Chapter Fifteen
Maya
It was strange how easily life could contort itself into a new normal. Back into classes, back into hanging out with Hannah and Maddie, and back into football—despite all the other things churning in the background.
Her friends were so cute. They’d brought Grandpa a “Get Well Soon” card and a packet of Werther’s. She didn’t know if he’d be able to have the toffees so soon—it might pose a choking hazard, and he was still recovering in the rehab centre—but it was a thoughtful gesture. Her mum was still hovering around at home too, fussing over Grandma, obsessively cleaning everything. It felt harsh to say it, but Maya preferred it when her mum was away. She and Grandma had learned to cope; it threw them off balance when her mum tried to assert herself where there wasn’t any room.
Her mum chauffeuring them back and forth to see Grandpa was helpful, though. But driving was another thing Maya hoped to make her own stamp on—starting with her lesson with Jamie tonight.
First, she had her responsibilities as captain to fulfil.
She gathered the balls and the kit bag, making trips between the store cupboard and the changing rooms to set everything up. It helped to have her routine, to tick things off her mental checklist when so many other things were out of her control.
Her heart rate spiked when one of those unpredictable variables greeted her in the corridor.
“You want any help?” Jamie asked.
Maya’s eyes were drawn to her shapely calves and strong legs. She hadn’t known she had such an appreciation for those parts of the body, but they were quickly becoming a favourite of hers. So was the sight of Jamie in her Millton University tracksuit—a reaction she’d never thought would enter her mind. But what had felt so alien to her at first, so despicable, now squeezed something in her throat. The sleek black tracksuit they all wore before and after the match was sculpted to Jamie like it was made for her alone.
Her mouth pulled up into an adorable grin when Maya didn’t answer her. “Are you checking me out?”
Since they’d slept together, they hadn’t really addressed what was going on between them. It had felt wrong, in a way, to give the thought of Jamie so much weight when Grandpa was lying in his hospital bed.
Maya told herself it was just sex and not to get carried away—they hadn’t even kissed since she’d made her climax around her fingers. Did that mean it was over?
A few months ago, Maya couldn’t stand the woman. Now she found herself running through every situation in her mind. Maybe Jamie didn’t want to fool around because what had happened to Maya’s grandpa was a downer. Maybe having a fling with the captain was too irresponsible, as Jamie wanted to play professional football after graduation. Or maybe…she just didn’t want to.
Either way, heat flushed Maya’s cheeks. She was checking her out. Shamelessly.
What the hell has happened to me?
“Seeing as you seem to have lost your voice,” Jamie continued, amusement clear in her features, “possibly from how breathtaking you find me in my football kit, I’ll take that as a yes.”
Maya swallowed. “Would that be a problem?”
“Definitely not.” Jamie took a step towards her, and Maya’s chest tightened. She remembered that look in her eyes from their night together. The way it had pierced through her, the desire there. How it had made her want to hand herself over naked on a silver platter.
But something inside her head tugged her back. Fear? The little voice in her skull hated her—or actually, maybe it loved her too much and was too afraid to let someone close to those vulnerable parts.
There was also the implication for the team. Maya bit her lip, contemplating the other players’ reactions. She didn’t know why the tinge of embarrassment spread to her neck. She’d not done anything wrong, and yet it felt like she’d let them down in some way.
She needed to speak to Hannah and Maddie about it. They had their ways of talking her down off a ledge, especially when most of the time she couldn’t see she’d climbed up there in the first place.
With a sigh, she forced herself away from Jamie, bending down to unzip the kit bag and start hanging up the football shirts. When she stood again, Jamie grabbed her and kissed her, pushing her around the corner, back towards the showers.
Maya melted against her warm lips, letting Jamie guide her until she was pressed up against the white tiles. She gasped into her mouth, while Jamie’s eager hands caressed her waist and up to her nipples, teasing them through the fabric. All of her resistance dissolved under Jamie’s touch, and she pulled her closer, needing to feel the weight of her body against hers.
