Page 27

I’d been poked, prodded, zapped with electrodes and strapped with enough tape to keep a BDSM club in business for a month. I’d been ordered to rest for forty-eight hours and had spent the following week working on stretches and strengthening.

I was well and truly over it, and ready to get back into training. I had to be match fit in time for Madrid at the end of April.

Joel was stretching my hamstring. This was his favourite – me on my back, one leg straight in the air, him leaning his body against it. He looked down at me with such wicked delight that I flushed.

“How’s that hammy, Stink? Nice and loose? Let me check.” He placed his hand at the back of my knee, running it slowly towards my butt. There was no need for him to check as thoroughly as he was .

I dug my nails into my palms; I had to distract myself from the way his touch made me clench … everywhere.

“I think it’s plenty loose, thanks Joel,” I managed. He smirked and released me. I sat up, rotating my shoulders to loosen them.

“Now, Stinky, we’ve got a date with a sick little girl today.”

“Oh? That Natalie kid?”

Joel nodded, holding his hand out to me. I looked at it for a second, then took it and he pulled me to my feet, caressing my fingers before letting me go. I flexed my fingers surreptitiously by my side and followed him upstairs.

Joel’s BMW pulled up into the car park at Frankwright Children’s Hospital, and he cut the engine. He reached into the back seat and grabbed one of my tennis racquets. I looked at him curiously.

“This is the one you used in the final at Indian Wells. I thought it might be nice if you gave it to Natalie.”

I smiled at Joel. “Wow, that’s actually a very sweet idea – I’m surprised!”

Joel winked. “I have my moments.”

We found Natalie in the garden. There were a lot of kids there, many with bald heads, their eyes looking like they’d seen too much of the world for their age. Some of them were playing, but most of them were sitting quietly.

I felt my eyes misting up at the thought of the things these kids were missing out on because they were too sick.

Like Natalie. By the time I was twelve I was already competing in junior tournaments around Australia.

While I hated to think it, she was probably never going to have a chance to compete professionally. She’d lost that chance to cancer.

But it wasn’t like I was about to say that to her. Who was I to bust the dream of a sick little girl?

God, why do you pick on children? Why do these tiny kids deserve a fate like this?

I recognised the man from the plane, sitting with a frail little girl in a wheelchair. She looked much younger then twelve. I swallowed my tears as we made our way towards her .

I was about five steps away when she turned and saw me, her little face lighting up with excitement.

“Daddy, it’s Mel Black!” she cried, tugging on her father’s sleeve.

I smiled down at her, willing the lump in my throat to go away. “Hello, Natalie!” I said, trying my best to sound cheery. “I hear you’re a bit of a tennis fan!”

“Yeah!” the little girl exclaimed, staring at me in unmasked awe. If she were any older than she was, if she wasn’t sick, I would have found that adulation a little unnerving, but on her it was just sweet.

“Well, I came to give you something, to help you get on your way to a professional tennis career.” I held out the racquet to her. “This got me through to the final at Indian Wells, so I like to think it’s kind of lucky.”

Natalie took the racquet with reverence, unzipping the cover and pulling it out, inspecting all the little scuff marks on it like they were precious. I sneaked a glance at Joel, who had taken a step closer to me, his hand nestling into the small of my back.

“It wasn’t luck that got you that far, though, was it Mel?” His hand started rubbing up and down my back in a very distracting way. I tried to ignore it, to focus on Natalie.

“Is he your boyfriend?” she asked bluntly.

I shook my head, feeling myself blush. “No! Joel’s not my boyfriend, he’s my coach.”

Natalie leaned closer to me, gave me a look that asked me to lean closer too. I did.

“Is Pete Levine your boyfriend? Since you had sex with him and all.”

I stood bolt upright, the heat in my cheeks exploding into a bonfire. Natalie’s father looked mortified.

Joel saved the day. “Natalie, Mel and Pete Levine are two consenting adults, and what they chose to do together should have been private and special between them. But Pete Levine did something that broke Mel’s trust, which was a very wrong thing for him to do.”

Natalie nodded, accepting Joel’s explanation.

Her father gave him a look of respect. I gaped at him in shock.

I had never expected him to be able to handle awkward situations with such eloquence.

I realised with a jolt that I’d never really seen Joel as an adult before.

