Taking My Penalty

11: Keep On Denying

REECE

The changing rooms.

Stinks of complete shit and someone is always talking it.

On the other hand, I wasn't affected by any nonsense fuckery the boys on the academy team had to say that day.

Asides from the fact that training was good today, for some reason, I was in an extraordinarily good mood. Couldn't even make me explain why because I had no clue.

Actually, no. I lied. I did know why and it was the same reason why I smiled more around school.

Natalia had the ability to change my mood in a matter of seconds.

Even if I was standing between the post-football game atmosphere and bloody training, she made everything around me go quiet. All of sudden, whatever fucking witchcraft she could do had sucked me in and her voice and her big eyes were all that could matter.

And by God did that make me happy.

I wish I could have stayed in the rare minute of talking to her again, especially after only being able to smile at her from so far away.

Is it bad that I wished she made me stay?

Natalia never did what girls like Lexie had been doing since they met me in Leland. I hated when they'd try squeezing their way into my space or beg for my company. It made me feel sick.

It was like a claustrophobia monster in human form.

But with Natalia, I might as well of asked her to make me stay. I made an unexplainable exception for this girl in my personal space. The urge was so strong that I had started convincing myself I probably would have stayed if she asked.

I'd overthought it so much that I was wondering whether it was because there was someone else.

Seriously. I thought she had a fucking boyfriend.

And I was pissed.

It wasn't like I should be concerning myself with her boyfriend even if she did have one but the fucking jumper she wore was bragging in my face. That was until she told me it was her brother's

What the fuck, Reece?

I'm out of my mind.

My feelings were giving me way too many outlandish expectations that I'd forgotten reality.

Girls who come from families like hers don't need people like me. Especially pretty ones. Very pretty ones.

I had to remember the important point of our friendship.

I was just looking out for her. That's it.

"Who's the pretty one?" Declan, my teammate and friend since being in the academy, asked me out of the blue.

Jesus Christ, could he read my mind?

"Come again?" I gulped in startle as if he had just heard me thinking while I threw my kit in my bag.

"The girl talking to you earlier."

He saw.

"What about her?" I tried to look unfazed and not like talking about this 'girl' squashed me under pressure.

Declan gave a mischievous smirk as he started to speak. "New girlfriend?"

Completely fucking squashed now.

"Just friends." I corrected timidly as I packed up my footy boots.

"What? Really?" Declan stuck his head out in surprise while spraying a suffocative amount of aftershave under his left and right armpit. "You sure nothing is going on there?"