Kick (Completion Series) (12 page)

Taking Charlie’s advice,
I hit The Slam Tavern first. The parking lot was crowded. I walked through the front door and the noise about overwhelmed me. As my eyes adjusted I noticed red and yellow shirts everywhere. So much for me looking like part of the crowd. A young waitress came up to me and asked if I wanted to sit at the bar or a booth.

“Is Estella here?”

“She’s working the bar. You need to talk to her or do you just want a seat in her area?”

“I’ll sit at the bar
, thank you.” I walked to the long bar and noticed a couple of empty stools at the end. Charlie turned around on his stool and shouted my name. He pointed me to the empty seat next to him. He stood and helped a woman at his side down from her stool. Once she was standing, I saw she was at least an inch under five foot.

“Hey
, Cami, meet my wife, Stub.” The woman smiled and put her hand out.

She had
short, died red hair and a pixie face with laugh lines at her mouth and eyes. She smiled from ear to ear as she greeted me. “You’re all Charlie’s talked about since yesterday. He tells me you’re a rugby virgin.”

I laughed delightedly. “That’s me
, blushing virgin here.” If they only knew.

Charlie
moved aside, pointed me to the stool between him and his wife, and ordered me a beer.

I shook my head. “I need to drive to the
match, so I don’t think beer’s a good idea.”

“Oh no, you’re taking the bus with us,” Stub said.

“Bus?”

Charlie answered. “Yes, we bus to the stadium and bus back. Many of the fans are staying at the Inn and they can walk from here if they drink too much. Rugby is a drinking sport and we had
to find a way to do what we love and abide by the law.” He placed the beer in my hand.

I took a tentative sip and it wasn’
t too bad, much better than my previous glass of wine from my first dinner. Estella greeted me from behind the bar, “Glad you made it before the match.”

“Thanks
. I see just as many yellow shirts as red.”

“
You stand out if you don’t wear your color. We sell Slam shirts for twelve bucks if you want one.”

“Absolute
ly. I’m not exactly blending in at the moment.”

They all laughed as
Estella dug out a plastic-wrapped red t-shirt from under the bar. “I’ll put it on your tab and you can go change in the bathroom if you want.”

“Go change
. We’ll hold your stool,” Stub said as she waved me away.

I walked through a sea of yellow and red shirts on my way to change.
The shirt colors intermingled as rugby fans talked to each other about everything from today’s match to specific players. I heard Van’s and Joel’s names mentioned a time or two. I had to wait a few minutes for the bathroom. Unfortunately, two young women walked up behind me and had an open discussion about the last person I needed to hear about.

“Van
will be here after the match. I plan on going home with him,” the skinny blonde said to her friend as she practically jumped up and down.

“Yeh, good luck with that
. You said you went home with him before. You know he doesn’t do the second date thing.”

She lightly slapped her friend on the arm.
“Who said anything about a date? I plan on fucking his brains out like I did the first time. I dyed my hair so he won’t recognize me.”

“Bought your tits too.” They both laughed.

A bathroom stall opened and I gladly walked in. I hoped Van went home with blonde boobs and caught something, preferably crabs. I took my shirt off and put on Slam red. “The Slam” was also in large letters across the back. I walked out of the stall thankful the two women were no longer in my line of sight. I wove through the crowd back to Charlie and Stub. They were talking to a man and woman in yellow shirts.

“Cami, meet Ron and Katy. Ron’s brother
Tommy plays for Crush.”

It was interesting to get their perspective as the relative of a player. I learned Ron played rugby in college and Katy continued playing for a
women’s team.

Ron pulled Katy’s t-shirt between her breasts
, bringing her close, and kissing her briefly on the lips. He turned to me when he let her go. “There’s nothing sexier than Katy covered in dirt, scrapes, and blood needing a little TLC after a match”

Their affection made me slightly uncomfortable
, but I was fascinated about women playing rugby. We talked until the bus arrived. It would take two trips to get everyone to the stadium, but Charlie had a standing pass for the first ride for him and his guests every home game. The bus took us straight to the stadium, and before I even stepped off, I could feel a level of excitement I’d never felt. Red was the prominent color, but yellow made a good showing. And then there were the costumed fans scattered here and there. It was crazy. From face paint to pirates it was a different world and this was outside the stadium.

“Fans drive hundreds of miles for the
match,” Charlie said as he assisted Stub and me down from the bus. “We’re proud to fill the stadium every time. I’ve never even seen weather keep people away.” He put his arm around Stub. “Come on, let’s go in. They should have your name at the side door and you’ll be getting a field pass like me.”

All I could do was follow
, and sure enough I had a pass waiting for me. Stupid that I hadn’t asked what I needed to do to get in. The place was so empty during my previous trips to the stadium that it hadn’t occurred to me. My official seat was a few seats down from Charlie and Stub. People happily switched places and gave me their adjacent seat.

“So you want to tackle your first locker room?” Charlie asked as he stood up.

“You’re joking.”

Everyone around us laughed
as heat raced to my cheeks. I followed Charlie through the crowd on the familiar path to the locker room. I heard them before I saw them. Good-natured shouts and cheers had me smiling all the way until I turned the last corner.

Fuck me.

They stood in a circle, no shirts, most in under shorts or whatever you called those skin-tight white things that left nothing to the imagination. How the hell did female sports reporters stay unaffected with all the skin and muscle in a locker room?

They started chanting and making animal sounds
, which made it even worse. Charlie elbowed me. “You okay?”

“They’re practically naked,” I whispered.

