Page 17 of Playing the Field
‘I’ve got other plans as well. I’ve got lots of... lots of important things to do.’ Not that I can think of a single one of them all of a sudden. It annoys me that I sound so flustered. What the hell is wrong with me?
‘More important than talking about football with someone who knows a fair bit about it over a pint and a bowl of chips?’ he asks, his tone mock incredulous.
My mind goes completely blank under the gaze he’s now directing at me and I can’t think of a single comeback. He pretends to thumb through an invisible dictionary. ‘Let me just check that definition of wallflower. Oh yes. Shies away from opportunities ...’
‘Fine,’ I snap. I suppose I might as well hear what he has to say. ‘But you’re buying.’
He turns back to face the pitch with a smile still on his face, while my brain screams at me,What just happened?Did Ben Pryce, Premier League footballer, occasional sports brand promoter, full-time lothario, really just suggest we go for a drink– and I agreed?
‘I don’t want my dad to know,’ I blurt out, glancing back at where he’s still pacing in the distance. Whatever’s going on, he’s got enough on his mind this evening without me throwing this into the mix. I already know he wouldn’t approve.
‘Fine with me,’ Ben says. ‘I’ll wait for you in my car round the corner when the session wraps up. I’m used to sneaking off without people seeing.’
And then, without another word, he heads back towards the exit, leaving my mind in a whirl as I force myself to keep my eyes on the Crawford players and not look over my shoulder and watch him go. It wouldn’t surprise me if someone were to tell me I’d imagined the whole thing, particularly as it seems like everyone else was too busy to have even noticed him.
Dad reappears not long after that and I finally get to find out what was more important than watching Cassie put the team through their paces.
‘It was the financial adviser I’ve been waiting to hear back from,’ he explains. ‘To talk about loan options. Not the greatest timing, eh?’
‘What was the verdict?’ I ask.
‘There are a few different ones to consider. I need to go over it all carefully. Not tonight though. Right now I just want to watch the rest of this then grab a pint at The Fox, if you fancy it?’
‘I’m sorry, Dad. I told Phoebs I’d nip round there to run through some course notes,’ I fib, although I’m already thinking that might be a better idea than going for this drink with Ben. Now he’s not in front of me, I can think more clearly. Yes, he’s hot– and yes it would probably be an interesting conversation– but I don’t think he’s the kind of person I should be associating myself with. Not when he’s mostly known for having a combative nature and womanising– which, if they knew what I’d agreed to, Dad and Cassie would be the first to remind me.
‘No problem. Your revision’s more important,’ Dad says. ‘I’ll see if Cassie’s interested, and if not I think Barbour said he was heading over.’
We mostly chat about the players after that, until it’s time to thank them all for their hard work at the end of a spirited first session. Cassie’s cheeks are flushed and I can tell she’s pleased with how it went– her eyes are positively glowing.
We take our time saying goodbye to everyone. We want to make sure they all know how much we appreciate them putting their faith in us and committing to being here. I’m conscious that with it taking so long, it’s unlikely Ben will still be waiting for me but, to be honest, I’m okay with that. If he hasn’t hung around, it saves me from having to put my reservations about him aside so I can find out whether he has any useful advice regarding the team.
Cassie turns down Dad’s invitation to The Fox because she wants to catch up with her fiancé, so after a quick discussion about the evening– the general consensus being that it was a success– Dad heads in that direction alone.
‘You head off too,’ Cassie says. ‘It’ll only take me two minutes to load up the car.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘It’ll help bring me back down to earth a bit,’ she insists.
So I leave the academy in the opposite direction to Dad, having decided to forget about the drink with Ben. It was a stupid thing to agree to anyway. But while I’m halfway through texting Phoebs to see if I can pop by– I know she’s just at home studying– a set of headlights flashes me twice and I realise it’s Ben letting me know which car he’s in.
11
I’m momentarily frozen with indecision– because I suspect Ben’s real motive for asking me to go for a drink with him is to boost his already inflated ego. But despite that, it’s hard not to feel flattered on some level that he’s waited for me.
I haven’t forgotten that tingle I got from the way he looked at me earlier either– but I’d be willing to bet it’s the same look he gives every girl he talks to, which would explain why he ends up with so many of them. He probably practises it in the mirror.
So no, I tell myself, I won’t go for this drink, even if his intention was also to talk about football. He’s clearly used to everything going the way he wants it to and I’m not about to reinforce that for him. Too polite to leave him hanging though, I walk over to his open window to let him know I’ve changed my mind.
‘I thought I’d been stood up,’ he says with a warm smile as I approach.
‘There’s been a change of plan.’
‘You want to take your car instead?’ he surmises.
I’m not sure it even occurs to him that I might have decided not to go. He probably doesn’t get turned down very often, if ever.
‘I don’t mind driving, honestly,’ he adds. ‘The pub I was thinking of is only ten minutes from here. It’s really quiet– I think you’ll like it. No one will bother us there.’
