Chapter 5
Chapter Five
~AMELIA~
Dex was gone when I woke up. It was nearly seven in the morning, and the man had already decided to get a jump on the day. I walk out to find a coffee mug sitting in front of my espresso machine with a note attached to it.
One of these days you need to teach me to use this machine. I’ll admit I couldn’t figure it out. That’s a fine piece of machinery you have there, peach. Please teach me to use it.
I smile as soon as I start reading his note. But his nickname for me, peach, makes me stop and stare at it for a beat before I continue reading. We barely know each other but he gave me a nickname.
Weird.
I snicker as I go to work on making my own latte.
I kinda like it that he couldn’t figure it out and needs me to teach him.
I understand why he had so much trouble.
When I received my signing bonus and bought this top-of-the line machine, it took me two weeks of practice before I was able to successfully make a cup of coffee.
It was a splurge, sure, but the rest of the money went responsibly into the bank.
I am nothing if not serious about my coffee. I’m not the type of girl who says give it to me black. Oh no, I’m one of those women with a complicated Starbucks order that I can now make at home. And I’m proud of it.
Two hours later I’m locking my door and heading out of our Blaze-provided apartment complex to the field.
My bright red Audi A3 is shining brightly in the parking lot.
I look around and note that Mac’s and Cassie’s cars are gone.
Hendrix is getting ready to climb into her black convertible BMW- that baby is her pride and joy. I wave and she returns it.
“I’ll see you at the field!” she shouts. I watch as she climbs in, and the top makes it way down. It’s a short drive but there is one thing I’ve learned from watching Cassie and Hendrix drive around Tampa - if they can keep the tops off of their cars, they will.
“See ya!” I shout back before placing my backpack into the back of the car. I sigh, my hands hugging the black leather steering wheel. I grimace a bit as I shift in my seat.
“Black leather is so fucking hot in Tampa.”
The car revs to life and I peel out of the parking lot after Hendrix. This car moves. And I’m great at driving it above the speed limit. The girls tell me that I have a lead foot, but I don’t care. I’m careful. I have a fast car that loves to move. And this baby can corner like no one’s business.
I was so happy when my brothers found me this car.
I can’t be sure which one as no one can seem to agree on who exactly found it.
I know that back in North Carolina, this was checked out thoroughly at one of the two garages they run together.
I like that they started a family business together, but part of me worried they would expect me to join them.
The twins Scott and Sanders have six years on me, while the triplets that mama was blessed with, Ivan, Ian and Isaac, are four years older than I am. I think by the time I came along, my mama was ecstatic to have a daughter.
But being the baby in a family of boys had its share of hardships.
On more than one occasion, a boy who liked me was threatened within an inch of his life by one of them.
And dates to dances were so hard to come by, which meant going stag or just with girlfriends because no one wanted to take out the West girl out of fear that the West boys would have his balls on a platter.
The stadium comes into view, and I immediately feel those game day butterflies in my stomach.
I breath in and out, slowly like we learned in yoga class, in an attempt to control my nerves.
This is the thrill and roller coaster of emotions that makes the journey that much sweeter.
I still can’t believe that I get to live out my dream of playing professional soccer like this.
I see that Cassie and Mac are already here. Their game day tradition of arriving early and walking the field is still intact. I can’t show up that early - the nerves would get overwhelming for me, and I might have a mini-freakout, but I’m glad it works for them.
I hoist my backpack out of the car and gently kick the door shut with my foot.
Munching on a protein bar, I make my way through the stadium, admiring the yellow and blue stripes on the wall that tell everyone whose house this is.
I feel a strong sense of pride that I earned the right to belong here.
I hear excited chatter as I reach the locker room, where the rest of the team is getting dressed for the game.
The smell of cleaning chemicals greets my nose, indicating that the maintenance crew prepared our space before my arrival, as they always do for home games.
Each teammate I pass on the way to my locker gives me a nod, a high-five, or, in one case, a soft kick in the shorts.
I reach my locker to find my clean and pressed uniform hanging on its designated peg. The sight of it reminds me that I need to get dressed and get my head ready for this game. Gotham FC is an ambitious team, and I silently vow not to let their striker get by me.