She slipped her tongue into Jamie’s mouth, earning a moan. Her clit ached at the sound, and she threaded her fingers through Jamie’s soft hair, giving in to the feeling, their kisses becoming more desperate.
It was hard to admit it, but kissing Jamie was pretty fucking amazing.
She unzipped Maya’s tracksuit top, her hands exploring her through the light material of her T-shirt. Maya dug her fingers into Jamie’s shoulders as she felt her lips brush the sensitive skin of her neck, planting soft kisses before sucking at her favourite spot.
Her knees almost buckled, goosebumps tingling across her arms. Oh god. Jamie’s hot mouth was waking up all her senses with a deep throbbing ache, lighting up every surface, setting off a giant neon sign with an arrow saying, ‘ Touch me here and don’t you fucking dare stop ’.
She whimpered, not feeling in control of her own body. She’d never been touched this way before. Purposeful. Desperate. Like the world would end if they didn’t get their hands on each other.
“How long have we got?” Jamie murmured against her neck, causing a shiver of pleasure to run down her spine.
Regretfully, she manoeuvred her wrist to see her watch and let out a painful sigh. “Like…two minutes.”
Jamie fisted the fabric of her shirt, tightening it across her nipples. “Shit.” She leaned back to look into her eyes. Her body was still pressing Maya’s against the tiles, and her chest was rising and falling rapidly. The logical side of Maya’s brain knew they needed to part and collect themselves—someone could walk in any minute—but there was something in Jamie’s eyes that held her in place.
A few beats passed, their laboured breathing the only sounds.
Then Jamie’s gaze softened, passing over her face. “You have no idea what you do to me, Maya.” She dropped her head, a huff of a laugh passing her lips. “I don’t know how I’m going to play football like this.”
A fiery jolt pinged between Maya’s legs. “Are you wet for me?”
Jamie hissed as Maya pressed her hand against her, dipping inside her tracksuit bottoms. She grazed her fingers over the soft material of her boxer briefs, groaning when she slid a finger up the slick fabric, finding it soaked. She rubbed soft circles, and Jamie slammed her palm against the wall to steady herself.
“Who’s lost their voice now?” Maya teased, immensely turned on by the gasps on Jamie’s lips.
Unable to stop herself, she slipped her hand underneath the material of Jamie’s boxers, dipping her finger into her wetness.
“Holy shit. Wet is an understatement.” Maya’s stomach clenched, desire coiling low in her navel.
I need to stop. I should stop.
Instead, she slid her finger deeper inside her, easily adding a second.
Jamie fell back against the wall, her eyes finding Maya’s. Her mouth opened to say something, but any words disappeared as she glided her fingers in and out of her .
Maya couldn’t stop. Jamie was trembling beneath her, already tightening, and she was addicted to the feeling. Jamie was so hot for her. What was she supposed to do? Her own aching clit hijacked her brain, making everything else fade away.
She quickened her pace, the sound of Jamie’s wetness spurring her on as it echoed through the changing room. Her blue irises were locked on Maya’s the entire time, her perfect pink mouth panting. She sucked on her bottom lip, savouring Jamie’s sweet taste before biting her neck. She’d missed her. Touching her chased away all the thoughts in her brain.
Fucking hell. Now I need a change of underwear.
“Maya, please…don’t stop.”
She captured Jamie’s lips with hers again—because of course she wasn’t going to stop. How could she? She had to make her come again. She couldn’t explain it, but Maya needed to feel her. Nothing else mattered.
Jamie moaned into her mouth as she kissed her, first hard and then soft, pinching her bottom lip and then kissing her again. Her legs shuddered beneath her.
The door flung open with a bang, and the two of them froze.
“Thomas?” Loud clunking steps echoed through the changing rooms, and panic shot up Maya’s spine.
Coach.
She slapped a hand over Jamie’s mouth, seeing her eyebrows pinch together in pure pain as Maya’s fingers stilled inside her .
“Thomas?” Coach called again.
Don’t come around the corner. Don’t come around the corner.
