Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Jamie
I don’t remember when I fell in love with Daisy. It just kind of…happened.
One night, after a brutal test match against Ireland, she drove me home and smiled at me like she always does. Her pale skin practically illuminated by the streetlights, freckles sprinkled across her nose, brown hair damp from the storm, curling around the edges of her cap, and I squeezed her hand at the end of our handshake. When I walked inside, I closed the door behind me and realised my heart was pounding and my hands were sweaty, and all I wanted to do was go out to the driveway, pull her car door open and kiss her.
She’d left by then.
I stood in the hallway for ten minutes with the lights off, which I hadn’t even realised until the next day when she asked why I didn’t turn the veranda light on like I usually do. I’d stumbled out an excuse, and she’d looked at me funny and I realised what the feeling was in my chest.
Love.
I’m in love with the assistant physiotherapist for the national rugby team I play for.
To say I’m fucked is an understatement.
If I knew how she felt, it wouldn’t be so bad. All we’d need to do is sign the declaration of personal relationship form with management and Adam would treat me instead of her. Unfortunate, because I prefer Daisy, but if it meant I could date her, I wouldn’t care.
But…she’s never given me any indication of her feelings outside of friendship, and if that’s all I can have, then I’ll take it. Friends we’ll be until she finds someone else to love and leaves me behind to carpool with her partner and forgets I exist.
It’s not like we spend much time together outside of work besides texting about TV shows and seeing each other around the neighbourhood.
Not like we get much time to do anything besides footy, which was how I liked it. Until Daisy started driving me home from games and leaving me in my empty house while she went back up the road to her dog.
“Fucking pathetic.” I shake my head at my coffee, drink the dregs, and grab my gear to start the day.
It’s my turn to drive, and we’re dropping her dog at her brother’s before we head to training. It’s out of the way, and we have to leave earlier, but it means I get more time with her. More time to talk to her and smell her fresh scent and have cuddles with her little ruby Cavalier King Charles spaniel. Cuddles with Daisy would be better, but I’ll take cuddles with the dog over nothing.
She got Westley in the off-season and doesn’t like leaving him alone for so long. Luckily, her brother’s family moved closer and his wife works from home and offered to look after him when we’re overseas or have long training days.
I understand why she cracked and got him. It’s lonely working long hours and leaving the country for weeks when you don’t have anyone to come home to. It makes her life more complicated, but she fell in love with him when she saw a breeder advertisement on TradeMe when she was looking for a car and couldn’t imagine her life without him, so here we are making accommodations for her puppy who she essentially co-parents with her brother’s family. Thankfully, her niece has learned to pat Westley gently. For a few weeks there, I thought her entire family was going to break apart.
I open the gate to her garden and make sure it’s closed firmly behind me so Westley doesn’t escape, and knock on the ranchslider.
Daisy appears and gestures for me to come in, and I step into her space. It’s decorated in light blue and reminds me of the ocean. Westley skitters on the linoleum floor and yips hello. His tail wags so quickly he falls over. I bend to scratch behind his ears, and Daisy slips his lead on while I’m distracting him.
She’s braided her hair away from her face and hasn’t put her cap on yet so I can see her whiskey eyes. She’s in the uniform the staff wear, a loose black tracksuit in rainproof material. Long sleeves and long pants, the only skin showing are her hands and face; she’d freeze otherwise with how small she is. Unfortunately, it covers her toned arms and round ass, but I shouldn’t be looking at her like that, anyway.
I’m wearing the pink jersey and black shorts the players wear to train, unity and all that shit, and always have more skin showing than her. I prefer the cold and overheat easily, especially when I’m pressed against other guys in a scrum. And Daisy always focuses on my arms when I wear short sleeves. Or at least I think she does.
“You ready?”
“Yep.” She grabs her bags by the door, and I take Westley’s lead from her so she doesn’t trample the dog under all her stuff.
I open the boot, keep Westley away from our feet, and take the bags from her, piling them on top of mine.
I round the car to open the passenger door for her, and when she’s seated, I pick up Westley and settle him on her lap.
I pull into the quiet street and turn the corner towards her brother’s. Daisy lifts the takeaway cup I left for her in the cup holder and takes a sip. She drinks a green thing called matcha that tastes like grass before switching to coffee when we get to training. She laughed in my face when I tried it, and if I hadn’t been trying to avoid puking all over the steering wheel, I would have enjoyed her wide smile. If I have time in the mornings, I try to grab her some from our local café.
She’s quiet this morning, staring out the window and absently running her fingers through Westley’s silky coat. Sometimes if she has a restless night, she’s quieter, the same way I’m quieter after a game.
My phone rings through the bluetooth system when we’re ten minutes away from her brother’s, and I glance at who it is. “Do you mind if I answer?” I ask. “It’s Mum.”
“Go for it.”
I click a button on the steering wheel to accept the call. “Talofa. Daisy’s in the car with me, Mum. How are you?”
She ignores me and says in English, “Hello, Daisy, how are you? Keeping Jamie in top shape?”
