The cold wind is brutal against my bare arms and I’m thankful I’m close to the stadium so that I can run back in and grab my stuff. Daisy shivers, folding her arms over one another and rubbing her hands up and down to create fiction.
“I can’t let you freeze.” I grab her hand and pull her down the street. Just holding her hand is warming me, and it’s starting to freak me out. I’m not into that weird voodoo shit, but I’m starting to think she’s a witch or something with the way my body reacts when I touch her.
“I’ll be fine.” Her protests fall on deaf ears as I reach the players’ door and enter my code. We’re technically allowed to come and go as we please, but they really prefer us not to return after a game. Luckily for me, or for us, the cleaning and grounds crew are still here.
I take Daisy down the hall and into the clubhouse. The lights are still on, and it stinks like sweat and other shit. I walk to my locker and grab the stuff I need. When I turn around, Daisy is lost in her own world. She’s running her fingers along the lockers, our nameplates, and over the plaques we have hanging up. Some of the greats have their names engraved there; reminding us of everything they’d accomplished and built before we were even a thought in our parents’ minds.
“When the usher came and got me, I thought I was in trouble. He told me that you wanted to meet me, and I didn’t believe him at first, but when you showed up, I thought ‘wow, he’s true to his word’. Then you asked me to dinner, which I had to pay for,” she pauses and winks at me, “and I had a good time, but being in here… I’ve always dreamed of walking into the clubhouse on game day and wondered what it was like.”
“Well, it doesn’t smell like this, that’s for sure.” I run my hand through my hair and grimace because it stinks like something died in here. She laughs and shakes her head. Daisy walks over and stands in front of me. I’ve never really been attracted to girls who are much shorter than me because of the whole having to bend down to kiss them thing, but there’s something special about Daisy. I’m not sure what that something is yet, but I’m hoping to find out.
“Thanks for bringing me here.”
In this moment, I wish I’ve known her longer than a couple of hours, or we were hammered, because I’d really like to kiss her. Instead, I say, “You’re welcome.” Except it comes out as a whisper, and suddenly the room is a sauna and she’s licking her lips and I’m licking mine. We both step together at the same time, our chests matching a rhythmic breathing pattern. Our heads tilt in opposite directions lining us up perfectly. One of us needs to close the gap and I want it to be her...there’s something sexy about a woman who makes the first move, who goes after what she wants. I want Daisy to press what I’m assuming will be the softest set of lips I’ve ever encountered against mine. I want to feel the wetness of her tongue coat my lips, asking for me to meet her half way in what’s surely going to be an explosive first kiss.
“Don’t forget to tell her about your pecker fungus, Davenport.”
We both jump back and I’m muttering ‘mother fucker’ as she turns tomato red. If I didn’t embarrass her earlier, I have now.
“Fuck you, Kidd.” I pick up a piece of clothing and throw it at him. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing?” he waggles his eyebrows and looks at Daisy who has her eyes focused on the ground.
“We were just leaving.” I don’t want to get into why I’m back here because I’ll never hear the end of it. I grab my jacket and sweatshirt, and motion for Daisy to follow me out. She’s right on my heels, bumping into me when I stop to turn around.
I catch her in my arms as she falls into my chest, using the situation to my advantage so I can feel her against me. It’s a dirty trick, but I never said I played clean. She’s the first one to pull away, adjusting her hat as she does.