That wasn’t really a stretch, I figured.
The headlights of a car illuminated my body for a split second, before the car pulling into the lot turned and then finally took a spot one row down. It was the same nondescript plain black sedan that wouldn’t have called my attention, even with the Audi emblem on it.
Of course he’d be in an Audi.
I smirked to myself as a long body folded out of the vehicle’s back passenger door, slamming it shut before heading to the back and grabbing a bag from the recently opened trunk. His tall lean body seemed even more imposing without his team T-shirt or polo. The graceful lines of muscle that lined his shoulders and arms for the first time since he quit playing soccer full-time were delineated perfectly in the shadow of the setting sun. What I really caught a good eyeful of though, was the wide earband he had on that looked similar to mine, matting down his short hair and making him look like a different person. Not like himself at all, unless you really knew who you were looking at. The length of his hair on top of his larger frame and facial hair was an excellent disguise.
Poop. Poop, poop, thisisyourcoachstupid, poop.
He gave me what could have been considered a smile, if you closed your eyes and looked sideways, the minute he spotted me standing there, which was almost immediately.
“Hi,” I greeted him.
That sort of smile grew maybe a millimeter. He grunted his greeting, looking around at the three fields that seemed to form a U-shape. Two of them were already full, but the one that my friends usually played on was mostly empty, with only a few people gathered.
“Come on, before we get stuck on a shitty—“ I winced at myself. Was I allowed to cuss in front of him even though we weren’t on Pipers hours? “—crappy team.”
He tipped his head down in a lazy nod and followed after me as I led him around the outskirts of the field. “They’re all really nice,” I told him, not that he’d care, “but I think we should keep your identity a secret.”
Kulti shrugged but didn’t say a word as we approached what I quickly counted to be seventeen people. Damn it. Recognizing more than half of the people hanging around, I waved at the ones I knew and headed toward Marc and Simon, who had their backs turned to me. As soon as I was close enough, I kicked each one in the ass with the side of my foot. “Hey guys.”
Marc turned around first, frowning at getting kicked until he realized I’d been the one to do it. “You shit, you could have told me you were coming.”
I rolled my eyes and shrugged. “Last-minute decision. Live with it.”
Roughly, the man I worked with every day shoved me toward Simon, who gave me a big grin before pulling me into a full frontal hug that made it seem like it’d been weeks instead of days since we’d seen each other. “Glad you came, Salmonella. We need you.”
“I told her weeks ago that she should come out, but someone’s too good for us regular folks,” Marc added just to be a pain.
“You, shut up. I’m here and I brought reinforcements.” I finally waved at Kulti, who had stopped a few feet behind me and to the right. “My friend and I wanted to play, so I figured I’d come down and see if you had spots for us.”
Marc and Simon looked over and around me to view a reconstructed version of Kulti. Neither one of them said anything for so long, that I started to think they recognized him.
It was Marc who raised an eyebrow, mouthing ‘friend?’ And Simon, who didn’t have a filter in his big trap, asked, “You finally got a new boyfriend?”
“Friend,” I insisted. I looked at Kulti for some clue as to what I was supposed to call him, but he didn’t catch on to the question in my voice. “…Rey? This is Marc and Simon. Marc and Simon, this is… Rey.” Saying his name out loud, like we were actually friends, was strange. It was like writing with my left hand. I almost felt like I’d get in trouble for saying it out loud, but I didn’t let myself think about it too much.
The two men I’d grown up playing with, didn’t miss a beat. They were obnoxious, but they weren’t impolite. Each one made sure to shake Kulti’s hand before settling back into place. Simon didn’t look twice at him, but I noticed Marc staring at him a little too intently.
Shit.
I’d tell him the truth later, once I was sure he wouldn’t lose his shit and start crying. Would he be pissed? Of course but it was either him being mad at me or the possibility he’d fall to the ground and start kissing Kulti’s feet.
“So, you have room? I think I counted seventeen people, right?” I asked, rocking back on my heels and swinging my stuff with my other hand, keeping a steady eye on Marc.