I roll my eyes while Daisy replies, “Talofa lava, Mrs Atoa. Of course I’m keeping him in top shape. How else will we win the Freedom Cup? We’re heading to training now.”
Mum laughs. “Good, I’d trust no one else.”
I glance at Daisy and see red creeping into her cheeks and decide to save her before Mum incriminates me or causes Daisy to melt into a puddle of embarrassment. I switch to Samoan and ask, “Is everything okay?”
Thankfully, Mum takes the hint and switches from English too. “Everything’s fine. I wanted to check on you. I didn’t know you were still carpooling with her. Asked her out yet?”
“Mum,” I hiss and check that Daisy isn’t following the conversation. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t know Samoan, but it would be just my luck she decided to learn it to fuck with me.
Mum cackles. “What? Too shy, baby?”
“No! It’s more complicated than that.” I blow out a slow breath before I say something to induce her wrath. “How are you and Dad? Milani said you watched the game and your sisters are flying in for a visit.” My youngest sister, Milani, gleefully texts me while I’m on the field with ways to improve and occasionally asks if I’m still alive when I’m sent off the field for an HIA test. Which has decreased over the years as I get more careful. I do not want the issues that come with constant concussions.
“They’re here for a while so it would be good if you could visit,” Mum says, which translates to find time to visit .
“I’ll come by in a few days.”
“Bring Daisy.”
“I’m not bringing Daisy.”
Daisy looks at me as I pull into her brother’s driveway and raises her eyebrows. She may not speak Samoan, but she knows the sound of her name.
“I’ve gotta go, Mum. Love you.”
“Bring her!”
I end the call and rub a rough hand over my eyes. God love my family, but must they be so interfering? I’m lucky Mum hasn’t demanded access to the sheds to meet Daisy when she attends games.So far, they’ve only spoken on the phone.
“You okay?”
I unbuckle my seat belt and turn to scratch under Westley’s chin. “Is your family as interfering as mine?”
“You’d think having parents who forget we exist, Sage would be less interested in my life. Yet here we are dropping off my dog, and I’ll get texts from Poppy all day asking about ‘my boys.’” I swear to God, if I’m not one of her boys, I’ll cry. She smiles and it lights up her face. My lips twitch to return it. “It’s the best. Even if for some reason they decided to continue the one family tradition we have of naming kids after plants. Poor Violet.”
I laugh. “You’re right, having family is the best. Even if they name you after flowers you kill within a day.”
“Hey! It took me three days to kill them.”
For her birthday last year, I got her a bouquet of daisies. It was her thirtieth, and I wanted to buy her a present but didn’t want to make her uncomfortable; flowers were my workaround. Two days later it was my carpool day, and when I picked her up they were wilted in a vase without water.
I narrow my eyes at her until she breaks. “Fine, I killed them. Let’s go before we’re late and Alex kills you.” I hold my fist out until she bumps it with hers, low five her hand gently, and squeeze the tips of her fingers before I let go, and leave the heated car for the damp drizzle.
She sets Westley on the concrete who races to the door and tugs against the lead with his tiny body, turning to glare at her when she doesn’t walk quickly enough.
The front door opens before we reach it and Poppy, Daisy’s sister-in-law, appears in front of us. Sage took keeping flora and fauna names in the family to the next level by marrying someone with a flower name.
Westley dives at her, and Poppy crouches to rub his tummy. He preens under the attention. “Hey, Daze. How’s it going, Jamie? Hamstring feel all good?”
“Never better, all thanks to this one.” I nudge Daisy with my shoulder.
“I’m glad she’s earning her keep.” Poppy lets us through the door and envelopes Daisy in a hug, and then tugs me into one. I bend so she doesn’t need to reach as far and pat her shoulder. While Poppy’s hugs are nice, I wish it were Daisy.
“Where’s my baby?” Daisy demands and lets Westley off the lead to roam around the house.
“ Your baby is still sleeping as it’s a teacher only day today, and apparently primary school takes it out of her. Sage is at the shop today.”
Daisy pouts. “I wanted to see her.”
“I’ll let Sage know he wasn’t missed,” Poppy says with a smirk.
The love between the siblings goes without saying. Sage named his flower shop after Daisy when she lent him money to get it started. You don’t do that unless you’re close. I ordered her birthday flowers from his shop, and once you’ve received flowers from Daisy Chains, other florists don’t compare.
“Sage knows I only visit him for his girls.”
Poppy and I lock eyes and smile fondly. Daisy loves her brother, and it’s clear to see whenever she talks about him. When one of the boys asks about her family, she lights up.
“You have time for a coffee?”
Daisy shakes her head. “No, sorry, we’re running a little late.”
We aren’t, but if we stay for coffee, we will be. We only made that mistake once. When they get talking, time ceases to exist.
“Okay, we’ll try find some time before you leave for South Africa to have dinner.” Poppy nods at me. “You’re invited too.”
Daisy’s head jerks to me, but I answer before she panics. “Thank you, but my presence has been commanded for my own family dinner.”