He roared out a laugh and half the team turned our way. Shouts of, “Hey, Charlie!” and “You here to wish us luck?” came from several of the players.

Of all the guys who would break away, Van strutted over
to us. Hooking an arm around my neck, he whispered in my ear, “There’s my baby. Kiss for luck.”

He was a certified ass.
I turned my face so his lips hit my cheek. He didn’t seem to notice, just turned, grabbed one of the players, and lifted him in the air with a panty-melting display of strength. Those muscular arms had been around me the evening before. I tore my eyes away and my gaze landed on Joel. The intensity in his eyes had him appearing angry. He grabbed a shirt from his locker, pulled it over his head, and walked into his office without looking back.

He was angry and I didn’t understand.

The team started jumping up and down with chants of, “Slam, Slam, Slam,” filling the room. Charlie yelled into my ear, “This will go on until the match starts. I just wanted you to see it. Do you want to visit the Crush locker room?”

“Not if I can help it. I kinda need my eardrums.”
What I really wanted to do was run out of the stadium screaming. Van acted like I was one of his many female fuck buddies just happy for a small bit of attention from him. Not that he had a reason to think differently. I jumped into his bed without much persuasion on his part.

W
e walked out and stopped by the snack bar for drinks. Charlie ordered beer for himself and Stub while I stuck with bottled water. When we got back to our seats the stands were three-quarters full. The south stands behind the goal posts were the only place without defined red and yellow colors. Costumed fans filled those seats.

“This is crazy,” I said trying to hold back a small feeling of excitement
regardless of how upset I was over Van.

“
This is rugby fever,” Stub volunteered. Someone started a wave and Stub pulled me up at our turn as the entire stadium got into the game.

Charlie leaned half across Stub so he didn’t need to shout.
“We’ll head down to the field when the match begins. You’ll want to watch some of the play from here and some from the sideline so you have both perspectives. Stub takes pictures for the paper. Would you like copies to use with your articles?”

I’d noticed the camera case over her shoulder. “I’d love them
, thank you.”

“Stub’s
The Sentinel
’s official photographer. We’ve got some great shots from previous games back at the office. She sells them as a sideline complete with autographs from the players. All the proceeds go to the youth league. It’s turned into a huge boost for the little tikes and now most of their fees are covered. Van and Joel also donate heavily each year, giving us one of the best developed rugby youth leagues in the nation. The entire town got lucky the day Tally brought those boys here.”

T
he thought of Tally’s death made me sad. It didn’t matter how old the brothers were now, they needed a mom. I loved mine and couldn’t picture a day knowing she wasn’t a phone call away.

I looked at Charlie. “You said Tally die
d in a car accident about ten years ago. It must have been very hard on her sons.”

Stub started to say something
, but Charlie interrupted. “Neither of those boys was ever the same.”

I glanced at Stub. She
was looking over her shoulder and I wondered what she was going to say. Before I could ask, everyone in the stadium rose to their feet and started cheering as music began playing over the loudspeakers. Yellow uniforms ran onto the field and everyone clapped and cheered. Yes, everyone. It didn’t matter what color you wore. The excitement was getting under my skin and a small thrill went through me.

A few minutes later, t
he music changed. It was loud with pounding drums. The roar started low, building with the music. A voice yelled out from the speakers. “Ladies, grab your man, gentlemen grab her hands and keep her from mauling our hometown boys. Here they are… The Slam.”

It was corny
, but the stadium went crazy as the team ran out from the tunnel. I realized the place was now packed and the deafening roar of fans almost had me covering my ears. Stub was jumping up and down higher than people six inches taller than her. The music continued as the team did chest bumps, high fives, and arm pumps to get the fans going even more.

Eventually
, things quieted down for the National Anthem. The teams stood in a straight line, Joel at one end of The Slam and Van on the other. Every man from both teams sang. That alone amazed me. At the high school and college sporting events I attended, maybe one or two players bothered to move their lips. This was entirely different. Both teams belted out the words and gave patriotism a new meaning. I looked around at the fans singing loud and proud with them.

Maybe that’s when I fell in love with rugby.

I spent half the match in the stands and half the time on the sidelines. I remembered Charlie’s words about the Stelson brothers leaving blood behind during matches. Many players did. I saw scraped knees, bloody noses, and scratched faces. I heard the grunts and groans and saw players jump up and continue playing when I thought they would leave on a stretcher. All up close and personal from the sidelines.

M
aybe too personal.

My eyes strayed to Van
; I couldn’t help myself. He was a different man on that field. He wasn’t a glory hound like I expected. He passed the ball, assisted other players in tries, along with scoring two tries himself. Yes,
tries
, rugby’s term for scoring points when you ground the ball on the try line. It was a foreign language that I was finally getting the knack for.

I also saw the respect Joel
had explained to me. Rugby was nothing like what little I knew of football. The plays didn’t stop unless there was a penalty called. There were no separate defensive or offensive teams like football. Everyone played continuously. Dirt covered their uniforms and good plays from both teams had fans on their feet.

P
lenty of screaming girls and women got into it too. Van’s name along with propositions for unmentionable things rang out. I heard Joel’s name here and there. I wondered if there would be more if he didn’t have his facial scar. Even with it, he was gorgeous in my eyes. He went on a date the night before each match, but he didn’t seem to be the jackass his brother was. Again, I asked myself why I chose the other brother. Then, I had to laugh at myself. Joel showed no interest in me whatsoever, and, when we first met, he scared the crap out of me. But he’d been kind when I needed it. I definitely fell for the wrong guy.