Page 18

Kira laughs, and Maeve finds Kira’s other hand has snaked up to grip the back of her hair, between Maeve’s and the locker, cushioning the blows as Kira’s other hand stays between Maeve’s legs.

Maeve feels completely contained by her, held and gripped, daring to let her body be completely at someone else’s command. Kira’s breath fast on her neck.

‘You can go harder,’ Maeve pants. ‘I can take it.’

It’s Kira who groans in pleasure at that and takes up the challenge, until they’re both crying out.

And all too soon, the sensation is overwhelming, with Maeve clutching Kira’s shoulders, her whole body tensing and releasing as she sees stars.

It feels incredible to completely let go, like she’s floating in a hot bath, like her blood is liquid gold.

Maeve goes weak in Kira’s arms, waves still pulsing through her. Kira kisses her neck and gently strokes her hair and her back in slow calming motions that still keep Maeve turned on, even now.

Kira seems to sense as Maeve comes back to earth.

She pulls back from the hug gently to look at her.

Maeve blinks almost in surprise, like someone just told her incredible news.

Kira stretches her hands over her head and exhales like she’s just realised what they did.

Then they both laugh. Kira’s back to her usual smug self. She grins at Maeve.

‘Turns out it was a pretty big Friday night after all.’

Kira’s whole toned body is gleaming with sweat, and Maeve feels overcome with longing all over again. Maeve finds it almost unbearably frustrating that she hasn’t taken those boxers off yet.

Maeve starts doing so, but Kira gently moves her hands away, kissing the top of her head.

Maeve feels silly suddenly, tugging on Kira’s shorts with such desperation. Has she done something wrong?

‘But I want to–Don’t you want…?’

‘Oh, I do, believe me. But I also just want to enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done. Another time. Give me something to look forward to through the weekend.’

Maeve feels destabilised, and doesn’t know what to do, going from feeling lusciously confident to doubt creeping back in.

She wants to go back to when they were two bodies, clearly wanting each other, instinctively knowing what the other wanted.

Now, she feels thrown by the sudden end to their encounter.

She rummages in the pile of clothes on the floor for her own shorts, putting them on to match Kira’s.

She doesn’t bother putting her pants on, they’re completely unwearable now and just rolls them up.

Maeve starts reaching for her t-shirt, wondering what on earth she’s meant to say next, getting in her head about it.

‘Thanks?’ ‘That was incredible?’ ‘That was a mistake?’ ‘That felt so right?’

‘Hey,’ says Kira, from behind her. Maeve turns to her shyly. Kira’s gesturing with an arm. ‘Come here.’

Maeve goes to her. Kira takes Maeve in her arms, and squeezes her in a warm hug. Maeve breathes out, her whole body relaxing again.

Kira leans them both back gently, so that they’re both lying down on the wooden slats of the changing room bench.

It’s not comfortable, not at all, with the wood pressing into their bodies in odd unmanageable places.

But Maeve nestles into Kira, a little bashfully.

Her head is on Kira’s toned bicep – frankly, too hard to be a comfortable pillow – until Kira seems to sense this and shrugs a little, so that Maeve’s head falls into a softer part, her head on Kira’s chest.

‘I can’t believe we’re cuddling in here,’ says Maeve.

Kira laughs.

‘You didn’t strike me as the type who would cuddle after…’

‘Are you kidding me?’ says Kira, sounding genuinely offended. ‘You really have misunderstood me. Do you think I’m some kind of psychopath?’

Kira pulls her in more tightly so Maeve’s face rests in the nook; and she feels their bodies relax into each other. It’s strange, how this person who makes her feel so wound up can also make her so at ease.

Maeve wonders whether they’re going to talk about it, what each other wants next.

She would feel like a pathetic teenager if she were to say ‘what are we?’ after one heated encounter, and she wants to seem cool.

Plus, Maeve doesn’t even really know what she wants, except that she wants the captaincy, and she wants Kira.

Even more so, now that she knows how incredible it feels to hook up with her.

Her body shudders again at the thought of what they’ve just done.

At the training ground. Where anyone might walk in.

‘Sooo…’ says Kira. ‘We should talk about it, huh?’

Maeve laughs lightly, nodding her blushing face into Kira’s shoulder.

Her ex-girlfriend Hannah had always just left things unsaid, and Maeve had felt too paranoid and scared of messing up to bring it up herself either.

It had taken Maeve’s transfer to the Tigresses for Hannah to finally say that she didn’t think their changing lifestyles would suit them and voicing what they’d both secretly been thinking for a while – that they weren’t happy together anymore.

‘Well,’ says Kira. ‘I can go first. That was really fucking hot.’

‘Mmhmm,’ agrees Maeve fervently.

‘ And,’ says Kira, ‘we’ve also got our careers to think about. I sense that you’re like me, and your career is kind of, well, everything to you?’

Maeve nods into Kira’s chest, worried about what’s coming next.

Without even realising she’s doing it, she starts tracing her hand down Kira’s soft side, running her fingers over where her torso becomes her hips, over the lines of her abs, over the beautiful lines of her chest.

‘Maeve–’ Kira’s voice strains. ‘If you keep doing that I’m not going to be able to keep this conversation going.’

‘Oops, sorry,’ Maeve apologises, giggling.

‘No you’re not,’ says Kira. Maeve loves hearing the smile in her voice, even when she can’t see it.

Oh shit, she thinks. It would be very easy to actually… like Kira. Properly like her. She needs to be careful.

‘Because the thing is, we both want the same thing–’ says Kira.

Maeve tenses. Does Kira mean that she wants to date her?

‘– to be Captain?’

The words are an unwelcome bump back down to earth.

Maeve sits quickly up, putting her t-shirt on, the embarrassment building inside her.

‘Maeve. Maeve?’

Maeve can’t cope right now, with what it does to her to hear her name in Kira’s voice, when she’s still there, sitting up on the bench, topless and confused.

Kira reaches a hand out, grabs for her more roughly. ‘Murphy, come on! Talk to me!’

‘What do you want me to say! You’re right! We both want the same thing, there can only be one captain! So,’ she shrugs angrily.

‘So? So what?’

Maeve shakes her head, putting on her hoodie, her trackies over her shorts, remembering again that she’s commando, the reasons why, the memory of Kira touching her.

She forces herself to look at her, trying to pretend she’s fine with what’s just happened between them and it doesn’t have to mean anything deep.

‘I’ll see you on Monday, okay? One-on-one training. Let’s just… concentrate on our jobs. Maybe this– this side of things will… die down.’

‘Is that what you want?’ Kira asks, folding her arms.

‘No!’ Maeve wants to scream. ‘Obviously what I want is for us to do that again, preferably right now, but if not, then in my bed, as soon as possible, when we can really take our time, and I can compete with you to make you feel as good as you made me!’

But instead, Maeve swallows all her desires down, as she’s used to doing, and just nods.

‘I’ll– I’ll see you on Monday. I’m… I’m sorry.’

‘What are you apologising for?’ Kira calls after her.

But Maeve’s already leaving, so that Kira doesn’t see the emotion on her face.