× Horan
Lynn was not having a good day. No matter how fast she ran, how hard she kicked, or how aggressive she was, nothing, and I mean nothing was working in her favor.
"Mercury!" Coach shouted once she booted a kick toward the goal, only to miss the net by ten feet. "What the hell was that?"
Lynn ignored him and found a player who was wearing a yellow meshed jersey and blocked them from the ball being thrown in. We were in practice and like usual, Coach was on us a hundred percent, making sure we were playing a hundred and fifty.
Practice went on like that and it was like watching a car wreck - I couldn't look away.
I ran down the pitch on the opposite side of Lynn and singled that I was open, but she was trying and failing to get the ball out from Matt's feet, who was playing an opponent. Everything Lynn tried to get the upper hand wasn't working. It was clear she was getting more pissed by the second as her normal tactics were failing her. She was mad enough that she used all her momentum and slammed her shoulder into Matt, sending him off his feet and falling down to the field.
The whistle blew before Lynn could even get to the ball, halting the scrimmage game.
"Ow," Matt said as he sat up, rubbing his shoulder. "What the fuck, Lynn?"
"Lynn Mercury!" Coach shouted from the sidelines. "If this was a real game, that would've been a red card!"
Shortly after, the game started up again. Matt was replaced with another player, claiming that his shoulder might have been dislocated, but in my opinion he was just being dramatic.
In replace of Matt was Reece, who was a lot bigger and had more muscle tone on him so that if she got hostile again, there was no way he would go down injured. I just hoped she didn't fuck up again, or worse, Lynn ending up on the ground rubbing her shoulder.
This practice seemed to drag on and on and I honestly couldn't blame Lynn's sour mood. I was on the verge of getting there myself.
I was exhausted. Everything was sore, I had grass stains and bruises all over my body. There's a rip in my cleats and the duct tape I used to patch them up was starting to fall off. And the blisters. Oh my god, the blisters on my feet were killing me.
I was distracted, but I was quickly released from my thoughts the second I saw the shift in the players, running down the other side of the turf - toward the opponent's goal.
James ran with the ball on the other side of the field. Open with no one around Lynn, he booted the ball in her direction and she picked up her pace to get to it before anyone else had the chance. I did the same, getting open if she were to get in trouble and need someone to pass to.
That was when Reece was there, shoving into Lynn just as she got to the ball. I was too far away to know what happened, but the next thing I knew, Lynn was falling onto the turf hands first.
Fed up with the unbelievable bad luck, Lynn didn't even bother to get back up. She just sat on the grass with her legs out in front of her and pouted as the game continued.
Then the whistle blew. Again.
"Lynn!" Coach shouted for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. "Get your ass off the ground and get back in the game! Actually, scratch that. How about you just sit out for the rest of the scrimmage."
Reece stood over Lynn and offered her a hand, but she ignored it and stood up on her own, walking to the sidelines.
"What bit her on the ass?" I heard Andrew whisper to me.
× × ×
After practice, I showered and dressed, stepping out of the locker room only to find Coach lecturing Lynn not so discreetly in the hall. From the looks of it, Lynn had already showered and changed as well, wearing jeans that were cuffed around her ankles and a blue UCLA drawstring sweatshirt. She was probably doing what I always did best: get out of there as fast as she could before Coach caught her. Unfortunately, she still had to master that talent.
I ignored them and walked passed, but wasn't able to get very far before Coach noticed and called me back.
"I need to talk to you two alone," he said.
Sighing, knowing that was never a good sign, I sullenly went over to Coach to see what he wanted. I was so ready to go back to my room and crash on my bed. I really wasn't in the mood to be lectured by Coach as well.
"You both remember the chancellor, yes?" Coach asked. Before we could answer him, he continued. "He's getting married and you two are expected to attend."
"What?" I asked, suddenly awake and angry. "Why would we have to go, we don't even know him."
I almost added that the chancellor also doesn't like us because he thinks something is going on between Lynn and I, but I quickly stopped myself once I remembered that I wasn't supposed to know that.
"I know," Coach said and clasped his hands out in from of him. "But he requested it for your benefit. He's pretty close to some recruiters and they're supposed to be attending. The chancellor asked you two to come to chat them up and get on their good sides for your future. I'm not asking you to go to the ceremony, just to the reception afterwards."
My brow rose. "Just the two of us?"
"You two were the only ones mentioned."
"Coach..." Lynn started and seemed to change her mind about what she was going to say. "When is it? The wedding?"
"This Saturday."
