“Okay Dolly Doctor, I’m not convinced your plan will work, but I’ll give it a go.”
Julia sighed. “Whatever would you do without me, Emma?”
#
The tiny bar was overflowing with people that spilled out onto the street and we had to push our way through the well-dressed crowd to get to the bar.
Julia squeezed my hand. “I see him. He’s in the corner over there.” Her eyes were alight with excitement. “Let’s go over…do I look all right?”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course you do. When do you ever look anything less than perfect?”
I followed her over to two guys, trying to figure out which one was the reason we were here to have a drink.
“Leo!”
Ah, the hipster.
“Hey, you made it.” Just the smile he gave her was worth putting my aching feet back in heels to come out.
“Of course! Wouldn’t have missed it.” God, she was adorable. She looked like a kid who’d just been given a puppy for Christmas.
Leo gestured to his friend. “This is my buddy, Nick.”
Julia waved and turned to me, her eyes lighting up. “This is my roommate, Emma.”
We did the rounds of handshakes and then Leo ducked behind the bar to grab us some drinks.
“So I take it we’re in the same boat?” Nick leaned toward me, motioning between us. “Here as back-up just in case these two don’t hit it off?”
I laughed. “Something like that, Although, I don’t think there’ll be any issues with things not going well.”
We watched Leo and Julia, who were already in deep conversation. I swear I even saw her giggle at one point. She certainly hadn’t needed me to come along for moral support, although I was glad I had. It really was too nice a day to be tucked up in bed, and the atmosphere at the bar was contagious.
I studied my new drinking buddy. He was cute, his face open and friendly and his sandy blond mop of hair reminded me of the surfers back home.
“So how do you know Leo?”
“We roomed together at college a few years back, been buddies ever since. We don’t see each other as much as we’d like anymore, but we keep in touch. What about you? How do you know Julia?”
I explained how I’d ended up here in New York. He was just as fascinated as most people were with the faraway land of Australia and asked all the usual questions, trying to determine fact from fiction regarding everything he’d ever heard about the place.
I liked Nick. He was funny, definitely cute—in fact very cute and throughout the course of the afternoon, a quiet chemistry had developed between us, humming just below the surface. Based on this, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when, as we were saying our goodbyes, he asked if I wanted to catch up later that week. It took me a second to respond, annoyingly because an image of Will was the first thing that popped into my mind when he asked. But maybe Julia was right, a distraction might be exactly what I needed and if it was, Nick was the perfect guy for the job.
“Sure, I’d love that.” I smiled and saw the way his shoulders relaxed ever so slightly. We exchanged numbers and agreed to get together Thursday night after work.
I said my farewells to Julia and Leo who looked like they were a long way from finishing up and started making my way back through the streets for home. Even though the early summer sun had set, leaving a chill in the air, there were still plenty of people out enjoying the warmth. I stopped like the tourist I was to take a photo of a blossoming tree that had seemingly hit its peak overnight, still not fully absorbing the fact that I had another eleven months to call New York City my home.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Monday morning the team was still reminiscing about the ball as we all shuffled in for our regular staff meeting. Apparently the after-party had kicked on for a few hours after I’d left.
“Dude, she totally rejected you!”
Frank Hayes, son of club president John Hayes, was currently completing a four-week internship with our team and seemed to consider himself the ultimate ladies’ man but was actually quite the opposite. At this point in time, he was looking somewhat affronted by James’ accusation. “No way man, trust me, she was very into me.”
James scoffed. “Yeah, right. She was about ten seconds away from pouring her drink all over you. What the hell did you say to her?”
Frank leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest with the confidence of someone far older than his twenty-one years. “Never you mind, Jimmy boy. As if I’d share my trade secrets with you.”
My eyes met Carrie’s over the table and I had to cover my mouth to stifle a laugh.
