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Chapter 24
I might have been too smug too soon about beach training … my coach called to say since I was given the all-clear by Carlo to play in the last match of the season, I had better get more serious about my training, and the beach session was going to be one of the sessions. Wait until I tell The Russian, he’ll have one of those shit-eating grins on his face like I got what I deserved for watching him sweat it out. Nevertheless, I was kind of looking forward to getting back to training with the girls.
My new boss, Karen, was totally supportive of me leaving each day at four-thirty to get to training by five p.m., and when I entered on Tuesday, the Suns’ girls cheered. It felt great to be home again. I started slowly under the guidance of Carlo, but really enjoyed it, especially being with Steffi and Aimee again. And that was when I heard the news ... a joint beach session had been organized with the Saints!
When the coach announced it, everyone turned to look at me, but I was just as shocked.
“I didn’t do it!” I said.
“No, Maria in marketing has organized it,” Coach said, with a noticeable edge to her voice ... I don’t think Coach was particularly happy about it, but the Suns’ girls were.
“Are any of the Saints still single?” Aimee whispered in my ear.
I gave her a nod. “Three in the firsts and half a dozen in the reserves.” That brought a smile to her face.
Coach continued. “Anyway, we’ll have some media there and supposedly it’s good for both teams to promote our end of season games and next year’s membership campaign. Strike while the iron’s hot, apparently.” She handed over to Lenny, one of our trainers.
“Now, we won’t be trying to match them to the point of risking injury, will we?” Lenny asked.
“No,” we all said in unison, but we were all thinking we wanted to whip their butts.
“However ...” Lenny continued, “it’s a good opportunity to push yourself just that little bit harder and I’m sure they’ll be doing their best to look good. So, tomorrow, Laguna Beach at five, our usual time.”
“And be prepared for the usual training session,” Coach stepped in. “This is not a social visit, we will be training.”
“Sounds pretty social to me,” Lia said, nudging Aimee and me. “Are you sure you had nothing to do with it?” she narrowed her eyes at me.
“First I’ve heard about it,” I assured her. I caught the eye of the Suns’ marketing guru, Maria—she was sitting in the grandstand looking pretty happy with herself—and she gave me a nod. Hmm, I’d get to the bottom of this.
When training was over, I had a chat with Carlo about going a little harder next time and then I caught Maria before she left. I was about two feet taller than her, I swear, and she took a step up on the bleachers to talk to me eye-to-eye. She had short, cropped brown hair, and little features.
“I can’t take credit for the idea,” she said, before I had even opened my mouth.
“Ah, so it’s not necessarily taking advantage of The Russian and my situation?” I asked, tongue-in-cheek, not that I minded. All publicity was good publicity for sports clubs, especially if it encouraged people to play the game, buy a membership or attracted a sponsor.
“No, but that certainly helped the situation. The Atlanta Furies women’s team just did the same stunt with their opposite male team ... sure, they both play basketball, but I thought, why limit ourselves to that? Why not have the Saints versus the Suns – two local teams both heading into the finals?”
“Why not?” I agreed, with a smile.
“Sex sells, Carla,” she said, tapping her nose. “Anyway, must run, you’re looking good out there.”
“Thanks Maria,” I said. I was sure I was looking good if I could bring in a dollar ... but it was a small price to pay to give something back to the club.
*****
The next afternoon we arrived in our squad bus for the joint training session, and the Saints were already on the beach in their training gear. There was also a good smattering of media with cameras and photographic equipment, and I guess it was no surprise most of them were keen for that shot of The Russian and me training together ... no pressure!
The Suns’ girls were dressed in our training shorts and singlets with our swimsuits underneath. The Saints’ boys wore pretty much the same, except many of them had their singlets off already – show offs. The Russian still had his singlet on ... I’m sure it was for dramatic effect, so he could rip it off later and thrill me.
I spotted Mia; she was working with the physio guys, so not watching with a cocktail from her balcony. She gave me a return wave and smiled. Then the two coaches called the teams together and welcomed us, telling us they would take it in turn to run the drills. They suggested we paired up and The Russian grabbed me even though the team’s defender, Jackson, had cozied up next to me and asked if I wanted to partner. The look The Russian gave him could have frozen the ocean; Jackson grinned and quickly moved on. I noticed Aimee wasted no time partnering with him; he was single.
It truly was the battle of the sexes, but somewhat predictable. Given the size of The Russian and some of the lads, we were lighter and faster with the sit-ups, but the boys had more arm strength when it came to push-ups. The Suns’ girls were more flexible than the Saints’ boys, but the guys were pretty good on the cardio ... they had bigger chests and lungs and they used them against us. The planking was pretty even and no one wanted to give in first, but in the end the coach called it over ... thank the Lord for that; my stomach was caving in. I collapsed to the ground as soon as Coach called it over and groaned.
“You’re a pussy, Brooker,” The Russian teased me.
I glanced up at him from my flat out position with my cheek pressed to the sand and grimaced.
“I’ll give you pussy in a minute, Russian,” I threatened, then I realized what I had said.
