Page 75 of Take Her On

Aiysha skied the ball over the crossbar, and shortly after, the final whistle blew, finishing the game at 1-0.

* * *

“You can still go out,” Jamie said with a sigh. “You don’t have to stay with me.”

“I don’t want to go out.”

“But what about the team?” Jamie folded her fingers over the pillow in her lap. “You’re the captain…I feel bad for you missing out.”

“The team will have more fun without me policing them all night. And I want to be here, Jamie.” Maya waited until she glanced up to meet her gaze, then smiled. “Besides, I’d never pass up an opportunity to wait on you hand and foot.”

The corners of Jamie’s mouth curled, and she returned her attention to her hands. The team had swapped the beds around, letting Jamie take the single bed with the most room and then completely surrounding her with pillows, like a white marshmallow fort. Her ankle stretched out in front of her, red and swollen. The ice seemed to be helping her pain—but not her sadness. Her little miserable pout was hard to bear.

It was a suspected grade one sprain. The physio said she’d be out for at least three weeks, which, while not ideal, was the best-case scenario. The swelling suggested trauma in her ligaments, but with enough rest, Jamie could recover in time for the first Harriers game in a month. It was a mighty ask, but Maya didn’t want to rule her out just yet and dampen her spirits even more.

No. She needed to cheer her up.

The team had gone on a commiseration bender around the local clubs and wouldn’t be back for hours. Maya couldn’t see Coach bothering them either—too busy Facetiming her family or playing competitive Tetris on her phone. They had this space all to themselves. Maya knew what she’d usually do with this free time…but with Jamie’s injury, that probably wasn’t the best idea.

What would cheer her up?

Like an arrow firing into her brain, an idea came to her. It might still be a bit tricky with Jamie’s ankle, but it was worth a shot. She double-checked the door was locked, then picked up Leah’s pink speaker and connected her phone with a beep.

“What are you doing?” Jamie asked.

She pulled out a chair from the dressing table and placed it in the middle of the room, giving the other girls’ mess a wide berth. If this were to work, she needed space.

“Think you can sit here for me?” she asked.

Jamie’s eyebrow quirked. “Yeah. Probably. But why?”

Maya helped her up and guided her to the rickety wooden chair in the centre of the room. She could see the cogs turning behind Jamie’s eyes, her inquisitive nature definitely roused.

Jamie said once that she thought Maya was an awkward dancer. She wanted to make her eat her words and then some.

And, uh, cheer her up. Yeah. That, too.

She scrolled through her music, finding the perfect song, and hit play. Sultry seductive notes sounded from the speaker, along with a solid beat that rivalled that in her own chest. She tossed the phone on her bed and faced away. With a flick of the switches, the light in the room reduced, leaving Jamie a silhouette, and her attention on Maya.

“What’s going on?” Jamie asked.

Time to get into character.

She pushed herself back into the wall and gave her the eye. “You wanted to see me dance, didn’t you?”

The realisation slowly dawned on Jamie’s face, and she swallowed.

Show time.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Jamie

“Are you…serious?” Jamie’s words trailed off. Her eyes followed the snake of Maya’s hips as they swished side to side. She stalked towards her, slowly, accentuating each movement, and Jamie didn’t know where to focus. Maya’s eyes had taken on a new shade. Darker, mischievous—Jamie liked it a lot.

Maya bent over and grabbed her chin. “No talking, unless spoken to. This is my show. And my rules. You got it?”

Jamie smiled in her grip but nodded profusely, her stomach doing flip-flops. She loved it when Maya took control like this.