Page 11

Colin

T he second my father turns his stern eyes on Ellie, I can tell he doesn’t like her.

Kenneth Hunt isn’t a difficult man to read nor are his actions hard to understand. Most people would probably disagree if I said that. They’d argue that my father has a face of stone and that he’s a man of very few words unless he’s talking about something like rugby, so it’s nearly impossible to interpret his true nature.

Not to me though.

I know how he thinks and what it means when he behaves in a certain way.

Right now, however, I don’t think it would be hard for anyone to figure out how he feels.

“This is a closed practice.” He states, glaring at Ellie like her presence here is a massive affront to his existence.

My shoulders tense immediately.

Christ, does he have to be such a dick?

“Oh um…” Ellie shifts on her feet, clearly intimidated.

My fists clench, but I quickly fold my arms across my chest, fighting the sudden need I have to step in front of her and tell him to back the fuck off. Unfortunately, that would only make things worse.

“I invited her.” My father’s hard gaze slices over to me as soon as I speak. Yup, he’s definitely pissed. I heave out a laboured sigh. “Dad, t his is Ellie Simpkins; Professor Garrick assigned her to write the Armitage Spotlight article on me. I told her she could come to as many games and practices as she wants for research.”

So, fucking calm down.

I have to physically bite down on my tongue so I don’t accidently say that last part.

My father’s stiff jaw bunches as he processes the new information and, for a second, I’m worried that mentioning the article won’t actually ease the situation like I’d hoped it would, but then he dips his head with acknowledgement, the anger in his eyes dissipating marginally.

“I see.”

It’s at this point when Ellie suddenly finds her voice again.

“It’s nice to meet you Mr Hunt – er – I mean, Coach Hunt.” With more confidence than she probably feels, she holds her hand out to my father, who hesitates like a total dickhead, before he nods stiffly, shaking it with his own.

“You’re welcome to stay and observe, Miss Simpkins, but please be silent and don’t distract my players.”

His eyes slide over to me again and I don’t miss the warning in them or the true meaning behind his words.

They’re not really for her.

They’re for me.

He’s just looking out for you.

He doesn’t want you to get distracted.

That’s what Bryce and Graeme would say. To me though, he’s just being rude and meddling in something that doesn’t concern him.

“Uh, yes Sir. Thank you. ”

Ellie casts a concerned look my way, probably sensing the tension between my father and me and worried that she’s the cause of it. Technically speaking she isn’t wrong, but things were already strained between us well before she came along. I give her a brief, but apologetic smile, hoping it’ll reassure her or at least let her know she doesn’t need to worry. Eventually, she turns and starts wandering back towards the stands. I watch her go and once she’s far enough, I turn to leave as well, but my father’s hand shoots out and latches onto my elbow, holding me in place.

“Is this going to be a problem, is it?” He asks tersely.

“This being what exactly?”

He gives me an unamused look which I return.

I’m sick and tired of having this discussion with him. Over the years he’s given me and my brothers plenty of guidance and advice, which I’ve appreciated even if I haven’t always listened to him or taken it, but one thing he made sure we understood is that distractions are best avoided. Nothing says ‘distraction’ more than a beautiful woman being in your life who you actually give a damn about. It’s why Bryce has a constant rotation of girls passing through his door every five minutes, but never dates any of them and why Graeme practically eats, breathes and sleeps rugby, but doesn’t spare a single glance at an attractive woman even if she dropped into his lap. It’s why, up until recently, casual sex was all I was willing to offer a girl. Relationships are a one-way ticket to failure. They only cause trouble. Just having sex is fine. Even my father knows that it’s irrational to expect my brothers and I to keep it in our pants at our ages. As long as said sex doesn’t lead to any of those pesky things called feelings then we can have as much of it as we want provided, we’re discreet, responsible and careful.

He didn’t warn us how empty that would start to feel after a while or how being starved of a meaningful connection might make you crave something more.

I haven’t told anyone about my self-imposed celibacy. Not Mace or Kai. Not even my brothers. No one knows that Ellie is the first girl I’ve encountered in months who intrigues me and makes my dick hard just by thinking about her, but the way my father’s staring at me now makes me think he knows that something has changed and he doesn’t like it.

“Just stay focused, Colin. You’ll dominate this season; get this article out of the way and then move on to bigger and better things. There’s no room for anything else. That girl cannot be a problem.”

“First of all, that girl has a name,” I grit out, “And second, she won’t be.”

