Just Good Friends (27 page)

“I’d like to say, in two weeks, after the final. Course,
that may change if we get knocked out in the semis next week.”

“I thought you were favored to win that,” she protested.
“Everyone says you’re playing better than the Highlanders.”

He laughed. “That’s why you actually have to play the game,
though. The papers make it sound like it’ll be a doddle, but it’s never that
easy. It comes down to injuries, preparation, attitude, your form on the night.
Making it through the knockout rounds is always a hard slog. We’ll be ready.
Pity the Highlanders will be as well. We’ll see who comes out on top next week.”

“Well, whichever week it is, I’ll check about getting the
days. Although my other boyfriend’s going to be disappointed,” she sighed. “To
miss his regular Saturday-night date.”

He grinned. “I didn’t think you could really be watching the
games. You’re so shockingly uninformed.”

“Because the rules make my eyes glaze over,” she admitted. “Besides,
I shouldn’t tell you this. It’s not good for you. But I mostly just watch you.”

Which was difficult enough to do the next weekend. “Ouch,”
she winced when she opened the door to him on Monday evening. “That looks so
painful.” She reached out with gentle fingers to touch the area around his
bruised cheekbone, the fresh stitching showing black against the livid skin. “I
saw it happen last night, but I didn’t realize it was so bad.”

“Nah. No worries. Just a momentary disagreement with Josiah
Mapu’s knee in the ruck.”

“He kneed you in the head?” she asked with outrage. “I didn’t
realize that’s what had happened. I thought that was illegal.”

“If it’s deliberate. Which I don’t think it was. The ref
didn’t either, which is always a pity. A yellow card might’ve made it an easier
win, eh. But he’s not a bad bloke, Mapu. And we got the win. That’s what
counts. That we’ll be off to Brisbane for the final.”

“Are you going to be well enough to play, though? You seem
like you’re limping too.”

“Just some bruising. I’ll be fit as a buck rat again by
Saturday night, no worries.”

“I don’t see how you guys can do this, play week after week,
when you get so banged up every time,” she objected. “It’s really too much.”

  “It always feels like hard yakka around this point,” he
agreed. “But you have to consider the alternative. We could’ve lost last night.
Then we wouldn’t have had to play any more Super matches till next season. You
can bet that the Highlanders would be happy to trade places with us just now. I
had three weeks of rest a couple months ago, remember? And I didn’t enjoy it a
bit. The definition of “rest” is, what you’ll have heaps of after you lose.”

She was reading in bed Friday night when her phone rang. Seeing
his name on the screen, she picked it up with pleasure.

“Hi, you. I was just thinking about you. Are you in the
hotel? How are you boys doing? How’d practice go today?”

“Yeh, at the hotel, and pretty good to both the other
questions,” he answered with a smile in his voice. “Captain’s Run today, the
day before the match. That’s always a short one, Drew making sure everyone
knows what he’s meant to do on the night. Wish we were playing at Eden Park
tomorrow, though. The Reds crowd is always hostile.”

“It sounds like it might be getting tough now. The night
before a big game like this, with no more practice to work out the jitters.”

“I am a bit nervy now I’m in the room, nothing else to think
about,” he admitted. “That’s why I wanted to talk to you. I need you to relax
me.”

“Well, sure. I’d be glad to, if I can,” she answered
doubtfully. “I’m not sure what to say that’s relaxing, though.”

 “You could start by telling me what you’re wearing,” he
suggested.

“What? I don’t care how nervous you are, I am not having
some kind of weird phone sex chat with you. Especially not if your roommate
could walk in at any time. He’d better not be there now.”

“No worries. He’s off to the flicks with some of the other
boys. Here I am, all alone. Lonesome, too. Missing you. Come on, now,” he
coaxed. “Tell me what you’re wearing.”

“All right. Just for you, I’ll tell you. Because unfortunately,
I’m wearing your favorites. I could make something up, I guess, but my
imagination isn’t as good as yours.”

“Not the sheep pajamas,” he groaned.

She laughed. “Afraid so. What are you going to do about
that?”

“You’ll just have to take them off, then. Let me concentrate
on what’s under there. You can start by unbuttoning the top.”

“You have to tell me you’re doing it,” he informed her into
the silence. “I can’t see you. I need some help, imagining.”