Her heart jumped into her throat, Jamie’s chest heaving against hers. She tried to hold her breath, like Coach was out there on all fours, sniffing the air like a tiger stalking her prey.
Jamie’s breath tickled Maya’s hand, but it felt too loud. Everything was too loud. Fuck.
More footsteps. The squeak of trainers against the floor. Then the door banged shut.
Maya waited a few more moments before removing her hand and stepping away. “Shit.” Her head spun, dizzy from the swirl of adrenaline and endorphins.
“Shit, indeed.” Jamie sighed, rearranging her boxers and trousers.
Maya scrambled out from behind the showers, straightening her clothes and resuming her duties. She pulled out a stack of blue shirts and hung them hurriedly from the hangers. Her breathing wouldn’t return to normal, the wetness between her legs distracting.
The team would be here any minute. Coach could come back. What would she say? She felt completely out of control. She should’ve been better.
Jamie appeared, taking some of the shirts from her hands. “Here. Let me help.”
Maya’s phone chimed, and she fished it out of her pocket, heart plummeting when she read the name on the screen.
Carly: I’m sorry I haven’t messaged in a while. Been super busy! But I just heard about your grandpa. I’m so sorry, Maya. I’m here for you. Anything you need. Let’s hang out soon xx
Thoughts of Carly had been far from Maya’s mind. Seeing her name, it was like someone had pulled the rug from under her, causing everything Carly to tumble out of the boxes where she’d been storing it, crushing her under its weight.
She reread her message, and nausea bubbled in her belly, multiplying further when she realised Carly had messaged her separately and not in the group chat. She didn’t need Carly to be here for her, not now.
So why did reading her words feel like a tight embrace?
She’d felt so elated, so euphoric just minutes ago, and now it was as though everything was crumbling around her.
“Maya,” she heard Jamie say, but she pocketed her phone, fingers rushing, failing to slip the shirt over the wooden hanger. “Are you alright?” When she didn’t respond, Jamie took Maya’s hand in hers. “Just breathe. It’s okay.”
Jamie’s own chest was still heaving, the pink tinge to her cheeks telling of their earlier encounter. Maya forced herself to look into her eyes. The blues and greys stirred together like gentle ocean waves. Something in Maya relaxed.
Jamie brushed her thumb over her hand. “What do we need to do next? Let me help.”
* * *
After the game, Jamie pulled into an empty parking space and stopped the car. Bright yellow streetlights poured in through the windows, and Maya peered out.
The Balti King.
“You want to go for Indian food?” she asked. “I thought you wanted to teach me how to drive.”
“The restaurant is shut on Wednesdays.” Jamie nodded at the empty car park. “That gives us a nice big area to play with. You said you had some lessons months ago, right?” Maya nodded, and she continued, “So, this is just to get you back into the swing of things.”
She jumped when Jamie squeezed her thigh.
Jamie laughed. “You don’t need to look so nervous. It’s gonna be fun. Come on.” She hopped out of the car, and they switched seats.
Maya ran her hands over the steering wheel, feeling the cool material under her fingers. A part of her couldn’t quite believe Jamie was trusting her with her car. For all she knew, Maya had been banned from driving after hitting too many pedestrians in her driving lessons—she hadn’t, but still, she could be a raging moron, trying to soar into the night sky via a vertical route up a lamppost. The truth was that after Grandpa’s first stroke, she’d just…stopped taking her lessons. It wasn’t a priority anymore. It felt selfish.
Jamie patiently recapped all the different parts for her: the clutch, the accelerator and—Maya’s current favourite—the brake. She checked her mirrors, and Jamie even let her adjust the driving seat so she was sitting bolt upright.
Her fingers gripped the steering wheel, thumbs rubbing in hard circles.
“Are you ready?” Jamie asked.
It was a simple question—and driving around the empty car park was a simple manoeuvre—yet Maya’s mouth struggled to form any words. When she was distracted, things went wrong. Whenever she let things go and focused on the moment, life seemed to spin out of line. What happened to Grandpa was proof enough of that. Maya needed to be focused. She needed to be present. She needed to be in control. When she wasn’t, life had a habit of throwing her a curveball.