Jokester, yes. Overprotective big brother type, definitely.

Grown man …? It was like the world was tilting on its axis, showing me Joel from a different perspective.

I turned back to Natalie, determined to change the subject. “So, Natalie, when you’re feeling a bit better, you get your dad to give me a call and I’ll come and hit some balls with you.” I offered.

Natalie’s grin filled her whole tiny little face. “That’d be awesome!” she replied. I leaned down and gave her a hug.

About an hour later, after I’d posed for photos with Natalie and she’d shown me off to some of the other kids in the garden, and I’d answered about a bazillion questions about being a professional sportsperson, Joel ushered me back out of the garden, his hand returning to my back, stroking up and down.

“You hungry?” he asked as we reached the car. He opened the door for me, and it wasn’t until I climbed in that he took his hand off my back. It felt almost odd that it wasn’t there anymore. I nodded.

“Well, let’s go get some lunch. I feel like celebrating.” Joel started the car.

I looked at him with interest. “What exactly do you want to celebrate?”

He turned to me, his mouth twitching. “Today’s the first time you’ve officially referred to me as your coach. So does that mean I’ve got the job?”

I felt my own lips twitching in response. “Joel, you knew you had the job.”

His face broke into a toothy grin then. “Yeah, I know, Stink, but all the same, it’s nice to hear you say it.”

I rolled my eyes. “If I pay you a bonus, will you stop calling me ‘Stinky’?”

He laughed then, loudly and joyously. I hadn’t seen him so truly happy since before Steve’s death.

“Not a chance, Stink.”

I punched him playfully on the arm. Sure, he could be a dick a lot of the time, but if I didn’t let him get too far under my skin, he was actually a lot of fun to hang around with.

He insisted on buying me lunch. I protested, until we pulled up outside a takeaway shop in Bondi.

I didn’t mind having lunch bought for me when it was under ten bucks.

He winked at me and ordered fish and chips for two.

Had I told him at some point that fish and chips were my absolute favourite greasy takeaway?

We carried it across the road to the beach, stopping by the car on the way so Joel could grab out a picnic blanket.

We plonked ourselves down on the sand and I tucked straight into the fish – peeling off the batter and eating the scalding fish inside, then wrapping chips in the batter.

Joel watched me, an enthralled expression on his face.

“What?” I demanded, scoffing down a batter-clad chip.

Joel snorted. “I’ve never seen anyone throw back deep-fried food with such … gusto.” He sounded impressed. I popped another batter-clad chip into my mouth, grinning at him.

“You know as well as I do that it’s all about balance. You’ll just have to help me work it off this afternoon.”

Joel looked away, clearing his throat. I leaned over and peered into his face.

“Joel Herbert, is that … a blush ?” I teased, eyeing his face closely. “It is ! I never thought I’d live to see the day when I could make you blush!” I giggled.

Joel turned to me with a leer and pushed me onto the blanket. I sat up and retaliated, pushing him down with a laugh.

He righted himself, brushing sand off his arms. “You really want to play this game, Stink?” he asked, as if he was giving me a chance to back down. I shoved him down again with a cheeky snicker.

I wasn’t laughing long. He had me pinned on the blanket before I could even blink to register what was happening to me, his body pressed down against mine, lips curling as he gazed down at me.

“Get off me, Joel!” I pushed at his chest.

He chuckled, not budging. “Not until you surrender,” he growled. I looked up at him. His sapphire eyes were sparkling.

Suddenly I was all too conscious of his firm body on mine, and of certain parts of his body that were pressing against me in a more than friendly way. I wriggled. He let out a tiny grunt, his hips rocking against me. Heat exploded between my legs.

“Okay, I surrender,” I breathed, my chest tight, heart pounding. Joel didn’t move an inch.

“Say it like you mean it, Stinky,” he whispered. I felt the warmth of his breath on my cheek. He was staring straight into my eyes. Had I never noticed before how pouty his bottom lip was? I tried to speak, but I couldn’t find my voice.

Joel’s phone rang, rescuing me from a situation that had spiralled completely out of my control. He released me with a huff and sat up, reaching into his pocket and pulling it out.

I could hear the buzz of his voice as he spoke, but the actual words floated over me. I sat up and put my head between my knees. I didn’t like the way my breaths were coming shorter and sharper. I didn’t like the way my legs felt like they wouldn’t be able to support me if I tried to stand.

