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She places our plates down on the breakfast bar and sits opposite me to eat.
“Do you have siblings?” I ask, and she shakes her head.
“I’m an only child. I have a lot of cousins though.”
“Are you close to them?” I ask, and her eyes cloud over for a brief second before she speaks.
“Not really. How do I put it?” She pauses to think. “I’m the black sheep of the family. Unmarried and childless. Gets drunk at family engagements. Huge disappointment and disgrace to the family name.”
“You’re twenty-six, you’ve got plenty of time to get married and have kids… you know, if that’s what you want.”
“Yes. Exactly! I mean, it is something I want one day but maternity rights in football aren’t great and so something like that would need to be a strategic choice to get pregnant. Andbesides that, I’ve never been with a man I’ve wanted to marry, anyway... So, until then, it’s pointless thinking about it.”
Her statement is matter of fact, as though she had the response on the tip of her tongue. Jealousy rears its ugly head at her statement. I really don’t want to think about her being with other men. Especially since the past two weeks, or maybe even more, all I’ve thought about is Natasha being with me.
I knew I was attracted to her even when she didn’t like me, but now flirting with her has become a professional sport.
“You’re at the height of your career though, your parents must be proud of you.”
She lets out a bitter laugh. “They were proud of me when I got my law degree, and then the very next day, I was offered a professional contract playing football at Wearside and took that instead of joining the family business.” She looks down at her plate, no longer eating but pushing her food around. “Before then, they tolerated me playing because it was considered a hobby. I think they felt like I was choosing football over them, when really, I was choosing to do something I love instead of working in a job I know I would have hated.”
“I’m sorry.”
She shrugs. “They’ve never seen me play, even when I was a kid. My Grandma would take me to training and matches.” The sadness in her voice kills me and the urge to protect her from the pain overwhelms me.
“They’re missing out.” I take her hand and squeeze it revelling in the fact that she doesn’t shy away from my physical contact.
“How do you know? You’ve never seen me play. I could be shit.”
“There’s this website called YouTube. You type words in the search box and up pops loads of videos.”
“You YouTubed me?” she asks with a laugh.
“I did, and Ireallyliked what I saw.”
The blush I’m obsessed with stains her cheeks a light shade of pink.
“Well, you’re in for a treat tonight then, with you there, I’ll do my best to put on the performance of a lifetime,” she says seductively before returning to her food with a smirk.
“I look forward to it.”
Chapter Eleven
Luke
All those hours spent on YouTube didn’t prepare me for what it would be like to watch Natasha play in real life. She’s so focused and in control that I watch her constantly instead of the rest of the game. I even miss a Wearside goal because my attention is fixed on her.
I’m taken aback by the confidence she exudes on the pitch when at other times she can be so consumed by her own self-doubt.
“She’s really talented,” I say to Bridget, sitting next to me in the stand, without peeling my eyes away from the girl who’sdominated my every waking thought since I met her, even more so after today.
Spending time with her alone and away from the club today felt intimate, almost like a date. Our conversation flowed easily, we laughed together and joked.
We talked about her career and mine and where we saw ourselves going in the future. I know it’s not easy for her to open up to people, so the fact she’s slowly letting me into her life makes me wonder if she feels this connection between us too.
After we’d eaten breakfast, we headed next door so I could show her how to play the ‘zombie game’ she hates so much. I guess she doesn’t hate it so much anymore because it was hard to tear her away from it in the end and in that moment, I decided to stop shielding myself from my life. After all, if I want her, this is a package deal.
“Close the gaps, Lasses!” Her voice drifts through the air as she gives instructions to her defenders using exaggerated hand movements. I can’t look away.
