‘And? You know what I always say…’ Her mouth curls at one side.
I don’t, but I’m about to find out. Another one of her weird and wonderful sayings. ‘You might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb.’ She winks at me and I groan again.
If one kiss has me this bad, there’s no way I’d survive sex with Ollie Quinn. I have to quit while I’m ahead. There’s too much to lose. Not least my brother.
ChapterTwelve
OLLIE
Coach barks his orders: laps of the field, drop kicks over the goal, burpees and planks. His voice reminds me of an old school master, but sterner. When he demands we do another fifty burpees, Marcus shouts, ‘did you not get laid this weekend or something, Coach?’ A ripple of snorts transpire and Coach gives us another fifty on top.
I can barely feel my thighs and my groin has been at me since last week. What I wouldn’t do for a massage, but Aiden is completely focused on Gareth’s injury. Slimy Stuart hasn’t been in all week, and there’s absolutely no way I’m going looking for Amy. If yesterday’s lack of eye contact was anything to go by, she is riddled with regret about our stolen kiss on Saturday night. If only I had her number, I could have phoned her to find out.
Counting the burpees silently in my head, I chance a glance at where she stands on the sidelines next to Coach, wearing the standard-issue green tracksuit and a plain white t-shirt. I have never seen a tracksuit look sexier. Which doesn’t help with the guilt that’s eating me alive for kissing one of my closest friend’s sisters. Even thinking about what he’d do if he found out sets my nerves on unease, and it’s not because of any physical pain he might dish out, it’s the mental torture it will cause. I know how I feel about my brother deceiving me, even though technically he and Anita aren’t doing anything wrong. Their relationship still felt underhand or something. I’d never want to inflict that on him. Sleeping with my friend’s sister is almost on a par with my brother sleeping with my ex. Though Luke made it semi-respectable by putting a ring on her finger. So even though I can’t take my eyes off Amy Harrington, I’ll have to at least try to keep my hands off her.
I got a kiss; it’s more than I deserved.
Coach finally blows the whistle to signify the end of training and I reach for my water bottle at the side of the pitch.
‘Quinn.’ Coach beckons me over to where he stands with Amy. She’s still avoiding all eye contact.
‘Coach, is everything ok?’ I swipe a hand towel across my sweating brow and nod at him and Amy.
‘You tell me.’ His head tilts quizzically to the side as he eyes my gammy groin.
‘It’s fine. Now and again I get a shooting pain through it, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.’ The last thing I want is to be pulled from Sunday’s game, the must-win championship decider against France.
He tuts and shakes his head. ‘Go with Amy and let her take a look at you. With Gareth already in a questionable state, I need to make sure the rest of you are in prime condition.’
‘I…’ My hesitation is clear to all of us.
‘Go on, she won’t bite.’ He pushes me towards the treatment room and Amy turns to me offering her most professional smile. It does nothing to conceal the glint of alarm in her eyes. I motion for her to lead the way.
Eddie’s head snaps round to see who is going into the small confined space with his sister. His jaw clenches and a flicker of disapproval flashes in his eyes, then he visibly relaxes when he realises it’s me she’s treating. ‘Did you sign up for that website yet?’ he shouts across the room and I shake my head.
The door clicks shut behind us. The room is surprisingly quiet considering its location. There are no windows, only fluorescent overhead lights. Tucked into the far corner sits a desk with an iMac, a lamp and a large model of the skeletal system. A leather upholstered massage bed taunts me from the centre of the small room.
‘Hop up.’ Amy gestures to the bed and I do as I’m told. Remaining rigid in a seated position, I uselessly attempt to pretend I have some kind of control over the situation.
‘About the other night…’ we both say at the exact same second. A sheepish smile pulls at my lips, as we both say sorry simultaneously as well.
‘Go on…’ I tilt my face to hers and sit quietly.
‘About the other night,’ she repeats, furrowing her eyebrows like she’s struggling to remember what she was going to say. Either that or she’s in two minds about actually saying it now I’m here and listening so intently.
‘I shouldn’t have kissed you.’ She bites her lower lip as her molten eyes burn into mine. Her body is completely contradicting the apology she is trying to convey, but I understand.
‘I shouldn’t have kissed you either. You had obviously had a bit to drink. I hope you don’t think I took advantage of you.’ The chemistry crackles between us again. It’s worse than ever before, because this time instead of imagining what those full lips taste like, I remember it with a savage sense of clarity. The thrust of her tongue and how she moaned when her lips parted to allow mine to slip inside her mouth. Closing my eyes, I break our stare, willing the contents of my shorts not to give me away.
‘I’m a big girl, despite what my brother might think. I knew what I was doing. It was what I wanted to do since the first time we spoke.’
‘I wish you weren’t Eddie’s sister. Or maybe I should say, I wish I was a doctor, or a dentist.’ I shoot her a wink so she knows I’m joking.
‘I’m mortified you heard that! Eddie thinks he knows what’s best for me, but truthfully he hasn’t got a clue. But it’s not just that. I could lose my job over this, and that’s not something I’m willing to risk.’ Her hazel eyes darken with a flash of what looks like regret.
‘I understand.’ I do and in a way she’s making this easy for me, because I can’t start something with Eddie’s sister, despite the phenomenal chemistry between us. Nathan reminded me in no uncertain terms how wrong it is on so many levels. Yet, when I’m within fifteen feet of her it feels so fucking right. Life is so unfair.
‘Let’s see what’s going on with that groin then.’
