Chapter 31 Kieran
Kieran
We fucked in the shower, on the couch, in the car, in every position I could conjure up and a few I’d never tried.
Joanie’s list wasn’t exactly a chore, and she was very accommodating about adding more to it.
When we weren’t fucking, we spent our time in vacation mode—sitting side by side on the beach, drinking in the sun’s rise and fall over the perfect blue of the Mediterranean sea, visiting the old town and ambling along cobbled streets, stuffing ourselves with tapas.
It wasn’t hard to relax once I got the hang of it.
With every passing day, the tightness I carried in my shoulders and jaw melted away, to be replaced with a kind of peacefulness I’d never known.
The sex was amazing, but I liked all the other stuff too: the hours spent making out, grinding against each other on the couch, and talking late into the night, the times she let me dry her with a towel after a bath, cooking together.
After a day exploring the old town, we collapsed back on the sofa at the villa. Joanie grabbed the remote and flicked through the channels until the familiar roar of chanting filled the sitting room.
“Real Madrid,” I said.
Joanie smiled and reached for a slice of pepperoni pizza. She slid the box across the table. “Do you ever miss playing for them?”
“Sometimes.”
Madrid had been a family, but signing with Calverdale had allowed me to take care of Jack.
If only I didn’t have to put up with Sean Wallace.
Joanie settled back on the couch and propped her feet on the footstool.
Her skin glowed with the sun and her hair was loose and wavy around her face.
My body thrummed with heat to be so close to her.
Joanie shot me a tentative glance. “You should have had the call-up for England by now. They were wrong not to pick you last time.”
I stiffened. I’d thought Joanie was shy, but she wasn’t shy about asking difficult questions. In fact, she was more direct than most people I knew.
“Did you want it?”
“Doesn’t everyone? I had some bad press around that time. I think the England bosses saw me as a risk they weren’t willing to take.”
“Partying?”
I sighed. “It’s exaggerated. Do you know my ideal way to spend an evening? On the couch, with a cup of tea, watching Friends. I’m a homebody. You wouldn’t think that from the way the press goes at me.”
“Same. Friends is my comfort watch. I like how it doesn’t matter where you are in the world, you can find it on some channel.” She stroked her fingers down my arm. “They still haven’t announced the squad. Maybe this year you could get a chance?”
I folded my arms and tried to relax into the cushions, but I was too irritated.
My neck was sore and burning from where I’d caught the sun walking around today, and my nose felt itchy and like it was peeling.
This should have been my year. I’d never have better condition than I had now.
I’d blown it. It wasn’t like Mortimer Fox was going to do me any favors.
I’d done the one thing he’d asked me not to do.
Was Joanie worth my England shirt? Yes, without a doubt.
The trouble was, Mortimer Fox had the power to make my life at Calverdale difficult, too.
Now, this was about damage limitation. Was Joanie worth getting kicked out of the team?
Also yes if it came to it, although things were going to get tough with Jack.
I’d have to figure it out. If I went somewhere else, then maybe I could get him to come with me.
Would Jack go for that? Would any other manager put up with my shit the way Rob did?
I wanted this woman on my arm, but I also needed to keep my fucking job for Jack’s sake. Why did it feel like asking the earth?
“I didn’t get asked this year either. Before the injury, I’d been playing well.
I thought I might have a chance.” She sighed and grabbed another slice of pizza from the box.
“At least you already get to play in front of fifty thousand people every time you step on the pitch. Your games are always televised. It’s different for the women.
It’s a chance to play at another level.”
When she put it like that, I could see it. I already had so much, and playing for England was just a little bit more. For Joanie, it would have been a bigger leap.
“I’m sorry.”
She shrugged. “It’s hard enough not knowing how things will go when I go back to the club, let alone thinking of playing for England. It’s not the be-all and end-all, is it? Goals change over time. I’d be happy just to feel good playing football again.”
I slid my hand along the couch toward her. “You will feel good playing football again.”
She shrugged. “Maybe.”
I’d seen the smile and determination on her face when she belted down that pitch with that group of kids before she took a tumble. She had to be driven to get to where she was today. “It’s not a maybe. It’s a definitely. How are you feeling about going back to training?”
It was an unpalatable subject, but it couldn’t be avoided. We had one more day until we had to go home.
Joanie stretched her arms above her head and yawned. “Honestly? I’m nervous.”
“It will be OK. I promise you. I’m going to be there with you to support you.”
“You are?”
“Yes. Every session. I’ll hang around after the men’s training sessions so I can watch you.”
Her eyes widened. “You don’t have to do that. You’ll be so bored.”
“I won’t be bored if I’m watching you. I’ll be your cheerleader on the sideline.”
Tears glistened in her eyes. “You will?”
“Of course. Why are you crying?”
“Because you don’t know how much that would mean to me, Kieran.”
I kissed her head and pulled her in tighter. “Then it’s happening. I’ll be there at every training session and every match. I promise. I wouldn’t miss it.”