfortunately, today was one of those days. I battled the iron, then shrugged my shirt on before pushing my favourite Batman cufflinks through the cuffs and styling my hair.
As I was stuffing my feet into my freshly polished shoes, my phone beeped.
Elise: Where are we going?
With a huge smile on my face, I hit call and waited for Elise to answer. I didn’t want to get into yet another text conversation; I didn’t have time.
When she finally picked up, she sounded frustrated and out of breath. “Hey.”
“You okay?”
“Just running around like a chicken with my head cut off.”
“Why?”
“Because I just got home and someone wants me to be ready to leave, in oh, twenty minutes. And I have no idea where we’re going!”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes!” She sounded exasperated. I found it oddly endearing. I couldn’t help but chuckle. It might’ve been an arsehole thing to do, but I couldn’t help it.
“Trust me. It’s going to be fun.”
“Fun?”
“Yep, fun.”
“And how do I dress for fun?”
Ah. Now I understood. This was a girl thing. A fashion freak-out. Having three sisters meant I’d seen this show before. I’d always found it funny, and today was no different. Elise was a stunning woman. I’d met her twice now and both times she’d stolen my breath. She could be wearing her pyjamas or mine, and she’d still look perfect.
“Jeans and runners are perfect,” I said, putting her out of her misery.
“Jeans and runners? Are you setting me up?” she questioned, but I could hear the humour in her voice.
“Would I do that?”
“Hmm. I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking.”
“Fair call. But no, I promise, I’m not setting you up.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Okay. I’ll believe you.”
“Thank you.”
“Well, I better go get ready. I’ll see you soon.”
“Yeah you will, Elise. Can’t wait.”
“Bye.”
I waited until she hung up before I pulled the phone away from my ear. There was something about this chick that had me acting like a sap. Shaking off the thought, I finished getting ready before grabbing a bottle of water and gulping it down, trying to drown the nerves. Knowing I couldn’t be late, I snagged my keys, wallet and phone and headed out.
With my rock ballad playlist down low, I navigated the streets, becoming increasingly frustrated as I hit every single red light. By the time I pulled up outside Elise’s building, I was already five minutes late. Stopping in a loading zone, I didn’t even care if I got a ticket. There were some things you shouldn’t run late for. One was a date with a pretty girl, and the other was a press conference. And I was already one from two, but there was no way I was striking out tonight. It wasn’t even an option.
Before I could even turn the car off, there was a tap on the window. Expecting it to be some arsehole telling me to move, I opened the window, ready to give as good as I got. What I was not expecting was to see the hottest woman I’d ever seen smiling at me with the world’s cheekiest grin.
“You looking for someone?”
“Holy shit, Elise! You scared the crap out of me!”
“Sorry?”
With my heart racing, I looked up at the most stunning sight I’d ever seen. Besides the sexy smile she was rocking, Elise had listened and was wearing a pair of jeans that looked like they’d been painted on, a white t-shirt that showed the hint of the white lacy bra I was desperate to know more about underneath, and a badass black leather jacket that had my dick stirring in my slacks.
Unbuckling my seatbelt, I stepped out and greeted her properly with a hug and a kiss on the cheek because I couldn’t not touch her.
“That’s some kind of hello.”
“You look hot as fuck!” As soon as the words left my mouth, I wanted to slap myself up the side of the head. I could’ve said a million different variations of the same thing and they all would’ve sounded better than that. Not that it wasn’t true; it just wasn’t very polite.
“Th-thank you.”
Resisting the urge to apologise, instead I focused on keeping things moving. We were on a time line, unfortunately. “We should probably go,” I offered.
“Okay.” Without saying another word, Elise turned and skirted around the front of the car, and for the first time I got a glimpse of her arse in those jeans. Instantly, my dick stood to attention and there was no talking him down. She had the perfect peach-shaped arse, and my hands were itching to slap it. Squeeze it.
As soon as we were both buckled in, I merged into the traffic and we were on our way, the clock on the dashboard taunting me.
“So, dear, how was your day?” I asked, trying to keep it casual.
“Some days I swear kids are just little shits,” she huffed as she fiddled with the zipper on her jacket.
“I’ll bet.”
“How ‘bout you? How was your day?”
“Busy,” I admitted.
“With?” she prodded.