"Whoa," I said, holding up a hand to stop him. "We have an away game on Friday. You expect us to be up for a wedding after the long drive? It's the last game to determine the five teams to go into the BUSA! What if we lose and miss our chance of winning, I wouldn't want to face any recruiters after that."
Coach crossed his arms. "That's why you have to win. Look, you don't have a choice in this; the chancellor is expecting you to go. And between you and me, you're already on rough waters with him."
Lynn and I shared a look.
"I'll text you the time and address of the event, I expect to see you both there," he finished before he grabbed his clipboard and walked away.
Reaching down, Lynn grabbed her gym bag and started walking past me. I quickly caught up and continued my stride beside her.
"Are you really going to go to that wedding?" I asked.
She shrugged. "I might as well. If it gives me a chance to talk to the scouts, then I'll take any opportunity that comes my way. Even if I have to get dressed up and attend a wedding for a man I'm not even sure I like."
"But don't you find it odd that he asked the two of us only?"
She opened her mouth to respond, but right then someone shouted her name. The two of us turned around and saw Andrew walking up behind us. He was still in his gear from practice and his brown hair was a mess on his head.
"Can I ask for some girl advice?" he asked Lynn.
Rolling my eyes, I walked away from them. That was a conversation I didn't much care to listen to. I started making my way to the parking lot once again. I could hear them chatting from behind me, something about how Andrew's girlfriend won't do something he wants to do in bed, and Lynn responding with some feminist comment.
Then somehow the conversation was turned from sex to Greek and knowing Lynn, I wasn't even a little bit surprised.
"Speaking of the Ancient Greeks, did you know they used to kick around a ball made of animal skin that was wrapped around with seeds?" she was saying. "Except they played in the nude."
"Really?" Andrew asked excitedly. "Okay, I'm so bringing that idea up to Coach for us to try."
"Oh, I don't think that's a good idea, Andrew," I said with a joking smile as I looked at him from over my shoulder. "I've seen you naked and I'm not very impressed."
Lynn stifled a laugh and Andrew made a look of fake disgust. "You shouldn't be talking, Horan." He then held up his thumb and index finger an inch apart. "If you know what I mean."
I was in the middle of flicking Andrew off when someone called his name. The three of us looked over to see Reece standing at the front doors, motioning for Andrew to go over to him.
"That's my ride," Andrew said as he started backing away. "I'll see you mates later. And thanks for the advice, Lynn."
Lynn waved at him but didn't say anything after that as she and I walked out of the arena after them. As I got to the bottom of the stairs and into the lobby, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I took it out and saw that I had one new text.
Remember to meet me at Nobu Berkeley at 8. You promised!
"Shit," I muttered, standing in the middle of the foyer and looking down at my phone. I had totally forgotten about my promise, and now that the night had arrived, I really, really wished Coach had us stay longer for practice, despite how fatigued I was.
Running my hand through my hair, I looked up and saw Lynn walking through the entry doors. Without thinking, I ran up to her and grabbed her hand. Lynn instantly started to struggle as I pulled her along through the parking lot and to my car. Her hand was surprisingly warm compared to the cold November breeze that blew through our hair.
"Hey! What the hell?" Lynn protested and tried to get her hand out of my grasp.
"Can't talk right now, but I need you," I argued. I stopped at my car and fumbled in my pockets to get my keys. Once they were out and my car was unlocked, I opened the back seat and pushed Lynn along with her gym bag inside before she could object. "You owe me for not telling Coach the real reason why you weren't at practice that night you were with Bradley."
Lynn's mouth gaped open. "I don't owe you shit," she sneered and tried to get out of the car, but I only blocked her way with my body. "This is kidnapping!"
"I'm supposed to meet my mum at this fancy restaurant in fifteen minutes," I finally admitted. "And I can't be in the same room as her without getting angry. You just... fuck. You calm me down, Lynn. I don't know how, but you're like my own personal Xanax. I can't back out of the dinner now. Please, come with me."
"What if I had plans tonight?"
I gave her a pleading look.
Lynn sighed deeply. "I don't have anything to wear."
"Stay," I said like she was a dog and quickly went to the back of my car and opened the trunk. I pulled out a silky dress and a pair of white heels before closing it again. I walked back to Lynn and handed them to her. "This should fit you."
Lynn took the dress from me and looked at it reluctantly. Before she could say anything, I closed her door and hopped into the driver seat and started the engine. As I sped out of the lot, I looked down at my own outfit. Black jeans and a navy button up shirt. It wasn't the best choice for a fancy restaurant, but it was going to have to do.