She tightened her grip, knuckles burning white. “I don’t know if I should.”
When she’d lost control earlier, caught in the whirlpool of Jamie’s touch, Coach had nearly walked in on them. It’d thrown her into such a loop, she’d played a terrible first half. They’d scraped a win—just, thanks to one of Jamie’s thunderbolt shots—but Maya was the captain. She should be leading by example. Not knocking the whole team off balance.
And then there was Carly .
That pretty little headfuck pops up at the worst of times.
“What’s wrong?” Jamie asked.
Maya could feel her soft gaze in her peripheral vision, but how was she supposed to explain all of this to her? Mentioning the blonde woman who’d taken Maya’s heart and snipped it into tiny pieces seemed a major turn-off. Her thoughts weren’t easy to explain.
“I…shouldn’t.”
“You want to learn to drive, right?” Jamie asked.
“Yeah, I do, but—”
“Come on, then. Clutch down and move the gearstick into first.” Her voice was soft and encouraging. Before Maya knew it, she’d done what she said. “Remember about the biting point on the clutch? If you lift your foot slowly, you’ll feel the car respond.”
The car juddered as Maya lifted the clutch. She panicked, let go of it completely, and the engine spluttered and cut out, jumping them forward.
“Ah, shit. Sorry. I knew I shouldn’t do this. I—”
“Maya, it’s fine. It’s just stalled. Try it again. This time, if you feel it move too much, just press your foot back in again.”
Jamie was so calm and so gentle, Maya couldn’t help but listen and follow her instructions. Soon enough, she was driving around the car park—stiff as a board and as slow as a sloth crawling through slime—but still moving, nonetheless. After a couple of laps, she got quicker, moving into second and then third gear. The muscle memory came back to her, and then they were flying around in Jamie’s little Golf, with Jamie clapping and cheering each loop.
Maya pulled into a space—technically occupying two as she parked clumsily over the lines—and switched off the engine. They both let out a laugh, and she palmed the steering wheel.
“Okay, yeah,” she admitted. “That was really fun.”
“You’re a little speed demon. I should’ve known. It does make sense.”
“Shut up, you.” Maya nudged her but couldn’t keep the grin off her face.
“You did good.”
“Thanks. It felt good.” The fact she’d got an adrenaline rush from driving around the empty restaurant car park made her laugh again. She shook her head. “Thanks for this, Jamie.”
Jamie grinned. “No problem.”
“I think it’ll really help Grandma out if I can learn to drive.”
Jamie nodded, her eyes flicking over her face. “You’re allowed to do something for yourself too though, Maya.”
Her words hit a sensitive spot, and Maya glanced away. “Yeah. I know.”
Jamie’s hands found her face, turning it towards her. Maya’s breath hitched. She inched closer, then hesitated. Jamie’s words came out in a soft whisper. “Sorry. About earlier. I shouldn’t have jumped on you like that. ”
“It’s okay.” Maya was surprised to find she meant it.
“I mean, with everything going on, I don’t want to make anything worse…or more complicated for you.”
“You don’t. Strangely, you actually make things better.”
Jamie’s mouth quirked, a flash of something unreadable in her eyes. Maya leaned in, feeling her breath on her lips, the gravitational pull tugging them closer. She soaked in the moment, the tension coiling in her stomach and the heat spreading up her neck.
She kissed her, burying her hands in her hair and sinking into her touch. Jamie’s mouth welcomed her, hungry and soft at the same time, in a way that felt like flying. It escalated quickly: hands squeezing and gripping, lips nipping and bruising. Jamie was everywhere and everything, pulsing through Maya’s veins, throbbing between her legs.
When they broke apart, gasping for air, Jamie laughed, the sound a little like disbelief. Her gaze met Maya’s, touching somewhere deep in her chest. “Yeah. Strangely, you make things better too.”