6. Callan
CHAPTER SIX
CALLAN
W e beat Dingwall Drovers 2–1. Not exactly the annihilation the gaffer was after, but we were still finding chemistry with the new players who’d joined the team for this season. Some of our players had been loaned out to other teams too. Good news was I scored one goal with a free kick and John scored the other. Dingwall had been coming for us, but Baird did a phenomenal job stopping their attempts to score.
The gaffer was not happy. One too many attempts got through our defense.
Between worrying about a game that should’ve been won more easily and the fact that Braden Carmichael was still refusing to meet with me and Baird, I’d wanted some stress relief last night.
We had training the next day, so I’d only had one drink with the boys, but I’d also taken a woman home. Jules. Baird had warned me she’d slept with our substitute goalie, Michael Holmes, and that she’d stolen his phone to tell his girlfriend he’d cheated. I’d shrugged off the warning because Karma and all that. I might not ever be nominated for Boyfriend of the Year, but disloyalty wasn’t in my vocabulary. I knew only too well how much it fucking hurt to have the people who were meant to care about you disappoint you.
Anyway, the sex with Jules had been fine. After Hailey told Beth fucking Carmichael of all people that I was a shit lay, I’d put in a wee bit extra effort. Just because a woman wanted to say she’d shagged a footballer didn’t mean I should get complacent and lazy.
But Baird had been right about this one. Jules had screeched her head off when I told her she needed to get out of my bed so I could get to training.
“What is it with you bloody footballers and early mornings!” she’d shrieked like a banshee. I’d winced and kept my mouth shut. Engaging someone who was already blowing something way out of proportion was never a good idea.
As I waited on her to get ready, listening to her stomp her heels into my good hardwood floors, I kicked myself for giving Jules the effort when Hailey had been a nice lassie and she got the knackered, bored, entitled version of me I wasn’t proud of.
I decided right there and then I needed a break from this.
Surely, my right hand was better than listening to this stranger swear and yell all because she needed to get out of my flat at seven in the morning.
Finally, as I was about to urge Jules to hurry up, she strode out of the bedroom looking impressively put together. She was a stunner. Pity her insides didn’t match the outside. She sneered. “Ready. Happy?”
I shook my head in disbelief and walked toward the front door, and the envelopes on my sideboard caught my attention. A pang of guilt made me hesitate. I should pick them up. Take them to her.
Instead, I kept walking right out of the flat.
On Wednesday, I’d collected my mail and was shuffling through it as I walked upstairs when I realized the postie had put Beth’s mail in with mine. Some devil possessed me and instead of shoving it through her letter box, I’d kept it. I didn’t know why. Not a fucking clue. And it had sat there all weekend. Every time I passed it, I told myself to pick it up and stop by her place with it on my way out.
Even now, I didn’t do it.
“Where am I dropping you off?” I asked.
“Work will do,” Jules replied sullenly. “Vibe. The tanning salon off George Street.”
“Right.”
As we were making our way down the stairs that led to Beth’s floor, my ears pricked up at the sound of a door opening. My blood started pumping and something like anticipation filled me as she came into sight.
Today she wore her gym clothes. I tried not to stare too hard in case I missed the next step down.
Racking my brain, I catalogued all the local gyms, wondering which one she frequented.
“Morning!” she called chirpily. Beth wasn’t an unhappy person but ‘chirpy’ was out of character. It was a deliberate attempt to piss me off.
I gave her a chin lift in acknowledgment but nothing more. My … date curled her upper lip at Beth and kept walking.
My neck prickled as we took the next staircase with Beth falling into step behind us.
“Looks like another nice day,” she prattled amiably. Still attempting to irritate me.
I grunted.
“Congrats on your game.”
Surprised, I nearly did miss a step.
“Lucky Baird is such a good goalie, huh,” she goaded.
And that was more like it.
“Tell him I said congrats. You’re lucky to have him.”
The brunette at my side cut Beth an annoyed look over her shoulder. “Who the fuck are you?”
Charming.
Beth didn’t miss a beat. “The neighbor. And Baird’s friend.”
“You’re not friends,” I gritted out without turning around.
“We’re definitely friends. John too. They love me. I’m lovable. Tell them I said hi.”
“No.” We reached the front entrance of the building and I spun to face Beth. “You are not friends with my friends.”
Look, I knew it was immature. But I couldn’t have Beth Carmichael infiltrating my life via my mates. It was bad enough we were neighbors.
Those large, tip-tilted eyes narrowed and then she turned her big, gorgeous smile on Jules. “Hey, I’m Beth. Nice dress.”
To my shock, the brunette put up a palm and snapped, “Get out of our faces, slut.”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I really, really regretted my life choices in the last twelve hours. Also, this woman was in desperate need of some anger management classes. “Ah, fuck.” I cut Beth an irritated look before turning on a heavy sigh to Jules. “Right, you can catch the bus.”
She gaped at me. “What?”
“You heard me.”
“Because of her?” she sneered. “Fuck you! Fuck you for getting me up this early and then not giving me a lift!” She slammed out of the building and tottered across the cobbles and into the car park, her ankle bending dangerously before she righted herself.
“Great, thanks to you, she’s going to tell everyone I’m a prick.”
Beth pinched her lips together and then asked with a gentleness that belied her words, “Like they didn’t already know?”
“That was your fault.” I pointed in Jules’s direction. “If you didn’t try to befriend everyone I’m with, that wouldn’t have happened.”
“No. That’s your fault. Up until this moment, you’ve had good taste in sexual partners. So this one’s on you.”
Damn her for being right. “Pfft!”
Beth struggled not to laugh. “I see that you agree.”
I raised my middle finger at her and pushed open the door to exit. Hurrying toward my Land Rover, I grumbled under my breath at the sight of her MINI parked right next to me.
“Captain?”
Just ignore her.
I glanced back at her. “What?”
A frown marred her brow. “You do get health checks, right?”
Was she kidding with that shite? “Not that it’s any of your business, but we get health checks at the club constantly. Now, can I have your promise you will not befriend anyone I bring over? In fact, can I have your promise we will ignore each other from now on?”
Beth considered it. “Nope to the former, yes to the latter. I’m not going to ignore other people because they made the epically bad decision to either be your friend or sleep with you.”
“You’re a pain in my fucking arse.”
At my biting tone, Beth narrowed her eyes. “I hope she”—she gestured to the gate my one-night stand disappeared out of—“gave you a venereal disease.”
“You are a venereal disease.”
To my shock, she beamed. “Hey!” She raised her arms in celebration. “You made a funny! Good for you.”
“I hate you.” I climbed into my Defender and ignored Beth’s little wave and sexy smirk as I drove past her.
Damn it. I’d let her get so under my skin I’d forgotten to tell her about her mail.