"Did you have this evening planned out or something?" Lynn asked from the backseat, looking at the dress like it was covered with parasites.
"No. The dress was left behind from a girl I slept with," I stated quickly as I turned my blinker on and moved over into the right lane. "Get changed, we'll be there in five minutes."
In the rear-view mirror, I saw her eyes go big. "In here? No way, I am not getting changed in the back of your car with a dress of a girl you slept with. That's like... that's like equivalent to dressing in the clothes that belongs to a dead girl."
"You're being dramatic."
"I'm being dramatic?" she snapped, eyes ablaze. "You literally pushed me inside your car and forced me to this dinner! I have every right to call the cops on you, Niall, I'm serious-"
"Can you just, for the love of God, do this one thing for me!?" I shouted back at her, my hands gripping tight on the steering wheel. "It will only take an hour of your evening, I promise. I just really need you right now. If my mum sees that I brought someone, she won't spend the whole time lecturing me and trying to get me to change my degree and join her law firm or something. We might actually get a chance to have a civil conversation for once."
I wasn't sure if Lynn finally figured out she wasn't going to win this fight, or maybe she heard the desperation in my voice and saw the pleading in my eyes, but she eventually gave in and started to change into the dress and heels I provided for her.
It wasn't that I hadn't seen her in her bra and panties before, but the sight of her in the rear-view mirror struggling to take her jeans off in the back seat of my car was rather distracting. One time I looked too long in the mirror and almost rear-ended a red Sedan, resulting in me slamming on the brakes which made Lynn nearly fall off the seat as she struggled to get her shoes on.
I pulled into a parking spot with two minutes till eight, and knowing my mother, she had been here for a half hour, which meant I was already late. I opened the door for Lynn and she stepped out into the chilly night.
The girl who the dress belonged to was lost in my memory, but I knew from the sight of Lynn that it didn't matter anyway. It was a long, silky dress with a hue of soft pink with a slit that ran up her thigh. It was long-sleeved with a low V-neck that wrapped around her body and was pinned closed on her hip. The necklace around her neck of the wedding band sat nicely at the hollow of her neck. She didn't notice my staring as she carelessly turned the ponytail she was wearing into a bun, completing the look. No one would know she just had football practice and gotten dressed in the back seat of a car.
"Wow," I couldn't help but say.
Lynn just rolled her eyes and looked up at the building. "This place looks intimidating."
There was only one word that could sum up Nobu Berkeley, and that was "dangerous". The whole building was made up of windows and wooden panels, but what made it look so hazardous were the random flanks sticking out at the end, like it was some kind of medieval skewer for giants.
But the outside was nothing compared to what lay ahead. The foyer was anything but ordinary. The walls were tiled in reflected mosaic from their marbled flooring to their chandelier covered ceiling. Archways lined the walls that led to different places of the restaurant and two spiral staircases ran up to a small balcony and beyond. In the center of the stairs was a small artistic looking wooden desk with a small petite brunette behind the counter.
"You owe me big time for this," Lynn whispered from beside me. "I feel so dirty wearing some other girl's dress. How come you have it anyways? Did she leave your car naked?"
"Before we go in there, can you not bring up that you're on the football team with me?" I asked as I walked up to the front desk, ignoring her unimportant question. "My mum's not a huge fan of the sport and it would just be easier to pretend that you were someone else"
Lynn looked angry with my request, but the lady behind the counter spoke up before she had the chance to say so. "Hello. Welcome to Nobu Berkeley, do you have reservations?"
"Horan," I said to the small brunette.
She looked Lynn and I up and down before grinning politely, approving our attire. "Yes, right this way."
We followed after the woman into one of the dimly lit archways. The room wasn't as large as I had anticipated it would be, but it still looked expensive as fuck. Mum better be the one paying because this was ridiculous, even for her.
The theme seemed to be trees from the looks of it. Gilded gold spiraling branches reached across long windows like veins in an arm. There was another tree across the room, but the branches stretched all the way up to the ceiling and dangled down to make a chandelier in the middle of the room. Rounded booths littered the floor and at the far end sitting next to a small collection of mirrors was my mother. I then figured out why she would pick such an unhealthily luxurious place to meet up. She had brought a date.
The hostess walked us over to the booth, and the second my mum saw us, she jumped up and wrapped her arms around my neck.
