Chapter 17 Kieran
Kieran
The sun hung low by the time we walked back to the villa. We’d played for hours, but the time had flown. I couldn’t remember when I’d last felt so free. It was like stepping back to my childhood. Football always made me feel like a kid playing the game I loved.
Joanie shot me a playful smile. “How does it feel?”
“How does what feel?”
“Getting your backside handed to you by a bunch of ten-year-olds?”
I mopped the sweat on my brow with my T-shirt. “I did, didn’t I? Those kids have worn me out.”
Joanie flashed me a beaming smile. “They’ll never forget this afternoon.”
“It was fun. You’ll have to play with us next time.”
Her eyes slipped away. “Maybe.”
Silence rang between us, but it wasn’t the usual companionable kind.
An awkwardness stirred inside me that I couldn’t place.
A nervous tension. My heart was thudding and my stomach felt light and strange.
If only I could say something funny or cool to get her attention or make her do that shy smile that seemed to be just for me, but everything I practiced in my head sounded dumb.
I didn’t get tongue-tied with women under normal circumstances.
This was new . . . and weird . . . and I didn’t like it one bit.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. Bloody Rob. I swiped the screen to answer. No doubt he’d heard the news about what had happened with Fizzz.
“What’s up, boss?”
Rob glared at me from the screen. “What have you said to the Fizzz people? They’re not happy. I’ve had the CEO screaming down my ear. I sent you out there to make them happy.”
Joanie chewed the skin around her thumbnail nervously but stayed silent and out of Rob’s line of sight.
“We had some . . . artistic differences,” I said.
Rob wrinkled his nose. “What differences?”
“They’re arseholes, and we’re not.”
Rob rubbed the bridge of his nose. “For fuck’s sake, Earnshaw. I ask you to do one thing.”
“They want us in swimwear. We’re not comfortable with it. We need time to think.”
Rob cut me a dubious glance.
“Don’t roll your eyes. You know that’s not right,” I said.
His voice dripped with amused contempt. “I’m just surprised you care.”
Fuck off. It was the right thing to take a stand, even if some of my reasons were selfish. I didn’t want the world drooling over Joanie in a G-string, even if I wouldn’t have minded the view. Somewhere private. Not on camera. No one else. Just for me.
He blew out a breath. “What’s the problem? Is it Joanie? I’ll have another women’s player sent over.”
Joanie shook her head in disgust. No way. That meant Joanie would go home. I wasn’t ready for that.
“I’m only doing this commercial if Joanie does it.”
Joanie’s eyes widened with alarm, and she shook her head. I turned my back on her.
My body filled with reckless energy. Fuck it. Rob could throw his weight around threatening me all he wanted. He needed me for his team. He wouldn’t get rid of me over this, and if he did, then fuck him. Sometimes you had to take a stand. This wasn’t right.
“If anyone tries to force Joanie to do something she’s not comfortable with, then I’m out of here too, and I’ll be telling everyone about the unfair demands made on players.”
“You’re giving me a headache, Earnshaw. I don’t need all this Billy Big Bollocks stuff. Why can’t you ever just do what you’re told? We can’t piss these people off.”
I kept my stare level. What was he going to do? Kick me off the team? I’d find another team. “They pissed me off when they brought out that bikini. No one’s demanding I shove my meat and two veg into a fucking banana hammock, so why should Joanie have to have her ass on display?”
Joanie’s hand wrapped around my arm. Her eyes were soft and pleading. “I’ll do it, Kieran. It’s just a bikini. Please don’t get into trouble over it.”
I turned my attention back to Rob. “No bikini. Do whatever you want to me. I don’t care. I’m hanging up.”
My thumb hovered over the red circle to dismiss the call.
“Wait.” Rob’s voice stilled my thumb. “Calm down.” He released a sigh, but amusement flickered in his eyes. “A banana hammock? Thanks for the mental image.”
I shrugged. “I’m just calling out a double standard.”
“Right. Fine. I get it. It’s not on. I’ll talk to them. No promises.”
I could have given him a lot more shit, but Joanie looked so worried. “Good. You do that.”
Rob wrinkled his nose. “You’re a pain in my arse. You better get me the FA Cup this season.”
Rob hung up the phone, and I stared at the blank screen.
Joanie hugged herself. “You didn’t have to do that. I don’t want you to get in trouble because of me.”
“I told you, I’m used to trouble. What’s a little more?”