Page 54 of Unwritten Rules (The Sunburnt Hearts #1)
Chapter Twenty-Seven
SINNETT
I t’s been a long ass fucking day. Getting back into my regular training schedule for the week has been difficult, to say the least. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, and both Coach Phil and Todd warned me as much, but my ego was determined to not let it faze me.
Oh, how I was wrong. So fucking wrong.
Muscles I didn’t know existed in my body ache with each step, and my legs don’t feel attached to my torso.
The heaviness dragging down my limbs is the equivalent of having cement poured into my veins, making it difficult to move.
If it weren’t for the rigorous stretching and cool-down exercises I have to do after each session, I would be as stiff as cardboard.
Despite how exhausted and drained my body feels, I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else with my time.
I have lived and breathed rugby for as long as I can remember.
There hasn’t been a time when a ball wasn’t in my hands or I haven’t been lacing up my boots.
The sport is all I have ever wanted to do, and now that I’ve made it a reality, I never want it to end.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go out tonight?” Khai asks from behind me, rubbing a towel over his freshly washed hair. The Lynx deodorant he has been using since we were twelve years old wafts around my head.
“Do you really think it’s a good idea to go out before the game tomorrow?” I turn away from my open locker space in the change room to face my best friend, his usual goofy smile locked in place.
He shrugs and wraps the towel around his neck. “It’s never stopped me before.”
“I swear to God, if you’re hungover on the bus down to Wollongong tomorrow, I’ll be pissed.”
Khai waves me off with his hand. “I’m not going to be a drunken fool tonight, don’t worry. Two drinks max.”
“You’ve said that every other time you’ve gone out the night before a game. Two drinks turn into five,” I deadpan. “How you’re not dead on the field, I’ll never know.”
Khai grins and flexes his biceps. “I’m just that fucking good, Sin. I can handle my alcohol, unlike some of us.”
Nico walks past with his gym bag slung over his shoulder, and when he catches Khai watching him, he stops mid-stride, a confused expression slipping over his features.
“What’s going on?” he asks, eyes flicking between me and Khai.
“Khai said you can’t handle your drink,” I offer, biting back a smile. “And for once, I have to agree with him. Although, I don’t think he’s any better.”
“Hey!” Khai and Nico protest at the same time, snapping their eyes to me.
I roll my eyes and turn back to my locker.
Clothes litter the small space, along with my water bottle and shaker cup with creatine in it.
Needing to busy myself, I begin shoving everything in my gym bag while Nico and Khai bicker behind me about where they should go for drinks.
With everything packed away, I pull my phone from the pocket of the athletic shorts I threw on after freshening-up in the shower, my fingers hovering over the text conversation with Tatum.
It’s been hard seeing her around this past week during training but not having the opportunity to get her alone.
When we had multiple sessions together throughout the week, it made it easy to steal precious moments with her.
In those times, we didn’t fear anyone catching us because everyone on the staff team, the coaches and the players knew I was booked in with her.
But now that I’m back to my regular training schedule, I only see her when necessary.
God, is it fucking hard.
Whenever I’m not with her, I’m thinking about her. And when we are together, I’m still thinking about her. No matter what I’m doing, Tatum is on my mind, having carved out a space reserved only for her.
We’ve both been busy this week, so we haven’t had a chance to go for our late-night drive. But that changes today.
SIN: Are you free right now?
STRAWBERRY: I’m getting ready to leave for the day. Is everything okay?
SIN: It will be once I see you. Care to go for a drive?
STRAWBERRY: Right now?
SIN: Right now.
STRAWBERRY: Let me get changed first. You’ve seen me in my work uniform far too many times.
SIN: I happen to like the sexy polo look on you.
STRAWBERRY: If that’s the case, then maybe it’s the next shirt we try out.
I drag my bottom lip between my teeth, biting back a grin.
I hadn’t intended on fucking her while she wore my jersey last weekend, but when she said she’s never worn a jersey for a sports team before, I couldn’t help myself.
Besides, she looked fucking beautiful wearing my number.
And I will make sure it’s the only number she ever wears from now on.
SIN: Is it bad that I’m already thinking about you bent over the edge of my bed in nothing but said polo shirt?
STRAWBERRY: Not at all, stud. I’m thinking the same thing.
SIN: Too much, Tate. You’re too much.
