“I’d like tae volunteer to rub that arse. Ye know, just in case it’s sore, yeah?”
“Go!” I say, pointing out to the pitch. I can hear him laughing all the way back to his spot.
The next time Alex brings the ball down, he’s changed to the right wing position, passing the ball to the forward. The game stays fairly even score-wise. I can see the concentration radiating from the young college players. I’ve also noticed the crowd slowly growing to watch the game in the stands.
He is quite the showman for the crowd working through the pitch, constantly keeping the defense confused with his footwork before either passing the ball or whizzing it at me. I hold my own for the most part, but his skill level far surpasses mine, so he manages to get several shots past me.
By the end of the hour, I’m exhausted, even subbing out several times with the other goalies.
I sigh in relief when Alex calls the game. Sliding down against the outside of the goal, I watch as everyone slaps hands before leaving for the night. Lily hobbles over, pulling me off the ground.
“You wouldn’t think a couple of years of not playing competitively would kick my ass so completely,” she says as we walk toward her car. “I’ll make sure to wear my knee brace tomorrow.” I wave goodbye as she drives off, turning toward my campus apartment.
“Claire, wait up.” I hear Alex jogging toward me. Stopping, I turn to see what he could possibly want now. Is it not enough that he has rendered me a complete mess today? He slows to a stop, his smile disappearing. “I just wanted tae see if ye would like tae go for dinner with us. We tried tae catch Lily, but she left before we could ask her.”
“Lily has a boyfriend waiting for her at home.” His eyebrows furrow in the middle.
“Dae ye have a boyfriend waiting on ye? Fuck, Claire! Ye said ye dinnae have one when we…” he trails off when I look at him shocked.
“How big of a slut do you think I am?” I keep from yelling at him only because there are other students still leaving campus.
“Naw! That’s not whit I meant at all.” Alex reaches out, putting a hand on my folded forearm before jerking it back like I’m on fire. “I thought maybe ye met someone after. Christ, Claire!” He stands in indecision for a minute before adding, “I’m just gaun to go before I say anything else stupid.”
He turns to walk back to their car where Tim is leaning, watching the whole drama unfold between us with a smile on his face.
“I might, Alex or Xander or whoever the hell you are,” I say to his back as he slinks off. “If you were easier to forget, I might just have a boyfriend by now.” He stops, turning back to me. I watch a grin spread across his face before I continue walking toward my apartment.
“Ye’re pretty hard to forget too, Claire. And it’s Alex!” he yells at my back. I can’t help but smile to myself. What am I doing? I don’t do long-distance relationships, especially with someone who has women throwing themselves at his feet on a daily basis. No, I need to cut this off before it goes any further.
I vow to stop thinking about it as I let myself into my apartment. He’ll be gone in three days and that will be the end of it. The problem is, I wasn’t lying. He is hard to forget.
The next morning starts out very similar to the first one. When Lily and I walk to the pitch, they are already warming up. Alex continually harasses Tim until he’s had enough, whipping the ball straight at Alex. Hitting him squarely in the balls, we watch as Alex goes down onto the grass.
“Fucking dobber,” we hear him say with a groan as we jog over. “With any luck, I’ll need these before the end of the week.”
Lily folds her arms over her chest, looking down at him. “I suggest you think very carefully before adding anything else to that statement,” she says with a growl.
“Please, Tim. Save me,” he groans when he looks up at us.
“You’re on your own this time, buddy. You’d better go ice those things before everyone shows up.” Tim walks off. After one last glare, Lily follows him to start setting up. I plop down next to Alex in the grass.
“Do you want me to go get you some ice?” I ask as he rolls into a sitting position.
“Naw, it’s naw the first time. They’re tougher than ye think. I dinnae mean whit I said.” he says looking out at the pitch. “Aboot my balls,” he mumbles, not meeting my eyes. So, the famous Xander Ross has a shy side?
“Did you not really mean what you said or did you just not mean to get caught saying it? Are we talking about your balls being tough or how you plan to use them?” I ask. A grin spreads across his face as he shakes his head. “Never mind, I’m just teasing you,” I add, using his shoulder to leverage myself off the ground.
Stepping in front of him, I hold out my hand. When he takes it, I pull him off the ground. Reaching out, he tucks a stray lock of hair behind my ear.
“Ye know I was right.” I don’t understand what he’s talking about, so I cock my head to the side looking at him. Hopefully we're not back to discussing his balls. I might self-combust if that conversation continues.
His smile spreads even farther. “I knew from the minute I saw ye walk past the pitch at Thanksgiving ye were worth getting tae know better. Dinnae think for even one second that I regret whit happened in that library. My only regret was having tae leave.”
At my look of shock, he laughs, jogging past me to start the morning camp. I can only spin to stare at him as the redness works its way up my face.
“Oh Jesus, what has he said to you now?” Tim asks, walking up next to me. “I don’t know what has gotten into him. I swear, he is the nicest guy you could ever meet. But, when he gets near you, he just loses his fucking mind. You know I’d pay to see you slap that stupid grin off of his face.” He pats me on the shoulder before heading over to join his teammate.
“You want me to have Colin come work him over? He will, you know, he hasn’t punched anyone in a while so he’s about due.” Lily has slid up next to me.
