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I turn to see what has her knickers in a twist. That’s when I see the girls we saw earlier move closer, all of them staring at CJ and Cole with dreamy expressions. One even goes as far as to lick her lips. I roll my eyes.
“None of them are you, Cupcake. I only want to hear one voice when I’m out there.” He grins and moves so quick to kiss Allie on the cheek, she doesn’t have a chance to move out of the way.
“Go get smashed to pieces,” she snaps, her tone holding no conviction. Even her cheeks have reddened, and it’s not from the cold. It makes me giggle, until I see her glare aimed in my direction. I turn my attention back to Cole, who’s staring at me with an intense expression, causing me to smile shyly.
“See ya.” CJ waves, grinning, and slaps Cole on the back as he runs back onto the field. Cole takes one more look at me as he jogs a few steps backwards, before turning and running full throttle onto the field. He catches up with CJ and the others in seconds.
“Woah,” is all I manage to get out after a few seconds of non-stop gaping.
“You can say that again,” Allie breathes dreamily, and I grin, shaking Cole from my thoughts.
“You like him, huh?”
“Who?” she asks, not meeting my gaze, but I know she knows who I’m on about.
“CJ.You like him,” I sing.
“I do not,” she argues, nudging me with her shoulder. “And what about you with Cole? Every time he’s around, you both go all googly-eyed at each other.”
“No, we don’t.” I scoff, denying her admission.
“You so do,” she retorts, meeting my gaze. “It’s so cute. I’ve never seen you look at anyone like you look at Cole. Even the first day we arrived here, I noticed you looked at him differently. You really like him.”
My mind mulls that over. I can’t say I don’t have an undeniable attraction towards Cole because I do. Do I have feelings for him? I guess, but that could just be because of everything he’s done for me. With everything that has happened, I can’t trust my feelings or judgement, no matter how much I trust Cole or care for him. The fact I’m also damaged, still getting over my attack, doesn’t help. I can never start anything up with him, not now anyway. Everything is too raw.
I gulp, feeling my throat begin to tighten. “It’s not like anything can happen. I’m damaged goods,” I rasp.
“No, you’re not. Don’t ever say that again, Willow. I mean it. You’re anything but damaged goods and Cole knows that. I understand you not wanting to start up anything after everything that has happened, but it doesn’t mean you need to stop your life completely. Be friends, get to know each other, because if I know Cole as well as I think I do, he will wait as long as it takes. I’ve seen the way he looks at you, and I believe he’d move Heaven and Earth to protect you.”
“Can we not talk about this here?” I ask, feeling self-conscious over everything she’s said. I can’t lie and say I’ve not thought about being with Cole because I have, more than once. But at the moment, I don’t know where my head is at, and until everything with Logan has been sorted out, I don’t think I’ll be able to move forward with my life.
“Sure. Just think about what I said,” she orders gently, glancing back to the field.
“I will,” I agree, my eyes drifting to the game, my mind still lost in thought.
*** *** ***
Allie and I make our way back to the car. We waited on the field for Cole and CJ for as long as possible. They went to shower off the mud and sweat, but when it began to rain harder and started to hail, we decided to wait in the car until they had finished.
Rugby is brutal. It didn’t feel like I was watching a sport but a fight. They didn’t hold back. “They’re definitely going to have bruises,” I announce. “Did you see CJ get tackled to the ground?”
“I know. The hit Cole took worried me. I didn’t think anyone could knock the beast off his feet,” she tells me, something I already know.
I wince at the memory, hoping he’s okay. He got back up and carried on playing, but when it comes to an athlete, that means shit.
“He’s got to have a broken rib or two.” I shiver. “I can’t believe he got straight back up and played.”
“It’s not football. If they get tackled or they trip over, they lie on the floor for ten minutes pretending they’ve just been hit with Thor’s hammer. I guess in rugby, they have to fight through the pain so they don’t look like incapable pussies.”
“True. It’s why I’ve never been a fan of sports. When I was younger, Mum made me watch it. I remember thinking ‘get up, you big baby. I’ve had bigger boo-boos than you’,” I reveal. After I kept complaining, Mum said I could do my own thing and never forced me to watch it again. I’ve been thankful ever since.
“Remember when it was the World Cup and your mum tried talking me into watching a game with her?” Allie asks.
“Yeah. How did you manage to get out of that?” I question, remembering the time Mum won tickets to watch the game live at Studio Bar, one of the highest priced bars in our area.
“I didn’t need to do anything but read the conditions. You had to be eighteen or over,” Allie admits.
“Look who it is,” a voice snarls, and immediately, my vision begins to cloud over, and my breathing becomes laboured.
