Page 48 of The Tape Job
“I was going to ask you the same thing, John,” I snap. “I’ve hardly seen you. You got a secret girlfriend or something?”
But he ignores my question and continues, convincing me further that he has a secret girlfriend.
“Glad to see that she’s being civil, at least. I’ve told her you two are better off apart,” he adds.
“I think I agree, actually,” Ryan adds from the opposite shower stall. “It caused so much drama last year, you don’t want to revisit that. Not to mention—”
“I’m keeping away,” I reassure them.
I finish my shower silently, eager to get away from any more conversation with Johnny and Ryan.
Bettsy and Danny are already back in the dressing room and as soon as I walk back in, their heads snap towards me.
“Fancy a pint, Lee? I know it’s only the afternoon but—” Bettsy offers.
“Fucking right, I do. Are we going straight from here?”
I towel off and get dressed as we talk through a plan. And it’s not long before Johnny and Ryan are back in the dressing room, giving us disapproving stares in response to the pub talk.
Ryan has always maintained a strict ‘no alcohol during the season’ policy and I’ve only known him to pause it during the Christmas break last year. Not even our mom passing away triggered an alcohol rebellion.
“If any of you are anything other than on form tomorrow, there’ll be consequences,” Johnny says, pointing his finger between me, Bettsy, Danny, and Hutch.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d guess he was no fun at parties,” Bettsy says. “But I know him, so I know he isn’t fun at parties.”
We decide to drop our gear at home before heading to the pub. I glance at the clock, hoping that Vicky will have left already. But as Danny opens the door ahead of me and Hutch, her familiar laugh glides through the air, turning my stomach to Jello.
She’s standing right outside the door chatting with one of the equipment managers and makes eye contact with me straight away. I let my gaze rest on hers for longer than I should before she steps forward. Her body language is telling me she wants to talk.
“Can you give us a moment?” I ask the guys, stepping towards her.
The tunnel clears out, only the hum of cooling in our ears. She steps forward, so she’s almost touching me, her face angled up towards mine; I bet she can hear my heart pounding. She extends herself so her mouth is directly next to that sweet spot on my neck. Her hair smells like coconut and her perfume sends my brain into a fog of lust.
I don’t know how long she’s lingering there, but her breathing changes, and I feel it warm on my earlobe as she whispers.
“If it makes you feel any better, love, I can only come watching your videos too.”
My heart leaps out of my chest, and I’m stiff as a board as her hand fumbles in my pocket. It’s over in a flash. She spins on her heels and walks away from me, her amazing ass in my sights as she goes.
I have a feeling I know what she’s done.
I slip my hand into my pocket and caress the material of her thong, the fabric damp with her arousal. Knowing that she’s walking away from me with no panties on makes me want to chase after her and bend her over thehome bench—show her the consequences of her brattish behaviour. Not that I didn’t provoke it somewhat. But she’s got me. I’ll give it to her. It’s Vicky one, Liam zero. This is completely against everything in my plan. She’s smart. She knows that resisting the contents of my pocket will be difficult for me.
I consider heading back into the dressing room, straight for the showers, while the crotch of these panties is still warm, but that’ll involve seeing Johnny and Ryan again—not a good idea. I glance around and I consider the equipment storage cupboard for a moment before I spot one of the support team heading that way with a box. Then, to my horror, I glimpse into Coach’s office, giving it consideration, before deciding against jerking off at his desk.
I shake my head, realising I have no choice but to put the knowledge that Vicky’s underwear—still warm, still damp—is in my pocket as I head towards the double doors. I swing them open to find the guys waiting for me.
“What was that about?” Bettsy asks, flashing me a gappy smile.
I don’t want to lie to him, but I can’t tell him the truth. “She told me that today was a success. She has some great content to use.” I hope that she’ll at least have something she can use, so if Bettsy bothers to listen to it—which I doubt he will—it’ll cover my ass.
Danny laughs knowingly, but does me a favour and says no more. And Hutch acts as if everything is normal, which, of course it is. Everything is normal.
Chapter 13
Vicky
It’s been a week since I slipped my panties into Liam’s pocket. A week! And I’ve heard nothing. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. I honestly don’t know what I was expecting, but I wasn’t expecting a full-on silent treatment. Maybe a ‘Vicky, what the fuck are you doing,’ or perhaps a ‘Vicky, please refrain from putting your dirty panties in my pocket,’ but nothing. He hasn’t so much as glanced over in my general direction during practice, and I’ve been down there every single time with my camera. Nor has he visited Ryan during the times I’ve been home.
