Page 13 of Forbid It

5

ROBBIE

As soon as I found myself standing next to the girl I haven’t stopped thinking about and her father, I created a plan. A very clear, very good plan. As soon as I next saw Cassie at an event or a game or a party, I would calmly take her to one side and let her know that it’s for the best that we pretend we’ve only just met.

But instead, I pulled her into a closet and nearly lost my goddamn mind.

She looked up at me with fiery green eyes and a flare of that delicious temper, and I almost dropped to my knees at her feet. I was about to, until she pushed me back with blood red fingertips and left me in the closet alone.

I had to hide in there for a good few minutes before my erection managed to fade, and I spent most of that time reminding myself why doing anything like that again would be catastrophic. Cassie is definitely, a thousand percent, off limits. If anyone found out, I’d be off the team, surely, and then where would I be? My old team certainly didn’t want me, and I doubt any other teams would be enthusiastic about signing me after a scandal like the one that would inevitably unfold if I was caught sleeping with the team owner’s daughter.

The thought of my poor mother having to learn about a veritable sex scandal on the evening sports news was more than enough to kill any remaining arousal in my body.

As soon as I stumbled out of the closet, Dennis spotted me, and I had to pretend I’d gotten lost on the way to the locker rooms. By the next practice, he’d handed me a laminated map of the arena and the surrounding area. Dennis reminded me so much of my nephew, Sammy, in that moment that I’ve flashed the card every time I’ve seen him at practice in the last two weeks, despite the ribbing I’ve received from my teammates.

Apart from Dennis, the only other guy here that I’ve spoken to about anything other than football is our Captain, Santi, but that’s mainly because the guy doesn’t shut up.

“This is Maria at her friend’s birthday party,” Santi croons. “Look how cute her little dress is.”

I offer him a genuine smile at the picture of his toddler, dressed in a frilly pink dress and a wide smile as she’s held by Santi’s wife. They’ve been together since they were fourteen, and from what the guy tells me, are as much in love now as they were fifteen years ago.

“Where is Carmen?” I take a sip of the water in my hands and glance around the packed field. The training ground has been transformed into a luxury afternoon garden party for a ‘Friends and Family Gathering’. High top tables are dotted across the centre circle and pop up bar has been erected in the home penalty box. It’s more than strange to stand on the pitch with my dress shoes, and I worry about the women’s heels damaging the grass, but Hamilton demanded it be hosted here, regardless of the protests of management and the groundskeepers who are definitely going to have to re-turf. “I thought tonight would be the night I put a face to the many, many pictures,” I tell Santi dryly.

Santi laughs as he tucks his phone back in his pocket. “Nah, she deserved a night off. Hamilton is hosting so many of these things that it’s basically our entire social calendar for the year. The only one she actually wants to go to is the charity fundraiser.”

“At least she can get out of it,” I mutter.

“Hear hear.”

I’ve gathered from my teammates, and from the many, many invitations I’ve received in the month I’ve been here, that Hamilton loves any excuse for a party. I can’t decide if it’s to enforce team bonding or just because he likes the opportunity for a piss up.

Santi nudges me and nods his head towards the camera crew heading our way. That’s the other side of Hamilton’s multiple step plan for publicity this season. A short social media documentary charting his second season as owner and my first as the Premier League transplant guaranteed to ‘win us the cup’.

I feel my knee twinge as I turn my back on the camera, downing the rest of my drink so it can’t document the look on my face.

“When will they have enough content, do you think?” Santi asks around a wide smile, his eyes not quite crinkled enough to be genuine.

“At this rate, they’ll only stop when we Truman Show our way out,” I reply with an equally wide smile. Inside, I’m hoping that we look just manic enough to freak out the four man camera team that’s been following the team around all day.

When Hamilton initially pitched promotional footage for social media, I put my foot firmly to the floor, even getting Lucas involved before I signed on the dotted line. I’m going to be in the background, but absolutely no on-camera interviews or–God forbid–the camera following me anywhere. Hamilton made a big deal out of it, but at this stage, I’ve got more cards than he has so he scaled back the day’s filming to just observational content. Still, one camera is one too many in my opinion.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see the lens pointed in my direction until a commotion by the front door changes their course.

There’s only one person that can cause that much attention by just walking in.

I take a sip of my water and turn my back, desperately praying that she’ll ignore me like she should do but it’s no use. I can hear her footsteps on the grass behind me and swear I can smell a faint scent of berry shampoo.

“Afternoon,” her sultry voice says from behind and my eyes close. It wouldn’t be so bad if my cock didn’t rise to attention at any words that fall from her lips. Incorrigible bastard.

I try to communicate to Santi through osmosis that I want nothing to do with this conversation, but he sadly hasn’t developed the ability to read my mind this early in our friendship.

“Hey Cassie,” the traitor says from behind me. “Do you know King?” He claps his hand on my shoulder and I turn, my eyes glued to my feet.

“We’ve met,” Cassie drawls.

Thank god for my sunglasses so she doesn’t see my eyes as they slowly drag across her body. She’s wearing a jade green bodysuit full of complicated looking straps and molded tight to her figure. I don’t have to look to know every man here is taking an eye-full and I have to tamp down on the rush of unreasonable jealousy.

“You alright?” I nod once, taking a final sip of my water, intending to use it as an opportunity to get the fuck out of here.