Chapter 1 Baird
CHAPTER ONE
BAIRD
It was so early, a chilled fog hung over the top of the Georgian buildings as I swung my leg off my bike and yanked my helmet free, which I only wore because it was illegal not to.
A sexy blond approached the gym entrance as I took the protective headgear off, and she flashed me a come-hither smile. Inside, I felt nothing. Maybe a bit naked as I ran my hand through my new hairdo. On the outside, my grin was wide. “Morning, gorgeous.”
“Good morning.” She gave me another hot smile before she entered the building.
Anticipation filled me as I followed her inside.
But not for her.
There was only one reason I got out of bed two hours before I needed to.
Hurrying through my routine, I shoved my clothes into a locker and raced as quickly as a man could in swim shorts on wet tile flooring. The whole place reeked of chlorine and that only upped the anticipation.
As I stepped out into the pool area, my eyes scanned its length. It wasn’t a leisure pool, so it was only twenty meters and not very deep. This was for laps and exercise only.
There were only two people in it at this hour—a guy who kept glancing across the pool to the dark-haired female who had no idea she was being watched. I scowled at the fucker before turning back to the woman.
Her dark head bobbed in and out of the water, and my pulse picked up as she cut through it with the precision of someone who had been swimming for years.
I ran another hand through my hair, still not used to it, and walked to the pool’s edge to slip into the water.
The sound brought Maia MacLeod’s gorgeous face up as she drew to a halt mid-stroke.
Air seemed to fill my whole fucking chest as our eyes met.
This was what it felt like every time.
We swam together three times a week. We hung out whenever she could get away from that prick of a fiancé.
It had been almost two years since we’d met. And she still knocked me for six.
I pushed through the water toward her as she floated in the middle of the pool. Her eyes narrowed as she studied me, then widened when I drew to a stop in front of her.
“You cut your hair!” Her exclamation bounced around the tiled room. She winced. “Sorry. But you cut your hair.”
I’d never given a fuck about what anyone thought about my appearance. So, I’d cut off my hair on a whim last night, wanting a change, not thinking anything of it. Then I started to worry what Maia would think. One of the few compliments she’d ever paid me was that I had “gorgeous hair.”
It had been so long I had to wear it up all the time.
I’d had the barber lop most of it off, keeping it long enough that it still fell into my face. Belatedly, I realized I’d have to wear a headband now to keep it off my face at work.
I gave Maia a cocky grin I didn’t particularly feel. “Fucking awesome, eh? Feels light as a feather.” I shook my head like a dog at her, and she let out a peal of laughter I felt in my dick.
She placed a hand on my shoulder for stability as she reached up to draw her fingers through my hair. I held back my shudder, leaning into her without thought. My hand found her waist under the water, and my blood heated as I studied her while she wasn’t looking into my eyes.
Under the bright lights of the pool area, Maia’s irises were a striking violet. I’d never seen an eye color like hers. They stood out against her dark lashes, tan skin, and dark hair.
The first time I saw her, we were in a club. She was kind of like a cousin to my best mate Callan’s fiancée, and they’d bumped into each other that night. The lights flashed across Maia as she’d talked animatedly.
And it was like the dance floor fell away from beneath my feet.
I knew then that I’d met the one.
Don’t tell me how.
It was all gut instinct.
I’d lived my life on gut instinct, and it hadn’t steered me wrong.
Maia MacLeod was THE ONE.
Unfortunately, she was engaged to this financial prick arsehole wanker I’d like to suffocate with my goalie net.
Still, I trusted my gut. I pursued a friendship with Maia to see if my gut was right. And almost two years later, through hell to boot, here we were.
And I was in love with Maia MacLeod.
If I had to watch her marry that Will guy, it would break me more than the brain injury I’d suffered last season ever could.
“Well?” I gave her waist a squeeze, for once glad Maia wore a full bathing suit to swim in so I wouldn’t feel her soft, bare skin against my palm.
Her eyes met mine, and she smiled. “I like it. You look really handsome.”
