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And when Kulti turned around with the most smug triumphant smile I would probably ever see, and that was saying something considering I’d played against some pretty egotistical people, it pleased me. It went straight into my sternum because it was so…him.It wasn’t the blank indifferent man I’d seen so many times over the course of the last month.
“One-zero, Taco,” he said like I was an idiot and had no idea what the score was.
Just like that, that pleased feeling in my chest that had appreciated the joy of his brief triumph disappeared.
Had he…?
“Taco? Really?” I wanted to laugh, as demeaning as the nickname was, but I’d kind of asked for it, hadn’t I?
He shrugged in acknowledgment.
I waved him on. “All right, pumpernickel. Come on, six more to go.”
Yeah, we only made it to four-three, and even then it was a miracle we hadn’t keeled over.
“You look like you could use a break.” How the hell I managed to get that out in one sentence, I had no idea. I was wheezing. He was wheezing. When the hell was the last time I’d breathed like that? Never?
Kulti was soaked in sweat, and on top of that, his face was a little pale. “I’m fine.”
Fine? He looked like he wanted to puke. I’d also noticed that his right quad was pulsing. Why I noticed that, why I’d even looked down there, I had no idea. But I wasn’t going to think about it either.
“Positive?” I stuck my tongue as far out of my mouth as I could and took a deep breath to calm down. Ugly, but it worked, and my lungs thanked me for it.
He rolled his eyes but kept struggling to catch his breath. Jeez. Were we really playing that roughly? “Unless… you want to.”
I did. I did want to. I had no idea how I was going to push a lawnmower even if it was self-propelled. This was too much, and I’d been stupid for putting myself through it. But fuck if I was going to admit it. “I do if you do.”
His cheeks were puffing full and empty, reminding me of a frog. “You’re… losing. I don’t care.”
I was losing and that sucked, but later on, I could pat myself on the back for hanging in there as long as I had. So I shrugged at him.
He lifted his eyebrows in return but didn’t agree to anything.
“You choose.”Please say yes. Please say yes.
Kulti took a deep inhale through his nose. “You look like you’re about to pass out,” he noted.
Asshole.
I was losing and, apparently, I looked like I was going to pass out. Please, compliment me more.
I hoped his knee was sore later.
“I don’t think you should overdo it either.” I smiled, biting back my words. “Since you haven’t played forever and all.”
His started chewing on the inside of his cheek from the way his facial muscles moved.
It’s the little victories in life that really mattered. Sticking my tongue out once again and sucking in another ragged breath, I calmed down a little more. My head was gently throbbing from how exerted I was, and I reached up to rub at my temples.
The German slowly hunched over until his palms rested just above his knees and took deep breaths. His eyes were on the grass before slowly moving them up. His shirt was plastered to his shoulders and his biceps, his hair matted down to his scalp.
Neither one of us said anything for a while.
Squeezing my eyes closed, I bent over to do a quick stretch of my hamstrings, then my quads and finally my calves. When I straightened, I shook out my shoulders and watched as my coach straightened up and began to stretch. All those long, lean muscles…
I cleared my throat and looked at the sky. No need to make this awkward or give him a reason to rub his stupid win in my face. Would he do it? Yeah, he would. It was time for me to get the hell out of there and feed the goblin in my stomach.
“Well I’m leaving now. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
