Page 10 of Unwritten Rules (The Sunburnt Hearts #1)
“I made mention of this last week, but we have a new physio joining the club today.” Dad steps to the side, and I’m blinded by the gazes of what feels like a thousand eyes roaming my face.
“This is my daughter, Tatum. From now on, she will be focusing on recovery and any injuries that may come up this season. If you need her advice or want to have a one-on-one session, please don’t hesitate to ask.
” A large hand claps my shoulder, and I nearly jump out of my skin. “Please make her feel welcomed!”
The team clap and cheer, but I hardly hear it over the blood rushing in my ears. This is mortifying . It feels like I’m in kindergarten being introduced to my new class. Maybe I should’ve told Dad not to mention our relationship, but I guess it’s too late now.
“And another thing,” Dad says. I inwardly groan.
What is it now? “I’m going to make something very clear to every one of you young lads.
My daughter is off-limits, okay? I don’t want any of you pursuing something with her.
She is here to work, not mess around with you lot.
You know my stance on eliminating distractions, especially during training sessions and work hours.
I don’t care what you lot do at home with your missus or in your free time, but when you’re in the training facility and sitting on these benches, your focus should be on the game. Nothing else.”
If I could crawl into a ball and allow the ground to swallow me hole, I’d dive head-first without a seconds hesitation.
“Dad,” I hiss, throwing my elbow into his side. “Seriously, you need to stop.”
He frowns, as if unable to comprehend how incredibly embarrassing it is for my father to warn men away from me. “I’m just trying to protect you and my team. I don’t want you getting hurt, and I need these guys to keep their heads in the game. No distractions for either of you.”
“I’m not looking to date right now, so you have nothing to worry about. Besides, I understand this is your career, your life, so the last thing I want to do is mess it up.”
Dad thins his lips. “Well, good. I would hate for you to go behind my back because then I’d have to fire you. Or worse, discipline one of my players. I want the two most important parts of my life to succeed. That includes you furthering your career, and getting my team to the grand final.”
Oh, God. Would he really fire me if I hooked up with one of the players? Not that I want to, but still.
I forgot how intense he can be when it comes to this sport and the people he loves.
“I understand, Dad.”
He straightens his spine and turns his attention back to the room of people staring at us. “With that said, I need you guys to form two groups and start warming up.”
The team nods in agreement and set about pulling on shirts, slightly different in style to their jerseys. Two older men in caps take each of the two groups into the adjoining room and begin warm-up drills. The rest of the staff watch from the edges of the room, but I stay put.
“What do you want me to do?” I turn to Dad, folding my arms over my chest. Out the corner of my eye, I see the team lunging the length of the room before side skipping back to where they started. “It doesn’t look like anyone is injured.”
“I have one guy out with a quad injury but he’s not here yet,” Dad says, his focus on his team as they warm up. “For your first shift, I want you to get to know the team and familiarise yourself with the rest of the staff and how we do things.”
“I can do that,” I say with a nod. “Should be easy enough.”
Dad glances down at his watch. “Okay, we have less than an hour until kick off, so why don’t you take a seat and observe.”
I pull up the closet white plastic chair and set my handbag at my feet. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”
For the next forty minutes, I watch the Wolves warm up at the direction of the two assistant coaches.
Dad is off somewhere talking to this person and that.
Seeing this side of a sports team is interesting.
Not only do I get to observe how physically fit these guys are, but it allows me to get to know them from afar, too.
How they perform during warm up is a good indicator of where they’re at physically, and will let me know what to watch out for when the game starts.
Despite my father’s warning for his team to stay away from me, some of them have approached throughout the warm-up to introduce themselves.
Each of them was kind and respectful—whether it was due to Dad’s warning, I’m not sure.
The guy with light brown hair, longer on top and short on the sides and the palest green eyes I have ever seen—if it weren’t for the specks of emerald, I would’ve thought they were grey—made me laugh effortlessly with his bad dad jokes. I think he said his name was Khai.
I have no doubt I’m going to struggle to remember all seventeen of these guys’ names. Not to mentioned the other thirteen guys on the extended squad I am yet to meet.
My phone vibrates in my pocket. I tear my gaze from the team forming a huddle in the middle of the room with my dad at the centre. I’m sure he’s hyping them up the best he can before the game kicks off.
Glancing down at the lock screen, multiple new messages from my group chat with Noah and Nathan appear.
I smile as I flick through the messages.
