Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
~AMELIA~
The team is back from Chicago and now we’re working on getting ready for our game against Kansas City.
We’ll be away again. It’s so weird how our schedule can be sometimes.
We’ll play for weeks at our home stadium and then have multiple away games in a row.
Kansas City is a tough team for us, so we’re working extra hard at practice.
Watts had us broken up by offense and defense to work on specific skills.
We’re taking a break right now and Coach Andie is lecturing us on the importance of maintaining good nutrition and staying hydrated while traveling.
“I would recommend everyone gets some Liquid IV and keep those packets with you. Once you get through security, dump it into your water and fill it up. Make sure that you finish that before we land in Kansas City. Sleep when you can and no one should be out late on Thursday night. Even though we don’t take the field until seven on Friday, you all need your rest.”
Everyone is nodding and some of them don’t even look like they are listening.
But I remain respectful and listen to her.
It’s nice to have a female coach on our team; she’s like one of the girls, sometimes hanging out with us when she can.
Her major in college was sports nutrition so it’s a bonus that we get tips like this from her, whether the other girls listen to her or not.
“Alright, I’m done lecturing you. And since I can tell that most of your weren’t listening to me, it’s property run time girls. Go and run all around this complex and don’t be last.” She claps her hands together and we all take off running.
There’s no way I want to be the last one to finish.
I’m not as fast as Mac and Cassie. Cassie actually runs for fun and Mac is naturally fast. It’s a perk of playing defense.
I don’t have to necessarily be a fast runner as long as I don’t come up too high out of the box and have to track back to stop an offensive player.
I mostly need to be able to challenge the players that are looking to shoot on goal.
In any case, I don’t want to be last, and so far I’m not.
I’m hanging in there in the middle of the pack.
We make our way around the Blaze stadium, parking lot, practice field and office building.
It’s a nice little setup that August was able to create in the downtown area of Tampa.
We’re close enough to downtown that we can walk to get coffee, some great pizza or whatever kind of food we’re craving.
I keep breathing in and out, hoping that I get back soon.
My strides are long and quick, so I am covering a lot of ground on this two-mile run.
I want this to end. I can already feel my legs and lungs protesting a bit in the Tampa Bay heat.
I haven’t lost sight of the head of the pack either.
I can’t catch them, but I can still see them, which is good.
I finish the run in a little over eleven minutes, which isn’t bad for me.
It’s not my best but it’s not terrible. I lie on the turf that is shaded so I don’t get burned.
That’s the thing about turf with the sun beating on it, it holds heat like the blacktop.
I stretch my arms and legs out wide so that my lungs and torso do not feel so constricted.
“Just don’t lie down, ladies. Come on, you need to stretch!” I hear Dex call out.
Dex has joined us at training again. He missed yesterday and mumbled something about having something to do in the training room when I saw him at home.
We haven’t seen much of each other since he yelled at me in Chicago.
According to him, he’s been spending his nights out with August. My teammates are exhausted, so we haven’t been heading out much.
I had a movie with Hendrix last night, which was nice.
By the time I got home, Dex was already in his room with the door closed.
He’s avoiding me. I know it.
Standing, I sip on my water a bit and then begin to stretch out my legs, pulling my legs up one at time towards my chest to get a deep stretch in.
I wobble a bit, so I drop my leg to steady myself.
I can feel someone’s eyes on me as I’m moving through my routine.
I look up and Dex immediately looks away from me.
I smile and turn my back towards him. I roll down so that I can touch my toes, giving him a nice view of my ass.
I can feel his eyes on me as I do this. I stand up, turn towards him, and wave. He nods back at me.
“Ladies!” I hear Watts call out. I turn my attention away from the trainer and back to my coach.
He’s talking about some simple passing drills that he wants us to do.
“Nothing too strenuous since you ran but I want you to make sure that your passes are right on the mark. It’s going to be a tough game on Friday night. ”
We all nod and pair up. I look over to see if I can claim Hendrix as my partner, but Jase has stolen her to do some goalie work. DJ calls my name, and I head over to her. We set up and begin passing the ball back and forth.
I look over and see Dex is talking to Coach Watts with a clipboard in his hand. I’m not sure what they’re discussing but Watts is nodding his head vigorously. DJ kicks the ball, and it misses my foot. It rolls near Dex, and I jog lightly over to retrieve it.
I toe the ball with my right foot, and it bounces up. I grab it and begin to head back to DJ. He’s still watching me, but this time Watts is nowhere to be found.
“Is there something that I can help you with?” I ask Dex.
“No, why would you think there was?” The words seem to slide out his mouth like velvet. One side of his mouth is turned in a smirk.
I sigh, “Because you can’t stop staring at me.”
He chuckles. “I’m watching the practice and talking about some new equipment with Watts. I was only looking over at you when you looked at me.”
“I can feel you watching me.”
“I’m not sure what you think you are feeling, but I’m not watching you. I’m watching the practice.” He smiles at me and takes a step forward. “Are you hoping that I’m watching you?” His voice low enough so that only he and I can hear.
“No,” I stammer out. This isn’t going like I thought I would.
“Sure, you weren’t.” He winks at me and walks away, getting the last word in.
I roll my eyes and jog back to DJ.
“What was that about?” she asks me.
“Nothing, I asked him something about home,” I lie.
“He winked at you.”
She saw that. “Yeah,” I reply, my voice a bit shaky with worry.
“Are you two seeing each other or something?” DJ asks me.
“No, of course not,” I try to sound adamant, hoping she buys it.
“Just curious because the day he got here, August changed the policy regarding fraternization. And then he moved in with you. I thought maybe there was something going on there.” Her brows lift in question, and I shift on my feet, unsure of how to respond.
