Page 14 of Friends Rucked Up

“You know I like you just fine, and this is nice and all, but it won’t change the way I feel about you.” She’s referring to our conversation last night about me being able to influence our relationship in just a day.

This small gesture might not make her like me more, but it feels good to do something nice for her. She takes a bite of her bacon sandwich, and a moan leaves her lips. I shutdown any kind of reaction to the sound.

“Breakfast is just the beginning, so we’ll have to wait and see how much you like me in twenty-four hours.” We smile at eachother, and it feels so much better than snapping at her. Once Saylor continues tucking into her food, I make my excuses, grab my work bag and head out. I’ll shower at the rugby grounds when my workout is complete.

The drive to the rugby ground only fills me with more determination. I want Saylor to think I’m a good guy, not the grumpy one she’s been putting up with. I want her to see me as someone she can rely on. Someone she’d miss if I was gone.

I change into my gym shorts while everyone arrives. The room fills up with noise and I’m pumped to get started. We set up on the field and run a few drills between the white side lines. The speaker sounds an alarm to keep us to time. It gets faster as we settle into our daily routine. The last set is the hardest and I relish the burn in my calf muscles.

“Okay, bring it in for some tackles,” Coach shouts.

We split into two teams and line up as we’ve done many times before. I live, breath and love this sport.

Lance is opposite me, waiting to become my opponent. He rubs his hands together with glee. “I’m going to enjoy this,” he says before getting into position. He bends his knees flexing his restless energy through his feet.

“I thought you liked to be on the winning side?” I say, goading him.

Coach blows his whistle and Benji passes the ball back to me. I start to run up the field with Lance targeting me. He makes contact, and I go down to the floor holding onto the ball. Coach gestures for us to run the play again and again, but each time I manage to outsmart Lance by keeping my grip on the ball.

“Is your girl coming to watch us play Saturday night?” Lance asks, when we line up to run the play again.

It’s obvious he’s talking about Saylor. There are no other women in my life and he’s aware she’s staying with me. I know what he’s doing. I’ve seen his mind games many times before. Distraction is a tactic that works well for him when he’s on the field, but it doesn’t usually have an effect on me.

“She’s Harlan’s sister, not my girl.”

Harlan’s been a big part of my life. The guys know we played rugby together when we were younger, and I talk about his travels.

“Is that a no then?” he asks with a smirk.

He’s mildly getting under my skin, but I’m not rising to his bait. “Actually, she will be there.” I carefully keep my voice nonchalant.

He hitches his eyebrow up at me and it’s the first clue I get to what’s to come next. “Is she single?”

I see red like a bull ready to charge. My blood runs hot as the coach blows the whistle. I catch the ball with ease, but when Lance tackles me my head space isn’t as sharp, and I go down losing my grip on the ball. Dammit, I lost focus for one second, just as he wanted.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Lance says, as Coach shouts a commentary of the mistake I made. He can read each of us like a book.

“Concentrate, Nash. That was sloppy work. You’ve been around Lance long enough not to let him get in your head,” Coach says. “Hit the showers guys.” Then he points at me. “Not you. I want another ten laps of the field before you go.” I don’t argue because he’ll only double the distance, and he has a point.

I shouldn’t have let Lance get to me like that. It’s just his competitive streak grasping at anything he can use. He doesn’tmean anything by it, and it was just a wind up, but I shouldn’t be that easy to distract. Saylor isn’t mine and suggesting she is shouldn’t make me lose focus.

“Yes, Coach,” I say, before starting my extra laps.

***

By the time I’m heading home I ache like a bitch. All I want to do is sit down and relax but I’m determined to make up for my poor behaviour to Saylor. I stop off at the local farm shop and pick up steak with a rich wine sauce and a bag of sweet potatoes.

Once home, I wipe down the kitchen before starting to cook the food. I chop up the potatoes, put them in the oven, while frying the meat, and heating the sauce. My timing works out perfectly. Saylor steps through the door just as I’m plating the steaks.

“Wow. Whatever that is, it smells divine.” She slips out of my jumper.

I didn’t even know she’d borrowed it, but I’m glad she did. I like seeing her in my clothes.

“When I pull out the big guns I go all out,” I say with a big smile. Using a wooden spoon, I put the sweet potatoes onto the plate.

“What can I do to help?” She rolls up her imaginary sleeves.

“Take a seat. It’s almost ready.”

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