EJ in Love

EJ

"Don't take him too seriously," Reynolds sighed as he fixed his hat. My eyes were glued to Connor's retreating back as he went back to putting EAB tape around his thighs. His strong angular thick eyebrows were furrowed. They were naturally like that to begin with but when it came to me it seemed they were more intensified. "He's been very on edge these past few weeks."

I had no idea if he had been baking in the sun during the past few weeks because he looked redder than normal.

Maybe it was his tanned skin that always looked a bit red and the fact he was hairy. Whenever I suggested he wear sunscreen I was met with the blunt response of 'not all of us daddy's little princesses need moisturizer to survive'. I nearly threw a punch at him each and every single time. 

He had deeper set eyes which always looked unkind and threatening, yet the bright green of them added a weird gentleness to him that even though I knew to me he was a jerk, to the rest of the world he was a friendly giant. His hair was parted perfectly in the middle and swooped down into bangs that slightly covered his forehead, the rest of its wavy texture always stood out a little before stopping at the nape of his neck. 

The short beard he had was never perfectly groomed. It added to his rugged look even more. His upper lip was always twisted when he looked at me but for those rare moments when I caught him looking pleasantly happy with himself I noticed they were plumper than I thought. When he smiled it was just as stunning but most times I could actually see his teeth was when he was barking out orders to me. 

I did not know why I lived just to rile him up but Connor Leandre Rennison was the bane of my existence. The reason why volcanoes erupted. The reason a thing called an earthquake existed and probably why there were so many arseholes on this earth. It was as if the universe had made him so he could solely make my life a living hell. 

He and I were day and night. We mixed like radioactive oil and water. There was nothing we saw eye to eye no matter how much I tried. At a point I just gave up trying to be civil with him. Connor's language would always be hatred with me and as a Chernyshevsky-Coleman I would do anything to bring it right back. 

"Don't worry," I lifted my right shoulder in a helpless shrug, "Anything that log says to me just passes over my head." Connor's eyes met mine and I felt my skin pickle. I must have been a masochist. He looked seconds away from kicking me out and I knew I was pushing the limit. "Let me get going before the game starts." Their coach simply nodded and with my hoard of security I made my way to the other locker room. 

Security was tighter than normal because Dad and Pa were attending the match. I knew they were far above in their VIP suite but I could hear Dad laughing despite the distance. It instantly brought a smile to my face. Pa barely knew anything about rugby when I started playing when I was twelve but he learned so quickly that now when I played he was always screaming the loudest. 

Probably more aggressive than the coaches themselves and there were a few times that if security did not hold back I was sure he would have knocked out a player in my honor. 

"Did it go well?" Aaron smiled as soon as I entered our locker rooms. All eighteen players were getting ready. Fifteen for the main match and three reserves just to be safe. Our game prep was a lot different to Connor's team. We had a calmer flow, gentle music in the background and after a thorough yoga and stretching class with our physio and kinesiologist it always put us in the right mindset. 

Connor still did things the old fashion way. The traditional way he would argue, where he saw the sport to be more a gladiator activity than anything else. When it came to us coaching the national team together, our club arguments looked like an anthill to a mountain. 

"You know our favorite Connie," I fake beamed, "Hated my guts, refused to shake my hand. Just the basic minimum."

"His arse is grass," Garold muttered before he shoved his gum guards in his mouth like bloody brut. 

Aaron smothered sunscreen on his chocolate skin even though it was nighttime. I had introduced the new team to Dad's new line and they were using it up like it was honey. "Connor is just bitter, he is not on the fun side. Maybe if he let his arse hang a little he would know that he is on the verge of giving himself early cardiac arrest."

Garold nodded before tying the smallest ponytail known to mankind at the top of his raven hair, "Maybe you two should just have a lovely chat and hash things out."

I let out a snort, "As if big man over there would ever want to do such a thing. Plus I prefer it this way, it gives me a reason to work harder just to see his face when he sees me win MVP every single match."

They both let out a laugh before the entire team got involved into the conversation. 

Once it was time to get to the pitch, we all walked down the hallway with an electricity in the air that felt intoxicating. No matter how many games I played I would never in a million years get tired of walking out, hearing the cheers, the bright lights shining in your eyes and the smell of the freshly cut grass. There was nothing better in this world. 

Each of us were assigned our player escorts who looked at us as if we were absolute gods. I remembered the first time I had accompanied a national legend when I was seven years old. There was no way I saw myself sitting in an office running Coleman Enterprise after that.