Page 107 of Playing for Keeps

Luke

Two days after I returned from training camp, Coach Wilson called me to confirm I’d made the team.

I was going to play for New Zealand.

All those years of dreaming about it, and it was finally coming true. There was one person I wanted to share the news with first.

I drove through the streets of Christchurch in a happy daze and knocked on the door of Ethan’s house.

Ethan opened the door, took one look at my expression and broke into a smile. “You made it?”

I nodded.

He pulled me into a hug.

It wasn’t our usual kind of hug—the kind that typically led to more. This was a simple, congratulatory friend hug.

And it felt right to hug him like this, to hug my friend Ethan who’d been at my side for so much of my rugby journey.

“I’m not in the starting lineup,” I said, pulling away. “They’re starting Tuala instead.”

Ethan shrugged. “That’s only a matter of time, isn’t it?” He stood back and gestured me in.

I followed him into his kitchen. It looked as if he was halfway through doing the dishes.

“We’ll see. It’s a tough match first up.” I sat on one of the stools at his counter.

The first test match of the international season was against Australia, in Wellington. Normally there were a few easier games against Pacific Island teams to ease into the international season, but this was plunging straight into the deep end. The Australian backline of Mitch Ashdown, Jase Hill and Todd Stewart was a lethal combination.

“Ha, you’ll feast on barbecued kangaroo legs and koala thighs all night long,” Ethan said.

I chuckled. “So, you want to come up and watch?”

“I’m looking after Theo next weekend.”

“You could bring him to Wellington too.”

Ethan looked wistful. “I can’t. It’s Char’s exhibition opening.”

Shit. I’d forgotten about that. Dad had mentioned when we were playing golf the other day that there’d be a clash with Char’s opening if I made the team.

My stomach dropped.

It was ridiculous to feel jealous, right? To feel like Ethan was choosing Char over me. But a bitter taste swept through my mouth and suddenly I was eighteen again and sitting in a pub discovering the boy I loved was about to have a baby with my sister.

“Do you have to be there?” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.

Ethan’s jaw tightened, and he turned to the sink and scrubbed at a pot. Eventually, he raised his gaze to mine. “Theo can’t miss his mum’s opening, and Char’s going to be busy that weekend. She won’t be able to look after Theo. And I’m guessing your parents are going to be away now too.”

I hadn’t even thought about that. But I was fairly sure there was no way my father would miss my New Zealand debut.

The clash was a brutal reminder that Ethan would always have other commitments in his life, things that were more important than me.

“I’m not flying up until Tuesday. We’ll just have to make the most of the time before then.” I layered my voice with as much innuendo as I could, trying desperately to reset things back to the dynamic I knew worked best between us.

Ethan’s eyes immediately heated and the air sizzled.

But then he bit his lip, glancing out the window. “I’ve got Theo this weekend,” he said. “Char and I have rearranged stuff so she’s got time to complete everything before the opening.”