“OK,” she said in resignation. “This is weird. I’m
embarrassed. But I’m taking it off now.”

“You need to go more slowly. I’ve got a long evening ahead
of me. Need to stretch this out if you’re going to distract me. Take off the
bottoms, now. Slowly. Slide them down those gorgeous legs. And imagine it’s me
doing it. How I’d be touching you on the way. How my hands would feel, sliding
down your thighs.”

“Oh, God. You already have me going,” she sighed. “I don’t
know how you do that. They’re coming off now. I’m dropping them on the floor.”

He closed his eyes. Lay back against the pillows and felt
better than he had all day. “What are you wearing now? Anything?”

“You’re going to like this better. Much, much better. I’m
wearing that white undershirt with the little straps, and the matching panties.
The ones with the pink ribbon woven through at the top. And the little pink
rose in the middle.”

He groaned. “I love those. This is going to be so good.
We’re going to go so slowly. Right, then. You can start by running your hand
over that ribbon. The shirt first. And reach underneath while you’re doing it,
just a bit. Not too far, now.”

“Doing that now,” she told him. “Touching the ribbon. Reaching
underneath.”

“Not too far,” he reminded her sternly. “You need to wait
till I tell you you’re allowed to.”

He heard the hitch in her breath as she obeyed. “OK,” she
sighed. “I won’t. Not till you say.”

“You’re listening so well. Now the undies. Same thing. Just
the ribbon, and under the ribbon. Nothing else. Not yet.”

“Doing that too. Really slowly. Oh, Koti. It feels so good.”

“That’s good, baby. You’re doing so well. Now take your hand
and slide it under that shirt. So slowly. Over your belly, then your ribs. Over
all that gorgeous skin. Till you’re touching yourself. Running your hand over
your breasts. Doing what I’d be doing to you, if I were there. And while you’re
doing it, I want you to think about my hand being there. My hand sliding over
you. Touching you.”

“You have to tell me you’re doing it,” he said into the
silence, hearing only her breath. “That’s required.”

“Oh,” she breathed. “I’m doing it.”

He smiled again as he listened to her, pictured her. “Time
to pull that shirt up,” he decided. “Slowly, remember. Pull it up so it’s under
your arms first. And slide your hand over yourself. I want you to imagine my
mouth on you. And that I’m biting you. Because you know what that does to you.”

Her breath was coming faster now. “I wish you were here,
doing that to me. But it feels good anyway. It feels so good.”

“I know it does, baby. Now pay attention, because you’re
going to have to concentrate. Listen to me. I want you to pull that shirt right
off you. You’ll have to put down the phone, because you’re going to need two
hands for that. And while you’re doing it, you need to think about how slowly I’d
be pulling it off if I were there. Where I’d be kissing you while I did it. And
how you’d be arching up against me, asking me to touch you, starting to beg me.
And when you’ve done all that, when you’ve taken your shirt off, you’ll be lying
there with just those little white panties on, won’t you? And then I want you
to pick up the phone again. So I can tell you what you’re going to do next.”

He listened to the whisper of fabric, then heard her pick up
the phone again. “I did it, Koti. I’m not sure I can do the rest of this,
though. It feels so good. But I feel so . . . so naughty doing this with you
listening. And saying those things to me.”

“That’s because you are naughty, though. Haven’t I told you
that? You’re a bad, bad girl. I already know that, remember? All you have to do
is listen to me, and do what I say. Just like you’d do if I were there. It’s only
you and me here. You’re showing me how beautiful you are, that’s all. Making me
feel how much I want you, everything I want to do to you. The way you always
do, every time I’m with you.”

“All right,” she sighed. “I’ll do it for you. I don’t think
I can stop anyway. You’re making me so crazy.”

He exhaled in relief. “You’re doing so well. You’re so
gorgeous, baby. I love to tease you so much. But this next part is a bit hard,
so you’re going to have to listen really closely to what I’m telling you. I
want you to reach down to those little panties and touch yourself. Only on the
outside, though. No reaching underneath. Not yet. And tell me when you’re doing
it. All you have to say is, ‘I’m doing it, Koti.’”

“I’m doing it,” she said softly.