My heart turned over in my chest. I grinned. “I think you mean I look sexy as fuck.”
Maia rolled her eyes and pushed away from me. “Are you here to swim or to preen?”
I spread my arms wide, deliberately showing off my cut physique. “I can do both!”
Maia’s gaze roamed over me for a second, and I tried not to let my cockiness show too much. Her fiancé worked out. But he was at least six inches shorter than me, so I made him look like a toothpick in comparison.
However, I also knew there wasn’t a vain bone in Maia MacLeod’s body.
Some folk might think so because she was mind-blowingly stunning and she always looked good.
But she’d shown me photos of her when she was a young teen with her big hair and nerdy glasses.
I thought she was cute as fuck, but Maia said she got bullied a lot.
I’d like to punch the wee bastards who messed with her head back then because they’d skewed Maia’s self-perception.
Yet, I also knew they were the reason Maia didn’t put much stock in people’s appearance.
If she liked you, it was because you were worth liking.
Maia liked me for me, just like I liked her for her.
But that didn’t mean I couldn’t remind her I was built like a brick shithouse and had stamina for days.
A tinge of red on the olive of her cheekbones was visible even from a distance. Maia quickly looked away and resumed her swim.
I smirked but decided not to torture her. “First one to ten laps buys breakfast!” I shouted before racing toward the opposite end of the pool.
“Hey! That’s a three-meter head start!” I heard Maia yell back.
When I reached the end of the pool, I waited for her to catch up. “I can’t help it if my big-dick energy propels me through the water.”
Maia burst into laughter, and I leaned into her unconsciously. Her sweet smile was life. “Believe me, you do not have big-dick energy.”
Affronted, I clasped my chest in feigned outrage. “How dare you?”
She shoved me playfully. “Big-dick energy is when you’re quietly confident. You’re as quiet as football fans on game day.”
“Fine. I have loud big-dick energy,” I said loudly.
“Trying to have a quiet swim here, mate!” the other bloke in the pool yelled over at us.
He was just pissed because I was with Maia. “Apologies, mate. I have loud big-dick energy,” I whisper-shouted at him.
Maia made a choking sound, and she gave the guy her back as she shook with laughter.
My cheeks hurt from grinning. Finally, I drew her into my chest with a less than platonic one-armed hug. “Ready to race again?”
Her expression turned contemplative. “I don’t know. I don’t think you ca—loser buys breakfast for a week!” She suddenly dove into the water ahead of me, her arms swiping through the pool like blades as she front-crawled her way to victory.
By lap five, merely because I had almost a foot on her, I would have overtaken her.
But there was no bloody way I was letting her pay for breakfast.
Breakfast consisted of coffee and smoothies. Maia had somehow managed to do a full face of makeup and fix her hair by the time our orders arrived. She came out of the women’s locker room to find me chatting with the blond from earlier.
The blond had made the approach, but it was only polite to flirt with her for her bravery. I respected a woman who went after what she wanted.
We exchanged numbers as Maia appeared.
Maia gave the blond an awkward smile that made me feel like shit. I hated when she caught me flirting with other women, but at the same time, she was engaged to someone else.
The blond gave Maia a smug smirk that instantly made me delete her number from my phone as she walked away.
An arrogant man might think this encounter was the reason Maia was quiet.
But one, Maia had made it clear we were just friends.
And two, something had been off with her for a few weeks now.
I’d tried multiple times to find out what was going on, but she always turned the conversation back to me.
The only time her eyes lit up was when I made her laugh. I was worried about her.
I pushed again for the hundredth time. “You know, you can talk to me,” I told her as we finished up.
I was known as the life of the party. The fun guy.
A good laugh. But there was more to me than that.
I cared about my friends and family. Would do anything for them, including having the tough conversations.
Thankfully, my sport had begun to realize the importance of mental health and there was less stigma around talking about our feelings now.
So, I was there for those who needed to unload whatever shit was on their chest. I didn’t waste that energy on people who didn’t matter, so most people never witnessed that side of me.