It’s been hard not living only a few streets away from my two best friends and being able to see them whenever I want.
I know they’re only a phone call away but it’s not the same.
NATHAN: How goes the big city, Tate? We miss you.
NOAH: We really do. It isn’t the same without you. And not to mention I have to deal with this guy on my own now, so thanks a lot.
NATHAN: Hey! Take that back, mister. You were just saying this arvo how much you enjoy spending time with me.
NOAH: Yeah, in small doses.
I chuckle. Even if I’m not around, Nathan will find a way to annoy the shit out of us.
TATE: Don’t worry, I miss you both, too. And Noah, would it kill you to send a photo of my niece?
Less than a minute later, a photo pops up in the chat, followed by a text from Noah.
NOAH: Sorry, I’ve been a bit preoccupied. But here is a photo of Jade I took this morning.
I can’t help but grin at the image of Jade with Weetbix smeared across her cheeks, arms, hands and the poor high chair that I’m sure Noah would’ve despised having to clean before work.
It’s moments like these that make me miss Barrenridge. Being close to my friends and watching Jade grow up is what I thought my life would look like.
TATE: Such a pretty girl. Give her a big kiss for me.
NATHAN: And what about me???
TATE: Noah, please give this big doofus a kiss, too.
NOAH: God, why is it always me having to kiss him?
I snort a laugh at the same time a hand clamps down on my shoulder. My gaze snaps from my phone to meet my father’s eyes. Looking past him, the team is getting ready to leave the team sheds, which is my cue to get off my phone and back to work.
“Is it kick off time already?” I ask, shoving my phone into my pocket.
Dad nods. “I’m going to head to the sky box to watch from above, but feel free to watch from the sidelines and take notes on whatever it is you need to.
” He reaches into his pocket, producing a dark green lanyard with STAFF printed into the material.
A clear tag with my name on it hangs from it.
“You’ll need to wear this while you’re out there.
It helps identify you to the other staff members. ”
The lanyard settles over my torso, cementing me in my new position. I get to watch from the sidelines? That could be fun. If I’m going to be working closely with these guys, I need to see their performance from a better angle.
“Okay, yeah.” I stand and clasp my hands behind my back. “I’ll wait here until they’re out on the field.”
“Perfect. Have fun!” Dad cheers and spins on his heels, rushing out of the room.
I blow out a short breath and watch the team walk out of the room one by one. The roar of the crowd can be heard from all the way in the sheds, shocking me. How many fans are out there? There must be a lot if they’re that loud.
Once I’m the last person standing in the room, I make my way out into the hallway and follow it until I reach a tunnel. At the end, I watch as the Wolves run out onto the field to screaming fans. “Enter Sandman” by Metallica blast through speakers around the stadium.
I can’t begin to imagine how overwhelming it must be to run out in front of that many people. Not only would they be under a lot of pressure to perform well for the club and the rest of the team, but they don’t want to let their fans down, too.
Taking a moment to calm my breathing, I follow the tunnel until I step out onto the field.
No one in the crowd or the people standing on the sidelines take notice of me as I find a free chair in the Wolves team area and sit down.
My eyes sweep across the fans littering the grandstand, waving their flags in the air.
The hill standing area is packed with not a patch of grass in sight.
The stadium is a good mixture of Wolves and Dolphins fans, so I can see this being a tough game.
The two teams get into position with a Wolves kick-off. As soon as the referee blows the whistle and the ball is kicked into the air, the crowd goes nuts.
I can’t help but smile as I glance around the stadium. This is crazy, truly. How the players don’t lose focus because of the screaming fans is beyond me.
The first tackle on a Dolphins player has me blowing out a sharp breath. God, that must’ve hurt like a bitch.
It doesn’t take long for me to fall into a trance of watching the teams fight for dominance on the field, and thankfully, Wolves get the first try of the game.
I jump from my seat and clap with the rest of the staff members and fans.
The atmosphere after a try is electric—I feel the thrum of adrenaline pumping in my veins.
I’m too enraptured by the Wolves celebrating their try to notice the man approaching from my left.
It isn’t until he is a metre away from me do I turn in his direction.
The second I take in his inky black hair, sharp facial features and that damn slit in his eyebrow, I realise I’m fucked.
So incredibly fucked. It’s like looking a ghost from the past dead in the eyes, only this man isn’t a ghost and is very much real and breathing.
Why is Sinnett, my one-night stand, staring at me with furrowed brows and a clenched jaw?