I definitely didn’t like the way my heart was beating raggedly in my chest, or the way I ached … everywhere.

“You okay, Stink?” Joel asked, nudging me on the shoulder. I looked up and glared at him. He didn’t seem at all affected by having just rocked his semi-hard dick against me.

“What did I do?” he asked.

“You know exactly what you did, Joel!” I accused, the heat of my embarrassment fuelling my anger.

Joel laughed. “Oh, I know. It was fun, wasn’t it?”

Yeah, for him it might have just been fun, but for me … I wasn’t willing to think about that in too much detail. I shook my head.

“Why?” he continued, his voice softer as he moved back towards me, “Was it working?”

I stood up very fast, brushing the sand off my butt. My head swam and I staggered, trying to right myself. He was up beside me in a flash, his hands on my arms, holding me steady.

“Don’t, Joel!” I warned crankily. He took his hands off me and held them up in a gesture of surrender. I stomped back towards the car .

“Hey, Mel, wait!” he called after me. He was beside me well before I reached the car. Damn him and his long legs.

“Don’t you want to hear who that was on the phone?”

I grunted. Of course, now I was curious, but I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of asking.

“Well, I probably should just tell you anyway, seeing as it’s about you.”

“Who was it, Joel?” I asked, trying to keep my voice disinterested.

“Oh, just your new sponsor, that’s all,” Joel replied in a voice every bit as disinterested as mine. I stopped with a gasp, turning to him and grabbing him by both arms.

“What?! Who?” I demanded, shaking him. He laughed, but he looked anxious. That worried me.

“Well, you know how I said before that it might be good to look outside the tennis sphere for sponsors?” I nodded, wondering where this was going.

“Well, earlier in the week I was approached by Dudz who are interested in using you as the face of their new range. It would be a twelve-month brand ambassadorship deal, with options to extend for another year at the end. They just called to say that they’re all ready to sign.”

I felt the puff go out of me. I’d been expecting something really cringe, like tampons, or dildos or something. I’d been all geared up to shout at him and refuse.

“Oh, Dudz. That’s pretty cool actually. Why didn’t you tell me about it earlier this week?” I asked, mildly curious.

Joel looked sheepish. “Well, I wasn’t sure what your reaction was going to be, so I decided to wait until it was certain to bring it up – I figured I’d find a way to talk you around to it.”

I raised my eyebrows at him. “You figured you’d be able to talk me round, huh?” I asked, a warning in my voice. Joel smiled down at me, moving closer and putting an arm around my back, pulling me against him.

“Yes, well, I can be pretty persuasive when I want to be,” he murmured. I gulped. This was not happening to me. I pushed him away before my resolve wavered.

“Okay, here’s the deal. You stop trying to seduce me and I’ll do the sponsorship with Dudz,” I bargained in my most matter-of-fact tone. Joel took a step back and assessed me.

“You drive a hard bargain, Stink. Okay, I’ll do my best. But it’s just so much fun to see the look on your face!”

I rolled my eyes at him and hopped into the car. “So, what do I have to do for this sponsorship?” I asked. Joel turned the key and the engine roared into life.

“They want to do a photo shoot for online, magazine and billboard advertising, and a TV commercial. And there’ll be some in-store appearances when the range comes out.”

I shrugged, nodding. I could handle that. I mean, if I could writhe around in lingerie for Woody Magazine, I could have my photo taken in cotton underwear.

We lapsed into silence on the drive back to Joel’s house. Silence was bad – my brain went into overdrive. Why was I suddenly having all these … feelings … for Joel?

It had to have been the dreams. If I hadn’t had those stupid sex dreams about him, I wouldn’t be feeling all hot and bothered when he got too close.

“Joel,” I began quietly.

“Hmm?” He didn’t take his eyes off the road.

“What would have happened before, on the beach, if your phone hadn’t rung?” I asked in a tiny voice. Joel’s breaths were suddenly noisier than usual. He pulled into his garage, cut the engine, and turned to me. I couldn’t meet his eyes.

“Stink, don’t you just wish you knew?” he teased, before getting out of the car. “Come on, we’ve got a greasy lunch to work off.”

I got out of the car, feeling more unsatisfied than I had before I’d asked.