12 Days of Christmas With My Brother’s Rival

11 — OF NOSY TEAMMATES AND BESTFRIENDS

ANAHERA

“Jax, what the f**k!” I heard Noel say as he shuffled around while I hid in the adjacent bedroom like a scared fool.

“I should be asking you that, Noel. You should be relaxing, not doing whatever it is you were doing with that lady. I bet when Coach demanded you get full rest, you were not listening.”

Noel sighed. “What do you want, Jax? You can’t just barge into my house like that. If you’d knocked, maybe you would have saved your eyes in time.”

“In my defense, I did. Twice.”

“Okay? So what did you want?” Noel sounded like he was at his wits end already.

“I– I just wanted to drop this off. Maybe I’ll come back some other time. Don’t worry, I won’t breathe a word of your sexcapades to Coach, only let him know you’ve been resting well.” The door closed and there was silence.

Putting my clothes in order, I stepped out to the living where I began to pack my stuff and shove them into the bag I brought along. Looking in his eyes would reveal the amount of disgust I felt for myself.

So I did not.

“You don’t need to show up tomorrow. Or the day after…or ever again.”

The words dropped like a bombshell. My eyes found him instantly.

“Why? We just signed a contract binding us to work together. Keeping…whatever that just happened aside, you need to get well to be able to play again.”

“And I get someone else to work with. I drafted the contract, didn’t I? So I say we nullify it and you can go on your merry way while I look for someone else.”

I looked at him, the big frown across his forehead as he focused on his phone. Why was he acting like an ass all of a sudden?

“I doubt you may be able to find someone as good as me,” I joked, sliding my phone into my pocket.

“Then I stop playing and you stop seeing my face on the screen. It’s what you have always wanted anyway, that your brother gets to be the only star in the sky. How lovely!”

There wasn’t a single trace of amusement as he spoke.

His words rubbed me in the wrong way but I paid no heed to them. Was I stupid for wishing that upon him? Yes. That was before this happened.

Was I a fool for giving into the temptation he offered? YES!

This, however, was work. Not something to be changed on a whim and whenever he pleased.

“Look, Noel, whatever just happened was wrong but it’s not enough to jeopardize your career and put your health at risk. Tomorrow morning, I’ll be here to resume therapy with you and you better let me in.”

“Whatever you say,” he muttered. “But don’t tell me I’m being insufferable.”

The asshole. Tongue in cheek, Ana, lest you hurt his feelings again.

I walked out of his apartment as briskly as I could and it was only when I got to my car that I let out pent up breath.

“OH MY GOD! ANA, YOU ARE DEAD. YOU SUCKED HIS c**k!” The words burst out of me before I could worry about anyone hearing me.

There would be no cave deep enough for me to hide away from Dominik’s wrath if he ever finds out about me and Noel working together or that I gave him a blowjob.

I was so done.

And Bella? I couldn’t tell her about this either. She would eat me up. Fishballs, what was I going to do?

To top it off, Noel had cameras in his stupid glass castle. If I ever choose to run my mouth around him, he would fricking take the tapes to Tiare and my reputation would burn in hell.

Worse, his teammate walked in on us. What tale was he going to spin to the public?

ANAHERA, WHY?!

Just as I keyed in the ignition, there was a knock on the glass and my heart lept into my throat. I looked and there my brother was.

My hands trembled so hard I had to clench my seat to stop them. Pressing a button, the glass wound down to reveal his curious face.

“And what is my sister doing here?”

He didn’t know yet. “I came to see a friend.”

“Let me guess, another friend who is not Bella or the one you met for drinking at the bar yesterday?”

I rolled my eyes. “Please, don’t start, Dom.”

A frown appeared in the next instant. “Don’t start? I’m not the one who has been gathering friends all over the city like they are strays. You are not an emotional punching bag, Ana, only a physiotherapist.”

‘You like it better when you vent to me after wrecking havoc outside? How different are you from the strays?’ It would have brought me great joy to say this but I didn’t. Merely changed the topic.

“What are you doing here so early? You had practice until late last night and my brother does not like to wake early if it does not involve practice. So why are you here by this time? Did Coach bully you for extra rounds? Did…”

“Are you okay, Ana? You’re rambling. Have you been doing something I wouldn’t like?”

My heart dropped to the carpet below. “What? No! That would be treason.”

I ignored the trickle of cold sweat making its way down to the waistbands of my scrub.

He shrugged. “I’ll be home for dinner tonight. You know what I love to eat. I won’t be late, okay? I just need to run a few things with a friend over a few glasses.”

I nodded, swallowing hard. “Of course. Do not forget you need to ask Eleanor to make those killer pies for you. I’m sure I would love it so much.”

He made a gagging sound in the back of his throat. “Eleanor makes pies fit for the dead. Your cooking is better, trust me. If you weren’t my sister, you’d be my girlfriend.”

Laughter worked its way up my throat, leaving behind relief that the tension was gone. For now at least.

Eleanor was his latest conquest. I was tired of my brother.

“Anyway, I have a few rounds to run and then I’ll be grocery shopping for dinner tonight. Do not let the food run cold.”

“I won’t,” he replied and dropped a kiss on my forehead. “You smell funny,” he remarked, walking away.

“I love you too!” I quickly added and without wasting time, I sped out of there as far as my electric snail could allow.

***

Just as I arrived in my driveway, my faithful car bailed on me. Again.

God, I know you can hear me but by some stroke of luck, I need a new car.

As I got out, a voice stopped me in my tracks.

“ANAHERA JUNE KALLIO!”

It was my best friend at my door and she did not look one bit pleased.