“Ha! I’ve been out with you the last three weekends in a row and already I could write a fucking book about all your pick-up attempts and call it
How To Never Get Laid
. I bet you said her legs were the stairway to heaven or something lame-ass like that.”
Flustered, Frank glared at James. Clearly he’d landed fairly close to the truth. “As if man…only you would say something as ridiculous as that. Besides why are we even talking about my hook-ups when the big story of the night was Jensen and Emma’s little dance-off?”
My head snapped straight to Frank who had the decency to look slightly sheepish at having used me as a deflection.
“Yeah Emma, what gives? That was some random-ass behaviour from Jensen.” James’ attention was now clearly focused on me.
I stared pointedly at him, silently begging him to back off. “Nothing
gives,
James. He just asked me to dance. There’s no more to it.”
James laughed. “Ha! Yeah right. Because I know soooo many guys who just feel like slow dancing in a room full of people watching.”
Well, when he said it like that, it did sound kind of lame, but telling everyone his real motivation definitely wasn’t an option. “I have no idea what he was thinking, but it’s beside the point since I’m not interested anyway.”
Frank rolled his eyes. “Oh please, every women is interested in Jensen. Hell, even I’d dance with him if he asked me.”
“Well I hate to break it to you, but not everyone is falling at his feet. Besides, I’m seeing someone at the moment.”
Before the lie had even finished coming out of my mouth, I was wondering where it had come from. Dana’s voice attracted my gaze to the other end of the table, unfortunately in my boss’ direction. Could this be any more humiliating?
“You are? You never said anything before.”
“Well I’m not technically seeing someone…I just have a date this week is all.” My face fell to the relative safety of my notepad as I felt the color rise in my cheeks. Please,
please
let this conversation hurry up and end. How I’d wound up doing a massive personal life over-share in the middle of a team meeting was beyond me.
Carrie clapped her hands. “Really? That’s so exciting! Where are you going?”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure. We’re just having a drink on Thursday after work.”
Mark interrupted my personal inquisition. “Okay, okay, enough with the weekend shenanigans. Let’s get some actual work done.” The relief on my face must have shown as he gave me a quick smile before he went on.
“Let’s start with the kids’ event this week.” He looked at Dana. “Is everything under control for it?”
“Yep, all in order. I’ve got Jensen, Buck and Randall locked in and coach has cleared us to use the stadium right after practice. Em and I have both been working with the client and James is managing getting all the kids there, so we’re looking pretty good.”
I waited for someone to crack a joke about Jensen and me again, but nothing came. I had to hand it to the team—they liked to mess around but when it came to work, they were fully focused.
“Great.” Mark moved on, working his way through everything that was happening this week. The intense workload gradually sank in for everyone, and by the time we left the meeting, all jokes were gone.
#
Even in the shade I could still feel the heat of the sun searing my skin. The empty stadium was eerily quiet—the calm before the storm. Dana and I waited for the busloads of kids to turn up, which would no doubt be followed by a few hours of mayhem.
Dana had the forethought to stop at a deli and grab some food on the way out, and exhausted from setting up all morning, we collapsed on the sideline to eat. The scent of freshly cut grass wafted by as a light breeze picked up, reminding me of home, where just having a lawn to mow in the midst of summer was cause enough for celebration. I had spoken to my parents only a few days ago and the forecast for rain was all they could talk about. Drought was an ever-present danger to their livelihood, the pressure of sustaining life and growth on a farm always threatened by a lack of rain. I’d lost count of the number of years when I’d stood beside my father in summer, watching as the water in our damns shrank and reduced and all but disappeared, until there was nothing left but a patch of soggy mud.
The sense of responsibility had weighed heavily on him; a family to take care of, thousands of animals depending on him to survive, huge bank loans to repay and customers to satisfy. In all my life I think I could count on one hand the number of times he had taken a day off from working on the property. He was the most selfless man I knew, putting everyone before him and expecting no thanks in return.
