Page 80 of Take Her On

Every mention of that particular game put Jamie in a strange mood, so Maya had stopped bringing it up.

“You heard back from any jobs yet?” Jamie asked.

Maya had finally bitten the bullet and applied for a handful of graduate jobs—with some pushing from Jamie and Coach. Coach put in some references for a couple of assistant strength and conditioning positions, one at the Millton City women’s football team and one at the men’s. Maya had never been very good at talking up her strengths for this sort of thing, but Hannah had helped her with her application—Jamie, too.

“I haven’t heard anything yet, but it’s only been a couple of weeks.” She didn’t want to get too ahead of herself. If her placement year was anything to go by, the positions were limited and the applications overwhelming. The chances of her getting in were about the same as her mother packing in her job to become a goalkeeper. She’d most likely graduate with nothing lined up, and that made her feel more than a little nauseous.

Thinking about the future made her head spin. There was too much to consider, so she quickly changed the conversation. “You got any plans for tonight?”

Jamie flicked the ball by her feet into the air and caught it, tucking it under her arm. “The Morley twins are out at their craft club tonight, so…I have my place to myself.”

“Mmm, is that so? Sounds like there’s a question in there somewhere.”

One side of Jamie’s mouth lifted in a cheeky smile. “I guess that does mean we could be as loud as we wanted and not have to worry.”

“I do get loud when I play Mario Kart, that’s true.”

She could feel Jamie’s gaze on her but tried to keep a straight face.

“Mario Kart? Is that some sort of euphemism?”

“I don’t know. You tell me, Miss English Lit.”

They pushed through the doors into the corridor, immediately feeling the benefits of the overhead heating.

Jamie shook her head. “I dunno. Maybe if we talk about getting…serviced…at a pit stop?” She burst out laughing. “It’s not exactly the sexiest dirty talk I’ve had, though.”

“Something about oil, maybe?”

Jamie slid her hand around Maya’s waist and pressed her up against the wall with a thud. She bit back a gasp, grasping at Jamie’s T-shirt with her fingers.

“No,” Jamie whispered. “I know you like it when I’m a bit more direct about things.” She kissed Maya hard, her lips bruising as she pushed her further into the wall. Jamie’s knee lifted between her legs, and she couldn’t stop the groan from leaving her mouth.

Jamie pulled back, breaking the kiss, and leaned closer to her ear. The pressure between Maya’s legs kept her pinned in place. “So how about we go back to mine, and I can put my new strap to some good use? You know I’ve been desperate to use it on you ever since it arrived.”

“Will you be alright…with your injury and everything?”

“It’s just my ankle. All the important parts still work.”

Maya gulped, feeling herself pulse. “Yep. Come on. Let’s go do that.”

“That’s what I thought.”

Fuck. Yes, please.

“Next time you should bring it to practice,” Maya teased, looking into Jamie’s blue eyes and catching the curious glint there. “We’ve got the changing rooms all to ourselves now. Think of how loud we could be…”

“An emergency strap?” Jamie grinned. “I like it.”

She kissed Maya again, pushing her through the swinging door and into the changing room. The dim light cast eerie shadows, and a shiver ran down her spine. Something soft and unfamiliar brushed against the top of her head, and she stopped dead in her tracks. The lights flickered on, revealing a chaotic scene. Toilet paper covered every surface, dipping in big sunken arches from the ceiling.

“What the fuck?” Maya’s adrenaline quickly turned to anger. She tore at the paper with her hands, the flimsy material ripping easily and cascading to the floor. She spotted something on the mirror and pulled at the mess, making a pathway to see what it was.

A message scrawled in red lipstick.

This is to help clean up your shit excuse of a team. Shame there’s not enough for Jamie too. Some stains can’t be removed.

A cold shudder ran up Maya’s neck. The fucking Harriers. It had to be. How did they get in? And what was this Stephen King mirror-writing bullshit?