Thank you to Signe for reviewing! Please don't worry- I was not at all offended by your comment, honest; I just wanted to explain why I write like I do.
I woke at eight on Saturday to take Monty for a walk before I took him with me to netball. He was our unofficial team mascot, but needed a walk beforehand in order to expend some of his energy. Previous experience, had shown that a non-exercised Monty did not make for a dutiful canine companion, and I wasn't going through that trauma again! I'd already rang Rach last night after I'd jogged home with Monty to test out my ankle. After being subjected to a lecture about how stupid I was being by playing while I was still injured, I arranged to pick her up at about ten past ten in order to make sure we were at the courts in time for the warm-up.
I was back by half eight and had a quick breakfast before I headed into the shower and got changed into my netball kit. Kit consisted of club colours: a navy blue skintight dress with navy undershorts, a pair of white socks, ankle supports and my trainers. My hair was up out of my face in a high ponytail, a headband in place to keep any stray hairs at bay. I threw a hoodie on over the top of my dress to keep me warm, but couldn't be bothered to take my trainers off again in order to put my trackies on over my dress, so settled for bare legs instead. It was an overcast day, yet it wasn't too cold, so it wasn't as if I'd freeze. Thankfully I'd managed to remember to shave my legs while I was in the shower, so at least I didn't have that to worry about; I didn't want to be mistaken for a yeti. Dressed and ready, I clipped Monty onto his lead before grabbing my keys and heading out the door. What I wasn't expecting, when I opened it was to see Will, hand raised as if to knock, stood outside. He looked absolutely shattered- there were huge bags under his eyes, and a couple of day's worth of stubble on his chin.
"Oh, I-"
"What are you doing here?" We both spoke at once.
"Sorry, you go." I said to Will, indicating that he should speak first.
"I fixed the glitch in London. Well, temporarily anyway.I still need to work out what caused it, but I thought I'd come up here to surprise you. It's good to see that you're feeling better."
"Oh, that's great, Will! Yeah, I'm feeling better thanks." I smiled up at him, and he replied in kind, before glancing down at my outfit.
"Are you going somewhere? I mean, I'm not interrupting am I?"
"Oh, it's nothing really. I've got a match, that's all."
"A match?"
"Yes, a netball match; I play for a team every Saturday." He raised an eyebrow at that.
"Oh really?"
"Yep. It should be a good one."
"Not this Saturday, you're not. You surely can't be considering playing on your ankle- you just got off crutches for God's sake! I mean, are you crazy?" Yes, I probably was, but we were not forfeiting this match. He tried to manoeuvre me back into the flat, but I resisted. "What are you even wearing anyway?"
"It's my kit. We play in dresses."
"Honey, that does not constitute a dress; if you turn I can probably see your butt cheek poking out." I crossed my arms across my chest, irritated. Netball dresses were designed to be short, but they definitely weren't butt cheek short.
"You are being ridiculous. I am playing, and there's nothing you can say to stop me."
"I'm being ridiculous? You're going off to play on an injury in a t-shirt." I scowled at him.
"It is a dress, Will. And I'm going, not that it's any of your business!"
"You're my soulfinder- of course you're my business." I stormed past him, slamming the door behind me. I didn't have to explain my decisions to him; I wasn't a child.
"Hey, wait. Alexis, wait!" I ignored him, walking further down the corridor with Monty trailing after me. I felt a hand clamp on my arm, and I turned to face him.
"Look, at least let me come with you." I ignored him. "Look, I'm not trying to be a douche- I just want what's best for you; I don't want to see you get hurt. I mean, surely even you realise that playing 'netall'"
"Netball. It's netball- there's a 'b'"
"Netball, netall; whatever! You could be playing lacrosse or football, but the fact remains that you shouldn't be playing. Come on, don't tell me your Mum would advise you to play today. Wait, actually, I've got her number, why don't I ask her myself?" He pulled out his phone, as if he was actually going to dial her number.
"You wouldn't!"
"Try me." He held the phone up to his ear. Shit.
"Wait, Will- don't! Please! I'm not doing this to put myself at risk. I get that it's not the most logical thing to do, but I have to go. This match is important, really important. Please don't call my Mum!" She'd be over here in a flash- reprimanding me for even considering such a thing.
"Important enough to risk hurting yourself?"
"Look, we're a player down if I can't play. That means we have to forfeit, which means we won't get promotion. We've worked too hard to throw it away. Besides, I'm not even going to running that much. I'll be fine."
"You're not shifting on this, are you?" I shook my head. "Okay, fine. I won't say anymore, but don't say I didn't tell you so when you end up hurting yourself more." He slid his phone back into his pocket.
"You didn't ring her, did you?" He shook his head. "Well, good- you won't need to because I'm not going to hurt myself."