“That’s good. That’s so good. Keep doing that. And imagine
it’s my hand there on you. That I’m reaching down to touch you, feel you there.
And that you’re opening up for me.”

“Now comes the part I like best,” he went on as he listened
to her breathing, the sighs that were escaping her now. “You get to take that
hand and slip it inside. Going to have to spread your legs a bit more to do
that, aren’t you? Just like you do when I’m touching you. And think about how
I’d be doing that. How I’d be holding your legs, moving them apart so I could
see you. How I’d be touching you, kissing you.”

 “Oh,” she sighed, as her excitement mounted. “This is so
bad of me.”

“That’s right, baby. It’s so bad. You’re a bad, bad girl. I
know exactly what to do with bad girls, though. And I’m going to tell you all
about it. You just listen. Keep touching yourself while I tell you. Because I’m
going to make you crazy.”

Her heart was beating so hard, she thought he must be able
to hear it. Part of her still felt embarrassed, as if someone really were watching
her perform. The rest of her, though, was almost unbearably excited as he
continued to tell her what he wanted to do to her. What he’d be doing to her
tonight, if he were there. What he was going to do the next time they were
together.

 She stopped answering him as her focus narrowed to his
voice, her body, the feelings he was arousing in her. She felt the shift as she
began to climb, her breath coming faster. Hearing it, he answered with a final
suggestion that made her gasp and sent her spiraling over the top, crying out
her release.

When her breath had returned at last, she told him with a
sigh, “I keep thinking I’ve done the nastiest possible thing with you now. And
I keep being wrong.”

“Too right. Because I have so much more to do with you. So
many things I need to do to you. Like I’ve been telling you.”

“That’s it, though. I keep thinking you’re just talking. I
guess you’ve shown me.”

“Oh, I don’t think so. Think I still need to show you.
Starting in a couple days. And when you’re watching tomorrow, if I score a try,
I’ll let you know. That I’m thinking about you. And that you helped me relax
and get right tonight.”

“I’ll watch for that,” she told him. “I’m going to sleep now,
though. Because you relaxed me, too. And because if I think about this any more,
I’m either going to get excited again, or horribly embarrassed. I don’t even
know which.”

He laughed gently. “Don’t be embarrassed. You’re beautiful,
and you make me want you so much. Can’t wait to show you how much. But go to
sleep now. Good night, baby.”

“Good night,” she told him with a smile. Pressed the
End
button
and fell asleep with the phone still cradled in her hand.

“I’m so nervous,” she confided to Hannah the following
evening. “How do you stand this?”

“It never gets that much easier, to tell you the truth. It
helps to have somebody to watch with. Jack’s pretty good company, but his
conversation leaves a little to be desired. Thanks for coming over to hang out
with us.”

“On the other hand,” Kate mused as the pregame commentary
drew to a close, “I also feel like I’m fourteen years old, watching the boy
band I have a crush on.”

Hannah laughed. “I know what you mean there, too. Don’t
enjoy being a WAG, huh?”

“Nope. Very weird.”

“Same here, especially at first. I think the answer to that is
that you have to separate the persona from the person. I’m married to the person
who comes home after all this, win or lose. Who’s doing his job like anyone
else, however visible it is.”

 “Yeah, but a wife doesn’t normally watch her husband doing
his job, does he?” Kate pointed out. “That part is odd. Like if you were
married to a surgeon and you watched all his operations.”

“Well, maybe a little bit more enjoyable than that,” Hannah
smiled. “You have to admit, it’s fun to watch them play, though it can be scary
too. And it’s not like I have to critique Drew’s performance. He gets plenty of
that. He sure doesn’t need it from me. I wouldn’t know anyway, even though I
watch him the whole game. He always looks good to me.”

 They watched in relative quiet for a while. Hannah was
surprisingly knowledgeable, able to explain strategy and penalties that still
baffled Kate.

“How do you know so much?” Kate asked at last.

“You must have figured out what rugby players do during
their time off,” Hannah said. “I’ve watched a fair amount of this game on TV by
now, with expert analysis provided.”

The score shifted back and forth during the first half,
neither side holding a clear advantage. To Kate’s inexpert eye, both teams
seemed to be playing well. Their strong defensive efforts meant that the score
stood at only eight to seven at the half, each side having scored only a single
try.