"Oh, I'm so glad you came!" she said in that same etiquette voice she uses with her clients. She smelled like Chanel No. 5. It should have reminded me of home but all I wanted to do was throw up. "I was so sure you would cancel at the last minute like you did before!"
It was obvious I wasn't used to her affection as I stiffly wrapped my arms around her tiny waist, but Mum didn't seem to notice or care, because she pulled away and looked at Lynn like she was a prize on a pedestal.
"And who is this lovely lady you brought?"
"This is Linda," I lied. Lynn looked at me coolly. "Linda, this is my mum, Maura."
To my surprise and to Lynn's, Mum wrapped her arms around Lynn in a tight hug. Unlike me, Lynn got over the shock and hugged her back like they were old friends.
"Look at you, so striking and so beautiful," Mum said once she let go, looking Lynn up and down approvingly. "And look at that hair. I'm not sure I've ever seen that hair color before. Is it dyed?"
Someone cleared their throat from behind us.
"Oh!" Mum expressed and spun around to gesture to the lad sitting in the booth. "This is Lucas, the man I've been seeing."
I didn't pay much attention to the lad because my mum sees a lot of men, so this particular one wasn't going to go any further than the others, I was sure. We all took a seat at the booth as the waiter came by with the menus and a bottle of wine, saying he would be back to take our order in a minute.
The booth was eerily quiet after that. I saw a couple walking out of the room and I longed to be them, to end this misery that had only started.
"So, how are you doing, Niall?" my mum asked, like she actually gave a shit. I watched her take a sip of her wine and put it down on the table, a red stain from her lipstick lingering on the glass.
"Perfect, Mum, thanks for asking," I answered callously, and a little sarcastically.
"How long have you two been together?"
This time, Lynn spoke up. "Oh, we're not," she assured.
"Really? What a shame. I know Niall can get around a lot, but you seem like a nice girl, someone who knows how to clean up well. You look like someone who's going to school to become a doctor. Or a lawyer, perhaps? Maybe you can put some sense into little Niall here and have him quit fooling around with that petty sport."
"Mum," I pleaded.
She looked over at me. "What? All I'm saying is that football is all fine and good, but it's not something you want to get a career in."
Lucas sat his menu down and looked at me. He was wearing a black suit with the top two buttons on his white pressed shirt unbuttoned. He had a receding hairline and a large forehead that the lights above bounce off of. What was left of his brown hair was gelled back and he had a good sized beard along his jawline.
"Sports are just a way for boys to practice their battle skills," Lucas said. "But it should definitely not be anything more than a silly hobby."
Lynn must have sensed my anger that was beginning to boil in my blood, because she leaned in closer and put her hand on my thigh. I instantly relaxed from her touch and silently cursed myself for the way she could easily control me like that.
"You must think sitting in a small compacted cubical enjoyable, correct?" Lynn asked.
"I don't have a cubical," the man responded, raising his head high like he had all the power in the room. "I have my own office in the center of Dublin."
Lynn leaned forward in the booth. "With all due respect Ms. Horan and... Lucas, but you're wrong about soccer just being a hobby. They can earn over millions of dollars a year. That's what your all about, isn't it? The money?"
"You're being very hostile, Linda," Mum said, scooting in closer to Lucas as if he could protect her from Lynn's harsh words.
But Lynn didn't stop, and I didn't stop her. I wasn't sure I could or if I even wanted to. Lynn was doing something I didn't have the balls to do, so there was no way I was going keep her from speaking both of our minds.
"Yeah, I'm hostile, but you're fucking delusional," Lynn continued. "Given the choice between Niall and what you want for him, I'd choose Niall. You wonder why he left you and came to London? It's because of you. You're the only one standing in the middle of your son."
The silence that followed could have swallowed us whole, and I wouldn't have minded one bit. I looked at Lynn and saw someone who felt victimized by her own life choices and needed to set them straight. And she did that, for the both of us.
Lynn turned to me. "Do you want to get out of here?"
"Yeah," I said a breathlessly, like I was the one who put my mum in her place.
We got out of the booth and started making our way out, but Lynn stopped in the center of the room and looked back and added, "One more thing! My name isn't Linda, its Lynn. And I gave you're son a blow job the other night!"
I quickly grabbed Lynn's hand and dragged her out of there before someone came and kicked us out. By the time we got outside in the chilly air, the both of us were laughing hysterically.
"Come on," I said through my amusement. "Let's go get some real food."
× × ×
I've been getting to know a lot of you from all around the world and I'm very curious. Where does everyone live? I'm from America if you haven't already guessed that (:
-Jess