I pull my hair up in my signature slick back, grabbing the balm from my bag I using it to make sure there are no flyaway hairs in sight.
I apply a bit of sunscreen to my face to make sure I don’t burn in the Tampa Bay sun.
I add ChapStick to my lips and stop for a moment.
My fingers linger on them, remembering back to our dinner last night and how delicious the tacos were that Dex made. I smile thinking back to it.
“You good?” Dana, another one of the defense players asks me.
I turn around to her and smile. “Yeah, I’m great.” I slam my locker door shut and head out to the field. I make a beeline for Mac and Cassie, who are stretching.
“Hello, ladies, are we ready for this?” I ask, the excitement building in my tone as I reach them.
“We sure are,” Cassie says, nodding.
“Yeah, I think so.” Mac is nervous, I can tell. She’s biting her lip and looking around the stadium.
“It’s going to be great, you’ll see. We’re going to kick some Gotham ass!”
“Yeah, we are!” Cassie chimes in.
Mac nods. “Talk to me about something else. How is it going living with Dex? Are you two getting along okay?”
I shrug. “I guess so. I mean, he’s neat, he picks up after himself for the most part. He can’t figure out my espresso machine, which makes me laugh.”
“I can’t either,” Cassie reminds me.
I wave her off. “It’s twelve easy steps! I’ll show you next time you’re over. He asked me to show him too, so maybe I should teach a class on my coffee machine.” I purposefully fail to mention my new nickname.
Mac chuckles. “Have you two bonded and shared your secret pain with each other?”
I laugh and shake my head, thinking about the conversation that we had last night about August, but decide not to spill it. “No, we haven’t, but he made me dinner last night, so that was nice.”
“Oh, he can cook?” Cassie says, trying to sound positive. “That’s good to know. Maybe he’ll be the one to make dinners and all that for you.”
I roll my eyes. “I guess. I mean, it was nice, and the tacos were good. It’s just weird how we have to decide which shelves in the fridge are his. How much pantry space is his? Will he eat my yogurt? Stuff I shouldn’t have to worry about because I was supposed to be living alone. Not with him.”
“Yeah, I know. But maybe let all that stuff happen organically. Take up whatever space you can but leave him some too. Don’t overthink it,” Mac suggests.
“Yeah, that’s true. I could do that. I liked the idea of living alone, you know? I mean, you girls come over, but it’s nice to have my own space.” My voice trails off, as I contemplate whether sharing is really such a bad thing.
“I get it. But remember, this is only temporary. August is going to find him a new place. And I bet if you whine about it a lot he’ll find him something quicker,” Cassie says, bumping her shoulder into mine.
“True. I could be annoying like that,” I agree.
“Is that him?” I hear Mac ask, and I turn to see who she is looking at.
I see Dex standing there in form-fitting athletic joggers.
You can see that he has muscular legs and, based on the side view I have, it looks like he has a nice butt.
Dex turns towards the field. Lucas comes up and begins talking to him.
While Dex and Lucas might be the same height, they are night and day in the looks department.
Lucas is lanky, where Dex has more muscle on him.
Lucas has blonde hair that is short and doesn’t move.
While Dex’s brown hair is blowing a bit in the wind, and I see that he has sunglasses covering this pretty green eyes.
I’ve never described a man’s eyes as pretty before, but they are.
They almost remind me of sea glass. It looks like he has on a Blaze polo that is tight-fitting and accentuates his broad shoulders.
“Yep, that would be Dexter,” I say, continuing to watch him.
“Holy shit, don’t tell Danny, but that man is hot,” Mac says, giggling.
Cassie nods. “Yeah, he is. Was he an NFL player or trainer? Because, good god, that man is fucking built.”
I shake my head. “He played college ball, I think. But in the NFL, he was just a trainer.”
“What woman in their right mind would let him go? I mean, I wouldn’t,” Mac adds.
“Great, I’ll let Danny know that he has some competition,” I tease her.
We watch as the other team is arriving at the field.
The Blaze is usually the first team to arrive; we’re through our stretches, and soon it’ll be time for ball work and splitting up by position to prepare for the game.
“Don’t you dare do that. With him on the road and Dex on the road with us, he’ll be so jealous. ”
“I wouldn’t do that to you,” I promise her.