STRAWBERRY: See you at your car in ten, stud ;)
My tongue rolls in my cheek as I slip my phone into my pocket.
Glancing over my shoulder, I zone in on Nico and Khai still discussing where they should go for drinks, as if they’re not flushed with options—North Sydney has an array of bars they can go to.
I have no doubt Khai will be on the prowl for someone to fulfil his jinx before the game tomorrow.
“What about The Scary Canary?” Khai asks, folding his arms over his chest. “The music is always banging and the drinks flow like a fountain.”
“Can’t we go someplace closer to home?” Nico whines, hands gripping the edges of the towel slung around his neck. “We have to be back here early to jump on the team bus, so the last thing I want to do tonight is go all the way into the city.”
“But the bars and clubs in the CBD are way better than what we have here,” Khai tries to reason. “Please, Nico? I’ll owe you one.”
Nico’s gaze sweeps to me as if looking for advice on what he should do, especially with Khai giving him puppy eyes like a fucking three-year-old. I simply shrug, not wanting to get involved in whatever it is their plans are.
Seeing no way out of this, Nico relents with a groan. “ Fine , we can go to The Scary Canary. But we need to leave no later than midnight, okay?”
Khai throws his arms around Nico’s neck and forces him to bounce on the spot with him. “You’re the best!”
I chuckle and pat Khai on the shoulder as I pass by. “Well, you two have fun tonight. And don’t wake me up when you come stumbling through the front door, okay?”
Khai wraps his arm around Nico’s neck, pressing his side against him. “My lovely friend here will make sure I get into bed safely. Isn’t that right?”
Nico playfully rolls his eyes. “Yeah, I will.”
“Well don’t get too fucked up,” I remind them both with a pointed look.
“Axel would normally be the one to tell you this, as our captain, but since he’s already gone home for the day, I guess the duty falls to me.
We need to keep our heads, and Illawarra Sharks are sitting just below us on the table, so it’s going to be a tough game. ”
“We’ve got this, Sin,” Khai says with confidence. A confidence I don’t have myself . “With you back on the field, we’re going straight to the finals.”
My lips part, ready to tell him that I can’t be the only one to carry the team, but then decide not to.
I’ve carried the weight of expectation since joining the main roster, and while it can be hard at times to shoulder it, I don’t mind doing it if it means my teammates are filled with a confidence I don’t possess.
The confidence they have in me is overwhelming, and I’m fucking terrified of letting them down, but if it helps them to know I have their backs heading into game day, then I don’t mind carrying that burden.
“Let’s hope so,” I murmur, dropping my hand to my side. “Be safe tonight.”
“You, too,” Khai says, wiggling his brows. “Don’t think for a second that I’m not aware of who you’re going to meet up with.”
“How did you?—”
Khai taps his temple, a grin splitting across his face. “I just know.”
“How is that going, by the way?” Nico flicks his eyes to me. “You and Tatum.”
I hadn’t intended for Nico and Zane to find out about Tatum—well, more than what Khai had already told them over drinks that one time—but if there is anyone I can trust on this team to keep our secret, it’s those guys.
“Good,” I tell him with a nod. “Better than good, actually.”
Nico pumps his brows at me. “Do you like her?”
Khai grins and slings his arm around Nico’s shoulders. “I think our Sinny boy has the fattest crush known to mankind.”
I playfully roll my eyes and head toward the exit, refusing to play into their antics, and because I don’t know how to answer Nico’s question. “I’ll see you guys later.”
Khai and Nico call out their goodbyes to me as I walk through the change room and out into the hallway of the training facility.
My legs drag with each step to my car, but somehow, I feel light and buzz with electricity.
The grip on my gym bag tightens as I step out into the car park, my eyes landing on a head of strawberry-blonde hair leaning against my car.
My breath hitches as my legs falter, taking in her ethereal beauty.
Fucking hell . It’s like finding rays of sunshine on the darkest of days.
Before I met Tatum, I saw the world through a black and white lens, believing I needed structure and drive to achieve my goals.
And now, she has lit my world up with colours I didn’t know existed, and taught me that if I want something bad enough, all I have to do is believe in myself.
Tatum has shifted my way of viewing life and my career in such a short amount of time that it scares me at times, but deep down, I know it’s something I needed, especially after my injury.