staticdream

Anxiety and excitement fizzled in the air as Neil breathed in the Rizal Memorial Stadium. It had been too long— far too long— since he had set foot on Philippine grass and he missed it dearly despite a certain someone’s doubts. This was home to him, too; this was a pitch he was intent on defending. He tensed his muscles, feeling them constrict tightly and holding them for a moment before releasing them. It should have calmed him down, but why was he still so restless?

It wasn’t the game, per se, though it was a major part never leaving his consciousness. It was something else, something nagging at the back of his head. A small voice whispering of what wasn’t there- or rather, who wasn’t there.

Neil looked up and skywards towards the tall buildings surrounding the pitch. He knew exactly where to home into. By heart he knew which window lead to her, but she wasn’t there either. He scowled. Just two nights before wasn’t it him who made a big gesture just to prove his feelings for her? Wasn’t it him who had gotten her passes to the night’s game?

Where was she?

Around him the usual hustle of pre-game rituals commenced, but he was too distracted. Too much for his own good. Too much that even his teammates were looking at him funny. He ignored them.

It was game time, and he needed himself whole.

Still, every now and then his eyes would fly up to the stands where the crowd was growing, and up to the buildings. Ren was going to be the death of him, and he made sure he was going to punish her dearly for it.

Eyes on the ball, he told himself, eyes on the ball. Game time was in a mere thirty minutes, and every kick, every footfall on the soft tropical grass, he normalized into game mode. He was defending his home posts. He was ready.

A flicker, almost a whisper.

His eyes very briefly flitted towards the stands, and there he saw her. It was only a moment, a one tiny darting glance, but he was sure.

A smirk played on his face, and his eyes narrowed in intense concentration. This time it was for real.

Game on.

…

Ecstatic was an understatement. The crowd was wild, but the smile on Neil’s face was ever wilder. He searched her out in the crowd. He had to. He was beaming with pride and he had to share it with her. It was imperative that he did. Halftime may have been for practicing a few more shots, but he had to see her.

She stood flailing wildly with a friend in the stands. She was jumping up and down, screaming, still screaming, and he wanted to just scoop her up in his arms and plant a kiss on her lips. Later, he chuckled naughtily, later for sure.

Until she turned around, and Neil caught sight of the jersey she wore. Myhusband. His blood began to boil. Jersey 7: Myhusband?!

That was it.

Several muscles tensed again, and Neil set his jaw tight as he returned to his game. He was going to show her who was number 1. He clenched his fists tightly as he took his position between the goalposts. Ren slipped her head through the railings and Misagh and Angel both came up to her to give her hugs.

Did no one know Ren was off-limits?

Neil didn’t care if they were close. Ren was his girlfriend, he wasn’t going around hugging other guys’ girlfriends, so it should follow that no one should come anywhere near his.

Of course, their relationship wasn’t exactly public knowledge.

Neil was going to make sure he was going to do something about that.

…

The brothers had shots apiece, and from his peripheral vision, he could see Ren screaming harder than he’s ever seen her cheer for the team. She was beside herself with joy, jumping to her heart’s delight and leaning over the railings and high-fiving Misagh and Angel. Neil realized he shouldn’t have given her passes that close to the benches.

He was getting frustrated. Why wasn’t Nepal playing any better? His chances of showing Ren something she would really cheer for was growing slimmer. Was she some kind of unlucky charm for him?

And finally, when Nepal finally made a shot and it went straight into his hands, he was fired up. A smug smirk wouldn’t leave his face, and he turned towards the stands again.

She wasn’t looking.

…

4-0

He couldn’t wait to get off duty and finally, finally, show her who’s number one. He was restless the entire time. Interviews wouldn’t go by faster, meet and greets wouldn’t end earlier. From his periphery he spotted Ren giving both Phil and James hugs.

Ren was hug-phobic, and yet there she was giving free hugs to anyone who came by. Or maybe she’s just hug-phobic to you? He shook the thought away. After the other night, she definitely wasn’t touch-phobic.

Definitely not.

His eyes zoomed in on her in Misagh’s arms and his eyes twitched violently as he stalked towards them. Didn’t Misagh have a girlfriend? Didn’t they have some sort of trouble because of Ren? What was this going on now? It wasn’t over then because apparently James and Phil were loving her shirt. Shouldn’t they have been somewhere else?

He towered over them, not sparing anyone from his evil eye. The guys didn’t seem to get the message, and Neil pulled off his shirt. With stares at him for his bold move, he yanked Ren away and despite her protestations, he tugged the shirt over the one she wore and planted a kiss on her lips.

“Now people should know who you belong to,” he growled.

…

Apparently no one got the message.

Worse off, it appeared that not even Ren got the message. How dense could the girl be? She was supposed to be the smart one and yet there she was flitting around like it was something she typically did.