He probably suspects Ellie and I are already sleeping together, but even if we were I’d never tell him. It’s none of his fucking business. I may be young, but I’m not stupid. Even if something did happen with Ellie, I’d never allow myself to get distracted by it and I seriously doubt she’d want to be this soul-sucking void in my life or that everything I know would fall apart in a matter of months because of her. I can’t imagine Ellie doing that to me. I can’t imagine doing that to myself. Not that we’re anywhere close to a situation like that. I mean, we’ve only kissed once and she’s just gone through a bad break-up for Christ's sake! Yes, I’m attracted to her and, even though she’s trying her best to hide it, I can tell she feels the same way about me, but after this bullshit with Andersen, I have no clue if jumping into another relationship is what she wants.

Is that even what I want?

“Well, just make sure that doesn’t change.” My father says, his tone clipped. “You can’t afford to get complacent now. Remember what’s at stake here.”

I know what’s at stake.

My career.

My future.

My life .

Mine.

Not fucking yours.

I flatten my lips; my jaw clenching and it takes nearly all of my willpower not to rip my arm out of his interfering grasp and tell him what I really think.

“Yes, coach.”

I close my eyes, an exhausted sigh spilling from my mouth as I roll my neck from side to side and tip my head back underneath the hot spray of water, rinsing off the fresh layers of sweat and dirt coating my body courtesy of the gruelling two-hour practice session we just finished. My muscles still sting and ache in some places, but not as much as they did before the ice bath I sank into earlier.

Tomorrow it’ll be worse. Temporary, but worse.

Even though we won against Bancroft, my father didn’t cut us any slack this morning. We ran drill after drill. Play after play until we could hardly stand by the end of it. I didn’t expect him to take it easy on us. We made some mistakes. Gave away one too many penalties a nd let them slip through our defences, almost scoring a try.

In the great Kenneth Hunt’s eyes that’s simply unacceptable.

Our conversation right before practice probably didn’t help either, which is why we’re all going to have bruises on bruises for the next few days, but I’m not in the habit of trying to understand the motivations behind my father’s coaching techniques. Not anymore. Besides, it’s nothing some well-deserved rest won’t fix.

“I totally get it, you know.”

I pop one eye open, glancing at Mace who’s occupying the shower stall next to mine.

“Get what?”

“Why you’re suddenly okay with doing that article.” He grins wolfishly. “If I had a fit girl like that following me around everywhere I would be as well.”

“No, you wouldn’t,” Kai chimes in from the stall next to his, “You can barely stand to be around the same girl for more than a few hours unless you’re shagging her. You could never manage six whole months.”

“Fuck you, Hara!” Mace holds up a middle finger, which only makes Kai snicker under his breath.

I smother back my own laughter. As much as I love Mace, I’m with Kai on this one. If there’s one person who could never handle being followed around by the same girl for any length of time it’s Mace Madsen. No matter how pretty she is.

“Wait, is that how long she’s going to be around for?” My young protégé, Harry Chessum, pipes up from the stall next to mine. Way too eagerly I might add .

It’s been a year since I took him under my wing and started preparing him for the day when he’ll replace me as the Admirals fullback after I graduate. The kid has skill and tons of promise, but he can be a bit na?ve and starry-eyed sometimes. When no one says anything, I realise they’re all waiting for me to answer him so I sigh, squeezing some shampoo into my hands and quickly washing my hair.

“Yes, Ellie will be around until the end of the season.”

That’s if my father doesn’t scare her off first.

You would’ve had to have been blind not to notice the icy, disapproving looks he kept throwing her way or see how uncomfortable they clearly made her feel. She couldn’t leave fast enough when practice finally ended.

Fucking asshole.

“Nice!” Harry beams broadly. “So when can we meet her?”

Never.

I’m about to tell him that when Kai, grinning like the fucking Cheshire cat, interrupts.

“I’ve already had the pleasure actually, for about two seconds anyway until Collie over here got all pissy and chased me off.”

I aim a pointed glare at him.

Thanks, fucker.

He has the audacity to smirk back as if to say; You’re welcome.

“Well, that’s hardly fair. If Hara, the sad sack, got to meet her then I think we all should get to meet her as well.” Mace announces.

“Here, here!” Harry agrees .

I narrow my eyes at the two of them, about to tell them both off when I notice the pissed-off scowl resting on Kai’s face.

“Hey, who the fuck are you calling a ‘sad-sack’, Madison !”

I fight back a groan.

Here we fucking go.

The conversation dissolves completely from there and a ludicrous argument over God only knows what starts instead. Something about how there’s nothing ‘sad’ about Kai’s ‘sack’ and that Mace detests being called the same name as his younger sister, a fact Kai knows and likes to use to his advantage. Harry busts out laughing, finding the whole thing hilarious, and I’m stuck literally in the middle of the chaos, listening to my best mates hurl words at each other until I simply can’t take it anymore.

“Enough!” I grind out suddenly, making them all fall silent, “No one is meeting anyone at this fucking rate. I’d rather walk barefoot over broken glass than let her anywhere near you lot right now!”

