Page 10

Chapter Ten

Chelsea

"How are you settling in?" Doctor Stuart lowered himself into the seat beside me and reached for the sides of his seatbelt.

"I'm loving it," I said sincerely. As long as I kept a relatively safe distance from Otis Skinner and focused on my job, I was in my element. "It's everything I thought it would be and more."

"It's certainly more." He clicked his seatbelt and adjusted the sash across his waist. "Ever since I've done this, it's always been more." He glanced over at me and smiled.

"I'm here for it," I said.

"The guys are great and the travel is amazing." The waiting to travel part was less than thrilling, but the rest was a blur of excitement.

Watching the guys train, then travelling to watch them play, was dream come true stuff.

"I remember having your youthful enthusiasm," he said.

"I still have the enthusiasm, but it's not so youthful anymore." He chuckled.

I scoffed gently. "You're not that old. You can keep up with everything as well as I can."

"Maybe not quite as well," he said.

"I've learnt how to pace myself in a way that looks like I'm keeping up. Don't look too closely, or you'll see the truth." He winked at me.

"I've been watching very closely and you're keeping up just fine," I told him.

"You will be for lots more years to come." At least, I hoped that was the case.

As far as I knew, he was one of the few truly innocent people around me.

Either I was mistaken, or he really was oblivious to the real nature of Dusk Bay, and risked getting caught in the firing line by being around the rest of us.

I wasn't joking when I said I watched him closely. It wasn't just professional interest and the desire to learn, it was concern for his safety.

Ruthless people didn't give a shit who they stepped on to get where they wanted to go. If he stood in their way, he'd be dead.

"Maybe," he said. "I'll be retiring in a couple of years. Then I won't need to worry about keeping up with anyone but my wife. Trust me, she's enough of a handful when she wants to be." He made a face, but his eyes were still smiling, the laugh lines around them crinkling.

"I'm sure she'd say the same about you," I teased.

He chuckled. "Without doubt." He glanced past me out the window as the plane taxied towards the runway. "It doesn't matter how many times I do it, sitting on a plane while it takes off never gets old. Of course, by the time we get there, I'm glad to feel it land too. Travelling with the Wallabies is even more exhausting than this. That's when you realise they're right when they say Australia is far away. Especially when travelling to the UK."

"I'll bet," I replied.

"It must be a challenge to keep a team of bored footy players in line during a long haul flight." The national rugby team would be a handful at times, like any group of professional athletes.

"When the alcohol starts flowing, it is," Doctor Stuart agreed.

"Manners tend to go out the window. More than once I've seen them streak naked through the middle of an aircraft. The flight crew was not impressed. Okay, some of them were, but others not so much."

I grinned, but hoped none of my guys would do that. If I had to guess which one of them would, my money would be on Frost. He was the most likely to let himself go, and get into trouble midair. Especially if someone dared him or made him a wager.

"I don't think Coach Stanley would be too happy about that either," I said.

I rested my elbow on the armrest and watched the ground fall away underneath us.

"Probably not," Doctor Stuart agreed.

"They'd issue some hefty fines for misbehaviour, especially for what they do while intoxicated. Nothing the boys couldn't handle, I suppose, given their salaries. Although, if people didn’t record everything on their phones for posterity, the players might not remember having done it. Nowadays, the team drinking on aircraft is frowned upon, so they tend to be better behaved. Or if they're not, at least they can watch it back afterwards." He chuckled to himself.

I glanced forward between the seats, to the front of the plane where the guys sat. Today, it seemed less likely that Storm and Atlas would get into a fist fight midair. That would be worse than them running naked through the plane. Much worse, if I was honest.

It wouldn't bother me if the whole team walked around naked. They'd already been half-naked, stripping off their suits and changing into T-shirts and track pants. I don't mind admitting I was happy to watch them do it. I had a keen appreciation for the naked, muscular, male form. That was another perk of this job.

"You must have seen all sorts of interesting things over the years," I said.

"Two hundred percent," he agreed. "Everything from Tabasco sauce in water bottles, to tomato sauce packets hidden in boots. I've seen glitter come out of places it shouldn't have been in the first place. I'm still not sure how it got there." He made a face. "I've seen teams celebrate their wins when it looked like they were going to lose badly. And I've seen them drown their sorrows when the game didn't go their way."

He sighed softly. "I've seen the most harmless-looking tackle lead to career ending injuries. I've seen grown men sob when they realised they'd never play football again. And I've seen the young rookies come through, terrified they'd let themselves and the team down, but excited to be given the chance. Their first game out there on the field is always memorable. You know what they say, you never forget your first time."

I didn't think that was intended to be a football reference, but I nodded anyway.