"Let's wait and see, babe. Come on, let's go."
"Hey, who said you were coming?"
"I drove from London to see you; let me at least spend some time with you before we end up in A&E, and I have to break the news to your Mum."
"Okay, fine." I agreed, leading him out of the complex.
We took my car, and headed off to pick up Rach. It wasn't quite as fancy as Will's Aston Martin, but it did the job; I liked my trusty little fiat. Will was sat in the passenger seat, but even with the seat pushed back it still wasn't quite big enough for him. Monty was sat contentedly on his lap, half asleep as Will stroked his fur.
"Okay, so we're picking up my best friend on the way as she's playing too. Now, I'm gonna warn you- she's a bit of a live wire; I don't know what she'll say to you. I mean, it won't be anything bad, but… just, yeah. She's quite… forward. But she means well, she'll just be looking out for me." He nodded.
"I'll be fine Alexis, don't worry."
"You say that now- you haven't met her yet." I muttered as we pulled into her road. Pulling up outside her house I honked twice, and waited for the front door to open.
"Should I move into the back?" He asked, ruffling Monty's fur.
"No, stay where you are. Rach can go in the back- you're cramped enough as it is." He nodded as I saw Rach run out of the house, kit bag in hand. I turned to him as I saw her approach.
"Anything she says, please don't take it seriously, okay?" He nodded. "No, but seriously- she has no filter. She won't be deliberately trying to offend you, but that's sometimes how people feel after they've talked to her"
"It's okay, Alexis. I'll be fine." I smiled unconvincingly, preparing myself for the torturous car journey that was about to ensue.
"Hey Alexis!" She yelled as she jogged down the drive. "You're a moron for playing today, you know." I rolled my eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, it's better than forfeiting. Take a seat in the back, we've got a passenger." She slid into the back seat without complaint, her jaw dropping when Will and I turned to look at her.
"Rach, this is Will." For once, she was speechless.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Will said, extending a hand for her to shake.
"Likewise. So you're the non-boyfriend boyfriend that's got Alexis so wound up."
"Is that so?" He asked, looking at me and quirking his eyebrow. I avoided eye contact, pulling off onto the road.
"Yeah, she's been all distracted and everything! It's so hard to get any information out of her about you at all, mind. But that's solved now- you're actually here I can ask you all I want, can't I? Like: Jesus, how are you so gorgeous? If I didn't have a fiancé, well…" She licked her lips lasciviously, and Will squirmed uncomfortably in response.
"Rach.." I growled.
"I'm kidding! I'm kidding! Relax, Alexis! So Will, has she used the lingerie I bought for her on your behalf yet?"
"Lingerie? Oh, I know Alexis' penchant for lingerie, but I didn't know she had some more pieces to model for me."
"I am going to kill you." I said sweetly, glaring at Rach in the rear view mirror.
"Will will protect me, won't you Will." He nodded enthusiastically in response, and I glared at him.
"Just whose side are you on, sweetheart?" I asked.
"Honey, I'm powerless against a force that's promising you in lingerie. I'm a man, after all. Besides, Rachel thinks it's stupid for you to play today too- we've already got a common interest." Rachel cackled at that from the back seat.
"You know, Will, I like you. I think we're gonna get on just fine."
And it turns out, she was right. The rest of the ride to the match was spent with Rach interrogating Will. She asked him all manner of questions: where he was born, how old he was, when his birthday was, what degree he had, what he did now, how he set up his company. They were all questions that I should have asked, but never had. I was a lousy excuse for a soulfinder- he knew everything about me, yet I knew nothing about him. As is sensing my distress he rested his hand on my knee.
"You okay, sweetheart?" He asked, concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He squeezed my leg comfortingly, before returning to answering Rachel's never-ending set of questions. I kept my eyes on the road whilst they talked, pulling into the courts minutes later. Rachel leapt out as soon as the car came to a standstill. Will and I followed more sedately afterwards. He insisted on carrying my bag for me, so he had that slung over one shoulder, Monty's lead in one hand, and my hand in his other.
"You did well there, you know. She likes you." We both watched as Rach ran into the courts, gathering the girls together in a huddle; no doubt gossiping about Will and I. My suspicions were confirmed when the whole team turned to look at us.
"I like her. She's nice."
"She is. She's been my best friend since we were babies, practically. And although she's crazy I love her to bits."
"If she buys you lingerie on my behalf she's definitely got my seal of approval." He winked, and I slapped him lightly on the chest with my free hand.
"You are terrible, you know!" He shrugged. "So, what is netall, then?"
"Netball, Will!"
"Oh yeah, sorry!"
"It's kind of like basketball, really. Except you can't run with the ball." He stopped short at that.
