He wasn’t surprised to find Malcolm Helms waiting for him at the entrance of the locker room.
“Lex,” he said as they grabbed hands and man hugged.
“Mal. Are you consorting with the enemy before the game?” Lex said, smiling. Malcolm Helms was one of Lex’s favorite people. He’d been a brilliant player who left when he was at the top of his game. Although they’d never broached the subject, Lex was fairly certain that he’d wanted to leave while he was still on top. He’d been well into his coaching career when Lex arrived on the English soccer scene. Even though Lex had been on a rival team, he’d taken him under his wing and given him a lot of solicited and unsolicited advice regarding his career.
“Walk with me,” Malcolm said, placing his hand out as if to escort Lex where he wanted him to go.
“How are you?” Lex asked.
“Well. Your contract’s coming up.”
“Really?” Lex said, his face resounding with surprise, as if he didn’t know.
“Still a smartass,” Malcolm remarked.
Cocking his eyebrow and smiling, Lex responded, “Of course.”
“I’d like to talk to you and Caroline. Give you some options.”
Lex shrugged. “You know where to find Caroline.”
“I do. But I’ve been having a difficult time tracking you down lately.”
Lex nodded, the smile leaving his face. “Been an interesting couple of months.”
“I am sorry about the loss of your father.”
“Thanks. I appreciate the flowers you sent to my mother,” Lex remarked, reaching out and touching his shoulder. “Really.”
“You going to take it easy on my boys tonight?”
“Ha. I think I should be asking that question of you. I think last time we played I struggled with your defense.” Lex knew that Malcolm had had a hand in coaching that game. “It had your name all over it.”
“Let’s see how that works tonight,” his arrogance present, Malcolm smiled.
“Yes, let’s,” Lex said. Turning back to head toward the locker room, he looked back at Malcolm. “See you after the game.”
Lex would have loved to play for Malcolm, but he had this thing about staying loyal. His club had picked him up when going after an American was not the thing to do. He’d been there his whole career. While the thought of playing for Malcolm Helms appealed to him, he didn’t think he would make the jump. Most of it was loyalty, but some of it was his inability to take on any more change. Still trying to find his way with Nina, navigate his relationship with Lu, and deal with the death of his father, he refused to add learning a new system. Heading back into the locker room, Lex pulled out his iPod and his game face.
The sensory images that assailed Lu differed little from those she saw at the football games she had attended over the last couple of years. The laughter, the din of the crowd, flashes from cameras, the noise reverberating off of the walls around them, the smell. She couldn’t deny that she enjoyed the feeling of being back in a stadium. She’d missed the adrenaline rush of watching people she knew compete for a victory that they’d trained for. She had to smile a little at the path her career had taken.
Lu could see the smug look on Malcolm’s face as she smiled at the atmosphere. Even knowing that she was about to watch Lex play couldn’t dim the feeling of excitement of being in the stadium. The fans, the chanting, the cheering all converged to create a bubbling anticipation. When the players entered the field, Lu attempted to keep her eyes off of Lex, but it was impossible. Even if he wasn’t who he was to her, his personality and presence drew your eye. Watching him it felt as though she didn’t know him. He was just as unknown to her as any of the players on the field. The disconcerting notion stayed with her.
She watched the game sitting on the edge of her seat, caught up in the excitement, cheering along with the rest of the crowd. Malcolm patiently explained everything to her and prompted her to watch as plays developed. He called it when Lex came off the left side, headed a ball that came into the center, and scored the only goal of the first half. Lu couldn’t help but cheer and Malcolm even appreciated Lex’s skill, saying as much to Lu.
“I hate playing against him and have been doing my best to get him to come to us when his contract expires,” he commented.
“Will he do it?” she asked, feigning indifference when she wanted to drill him for information.
Malcolm laughed good-heartedly. “Probably not, but I’m going to do my damnedest. So how does this compare to your American football?”
She was thankful that she didn’t hear any condescension in his voice, only curiosity. “I hate not knowing all of the rules.”