“Well, on the other hand, it could lead to some good sex. Like ‘claim me sex’ or something.” Mac wiggles her eyebrows at Cassie and me, and we both laugh.
“I don’t think I’m going to tell Danny anything,” I say. “But Cas, you might want to stop staring. Your man is literally right over there, warming up Hendrix.”
She giggles. “I can window shop. Jase is secure enough in our relationship to handle me staring at Dexter for a bit.”
“He likes to be called Dex,” I remind them. I’m not sure why, but I do.
Cassie nods and winks at me, “Is that what he instructed you to do?” Her voice drops to a low octave.
“He did not instruct me to do that, just asked.” I say, shaking my head.
“Girls! Let’s get warm. Come on, form that passing triangle,” Coach Watts yells over to us.
“Yes, Coach,” we all call over to him. Coach Watts came to us from Portland.
He used to coach the Portland Thorns, but somehow the Cromwells were able to steal him away.
He’s tall and with his wide shoulders, he can be intimidating.
But he has kind blue eyes and is always ready to talk to a player who needs it.
I’m told being a father has softened him; he has twin girls that are the apple of his eye.
I love it when they come to the field. They can’t come on game days though.
Those are for focusing, not for playtime.
We form a triangle and begin passing back and forth, like he asked, every so often changing the direction to make sure that we’re keeping each other on our toes. I can feel someone’s eyes on me, and I look over to see Dex watching me. As I’m looking at him and end up missing the ball.
“Hey, come on focus, Amelia,” Cassie says to me.
“You good, girl?” Mac asks.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry about that.” I run and fetch the ball. Bringing it back to our triangle, I restart the drill.
We keep on passing and working through it when out of nowhere, Cassie says, “Why does he keep on watching you?”
“Huh?”
“Dex. He is watching you. He is literally staring right at you,” she exclaims.
I look over and sure enough, he is. “He’s probably just watching the field, and it only looks like he’s watching me. Come on, keep on moving.”
We’re back to passing when Mac giggles, “No, he’s not watching the field, girl; he is looking right at you.”
I look over and see he’s staring in what looks like my direction. “Well, isn’t that creepy.”
“Maybe he must really like the view,” Cassie says, passing me the ball.
I send it back over to her. “Thankfully, we’re about to change drills, so he won’t have as good of a view.” I motion to where Watts is clapping his hands, signaling that it’s time for us all to bring it in.
I jog over and work on some keep-away drills with the girls that Watts assigned to my team. Of course, even though it was random, I still manage to have Cassie on my team.
“That was not a coincidence. He is still watching you.” Cassie points in the direction of Dex.
I turn in his direction and see he is still staring at me. I roll my eyes and wave at him. He nods his head slightly.
“Ohh, maybe someone has a crush on you,” she teases.
“Oh, fuck off, he’s known me for a hot minute,” I remind her.
“Maybe it’s love at first sight,” she grins.
“That only exists in the books I read. Not in real life.” I stare at her for a moment and then add, “Or maybe for you and Jase.”
She winks at me, and we go into our drill when it’s our turn.
When warm-ups finally finish, I walk over to grab my water bottle from the bench. It’s near where Dex is standing, so I continue over to him.
“If you take a picture, it will last longer.”
He looks over at me and removes his sunglasses, giving me the full effect of those green eyes. “What do you mean?”
“You were staring at me during warm-ups.”
“I was,” he says, not even denying it. “I wanted to see how you played. Does my staring bother you?”
“More like creeps me out,” I lie.
He laughs and comes over to step into my space.
“Don’t worry, peach, I’m not hitting on you.
Just watching you play soccer. Didn’t anyone ever tell you that it’s more fun to watch a sport when you know the player?
You’re the only player I know, so yeah, I was watching you. ” He winks and walks away from me.
“What was that about?” Mac comes over and joins me.
“Apparently, I’m his favorite athlete.” I laugh and shake my head.
“Oh, well, okay then, Mac laughs along with me. “You know, I think that having him here is going to be so much fun.”
“Oh, shut up, he’s just the trainer,” I remind her.
“Yeah, sure he is.” She winks at me, and we make our way to the team room for Watts’ pre-game pep talk.