Page 72 of Take Her On

“I’ve still got it,” Jamie teased. “Leaving the women breathless.”

Before Maya could say anything, a car door slammed outside, and their heads snapped to look at the window.

Jamie leaned forward. “Your mum’s here.”

Shit.

Maya’s eyes darted around the mess of her bedroom, searching for a place for Jamie to hide. She could try the wardrobe…but it was a little flimsy in its old age. What about under the bed?

Jamie moved apart the curtains, flashing sunlight in Maya’s eyes. She slid the window higher, and a gust of wind blew through the room.

“What are you doing?” Maya hissed.

Keys jangled in the front door, followed by the sound of her mum calling, “Maya!”

“Going out the window,” Jamie said.

“How can you say that so casually?”

She shrugged, the wind caressing her short blonde curls. “It’s not the first bedroom window I’ve snuck out of.” She blew a kiss. “Have a great Christmas, Skip. Get better soon.”

And with that, she was gone, leaving Maya wondering if Jamie had really been in her bedroom or if it was just a fever apparition.

Chapter Twenty-One

Maya

It was no secret to the team that Maya and Jamie had become a lot closer over the past few months, but they still hadn’t come out and told anyone yet. That was probably because of Maya.

Who was she kidding? It was definitely because of Maya.

But when Noodle switched places on the coach so she and Jamie could sit together, it was clear what none of them had said out loud. They knew.

They were on their way to the annual university tournament at Birchwood Manor. Separate from their main university season, it was a nice interim between the Christmas break and the championship resuming, helping to get the team back into shape. The weekend consisted of short twenty-minute matches, a night out celebrating the winner, and an award ceremony the next day. If previous years had taught them anything, it was that the ceremony would be spent mostly trying not to throw up—or trying not to follow in Aiysha’s footsteps and fall off the stage and into the arms of a member of the faculty.

But with Maya continuing to curb alcohol, and Jamie not being a drinker either, this year might be different. It was already different for a plethora of other reasons.

Jamie’s head rested on the glass, her body rocking with the movement of the coach. Despite her claims of having a “superior” immune system, she’d contracted Maya’s sickness and spent the first week of the new year in bed. She’d sworn to Coach she was fit enough to play in the tournament, but Maya had never seen her so quiet.

Nobody wanted to miss this weekend. Millton had a great track record of wins here. As the Harriers weren’t usually involved in the tournament—participation was by invitation only, and apparently there was some drama that had got them banned years ago—it was Jamie’s first time.

The coach pulled up at the front of Birchwood Manor. The gigantic stone building used to be a private boarding school before the owners passed away and their children sold it. It had since been renovated to house residential trips or sports events like this one. The huge wings on either side contained dormitories, and the large gardens had been funded to house two top-of-the-range Astro pitches, as well as various other equipment inside the great hall. Coach checked them in at the desk, and they scurried along the freshly mopped corridor, chattering like excited children.

Noodle and Aiysha linked arms at the front of the group, eager to pick the best beds. Maya always let the others choose what they wanted first. It made no difference to her—they were all the same cheap wooden bases anyway. The main advantage to look for was positioning yourself away from the snorers in the group—Megan and Harriet. At least Coach was in a separate room, although sometimes they could still hear her through the thin white walls.

Inside the cramped room, people dumped their bags on beds, claiming them. When Leah stopped Megan from taking the bunk bed in the corner of the room, casting a glance at Jamie instead, that curious feeling tangled itself in Maya’s gut again.

Did the team mind? Jamie didn’t seem to. She was chatting with some of the others, passing around a bag of Starburst while Leah took song requests for her speaker.

Before Maya could put her bag down, Jamie appeared in her eyeline. Seeing Jamie, looking clean in her black Millton tracksuit, really did things to her.

“Bagsy the top bunk,” Jamie said.

“I prefer being bottom anyway.”

Jamie leaned closer. “That’s not how I remember it.”

“Shut up.” Fire spread to Maya’s cheeks, and she playfully shoved her, focusing on pretending to unpack her bag on the bed. Luckily, Coach stormed in, clapping her hands and demanding everyone follow her outside.