Page 82 of The Player in New Zealand
We pulled back a little bit and I looked up, resting my chin on his sternum. Tane brushed his lips against mine.
“I missed you,” I told him.
“I missed you too.”
“Thank you for flying up to help me. Did you at least sit in first class?”
“Ha. No.”
I grimaced. “And you have to fly back, too.”
“Yeah, but not for a while. I’d prefer to stay until we figure out what to do about Devon.”
Pressed against my chest, Tane’s stomach let out a growl. I grinned. “Maybe we should find some breakfast first. We can’t plan on an empty stomach.”
“And maybe we can ask about moving to a double?” Tane pulled away and offered me his hand.
“You don’t want to share this little bed again?”
He eyed the single as we stepped out the door, and then he tugged me close to him in the hallway to whisper in my ear, “We’d break it.”
We both laughed and made our way downstairs to find breakfast—and a bigger bed.
* * *
For the nextfew days I stuck to my work schedule. I would like to say I redeemed myself at work, but trust lost was faster than trust earned, and I could feel the other staff watching me.
Tane sat at the bar. He had a circuit of friends come and visit him; former rugby friends, buddies from school, even Emily, who kissed my cheek hard and tutted about my “troubles.”
The worst part was Iris. She was constantly worried about me. I think she called Tane more often than she called me. But I didn’t blame her. With Devon around, I was nervous too.
We had moved into a double room as well. Thankfully, the beds were sturdy—we tested them. Extensively.
The third morning in the new room, Tane and I were both sprawled out naked on the bed, sweat cooling on our skin. We had finally ventured out to other positions—“But I like that one,” Tane had complained—and I was glad to have him with me all the time. He hadn’t even mentioned Haft & Hops.
Beneath my head, Tane’s stomach grumbled. I poked one of the tips of his tattoo. “Come on, let’s find some food.”
We spilled out into the hallway as I teased Tane about his bottomless pit of a stomach. He regularly ate three or four times what I did when we went out. He insisted on paying for all of the food while I paid for the hostel. I think I got the better deal.
Our smiles quickly faded when we heard shouting coming up the stairwell. Tane gripped my hand as we rushed down the stairs, his hand guiding me behind him when we hit the first floor. I followed Tane, but craned my neck to try to see around his bulk.
There was a scuffle, a tangle of limbs and curse words. My jaw dropped when I saw who it was: Devon. His arm was pinned behind his back by one of the German tourists I’d met when I’d first moved in—Meino, I think his name was—while one of the hotel employees batted Devon’s other arm away.
“She’s my girlfriend! Get off me!” Devon shouted. And then he caught sight of me, and his face turned an even darker shade of red, his eyes wild. They darted between me and Tane, who pushed me farther behind him until I couldn’t see Devon anymore. “You slut!”
There was the sound of flesh connecting with flesh, a grunt of pain, and then Tane shoved me away from him. With a bizarre roar, Devon launched himself at Tane... who caught Devon by the face. His big palm and long arm held Devon far enough away that his punching swings were ineffective and erratic.
The comparison was stark: Tane had his game face on, cool and in control, bigger, stronger, faster; Devon was dumpy, uncoordinated, and emotional.
After a dozen or so swings, Devon lost some momentum and stalled. Tane pushed him away and took a step back, giving Devon the chance to walk away.
I saw a moment’s calculation on Devon’s face, the switch in tactics.
“Babe, you just need to come home,” he said, bending his tone to make it sound like he was pleading. “We can work all this out. We were so good together. Do you really want to throw that all away?”
I stared at Devon for a beat, and then stepped up to take Tane’s hand, twining our fingers together. Tane squeezed my hand.
“There’s nothing to throw away. We were never good. And you will never win this fight.”