Frustrated, I shut off the shower, step out of the stall and snatch my towel off the hook, wrapping it around my waist as I stalk off towards my cubby .

Jesus Christ!

I love the lads, I really do, but I swear sometimes it’s like being around a bunch of adults acting like children. I get they aren’t used to having people around during our practices –especially a girl – but fucking hell I didn’t expect them to be so enamoured by her. It seems despite my father’s request; she managed to capture their attention without meaning to or even trying .

And it’s not just Mace, Kai and Harry.

None of my teammates could shut up about her. I even caught a few of them staring at her, whispering curious and flirtatious comments to each other. I won’t deny that hearing them got under my skin a little and that I didn’t react by yelling at them to focus and get back in the game, which is ridiculous. Ellie isn’t my girlfriend, but the thought of one of them making a move on her or even thinking about it bothers me more than it should.

It’s not like I did a stellar job of not looking at her either.

They were quick glances though, lingering on her just long enough to notice how the tip of her tongue sticks out while she scribbles something down in her notepad or how she frowns while taking pictures with her camera.

A tiny smile touches my lips.

I wonder if she has any clue how cute she is when she does that.

Then I recall her discomfort, courtesy of my father, and I wince. I’ve never actually considered punching my dad before. Despite our issues, that’s a line I’ve never thought about crossing before, but if he keeps treating Ellie like she’s some infectious disease every time he sees her, I might have to reconsider my stance on that. After throwing on some fresh underwear, a pair of jeans and a shirt, I take a seat on the bench and grab my phone. I realise that it’s only been an hour since she left, but this uneasiness isn’t going to abate until I know she’s okay.

Me: You make it home safely?

A few seconds pass before those three dots bounce on the screen .

Ellie: Yup. ? ? Currently lying on the sofa reading before I go to class later.

I grin broadly at the image. She’s such a nerd.

Me: I didn’t ask for the added detail, but thanks anyway Simpkins.

A beat passes and I frown, feeling anxious as I type out my next message.

Me: I’m sorry about my father, by the way. Please don’t take it personally, he’s like that with everyone.

Ellie: Oh really? I thought maybe I was special or something.

I snort out a laugh.

You are special.

Thankfully I have enough common sense not to tell her that. If that shit sounds corny in my head then it’ll definitely sound corny to her and while I may not be all that experienced when it comes to flirting with a girl for more than just sex, even I know that saying anything corny is usually a fucking death sentence.

Me: He thinks you’re going to distract me.

Ellie: Distract you? Why would he think that?

Because you’re the first girl I’ve been attracted to in months.

Because I think my father knows I’m getting restless.

Because you’re beautiful and smart and I find it hard not to think about you.

Take your pick, love.

Me: I think you know why, Simpkins.

Maybe it’s a bit bold to say that because of what it implies, but I know I haven’t been imagining her reactions whenever we’re alone together or the way she looks at me sometimes .

Ellie Simpkins likes me, she’s just afraid to admit it.

And maybe, just maybe, that’s how it should be between us.

At least for now.

I don’t want to complicate her life any further and the last thing I want is to give my father an excuse to interfere by taking this opportunity away from her. I also don’t want to give him a reason to come down on me harder than he already is. There’s a part of me though, a selfish, curious part, that wanders what it would be like if we stopped worrying and just went for it, but rationally I know we can’t. As much as I don’t want to, I need to cool things off with Ellie. Not just for my sake, but also for hers. Doing this article will benefit me greatly, but it could help with her career as a writer as well and I’m not prepared to jeopardise that. I’m not saying I’m going to give her the cold shoulder and suddenly pretend I don’t like her anymore. I don’t think I could do that even if I tried, but I’m not going to make a move on her either. Not until this article business is done or until she tells me that’s what she wants first.

I glance down at my crotch.

Sorry lad, but you’re officially benched until further notice.

I blow out a heavy breath, making a mental note to buy some tissues to compensate for all the extra alone time I’ll be spending with my hand.

Christ, this isn’t going to be fun, but hopefully, it’ll be worth it.

I look at my phone again, panic skittering up my spine when I see she’s read the message, but hasn’t replied yet .

Me: Listen, it doesn’t matter what he thinks. I don’t want you to change your mind about doing the article and I don’t want you to avoid coming to my practices or games either. I want you there, Ellie. He doesn’t have a say in the matter, okay?

And if he does try to have a say in it, he’ll answer directly to me.

Ellie: Okay.

I breathe a sigh of relief, clicking off my phone.

My father may have a degree of power over me and his influence may bleed into many aspects of my life, but there will always be parts of me that will be mine and mine alone. Protected, untouched and firmly beyond his reach.

And I’ll make sure Ellie is one of those parts if it’s the last thing I do.