“Same, you know.” Maia considered me as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
She wore small diamond hoops today. She also wasn’t wearing her engagement ring, though she always took it off to swim.
The absence of it felt like a weight lifted off my shoulders.
“You usually leave for training by now. Why are you dragging breakfast out?”
Because the new owner was a dick and in turn, the gaffer was riding my fucking arse all the time.
I shrugged.
“Baird … what happened?”
“You haven’t seen the papers this morning, then?”
Maia frowned. “You know I don’t read that crap. Is … is there a story in it about you?”
“I went to a house party at the weekend. I got a little fucked up and someone took photos.”
She yanked her phone out of her purse, and I almost regretted telling her as she googled me. I knew the photos she’d find. Me, clearly shit-faced, on some stranger’s couch with two half-naked girls sprawled across me.
Maia’s shoulders tensed as she stared at the photo. “Did you take anything?”
Something like shame heated my cheeks. I’d never had anything harder than weed.
Until this weekend. “I …tried some coke.”
She sucked in a breath.
It wasn’t something I was intending to do again. I just wanted to let loose a bit. Unfortunately, this was the fifth story about my partying that had made it into the papers in the last six months.
“Whose party was it?”
“Dunno. Just some people I met when I was out.”
Her head snapped up, her eyes flashing angrily. “Random strangers who could have done anything to you … and they did. You took coke. And they sold photos of you, Baird. You’re lucky there were no photos of you taking the coke.”
Irritation and guilt were not a good combo for me. “I don’t need this judgmental shit from you, My. I’m about to get fucking reamed enough as it is when I go into training.”
“As well you should. I have never felt our age gap more than I do right now.”
“You’re four years older than me, My. That’s it. I was probably fucking before you were.” It wasn’t like me to be crass toward her in that way. I winced, regretting the words.
Before I could apologize, Maia pushed her chair back and stood. She pressed her hands to the table to lean toward me so she could hiss quietly, “My mum used to end up at random people’s houses to get fucked up.”
Surprise cut through me. “My—”
“My mum was an addict,” she confessed. “Heroin.”
“Maia—”
“Partied hard. It started out like this. A little experimentation here and there.” She waved a hand at me and straightened, sorrow flicking across her beautiful face. “It quickly snowballs. And I don’t need that shit in my life again.”
Before I could say a word, she stormed out.
Panicked, I pushed away from the table and was out of my seat so hard the chair toppled. I didn’t take time to right it. Instead, I raced after My.
I caught up with her as she stepped outside the building.
“Maia.” I rounded in front of her on the pavement.
She glared up at me, but there were tears in her eyes. The sight of them killed me.
“Never again.” I took her gently by the shoulders, hoping she could read my sincerity. “I will never touch the stuff ever again. I can’t. I’d lose my spot on the team. It was a mistake. I promise you I will never do it again.”
“Don’t do it for me. Do it for yourself, Baird. Do it for your sister and your mum who love you and count on you.”
I released her like she burned to the touch. Because Maia didn’t love me and count on me yet. But … there were tears in her eyes, and that meant something.
“I’ll do it for me. But I am doing it for you too. You … your friendship means more to me than a few minutes of partying. I didn’t … I didn’t know about your mum.”
Maia grimaced and looked away. “I don’t tell a lot of people.”
“You can tell me anything.”
She nodded, but it was weak. “I have to get to work.”
“I’ll see you soon.”
She didn’t quite meet my eyes as she waved and walked away. “Next time,” she said over her shoulder.
Dread filled me because I knew that I’d inadvertently broken some kind of trust with her.
I ran a hand through my wet hair, my fingers sliding over the right side of my head with an awareness I couldn’t shake. My last scan showed the skull fracture I’d suffered last season had healed.
But it was there, like a fucking phantom crack.
Maia disappeared around the corner out of sight.
“Fuck.” I kicked my motorbike, taking sadistic pleasure in the pain that ricocheted up my shin. I glanced back down the street where she’d just been. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”