At first I worry that Lucy won’t come along to the bar. Not that it would be so hard to find a woman down to fuck…but I don’t want another woman. She caught my eye, Lucy with no wedding ring. I watch her whisper furiously with Tawnya and then stoop to kiss her kid goodnight. And then I grin because she turns to me shyly, tucking her hair behind her ears. She’s definitely interested.
I nod my head toward the door. “Join me?”
She bites her luscious bottom lip and hesitates. “The team won’t even be there yet.”
“Good,” I tell her, with a half-smile playing on my lips. “I won’t have to share you with anyone.” I step into the elevator and raise my brows, expectantly, and I grin when she steps inside with me, leaning against the wall, studying me. I loosen my tie, knowing she likes what she sees.
We both step out on the ground floor and make our way into the club house, where a few members of the medical staff from both teams are sitting around one of the tables with a pitcher of beer and some plastic cups. “What’s your poison?” I don’t really know or care if there’s restrictions on what players can order.
Lucy ponders the question, tapping a finger against the bar. Her nails are short, unpainted. She’s a low-fuss woman, wearing cut-offs and a t-shirt. I like that. “It’s been a long time since I drank,” she admits, scrunching up her face. “I guess just a light beer?”
I nod and reach into a bucket sitting out on the bar, grabbing two bottles. I twist off the caps and hand one to her and grin. “What should we toast?”
She smiles. “To Pittsburgh,” she says. “The iron city.”
I lean closer to her, my mouth an inch from her ear. “I can think of a few things that are made of iron.” I don’t miss the quick shift of her eyes, glancing down my body. “Barbells,” I say, inching closer still. “Bridges…the thighs of a midfielder…”
Lucy laughs. “That was terrible.”
“You think I’m joking, Lucy?” I trace a finger through her hair where a piece is stuck to her collar bone, watching her shiver beneath my touch. She looks up at me, pupils blown, chest heaving. She’s into me, and I’m into that. “Should we get out of here?” Too much. A hint of uncertainty flashes over her face, so I say, “We could check out the field. I haven’t even felt the turf here yet.”
She grins and sets her beer on the bar. “I’d love that, actually.”
“Well, come on, then.” I grab her hand and tug her through the bar as the final fans make their way out of the stadium. It’s much quieter out here now that everyone’s gone, except for a few random groundskeepers. There’s a fence separating the bleachers from the grass but I hop over it easily. I turn to hoist Lucy over the fence but see she’s got a sneakered foot pressed into the wire mesh and is mid-swing heaving herself over. I smile and nod slowly. This woman is all sorts of surprising.
She inhales and looks up into the stadium lights and sighs. “This is amazing. Look how flat it is.”
I love being on the field alone. I often come early on game day just so I get a chance to walk up and down the sideline, getting a feel for the turf that day. Depending on the weather, it can be a totally different experience from one week to the next. I spy a ball off to the side and walk toward it, toeing it back. I drape my suit coat over the fence and gently tap the ball in between my feet. “Yeah,” I say. “This is a good field.”
“I love how the breeze from the river comes through here. Makes it so much cooler.” Lucy seems like she’s just wandering toward me to make conversation, but before I can react, she swipes the ball from me with her foot, scooting around behind me and dribbling her way toward the goal.
“Oh, hell, no,” I say, immediately sprinting after her. She laughs as she weaves around with the ball. Lucy is no newbie. I get in front of her, blocking her way to the goal and in a few moves, manage to get the ball back, charging away from her.
She’s on me in a flash, close up in my space, faking me out as she darts out a foot to steal the ball. “Bet you can’t score,” she says, her face lit up with joy as she succeeds in snatching the ball.
“What do I get if I do?” I check her with my hip and spin behind her, easily scooping up the ball, even in dress shoes, bouncing it from my knee to my shin, showing off now as I try to circle her.
“Well,” Lucy says, biting that lip of hers and stealing the ball back with her knee. “What do you want?”
“I want everything,” I say, maneuvering into her space and then jogging backwards, toeing the ball along with me when she tries to steal it again. “But how about a kiss?” I look up at the goal. I’m pretty far back to make a shot, but I’m a professional and I’m confident.
She laughs. “I guess that sounds fair. But you’re not going to score.” She gets low, like she’s ready to block a kick. I fake right, plant and swing and she pivots an instant too late. The ball sails into the net and I step right in front of her, both of us breathing heavy.
“Ready to pay up, Lucy?”
She shrugs. Her eyes dance in the lights from the bleachers and then we’re plunged into darkness as the grounds crew shuts them off. She gasps at the sudden sound and I wrap an arm around her waist. “You all right?” My mouth is close to her ear. “Cause I’m about to rock your world with this kiss.”
I feel her relax as she laughs and swats at my chest. “Cocky,” she says.
I shake my head. “It’s not cocky if I can back it up.”
She draws in a breath and tilts her head back, parting her lips. I lean in and press my mouth against hers. I intend to be gentle, but she wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me close. I moan in surprise and feel her lean into me. Lucy kisses me fiercely, her tongue swiping across the seam of my lips, her hands smoothing along my chest.
I slide my tongue into her mouth and feel her open to me, yielding. She moans as her hips grind against mine and I wish I’d taken her into an office or something instead of out here on the field, in the open. Because I cannot get enough.
But then she pulls back, breathless. She gathers her hair in one hand and tugs it back over her shoulder, panting. “I have to go,” she says, her eyes searching in the darkness, looking for the exit.
I nod and walk with her toward the fence. “You need help ov—okay, nope.” I laugh as she hops the fence again with ease and I follow her over. “You gonna call me sometime, Lucy?”
She reaches the exit and turns over her shoulder. She grins. “Maybe.” And then she’s gone into the parking lot before I can give her my number.