Page 11 of Take Her On

Zeek nudged her with his foot. “What about you? Good summer?”

Jamie Mellor’s smug face jumped into her mind. She blinked it away. “It was fine, thanks.”

“Fine?” Carly leaned over to steal another chip from Zeek’s plate. “I thought you were bedridden with sadness from me leaving.” She laughed.

“Yeah, you wish.” It was easy to bat away the comment, even if it did strike a little close to home. Maya took a swig of her water, catching Carly’s eye. There was a hint of something there. She could swear it wasn’t just in her head; she’d been blessed with gaydar, after all.

“Well, if any of you scroungers care, I am still single and alone, and looking for Mr Right.” Zeek chewed, waiting until he’d swallowed before continuing, “There are no decent guys in this place.”

“Tell me about it,” Carly said.

Maya tried to ignore the way her throat tightened at the thought of seeing Carly with someone. Every time the subject of dating was mentioned, she wanted to throw herself headfirst into the large industrial bins out back.

Zeek and Carly laughed at something, and she joined in a second too late, her mind preoccupied with scenarios in which Carly was getting wed to a handsome six-foot basketball player, while she watched from the aisle in tears. She pushed those ridiculous thoughts away, and her eyes drifted over the cafeteria, needing distraction. A group of guys shrieked with laughter, gathered around a video on one of their phones.

She skipped past them and spotted Jamie sitting at the back of the hall with her headphones in. She was bobbing her head to the music, eyes pinned to her phone screen. Maya wondered how her first day was going. A part of her felt guilty seeing her sitting alone.

It’s not your problem, Maya.

And yet, her eyes found themselves gravitating back towards her, lingering for a moment too long.

* * *

Maya knew Jamie would show up to football practice, so when she sauntered into the changing room at the end of the day, she was prepared. What she wasn’t prepared for was Jamie taking the seat next to her on the bench.

“Hey.” She dumped her grey backpack by her feet, whistling a tune.

“Hello.” Maya tried to mirror the same nonchalance, but the sound she made resembled more of a grunt.

“You seem to be in another delightful mood.”

Maya’s gaze bounced up to hers, to find Jamie smirking. “I wasn’t aware I needed to pander to your presence.”

“You don’t. But I thought we were friends?”

“We’re not friends.”

Jamie grinned. “Well, I’d at least expect a warm welcome from the captain.”

The mention made Maya narrow her eyes, but she was determined not to let Jamie get to her. She’d have to do better than that to rattle her.

The only other people in the changing room were two girls from the year below. They were chatting among themselves, unaware of the potential disaster about to unfold.

Maya eased out of her shoes and unpacked her training kit, placing her top and shorts in a neat pile. She felt Jamie watching her, and then she actually started to whistle to herself again.

Who actually whistles? Could she get any more annoying?

“Can you stop whistling?” Maya huffed.

Jamie finished the end of her tune and laughed.

The sound made something inside Maya’s chest pull taut, threatening to break. “And why are you here?” she asked. “There are plenty of other places for you to get changed.”

“Relax, Maya. What is your problem, anyway?” Jamie stood and began unbuttoning her jeans, and she looked away. “You should be happy.”

Happy? Maya bit her tongue, then let out a short sigh. Truthfully, she was in her head about lunch with Carly. The day hadn’t quite lived up to her expectations, and something felt strange. Taking her frustrations out on Jamie was easier than dealing with that. Remembering Jamie’s odd reaction at the dinner table, she eyed her.

“I’m just confused…about why you’re here.” She shrugged off her own top, replacing it with the white one from her pile.