Chapter Six
Jamie
The ball spun off Maya’s foot, slicing through the air in the opposite direction to the one she probably intended. It bounced on the outside of the penalty box, just asking to be pounced on by the other striker in the team—Aiysha, Jamie thought, but she was bad with names—who did just that. The net swished as the ball hit the back, and half the team cheered.
Coach shouted Maya’s name from the touchline, clearly not happy with her performance.
Jamie had been unable to keep her eyes off the grumpy captain. Maya had been off her game all session, which wasn’t like her. Normally she was so anal and precise with her passes, it bordered on being irritating. But now she was sulking. Jamie felt a little bad for her; she couldn’t help it. She wondered if this had anything to do with what had happened on Sunday night. The flash of vulnerability behind Maya’s usually guarded walls had intrigued her.
The woman’s feisty mouth was aggravating, but watching her drink herself into oblivion had taken the sting out of her prickliness. Was this something she did often or was something bothering her?
It’s none of your business, Jaim. Stay out of it.
Another of Maya’s passes went out of play and she cursed, kicking the Astroturf with her boot.
Coach blew her whistle, and they headed back into the changing rooms. Maya lingered at the back, her mood seeming to mirror the October chill and the thick grey clouds overhead. Jamie considered saying something to her but decided against it. She needed to hurry as she had a meeting to attend.
Changed back into her jeans and black hoodie, Jamie said bye to the players and slipped out into the lemon-scented hallway. The first few weeks had passed by quickly, and she was starting to get the hang of things. Practice twice a week, game days on Wednesdays when the season started, and extra training in her spare time. The schedule wasn’t all that different from her time at the Harriers.
But she didn’t want to think about that.
As it was late in the day, with classes having finished, the university grounds were a ghost town. The wide halls echoed with the emptiness. Only the cleaner’s shoes squeaked as she tugged her trolley along.
Jamie found the door she needed and knocked on it twice. When a deep voice called out, she entered, her eyes drawn to the huge man at the end of the room.
“Jamie.” He smiled. “Take a seat.”
The head of her English Literature course was a giant oak tree of a man who insisted everyone call him Marlon. He looked every bit the bodybuilder, from his bulging biceps to his square shoulders and meaty neck. The sight of him swallowing up the small desk in the English office would have been enough to make Jamie laugh if she wasn’t so nervous.
She’d spent a lot of time in offices over the last year and didn’t want a repeat.
“Hi, Mr Nichols.” She took a seat and placed her bag by her feet.
Mr Nichols raised his eyebrows and wagged an enormous finger.
“Marlon,” she corrected. “Sorry.”
“It’s alright. You’ve had a lot to get orientated with.” He threaded his fingers together and offered her a sympathetic smile. The kind of smile reserved for people who knew what had happened to her last year. “How are you settling in? ”
She scratched the back of her neck. “Good. The football team have been very welcoming.” Well, aside from Maya, but she wasn’t going to mention that.
“We’re very pleased to have you. Quite the left foot I hear you have.”
“Something like that, yeah.” She chuckled nervously. The sooner this was over, the better. She didn’t want to keep reliving the past. She was ready to move on with her life.
“And the course?”
“Really enjoying it so far.”
“Great! And, uh, have you…had any trouble at all?”
Jamie shook her head. “No. Everything has been great, thanks.” Luckily, her last university had been as eager to squash the news as she had been. She forced a big smile at Marlon, trying to emphasise her point. She was fine. She was great. This year was going to be different. “In fact, I don’t think I’ll need any more check-ins at all. I’m all settled. If I need something, I know where to find you. Thank you.”
“Only if you’re sure. My door is always open.”
Jamie stood, collecting her bag. “Thank you, Marlon. I appreciate it.”
She hurried out of there, heaving a sigh of relief once the door was closed and she was back in the quiet hallway. Her muscles ached from football, and a hot shower was calling her. Thoughts of curling up in bed to read her new book moved her feet faster across the squeaky floor.