“Meetings. Gym sessions. Errands. Boring shit like that.”
“Oh my god, Luca, could you be any more vague?”
“Yeah, probably,” I replied honestly, watching her out the corner of my eye as I turned the corner, the stadium up ahead. “So, there’s something I probably should tell you before we get there.”
I heard the sharp intake of her breath and saw her whole body stiffen.
“The reason I asked you to come out early was because I have a press conference tonight.”
“Okay. What time? I can get Jax to come and get me. Or I’ll just Uber.”
“No!” It came out harsher than I’d intended, and I watched as Elise shifted closer to the door and farther away from me. “Sorry. What I meant was, the reason I wanted to pick you up earlier is, I want you there with me.”
“You do?”
“Absolutely.”
“Oh. Okay then.” I could tell Elise was scrambling to find her footing, but I was grateful she was trying. “What’s the press conference for?” she enquired as I turned into the crowded parking lot, driving around the back and away from all the people climbing from their cars and heading inside.
I waited until I was parked so I could turn to face her. Reaching out, I took her hand in my trembling one. I knew I was nervous, but I wasn’t sure what I was most worried about. Elise’s reaction. Embarrassing myself in front of the press. Disappointing my family. Or all of the above.
“I’m announcing my retirement.” The words came out so easily it startled me.
“You’re retiring?” Elise repeated at a frequency usually reserved for dogs.
“Yeah. It’s time.”
“Are you… are you sure? You’re not even that old.”
“I am in athlete years. I’m getting slow. It’s time.”
“And you’re okay with this?”
The way she said it made me believe she really cared. Or maybe that’s just what I wanted to believe. Right now, I didn’t have either the time or the balls to dive further into it. First things first, I needed to get through this. Everything else I could deal with later.
“Honestly? Yeah, I am. It’s been a long time coming, but ultimately it was my call. Are you okay with it?” I don’t know why I felt the need to ask but having her on my team was important to me.
“Of course. It’s not like it’s any of my business anyway. Did you want me to just wait in the car?”
When Elise offered to stay in the car, I saw red. I knew we didn’t really know each other yet, but I hadn’t brought her here to hide outside while I went in. No. I wanted her front and centre, standing there beside me. If I could’ve had her holding my hand every step of the way, I would never let go. I needed her there as I ended one phase of my life and prepared to take steps towards the next challenge. Whatever that
may be.
Not answering, I jumped out of the car, ignored my name being called from behind me, and stomped around to the passenger door before nearly tearing it off its hinges. Squatting down to Elise’s eye level, I dropped my hands onto her thighs, feeling the warmth of her skin through her jeans.
“I want you to come inside. I need you to come inside. I may know this is the right thing to do, but it doesn’t mean I’m not completely shitting myself at the thought of actually doing it. I need you to come inside with me and give me someone in there to look at. Someone to talk to.”
I paused, letting my words sink in. Then when a sneaky look crept over her face, I braced myself. Her words almost dropped me to my knees. “So, let me just get this straight. I’m just here as your eye candy?”
Elise had done it. Without even really trying, she’d broken through my anxieties and made me feel like I was a superhero. All I needed was a cape.
“Absolutely,” I grunted out before crushing her lips to mine, swallowing her moans.
Chapter Sixteen – Elise
I’d never been to a press conference before, and it certainly wasn’t what I was expecting. Tucked away in the back corner of the room, I’d been standing there, trying to make myself invisible when I was swallowed up by Luca’s family. This was way too much for a second date.
Thankfully, the press conference didn’t last long, and after a bunch of intrusive questions about his love life—something that made me almost choke on my own saliva—what was next, and even what he thought about the up and coming generation following in his footsteps, the woman who’d been at the school with him, Marianne I think her name was, called everything to a close.
Finally relaxing, Luca reached for the bottle of water in front of him while his eyes searched out mine. When his gaze locked with mine, I felt myself shiver. His stare was intense. It was almost like everyone else in the room evaporated and it was just the two of us standing there, having a private conversation.
“Elise, sweetheart, did you want to come with us?” Luca’s mother, Gabriella, asked.
“I’ve gotta wait for Luca…” I began to explain but was quickly cut off by Isabella.
“He’ll find us. Come on, I know where the good champagne is.”
Overtime (Playing The Field Book 1) Page 9