I walk closer to her so that I’m not talking so loudly that the other girls will hear my response. “No, I think that August was only trying to make it okay that he was making Dex live with me.”
DJ nods, “Okay, so you’re not starting anything with him?”
I stare at her for a moment. “No, he’s just my roommate I have to live with until August can find him somewhere else to go.”
“Think I could ask him out?” Her eyes are sparkling, and I can tell she’s excited.
“Umm, sure, shoot your shot, girl.” I tell her.
I feel something in the pit on my stomach; it feels like jealousy.
But I can’t figure out why. I have no claim over him, and he hasn’t given me any indication that he’s interested in me.
I’m also not sure if I would even recognize if a man was interested in me.
I’ve shut that part of my life down for so long.
Soccer has been my focus. Getting here was all I’ve ever wanted.
I shake off my own thoughts before I end up saying something out loud that I shouldn’t.
I glance over and see that Dex is back on the turf.
Sure, he’s an attractive man, but he’s also recently divorced.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to say something to DJ about this divorce, but I decide to let it go.
Dex should be the one to tell that detail of his life.
It’s not my news to share and I have no idea who else knows about it.
“So, you don’t care if I ask him out?” DJ asks me.
“Huh?” I think I heard her correctly, but I want to be sure. I look DJ over. She’s tall, blonde and slender. Not curvy and short like I am.
“Do you care if I see if Dex wants to get dinner sometime,” she repeats the question slower like she’s sure that I couldn’t comprehend it if she spoke faster.
“No, sure, go ahead. Shoot your shot.” I tell her again with another twinge of jealousy that she is going to ask him, and he might actually say yes.
DJ is a very pretty girl and I’m betting the type of girl that Dex would go for.
I haven’t Googled him to see if I can find his ex-wife, but maybe I should satisfy my curiosity.
“Thanks! I might do that.”
Thankfully, at that moment Coach Watts blows the whistle, and we are all called in to huddle up.
We begin jogging and I notice that DJ smiles and waves at Dex. He waves back. I never get a wave, only a nod. Another wave of jealous washes over me. I tell myself he is just being nice to DJ and has no real interest in her. I don’t know if I believe that, but that’s what I pretend to be true.
“Alright, ladies, make sure you are at the airport and ready to head to Kansas City by eleven on Wednesday. We’ll get in, have a team dinner and then head off to bed. Make sure you get your heads right and ready. Big game coming up!”
Mac leans into the circle, and says, “Blaze on three.”
We all shout “Blaze!” as practice is broken up for the day. I look over and see that DJ has made a beeline for Dex. I can’t watch. I turn my back on the interaction and head into the locker room.
“What’s that look for, girl?” Hendrix catches up with and stares me down as we walk.
“It’s nothing. I’m fine. Just tired is all. You know, late night watching movies.” I try to lie to see if she buys it.
She doesn’t.
“Nope, sorry, you were all chipper this morning when I saw you. That’s not it. What’s going on with you?” she pries.
“Nothing. I’m good. Like I said, just tired.”
I leave it at that and gather my things. I don’t bother to shower here at the stadium like I normally would. I want space. I want to leave here before DJ comes in bragging that she has a date with Dex. I try not to think about why this bothers me so much. I get my shit and get out of there.
“Amelia, you okay?” Cassie calls after me when she sees that I’m heading out already.
“Yeah, just fine. See you later.” I call over my shoulder.
I hurry out to my car, almost running down a Blaze staff member who is cleaning the floors as I go.
“Sorry,” I barely choke out as I make a beeline for my car.
Throwing the car door open, I toss my bag angrily into the back and climb in.
Slamming my door closed and drawing some attention to myself from the others in the lot, I don’t bother to acknowledge them. Instead, I drive away in a hurry.
Once I’m home, I take a long shower, taking my time to wash my body and my hair. It’s only five in the afternoon, a little early for pajamas, but I don’t care. I put on my comfiest shorts and sleep tank and head into the kitchen.
That’s where Dex finds me when he gets home. I’m standing at the island, chopping up some cucumbers and tossing them on top of my lettuce. I turn and he’s standing there, leaning against the wall, watching me. He looks so freaking sexy right now. I mentally slap myself for thinking that.
But it’s true. His dark brown hair is a little mussed from the Tampa Bay heat. The navy blue Blaze athletic tee he has on looks like it was molded to his body. And don’t get me started on those grey sweatpant shorts. It’s too hot in Tampa for those but the man knows how to wear a pair.
“You okay?” His voice is soft as his green eyes study me. “Isn’t it a little early for pj’s? August was saying something about going out for a drink later.”
I shrug. “No one told me.”
“I’m telling you now,” he replies, smirking at me.
“I think I’m good here.”
He nods and enters the kitchen, making his way over the where I’m chopping up vegetables and grabbing a piece of chicken off of my salad. I watch as he pops it into this mouth, eyes locked on mine the entire time he chews.
“Thanks,” he says, turning to leave the kitchen.
“Just take whatever you want of my food,” I mutter bitterly as I continue to fix my salad.
He stops behind me. I feel him near me, the heat of his body is radiating onto mine. He leans in so close to me that I can feel his lips at the back of my neck. If I moved a fraction of an inch his lips would touch my neck. And then he speaks.
“You don’t have to worry. I told DJ no.”
Dex says those words, and I feel them all the way from neck to my toes. Goosebumps cover my body. I turn around to say something to him, but he’s gone. I hear his room door click shut and I stare like he’ll materialize out of thin air. But he doesn’t.
His words were enough to make me smile and lift my mood. He told her no. I repeat the words in my head, still smiling at the thought.