As she stepped outside, a gust of air hit her, ice cold droplets trickling on her skin. She winced, tilting her head up to the grey sky as she hurried to her car. Once inside, the droplets soon turned into thirty dozen, bouncing off her windows like bullets. She relaxed into the soft seat, fired up the engine, and her speakers started blaring The Human League. Her favourite era of music—eighties.
Back in the safety of her own space, she let the sound consume her, moving through her limbs and putting a genuine smile on her face. This music always did that for her. Even when times were shit last year.
But she’d got a plan: study hard, train harder. The university season started in November, and she knew if she wanted to make it pro after graduation, she needed to keep her head down. Focus on the games and not get sucked into drama. Especially not any lesbian drama relating to the grumpy captain.
She drove into the rain, singing along as the water ricocheted off the tarmac. She slowed as a woman, still wearing a smart grey pantsuit, dashed across the road with a little brown dog. Its little paws moved at double speed to keep up with its owner’s striding pace.
Then she saw her. Hunched over and soaked to the bone. She recognised that sulking walk.
What is Maya doing out in the rain?
Jamie considered driving past—or speeding quickly through a big puddle beside her. It was no secret that Jamie’s new captain wasn’t her biggest fan. Maya had avoided her like the plague since Sunday night, demanding a new definition of having a chip on the shoulder. Jamie shouldn’t get involved where Maya clearly didn’t want her.
But the fierce wind blew the woman’s hair across her face like a poorly constructed comedy sketch. Her attempts to push it off were futile as it whipped back with a mind of its own. No matter the strange tension between them, Jamie couldn’t just leave her.
She lowered the music and brought the car to a crawl. Maya continued walking, either unaware or pretending she hadn’t seen her. She must be freezing.
Jamie wound the passenger-side window down, and Maya glanced up. Those dark eyes of hers were haunting, piercing straight into hers.
“You want a ride?” Jamie called, glancing over her training shorts and bare legs. What the hell is she thinking?
Maya shook her head and continued walking. The car continued to roll beside her.
“You look cold,” Jamie went on.
“I’m fine.”
“Come on, Maya. Stop being so stubborn and get in the car.”
Maya’s sudden coming to a halt made Jamie squeeze the brakes.
She stuck her head through the passenger window. “I said I’m fine. Do you have a problem with your hearing?”
Jamie couldn’t help but laugh. Maya’s brazenness had caught her off guard, and even when she was furious and soaked to the skin, the way she looked at her with such anger made her heart race.
“Skip. I’m offering you a lift, not trying to rob you. Just let me take you home.”
Memories of a drunken Maya flashed behind her eyelids. Her slender body slumped across Jamie’s backseat, dark hair covering her face, the sniffles audible over Jamie’s music. Jamie had inadvertently become the captain’s taxi driver. Does she even remember?
Two droplets slid down Maya’s nose, leaving black dots on Jamie’s passenger seat. She was debating it. Maybe she needed a little more convincing.
Jamie raised an eyebrow. “Or I could accompany you home and give a running commentary on how drenched you look. Maybe live stream it or something. Your hair looks really great like that, by the way. Very swimmer chic.”
Maya pushed the slick strands back from her face, and then, without a word, clunked open the door and collapsed into the seat.
Goosebumps rippled over her olive skin, and she shivered, her teeth chattering.
“Here.” Without thinking, Jamie pulled her black hoodie over her head and dropped it onto Maya’s lap. “You’re freezing.”
She stared at it for a moment, her lips pressed together.
“Maya. It’s only a jumper.” When she still didn’t move, Jamie’s voice fell serious. “Just put the damn thing on. You’re so unbelievably stubborn.”
With a huff, she acquiesced, shrugging the soft, oversized material over her head. Jamie’s breath caught in her throat, momentarily stunned by the sight of Maya in her clothing. She hadn’t expected her to look so hot—especially in her current state.
Maya sighed and leaned back in the seat.
“Better?” Jamie asked, cranking up the heating, blowing hot air from the vents.
She nodded.