Still, he managed to get her to wear one of his shirts, and there was something gratifyingly intimate about seeing her in his clothes. It took come convincing, but she finally acquiesced to wearing one of his spare jerseys to the after party. If it were up to him, their own little after party would be an all exclusive party for two underneath his sheets.

Maybe. Ren’s been naughty after all.

Why did Ren have more guy friends than girl friends? He recognized Nona and Mai, but Mai was out of the country again, and Nona was busying herself with Nate. Ren, however, was hopping around tables like some life of the party and Neil, couldn’t for the life of him, figure out when this happened. He considered the option that she could have been inebriated, but he hasn’t seen her with a drink in her hand that night.

Perhaps this was just an all new dimension to her. He wasn’t sure if he liked it or not- or if the dislike was more because she was too happy and it wasn’t because she was in his arms.

“I have to be honest, mate. I didn’t think that would happen.” Phil suddenly appeared next to him, gesturing towards Ren.

“Didn’t expect what?” Neil dreaded the answer already.

“You and Ren. I mean, you did ask for her contact details and everything, but I didn’t think she’d actually go out with you.”

“Thanks?”

Phil laughed, “It’s just that I thought she’d get together with someone like Misagh, and then she goes telling me she’s been in love with James all along-”

“I get it. Someone not like me?”

“Someone older at least.”

Neil wasn’t expecting that. He expected someone funnier, someone more laid back, perhaps someone more cool-headed, less sensual, less, well, less like him and everything else he knew Ren worried about. “Older?”

Phil shrugged. “Older,”

Neil watched as his teammate walked away. At the other side of the room Ren was having her fun with the Ladies Circle- something he didn’t think was possible. The win he attributed to the grass, it was exhilarating feeling the familiar crunch of leaf blades under his feet, Ren he couldn’t figure out.

It was almost as if she was shielding herself away from him. The Myhusband shirt, her being distant that night. He didn’t notice it at first because in his mind he thought it was all the awkwardness from where they left off with the team.

He smirked. To him, it was just another one of those tie-breakers. He just had to pick up his game and make sure he defended his post, only he didn’t really know from what.

He took a cautionary sip of his drink, peering over the glass and keeping his eyes on her. He was glad she was laughing, it wasn’t forced, it wasn’t fake. What was wrong with her?

“Hi,”

Usually a female voice next to him brought a smile to his face. He was friendly by nature, it was only right he smile in return. He dropped his gaze towards the little black dress and sky-high heels, “Hey,”

“Congratulations,” Neil was sure said little black dress was trying to sound seductive, but in his ears, all she sounded like was strangled- not even in any erotic way at all.

“Thanks?”

The little black dress stepped closer, and Neil couldn’t fathom what signals he gave off to give her the impression that she was welcome in his personal space. “So, you came alone?”

“No,”

“Of course not, you came with the team, silly me.” she made a sound that was probably meant to be a giggle, but Neil didn’t hear it. It sounded like something went to the slaughter, and he subtly took a step away.

Apparently the thing didn’t get the message, because she stepped closer again, “Do you…want to dance?”

It was sheer will power that the gods would commend that didn’t have him snorting and rolling his eyes at her. Beyond the dance floor was the one girl he wanted in his space, and when he lifted his eyes to look at her, his heart did a backflip.

Ren looked angry. Neil found it a turn on.

His heart raced when Ren’s eyes zoomed in on him and on the thing standing next to him. Looks like he wasn’t the only one with a radar, and this knowledge was sending him up in the air. He was feeling giddy and turned on at the same time. He was hopeless, he knew. She did that to him.

Another smirk played on his lips as his girlfriend marched right up to him, eyeing down that insignificant thing next to him. Ren had never looked so delicious.

Game on.

“Excuse me, we’re like, kinda busy here,” said the thing, raising her brows and baring her teeth.

Ren was unfazed. “I can see that,” a playful smirk was on her face, and Neil was shuddering with anticipation. Her doe eyes lifted ever so slightly up at him, her long lashes were turned down, and everything else about him was going the opposite direction.

Oh hell, you only live once.

Neil grabbed her hand and whisked Ren away.

…

His lips descended on hers as soon as his hotel doors closed behind them. He would have taken her home, but her apartment was too far away. Much too far away. He lifted her up easily as he so often did- the always in control Ren was pliant in his hands, and he loved the feel of her against him.

She drove him insane, in more ways than one.

He couldn’t even begin to fathom how unhinged he was around her. As he kissed her, more reasons to love her flooded his mind, reasons that should have made sense, but didn’t. All he knew was that he loved her calloused fingers on his arms, on his throat, on his collar bones. He loved the way that when her chest rose to breathe, he could feel her heart beat against his.

The hell if he knew why he loved her.