This was a bad idea.
A very bad idea.
Not that it was going to stop me though. Some days I wondered how I was so stupid.
Finding a parking spot two blocks away, I reversed in, shrugged on my jacket, and collected the coffees before heading towards the noise. The sound of kids’ laughter, parents’ encouraging words, and whistles blowing had me smiling from ear to ear remembering the days when I was just like them.
Crossing the road, I ducked between cars and stepped up onto the grass, careful not to slip. The last thing I needed this morning was to be caught on camera slipping arse over head on the wet grass and ending up wearing my coffee.
When I made it to the edge of the field, I tried to spot Elise. I had no idea where she was or what she was wearing. Taking a sip of my own coffee, I started down the edge of one of the fields hoping to find her. Or at least someone who’d be able to point me in her direction.
Passing a game of netball that seemed awfully rough for a non-contact sport, I watched on silently as one of the parents tore strips off their kid for fumbling a pass. It was disgusting. The poor girl hung her head and stumbled over her own two feet as her mother reamed her out for being clumsy and costing her side a goal.
I wanted to walk by and stay silent.
I should’ve walked by and stayed silent.
Damn it!
I couldn’t.
I just couldn’t do it. This was why kids gave up sports and ended up hiding in their rooms, too afraid to make a mistake. So what? She missed a pass. Everyone did it. She didn’t need to be torn to shreds in front of her friends for it.
“You’re doing great, wing attack,” I called out, forcing myself to sound cheery.
That shut her mother up quickly and earned me the stink eye, not that I gave a shit.
“Good call,” one of the other parents offered, giving me a small nod.
Within seconds, all the parents, except for the disappointed bitch, were all calling out messages of encouragement, and although it took a minute, slowly but surely smiles spread across the kids’ faces.
Not wanting to steal the attention, I slipped away trying to keep my head down. I passed a game of touch football, more netball, then found the one game I actually understood. Standing at the corner of the field, I watched as the kids dribbled the ball and passed it between them, and I have to say, I was impressed. Some of them were good.Reallygood. Better than I was at their age, that’s for sure.
When an errant shot at goal headed in my direction, my reflexes kicked in before my brain, and I let it bounce off my chest before landing it at my feet and bringing it to a stop. It wasn’t until I heard the audible gasps around me that I realised what I’d just done. Making a spectacle of myself was definitely not on my priority list of things I’d intended to do today. But me, being the idiot I was, had done just that.
When I kicked the ball back to the kid who was headed in my direction, he cracked a wide smile, showing off his crooked teeth.
“You’re Luca Conti,” he exclaimed loud enough that it couldn’t be missed.
“Yep, I am,” I replied. It wasn’t like I could deny it. “What’s your name?”
“J-J-Jarrod,” he stuttered, looking up at me with wide eyes.
“You’re really good. Keep going,” I encouraged, watching as the teenage referee got into position.
Spotting someone who looked vaguely like Elise at the other end of the field watching something in the opposite direction, I hurried that way. Her coffee was getting cold, and I wanted the brownie points. Ignoring the looks and hushed comments as I strode past, I rounded the corner and, thankfully, came face to face with the woman who was capable of driving me to the very edge of sanity before catapulting me off the end.
“What are you doing here?” Elise asked, her eyes wide as she looked everywhere but at me.
“I brought coffee,” I offered by way of explanation, holding the cup out in a peace offering.
“Life saver,” Elise exclaimed, accepting the cup and taking a sip. I swear her eyes rolled back in her head the moment the caffeine touched her tongue.
Stuffing my hand into my pocket, I looked at Elise over my lid. She looked freaking adorable. Like the girl I’d crushed on when I’d first spotted her. She wore black leggings that moulded to her every curve, curves I’d become intimately familiar with over the past few weeks, paired with bright pink runners. She had on her puffy black jacket, which was zipped to her chin, and a pink beanie on her head pulled down low over her ears. She could’ve been mistaken for Rudolph with her red nose and rosy cheeks.
“So, how’s it going?” I asked, trying to keep it casual.
“Going okay so far. I think.”
