‘Well, they’re my mates. Some family you’re born to, and some are lucky enough to choose you.’
‘Will must be on his period,’ calls out Keir as he appears by Will’s side. ‘He just called us his friends.’
‘Piss off,’ Will retorts, making a grab for me. He pulls me into his wet, muddy torso, despite the fence.
‘Eww! Icky.’ I can’t help but giggle as I try to squirm away, while not actually getting anywhere.
‘Good job I like you messy, especially when you leave the mess all over my face.’ His voice is pitched low, his words nuzzled into my neck.
‘Get a room,’ shouts one of his teammates, but I know he didn’t hear the reason for the glassy look in my eyes. The reason for the beating low in the pit of my gut. The reason I find myself crossing my legs at the ankles as Will releases me.To clamp my thighs together, seeking to contain the effect he has on me.And by the look he just slid me? He knows.
‘Put the lassie down,’ yells an older man from a couple of feet away, even though I’m already outside of his warm arms. I assume by the clipboard, the paunch, and the air of self-appointed authority that he’s in charge in some sort of capacity.Coach, maybe?‘Have I no’ told you lot before—’
‘No PDAs on the playing field,’ half a dozen voices chorus from nearby.
‘You need to look like warriors, not lovers,’ the man continues, aggrieved.
‘Aye, but you know the rule was instigated so Will here couldn’t cop a feel o’ me,’ replies a laughing Keir.
‘For a man who spends his life elbow deep in vagina, he’s awful interested in hairy baws,’ agrees Mac.
Baws? Is that . . . balls?Oh, my God! He did not just go there. Of course, his friends know what he does for a living, but this kind of teasing in public seems surreal.
Will holds up his forearm, fist clenched, and staring at his elbow. A look of faux confusion sits on his brow. ‘Were you lot under the impression I’m a vet?’ he asks, looking up again. ‘I’m not sure what kind of women you’re all attending, but if your arm disappears to your—’ His arm drops suddenly, his expression horrified
‘I’m sorry, Sadie. That was obscene and uncalled for. Locker room talk before we’ve gotten to the actual locker rooms.’
I don’t get to respond even though I wouldn’t know what to say.
‘William.’ His head snaps to the direction of Ella’s voice, where she stands with her hands over Louis’s ears. ‘I’ll get this one to call you if he has any questions about that, or maybe nightmares, should I?’
‘Saved by the whistle.’ With a wink in Ella’s direction, he, along with the others, trot off to the middle of the field.
‘Don’t let the way they talk put you off coming to other games,’ Ella begins. ‘I’m not their PR spokesperson or anything, and they can be a little coarse and a bit of a handful, but all three of them are good men.’
‘Will, too?’ I’d meant to sound light-hearted, but my words come off a little shrill.
‘Absolutely. He is. He really is.’
‘Ella,’ I say gently. ‘I’m only here for the summer. And Will is certainly the love ’em and leave ’em type.’ As well as the billable by the hour kind.
‘Well, he is. But that’s only because he hasn’t found the right woman.’
‘I sense that didn’t come from him.’ In answer, she shrugs lightly. ‘And, to be honest, in his line of work, it’s going to take a special kind of woman—a very brave woman—to gamble her heart to him.’
Her expression twists before she begins in an uncertain tone, ‘I don’t really—’
‘Come on, I saw how the guys were ribbing him. I know you know what he does.’
‘It’s not a secret,’ she replies, frowning now. ‘Everyone knows Will’s occupation.’
‘And that’s part of the appeal of the man. Less appealing is wondering how many women he’s known intimately, and how it’ll effect you when you meet them accidentally.’ A suddenly sickening thought launches its way into my throat. ‘Mac earlier—and I’m not judging—is that what his anger was about?’
‘Me and Will?’ She scrunches her nose before beginning again. ‘I’ll admit, Mac wasn’t very keen on using him.’ Using him? Oh, Lord. What rabbit hole have I fallen into now? ‘But what kind of man wants one of his friends to have intimate knowledge of his significant other’s vagina?’
‘Exactly.’ Exactly that.
‘And, to be honest, we socialise so often, and I can be the most socially awkward klutz. I don’t think I’d ever have been able to look him in the eye again. Not without thinking,You’ve seen my lady bits.’