Guess that’s the best I’m gonna get.
When it was clear Maya wasn’t going to provide anything else, Jamie chuckled softly and started the engine.
They drove in silence. The windscreen wipers whipped across the window with a melodious thunk as the rain poured from the skies. Music from the stereo hummed from the speakers, the volume low. Jamie tapped her fingers on the wheel as they waited at a red light.
“I guess you don’t want to talk about it?”
Maya shook her head.
“That’s fair enough. I respect that.”
The light changed, and they followed the stream of cars through the town. Old men cradled their cigarettes outside the pub doors, already well into their third or fourth beer of the early evening. The rest of the streets were quiet. A few dog walkers marched about in raincoats and hats, wellies splashing as they paraded through the growing puddles .
A new song started playing, the opening beats only just audible. Without thinking, Jamie squealed. “Oooh! I love this song.” She shot Maya a cheeky smile, her fingers hovering over the volume dial. Surely the grump couldn’t hate eighties music? “Do you mind if I…?”
“Go ahead.”
Jamie grinned, immediately cranking the song up six notches and bobbing her head. It was one of her favourites. She murmured the lyrics under her breath, but her dancing was not as confined. Her head whipped side to side in time with the beat, letting the music do its thing. She caught Maya watching her, and the smile creeping onto her face. Something squeezed in Jamie’s chest. “What?”
“You like this song?” Maya asked, lifting an eyebrow.
“Yeah. It’s Depeche Mode,” she said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “‘Just Can’t Get Enough.’”
“That’s unexpected from you.”
“Maybe you don’t know me as well as you think.” The line slipped out. Jamie couldn’t help it.
Maya narrowed her eyes but didn’t bite. “Why do you like it?”
“This song? Because it’s great.”
“But it’s so old.”
She turned to her again. “So what?”
“My mum likes this music.”
“Then I’d say your mum has good taste. ”
The heater hissed as it bombarded them with hot air, and Maya reached to turn it down a notch.
Jamie inched the volume a little higher as the chorus crept in, and the sound reverberated from the speakers. She sang loud and out-of-tune, unbothered by Maya hearing her. Who cared if she didn’t like it? She would already put Jamie’s head on a spit if she got half a chance.
Jamie peeked at Maya out of the corner of her eye. “You can’t shake your head at me. You’re tapping your foot to it too.”
“I’m not.” Maya immediately stopped bouncing her leg, and Jamie cackled.
“It’s the power of the eighties, Maya. Even a stubborn mule like you can’t listen to this music without wanting to have a good time. Here.” She skipped a couple of songs on the screen, exclaiming when she found the one she wanted. “Pet Shop Boys.”
Maya scrunched her eyebrows. “What kind of a name is that?”
Jamie laughed. “That’s not the strangest one. What about A Flock of Seagulls?”
“That’s so weird.”
“Exactly. It’s all part of the fun. Now, listen.”
Maya snorted, but she seemed to have unfrozen. “And I’m the one who’s stubborn?”
Jamie silenced her with a smile as she inched the volume up again to belt the chorus to “Always on my Mind”. She caught Maya smiling again.
“I know this song,” Maya shouted above the noise. “ Wasn’t this originally an Elvis song?”
Jamie nodded, bouncing hard in her seat as the rain continued to pour outside.
“My grandpa loves Elvis.”
“I’d say he also has good taste, then.” They shared a smile, and warmth spread into Jamie’s sternum like hot lava. She turned left onto their estate, a little abruptly, but didn’t miss how Maya’s face fell.
Jamie wanted to ask her about it, but she didn’t want to dampen the progress they’d made tonight. Making Maya smile had temporarily short-circuited her brain, the heat in her chest fogging her other senses.
She slowed the car to a crawl outside their houses, and her mind soured, thinking about what rested behind her own door. She had no choice but to go inside or Maya would know something was off. She supposed everyone had something going on behind the scenes.
They sat listening to the music, neither of them making an effort to leave the car. Maya just watched Jamie dancing. She didn’t mind.