"That's why I wanted to do this. To help prevent career-ending injuries and to be here for the highs and lows. It's one thing to sit in the crowd and watch, but it's another to be a part of it. To know you're making a difference in people's lives. Inspiring the next generation and all that."

He smiled softly. "Look at us getting all sentimental. It's true though. The ups and downs, the ins and outs, that's what we live for. Every single person on this aircraft is here for the same reason. For the team and the fans. Because this is what we love more than anything. And some of us get paid well to do it." He smirked in the direction of the players in front of us.

"Considering they put their bodies on the line every time they get out of bed, they deserve to be paid well," I said.

Every game could be their last. The money they made might have to keep them for the rest of their lives. If they had the sense to save it, and not spend it all on fuck knows what. The same could be said for anyone though, not just professional athletes.

"Otherwise they might not get out of bed," he said jokingly.

"It's a good incentive," I said.

I knew how much hard work went into a job that required a lot of physical effort, and I was paid well for it too. Dancing in heels was even more athletic than playing football. In some ways, I missed it. Not so much the stilettos. Those I didn't miss even slightly. My feet were happy in lower heels, thank you very much. The rest of it though, I loved it on most nights. I was strong, fit and powerful. There were worse ways to put myself through university.

Doctor Stuart flipped open his tray table and placed his laptop onto it. "This is a good opportunity to get some work done."

"Good idea." I got out my own laptop and opened it. "How do you think the guys will go tomorrow night? They were training well this morning."

"They were," he agreed. "That's the first time I've seen Storm Keller and Atlas Underwood communicate with each other. If they play like that, they'll smash the opposition. It's about time they sorted themselves out." He glanced over at me. "Did you have anything to do with that?"

"I might have," I said carefully. "I've been encouraging them to be nicer to each other. The other guys have as well. Jay and Frost in particular. Dallas and Ramsey have had a hand in it too, though."

Finding Dallas in the change area the way they had seemed to have flipped a switch with them. Some people bonded over a mutual appreciation for cake. Others bonded over finding a devastated teammate who'd just killed a woman. Whatever it took.

Doctor Stuart's eyebrows rose. "Unless I'm mistaken, I count six."

"That's right," I said lightly. "They care about me and some of them care about each other. It's complicated, but we're making it work."

"Huh, how about that," he said softly. "Well, if the guys play better for it, then it has to be a good thing."

"If they play worse because of it, we can both get in line to kick their asses." I smiled. "After they're done kicking each other's."

Doctor Stuart chuckled. "I can picture that, yes. They're passionate about the team. They wouldn't let much get in their way. And now they have a pretty woman to keep them in line, they'll do even better."

"Not the whole team," I said dryly.

"Just the single ones," he said slowly.

"Not even all the single ones," I protested. "I left a few for the other women in the world." Six was enough for me. I had no interest in adding to that number. Not unless it was a puppy or a kitten. Maybe one of each for each guy.

"As long as it doesn't impact your work either," Doctor Stuart said. "Then I wish you all the best." He gave me a meaningful look, like he'd be the first to step in and tell me if I wasn't doing what I should be doing. Of course he would; he was my supervisor. I wouldn't want him to see me doing the wrong thing and let it slide for any reason. That was a really good way to get into bad habits, and I didn't need that. It wasn't good for me and it wasn't good for the team.

"I won't let it do that," I assured him. "Thank you for your support. Other people might think it's…weird." Not that I gave two hoots what other people thought. I didn't care how they chose to live their lives.

"I'll be completely honest with you, I've seen many weird things in my day," he said. "This doesn't even make the top ten. If I was a younger man, I might look into all of this myself. I'm sure my wife would love five more boyfriends." He smiled softly.

Clearly her and her needs were important to him. That was sweet. The world needed more men like that.

"You're never too old to have extra boyfriends," I said.

I sensed he and his wife were in for an interesting conversation when he got home.

Whether it led to anything or not was another story.

There was certainly nothing wrong with considering it.

As long as everyone was happy and communicated with each other, then they should go for it.

"That sounds like a bumper sticker," he said.

"One would certainly raise some eyebrows."

"I'll look into having those made," I said jokingly.

After Frost had Team Awesomest bumper stickers printed. Hopefully he was joking about that. I didn't want to get out of work after a long day, to find my car covered in them. I could picture him doing just that. Bright, glittery stickers all over my vehicle. Of course, he'd cover everyone else's cars with them too.

I made a note to keep a close eye on him so he didn't pull a prank like that. Stickers weren't good for the paint on cars, as far as I knew.

Doctor Stuart chuckled and bent over his laptop to get to work.

I watched the coastline disappear before I did the same.