“One day I’ll match up everyone’s schedules.” Poppy sighs and says, “I’ll settle Westley in your garden around four.”
“Thanks, Pop.” Daisy tugs her into a hug and kisses her cheek. “See you in a few days, and Violet better be awake.”
“Your demand is nothing to hers. Have a good training session.” She huddles in a cable-knit jumper and waves us off in the drizzle that’s quickly turning to rain.
When we arrive at the training area, we head straight to the medic room so Daisy can strap my whole body, or what feels like my whole body, and massage my tight hamstring.
“Morning, Adam,” she calls out.
“Hey, Daze. How’s it going, Jamie?”
“Good, mate. Can’t wait for the torture.” I dump my bag by the wall and notice someone in the corner, and I frown. “What are you doing here so early?”
Hemi shoves his hands deeper into his hoodie pockets, which tugs the hood further over his face, and shrugs. “Wanted to talk to Daisy.”
“Hey, Hemi.” Daisy appears beside me, and I jump when she touches a hand to my lower back and murmurs, “I’m going to work on him first since he’s here. That okay?”
“No worries,” I reply, keeping my voice quiet so I don’t spook Hemi. I don’t know why he’s here, but if he looks that worried seeing me, I’d rather sit back and let Daisy work her magic than demand her time first.
“How’s your sister? She enjoy the game?” Daisy asks, dragging a chair over to him and sits. The questions get him to shove his hood down and give her a smile.
“The company she works for has a corporate box, and she’s started sending me zoomed in videos. Not of me being awesome.” His nose scrunches.
Daisy winces. “Brutal. All right, on the table and I’ll take a look.”
I sit in the corner against the wall with my legs stretched out and grab my phone. The medic room is wide open with multiple tables for Adam and Daisy to work with and room to take us through exercises. No private rooms for physio, need to know how everyone on the team feels and where they’re at. It’s never been an issue, but it’s clear Hemi isn’t comfortable with it.
Daisy takes him to the table in the far corner, and he removes his hoodie so she can massage his shoulder before taping it up. His dominant arm. Not exactly a good sign. Especially knowing we have two games with South Africa. Our most brutal opponents, and they have the home advantage. Don’t want injuries on top of that or we’ll be worse off for the last game with Australia.
Alex is announcing the match day squad and the starting fifteen in a few days. No wonder Hemi is concerned. Fighting against thirty-five men to be one of the twenty-three in the match day squad, let alone the starting fifteen, is stressful enough, put a niggle in your muscles, something that feels off that could turn into an injury if you aren’t careful, and suddenly you second guess everything and have to remember techniques the team psychologist makes you do for a clear mind. Not letting the little things get in the way, but being aware of your body and listening to your limits is important.
Hard to do when there are always younger guys coming from club and coach mixes things up to see how they do.
I don’t blame Hemi for not wanting to confront whatever’s happening, but it means it could get worse when it doesn’t need to.
Daisy sends him away with tape on his shoulder and exercises to do after training she’ll check in on. “Jamie, up you come.” She pats the sanitised bench.
I hop on the bench and lie on my stomach so she can work on my hamstring. It’s not injured…yet. But I have a bad feeling and want to take precautions. It’s my weight-bearing leg in the scrum, and having that many dudes press their entire weight into my shoulders and down my legs, well, I’m feeling it.
She pushes my shorts up high on my right leg and tucks them under my thigh. The only reason I don’t get a semi is because I know the pain that’s coming.
Her hands land on my thigh, covered in a cream that smells like honey and herbs. She leaves the scent in my car, and one day I want it in my bedroom. The cream gives her hands slip, and she presses hard, pushing her hands to the bottom of my ass and dragging them back down.
“Ah, fuck,” I grunt. How her hands create that much pressure when she barely reaches my shoulders, I don’t know.
“One, two, three,” she counts down as she digs her fingers into me and then, merciful God, she stops.
My head drops and I breathe deeply like she always reminds me.
“Ready for another?”
“Yep.”
Her hands land closer to my knee and sweep up to my upper thigh, and she begins again. “Count for me.”
“One, two, three.” I wipe sweat off my cheek with my shoulder. “I still don’t understand how you make it hurt so much. You’re half my size.”
“Just because I’m not hooker size doesn’t mean I’m not strong.” She sweeps her hands up my thigh, and I tense.
“So you prove every day. Is it weird I like coming here?”
Daisy pauses in her torture. “To have this done?”
“Yeah.” A groan rips from low in my throat.
She huffs a tiny laugh. “It means you’re a masochist.”
I probably shouldn’t tell her I like coming here because it means she touches me. Putting up with her strong hands, literally rubbing out the kinks in my body, is a small price to pay to feel them on my skin.
“Your company makes it palatable.” I decide is a neutral answer and don’t say anything else.
“I’m glad I make it worth it,” she says deadpan, not realising that she does. She makes it worth it, gives me something to look forward to when I need the medic room.
After I don’t even know how long, she tapes me up, takes me through some exercises, and I head to training. I push Daisy into her compartment in my mind and focus on taping my ears to prepare for the day.