Thinking of him both warmed me and flooded me with guilt. Choosing not to return to the farm after graduating had been one of the hardest decisions I’d ever made. My parents were supportive, wanting me to follow whatever path I chose, but deep down I knew it hurt them that I hadn’t wanted to return to the farm, instead deciding to make a life for myself in the city.
The sound of echoing voices came from the tunnel, pulling me from my daydream and I looked over to see the team jogging as one onto the field. There was no padding, helmets or game-day uniforms, but it would have been obvious to anyone watching that they were a team by the way they moved as a united group around the sideline. They progressed through a range of drills in the center of the field, their movements practiced to perfection. Not a ball was dropped or a pass missed, and their sense of self-awareness as a team was evident in the way they communicated with one another. Words barely needed to be spoken, each member of the team just knew what his role was and made sure he did it.
In the middle of all this was Will. He was so obviously their leader in every way, calling the shots with complete control. It was clear that everyone on the team followed his lead without question. I had no doubt in my mind that if Will told them to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge, each player, without fail, would say
No problem Jensen
and do just that. I continued watching him, marvelling at his complete focus, the way he seemed to be aware of every single thing that was happening on the field while still managing to participate in the drills with ease. His commitment to the game and his sense of responsibility to his teammates, the club and all who worshiped them was obvious. I felt like I was seeing another side to the man who already took up far more of my thoughts than he should.
As if reading my mind, Dana sighed beside me. “They can be a pain in the butt at times, but they really are an impressive bunch.”
I nodded, unable to peel my eyes away. “I feel like I’m watching a movie—they’re so perfect.”
Dana laughed. “They really are. You know, every year it can be hard to separate the hype from the genuine feel within the team, but this year there’s definitely a sense that they could go all the way.”
I let her words sink in as we continued to watch them. “Do you love football or could you do this job for any sport?”
She shrugged. “Football and I have sort of a love-hate relationship. My dad coaches college football and my two younger brothers both look like they’re going to get full scholarships next year, so not liking football wasn’t really an option for my mom and me. Sometimes I find the hype can get a bit out of control, but yeah, when it boils down to it, I guess I do love it.”
“Wow, no wonder you always seem to know what you’re talking about. You must think I’m an idiot with half the things that come out of my mouth.”
Dana laughed. “Hardly. If I did what you’ve done and went to work in another system, I’d be just as lost. You’ll pick it up much faster once the season starts.” She bumped my elbow with hers and finally looked at me. “And if you’re not in awe of Jensen yet, you will be when you see him playing for real.”
I glared at her. “If that was supposed to be a less than subtle dig, you can forget it. I’m not in
awe
of Will.”
Dana laughed and threw her arm over my shoulder. “Calm down lady, I’m just teasing.”
I reluctantly smiled. “Well don’t. I’ve had enough with the teasing for one week.” I shook my head. “Bloody Will and his dancing.”
“Oh don’t worry, he’ll back off. He just thinks you’re playing hard to get. All men love a chase.”
“Ha! Only I’m not playing hard to get…I’m just not going to go there.”
“You sure about that?”
I glared at her again. “
Of course
I’m sure.”
“Well good.” Dana nodded. “Because I’ve seen what can happen when things get messy and it’s not pretty.”
“Really? Not pretty how?”
“Never mind. All I’ll say is if things went bad and it started impacting Jensen or the team…” Dana shrugged. “Well, unless you’ve been hiding an awesome throwing arm, I think you’d find yourself on the next plane back home.”
Dana’s phone vibrated between us. “It’s James. They’re five minutes away. Looks like it’s show time.”
We both clambered ungracefully off the ground. It was going to be a long afternoon.
Only minutes later, five hundred children exploded onto the field like they’d each had two liters of red cordial and for the next hour we all laughed our heads off watching them have the time of their lives. When Will, Buck and Randall returned to the field to meet them—even though I didn’t think it was possible—the noise level went up another notch as they went wild with excitement.