Page 44 of The Keeper and I

“Pardon?” Coach asked.

“Nothing,” Jordan shook his head. “Look, the false nine could be a solid strategy, but we need more accuracy.”

“So you think O’Riley’s the problem?”

Jordan hesitated to answer that. He didn’t like to speak poorly about his teammates though Peter had it coming more often than not. The guy was all ego. Not to mention, he was selfish, immature, and obnoxiously misogynistic as if he thought it was the football world of the fifties. Jordan struggled to find his redeeming qualities, especially after the mooing incident.

“He’s not hopeless,” he said. “He needs to stop fucking around in training. He needs to take it seriously.”

“How do you mean?”

“He needs to get it through his thick skull that just because we haven’t got a proper striker doesn’t make him the star,” Jordan explained. “We’re a team. We were before Ethan Knight, and we’ve got to be after him.”

“You think we should build our teamwork?”

“We need goals, so if O’Riley’s gonna provide them, drill the fuck out of him. Make him work for his spot. As for the rest of us? Yes. If we can rely on each other, we’ll all feel a wee bit more confident stepping out onto the pitch.”

Coach nodded, his lips drawing into a tight line. “We can work with that.” He paused for a beat. “How’s your girlfriend, by the way? I heard there was an incident this week.”

Jordan rested his head against the back of the bath and heaved a sigh. He had been at Laci’s every night since Dane had shown up at her house. She hadn’t slept at all the first night so neither had he. The second, she dozed every half hour, so Jordan hadn’t slept at all. “She’s mostly fine. Still a bit shaken, but fine.”

“That’s good. You seemed a bit off today. I figured you were tired.”

Tired was the tip of the iceberg. It was exhaustion from being around Laci constantly and having to remind himself every five minutes that he was not actually her boyfriend. He, therefore, had no right to kiss her whenever he liked or hold her hand for no reason, which was difficult because she cuddled so close to him right up until she went to bed. He took the feeling of her body pressed to his into the guest bedroom and lay awake for hours trying to hold onto it.

“Yeah,” he said. “I’m a bit tired.”

Chapter 11

“Themanagerhoststhewhole team for Guy Fawkes Day each year?” Laci asked as they approached Coach Warren’s front door.

“Aye,” Jordan answered. “He’s really into it. Something about the quality time with his sons.”

“Here I thought everyone used it as an excuse to get pissed and disturb the peace.”

“That’s the general idea.”

She chuckled, but when he cast a sidelong glance at her, he noticed her swallow as she wiped away some sweat beaded around her hairline despite the chilly November air.

“You alright?” he asked.

“Mhm, yeah,” she replied with a stiff nod. “Let’s, uh, get this going, I suppose.”

He raised a skeptical brow, but she refused to meet his gaze, so he didn’t press. He led her into the house where most of his teammates and their partners were already gathered in the kitchen. Their chatter guided Jordan and Laci from the entryway. Hector was the first to come bounding over.

“Capitán!” he cried. “Glad you made it!”

He pulled Jordan into a hug, then welcomed Laci with a friendly kiss to her cheek. The others came over after him, but Jordan noticed one was missing.

“Where’s Osahar?” he questioned.

“He and Nadia had plans with her sister tonight, so he bailed,” Luka told him before taking a swig of his beer.

He passed them beers of their own and then Jordan made introductions, but most of them remembered Laci from the gala. There were new dates on the arms of Peter, Devon, and Kâmil, but they were sweet and all fans of Laci.

“I love your work!” Keeley, Peter’s date, said, taking Laci’s arm. “I saw that swimsuit shoot you did last summer, and you were gorgeous, babes.”

“Thank you,” Laci replied with a smile.