"You can't run with the ball? That's the stupidest rule I ever heard. How do you move the ball then?"We carried on walking.
"You pass it while you're stood still." He still looked bemused by my explanation, but I carried on. "It makes more sense when you see it. There are seven players on either side, and the court is made up of three thirds. Which thirds you are allowed in is totally dependent on your position. That's the basics anyway. You'll pick up more as you watch." We walked into the caged court, and I introduced Will to some of the other team members' boyfriends and family who had come to watch. He seemed happy enough, and was soon chatting away whilst we began our warmup. He was certainly drawing attention from my team as well as the opposition. A hot guy with a cute puppy was an automatic chick magnet.
My team gathered for a quick team talk once we'd warmed up- it was tradition.
"So, Alexis, is that your boyfriend?" Gemma, my teammate asked, her eyes looking Will up and down. I was about to deny he was my boyfriend when Rachel butted in.
"Yeah, he is. He's gorgeous, isn't he? He's the boyfriend I was telling you she all had at training a couple of weeks back." They all 'ahh'd' in understanding at that.
"Does he have any brothers?" Hannah asked. "He is absolutely divine."
"Seven, actually." I deadpanned. "But they're all taken, sorry guys. Anyway, let's get back to netball; what's the plan?" We managed to spend the rest of that time talking tactics, not how I could help to set the team up with Will's siblings. I was to play GS, not my usual position of centre, under the strict instruction that if my ankle started really hurting I was to tell them, and we'd forfeit the game. Pulling off my hoodie, I handed it to Will to look after, who was happy to oblige, but concerned both by how skintight and short my dress was, and how wearing a dress without thermals on an overcast day might not do my cold much good.
Ignoring his concerns, I headed onto the court, and the match began. It was clear from the start that we weren't on top form; the change in positions just wasn't working, and we were 5-0 down by the end of the first quarter- I hadn't even touched the ball yet! Joining the other girls for a post-quarter debrief, I voiced my opinion.
"Guys, this isn't working. Why don't we drop back to our usual positions?"
"Alexis, you cannot seriously be contemplating running around on that ankle! Do you want to injure yourself?" Rach asked, outraged.
"I'll be fine; I'll tell you if it hurts."
"Are you sure about this, Alexis?" Hannah asked, her eyebrows furrowed in concern.
"Positive. We are not losing to Ashbourne today!" I tugged my bib off, and handed it to Grace, our usual shooter, before getting the centre bib from a reluctant Rachel.
"Right girls, let's go!" I said, pulling the centre bib over my head and striding onto the court. I was ready. The next quarter was much better. My ankle was twinging painfully when I ran, but I wasn't about to complain; we'd manage to claim back four goals, and only concede one more. We could do this! The whistle blew, and I headed over to Will to grab my water bottle before I re-joined the team for a talk.
"Alexis, are you sure you're okay?" He asked, as he draped my hoodie around my shoulders to keep me warm, rubbing his palms along my forearms to create friction.
"I'm fine." I said as I took a large gulp from my water bottle. "You want some?" I offered, pointing the bottle in his direction.
"No, you keep it; you'll need it. You're playing really well! I can't believe I never knew about netball before- Sky and Phee never mentioned it." I stepped away from his embrace to join the team and analyse the quarter.
"It's not the most popular of sports, but I'm sure you'll be an expert in no time."
"We'll see." He shouted back at me as I headed over to join the girls.
The next two quarters continued in a similar fashion to the second. We managed to claw it back to 8-8 in the third quarter, which meant it was all to play for in the fourth. I could hear Will shouting encouragement from the sidelines, but I was too focussed on playing to pay too much attention to what was being said. In the end, we managed to sneak victory from the jaws of defeat, with Grace managing to sneak in a last second winner. We were ecstatic; we leapt around hugging each other, before finally remembering to follow protocol, shaking the hands of our opposition, before continuing with our celebrations. The spectators came over to join in with our fun; Will and Monty being two of them. He held out my hoodie for me to slip on, pressing a kiss to my cheek as he did so.
"We don't need you catching a chill, superstar." He said, brushing a sweaty piece of hair that had escaped my headband away from my face.
"Alright, lovebirds! Break it up!" Rach yelled at us. I blushed at that, but Will seemed to embrace it, wrapping his arms around me and holding me to his chest. I snuggled in closer, feeling him press a kiss to the top of my head. Things seemed to be looking up.
Please leave a review! Also, don't forget to favourite and follow! If I hit 290 reviews I'll update tomorrow :) Please let me know what you thought! And yeah, if you want some more of Will and Alexis you know what to do! I know I'm cheeky to beg for reviews, but they are the only thing that makes me keep updating. Hugs x