The compliment almost stopped me in my stride. “Her nephew’s a good kid. How do you know Dee?” It shouldn't be bothering me, but it was. Especially how she looked at me when actually I wasn't that bad a bloke.
“We both did courses at the same place. I was doing my MBA; she was studying something to do with physiology.”
I felt a little bit taken aback, only wasn't sure why. I'd heard about Ryan and his finances, there had been a couple of rumours about businesses he'd invested in, something which a few footballers did, myself included. But I didn't know this about Dee, and I felt I should.
“Were you a thing?”
Ryan laughed, almost upsetting his pace. “No. She's the kind of girl that you get serious about. I'm not in the position to be serious about anybody, not until it's time to retire from the game.”
“Why's that? Half the England squad are already locked down with a missus and kids?” It was true; managers liked to encourage players to settle down with a family, in the hope that it would curtail any drama, and focus the player on the game. I got that, which was kind of why I'd stayed with my ex for quite a few months, hoping that being with her would lessen the drama. It didn't work.
Ryan had upped the pace slightly, nothing too strenuous, just adding a bit more challenge especially because we were going slightly uphill.
“I'm just not in the right headspace for it. I hate not giving something my full attention, so if I was in a relationship, I’d end up having to neglect something else. Tell me about the coaches, what do you like? The manager seems decent.”
For the rest of the run, we talked about the team and the coaching staff. I gave him due warning about Neva the nutritionist, although he seemed quite onboard with what I told him she did. I looked forward to seeing whether he'd actually like what she produced for him.
Dee’s nephew was placed in my group again, something that made Billy pretty happy. Ryan told me he could give me the morning to help out, but then he needed to check in with one of the coaches to go through some assessments. I got to do what I planned, which was give Ryan the strikers to do a little bit of a masterclass, one that ended up being crashed by some of the kids from the other groups. It was fair enough, the looks on the kids’ faces when they realised that Ryan O'Connell, our new record signing, was there to train them would be worth that even if I ended up second bottom of the coaches’ table.
I ended up standing next to Dee at breaktime. The glare that she gave me today had a bit less power to it than the previous two days, but I'd also noticed that her usual smile wasn't quite as bright. It shouldn't bother me, but it did. Maybe because I wanted her to be fighting fit to partake in whatever our next battle would be.
“You don't actually think you're going to win, do you?” I managed to say the words without smiling.
She managed to give me that big beaming smile that I knew in this instance was incredibly false. “It's not the winning that matters, it's the children's participation and them enjoying it.” Her smile was sweet now.
“So you won't be upset then when you're having to buy me dinner in the restaurant of my choice?”
This time her grin was more evil. “At no point did I say I was going to lose. I've seen the tactics you're trying with your group, and there's no way they're going to pull them off during an actual game. All that's going to happen is them getting frustrated when that passing technique doesn't work.”
She had a point. I had a couple of strong midfielders in my group, who were pretty talented with their passing accuracy, so I'd been getting them to pass the ball in triangles or squares, which was a technique that we actually used. The problem would be them not losing their heads when they lost possession, because my group didn't have any strong tacklers.
“Anyway, I think Gav’s team will win overall. there are a couple of kids in it that we've already picked up for the Academy.” She turned her head round to watch where her nephew was. “Toby seems to be enjoying football for a change. Thanks for not putting him off.”
“He just needed the right influence. Clearly, that wasn't his aunt.” I hoped she knew I was messing with her and I wasn't serious.
Her snort told me that she knew I was teasing. “I just hope you don't influence him in any other ways.”
“Such as what?”
“How you treat women.” Any joking tone to her voice had gone.
I turned to her, stopping the side-on conversation that we'd been having. My blood felt ready to boil. “Feel free to elaborate on why you think that I would be a bad influence. And if it's because you've been reading shit in the media, let me put you straight. I treated my ex with respect, but I didn't get the same back from her. She wanted me to be the arm candy, she wanted me to get her into places where she could be seen. She demanded that we went to high profile clubs and events and that I introduce her to people she thought could influence her career. I was being used. So I ended it, and guess what? She didn't like it.”
“What about the woman on holiday?”
I shook my head. “That was consensual, but I didn’t consent to her friend taking photos and selling them.”
She was quiet, looking away from me, but I didn't think she was looking at her nephew. One of the other reasons some footballers got married early was to stop the wannabe wags from using them. Most men are stupid; they'll give their heart away for a decent fuck and someone who's nice to them, genuinely nice. I'd seen it before, watched friends and teammates get done over by a woman that they were smitten with, when they were just being used for their name and the lifestyle they could provide.
“I saw you once in a club, there was a girl who was desperately trying to talk to you, and you ended up laughing at her. She ended up crying in the toilets. So don't tell me that you're hard done too, not when I've seen you treat someone like that.”
Her words were firm. Harsh. And when she looked at me, I saw her eyes flashing dangerously, no sign of any smile on her face.
“What was the club?”
She told me its name. I remembered the night because it was a place that I'd only been to once, and I hadn't been drinking. I also remembered the girl she had been talking about.
“You read into whatever you want to from that, Dee. You've clearly made your mind up about me, and you don't need my take on things when you're so fixed in thinking that you're right.” I walked off, not waiting for her response.