She thought Maya wanted to ask her something, but when she turned to her, she found she’d pressed her lips back together. Maya’s attention was then drawn to the contents on Jamie’s dashboard. Loose change, Starburst wrappers, half-eaten packs of chewing gum, and a small cuddly toy rat.
The song finished, and Jamie faded the volume out.
“Is that Ratatouille?” Maya asked.
“Ratatouille? ”
Maya nodded to the rat, who was sitting with a slightly lopsided expression, its round pink nose turned upwards at her question.
A slow smile spread across Jamie’s face, gathering in the corner. “You mean Remy?”
“If that’s his name, then yes.”
Jamie tutted, shaking her head. “I can’t believe you haven’t seen it.”
“Who says I haven’t?”
She eyed her, challenging with her gaze. “Well, we already had this conversation.”
“What? When?”
Jamie shifted in her seat and glanced away. “On Sunday night. Well, Monday morning, to be more precise.”
Maya’s face hardened, the smile smoothing into a hard line. “You drove home?” she asked incredulously.
“Yeah.”
“Drunk?” She snapped upright. “What the hell were you thinking—”
Jamie held her palms up. “Whoa, whoa. Who said anything about being drunk?”
“You were at the Globe all night! You trying to tell me you weren’t? They’re the cheapest pints on campus.”
“And while that might be true, I wasn’t drunk.”
Maya shook her head, that fiery streak back with a vengeance. “Don’t lie to me,” she snapped. “And don’t ever do that again.”
“Maya. I don’t drink.” Jamie gripped her forearm, and Maya glanced down at it. When she didn’t immediately hit her hand away, Jamie’s stomach tingled.
Why is my breathing so heavy?
“What?” Maya snapped.
“Despite the terrible things you think about me, I would never drink and drive. And I don’t drink.”
Maya furrowed her brows, and Jamie laughed. Reluctantly, she removed her hand and placed it on the steering wheel. “I’ve never met someone like you.” She shook her head, looking out the window briefly into the street.
Maya’s tone was accusatory. “What do you mean?”
Jamie turned back to her, studying her for a moment. Those inquisitive, immobilising eyes. The full, pouted lips. Jamie didn’t think she understood what power she held in her gaze. “You’re so…stubborn.”
Maya let out a laugh, and Jamie relaxed a little. “You’re not the first person to tell me that.”
“I can’t say I’m surprised.”
She nudged Maya with her arm, and when their eyes connected again, something pulled behind her sternum.
What the hell was that?
Maya looked down at her shorts. Locking her hands together, she swallowed. A silence fell between them, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It was kind of…nice. Jamie scrambled her head to make this moment continue.
“You’re welcome for the ride, by the way,” she teased.
“I was just about to say ‘thank you’, actually, but now you’ve gone and blown it.”
“No…Oh, please. I would love to hear Maya Thomas grovelling.”
“And now you’ve lost your mind.”
“Damn. Well, maybe some other time.” They locked eyes again, both trying to hide a smile. “I mean it,” Jamie continued. “I’ll give you a ride whenever you need. Like after practice. I’m sure it’ll save your folks a job.” She got the feeling that Maya wasn’t the type of person to accept help often. “Or…if you’ve had too much to drink and need to get home.”
Maya pursed her lips. “Yeah…maybe. I’ll, uh, think about it. Thanks.” She grabbed her dripping bag from the footwell and opened the door with a squeak. The smell of rain engulfed Jamie’s senses as she joined her out on the tarmac. Her heart sank a little when Maya walked straight to her house.
At her front door, she fumbled with her keys, stealing a look back at her new neighbour. Maya lingered on her step, offering a small wave before disappearing behind the shiny white wood. She was still wearing Jamie’s hoodie.
Jamie stayed for a moment longer, her mind firing on all cylinders to try and compute the night’s events.
The feel of Maya on her bare skin. The look in her eyes that rendered Jamie speechless. How something had seemed to shift in the air between them.
She might be crazy, but she swore Maya felt it too.