“Alright, then, misses. If ye insist.”
Cassidy and I gave each other a high five, and took our shoes off since everyone else was playing barefoot. I was sure Keefe was only letting us play because he didn’t want to offend Brogan’s guests and McKale’s betrothed, but the reason didn’t matter to me. I simply wanted to stretch my muscles and play something I knew I could win.
We took our places, opposing teams facing each other. One of the guys on the sideline whistled and we were off. The players ran slower than me because of their shorter legs, but they were a very rough and physical group, grabbing and pushing. There was no ref throwing penalty flags out here, that’s for sure.
It didn’t take long to figure out that my team wasn’t going to pass the ball my direction, even though I was open. Nobody bothered covering me. Cassidy stood on the other end of the playing field and lifted her arms in frustration, also not being allowed to play. We were going to have to take this game into our own hands.
Cassidy’s team had a strong offensive scorer named Mick who could get through our defenders too easily. No problem. I could do offense or defense. I hung back near the goal since we had no goalies, and the next time Mick broke through our defense, I was there.
I watched his feet dribble for a second to figure out his pattern, and then I ghosted in and stole it away.
“Hey, now!” I heard him shout, and people watching from the sidelines laughed. I turned back to Mick.
“You want it back?” I taunted with a grin. “Come get it.”
He came at me and I feinted to the left, dribbling around him on the right. I took off amid cheers, making my way through the other team with too much ease. They wouldn’t get physical with me like they would with one another. Instead of shooting I passed it to my teammate who ran parallel to me on the other side of the field. It was a perfect set-up, and he kicked a clean shot into the goal.
It might be cliché to say, “the crowd went wild,” but they did. Especially the women. They acted like they’d never been so entertained. I jogged to the middle of the field where the players were converging.
“You guys let me through too easily,” I scolded the other team. “Just treat me like you treat each other. You’re not gonna hurt me. I’m a big girl.”
Some smiled and chuckled, but a few still looked uneasy. Cassidy gave me an overdramatized wink that made me snort.
Her team started this time, and low and behold, somebody actually passed it to her. She and I went head-to-head all the time at home, and I could almost always take her, but she was fiercer when she had an audience. The fact that there were no rules and we were both competitive did not bode well. We became locked in a battle for the ball, which included scratching, elbowing, and cussing on Cassidy’s part. There would be cuts on our shins from each other’s toenails, and major bruising. At one point I had the ball and when I turned to dribble away she tripped me, and then we were at it again. The crowd was clapping in sync and chanting, “Ma-son Girls! Ma-son Girls!”
Distracted momentarily by the chant, Cassidy’s attention wavered and I tugged the ball from between her feet with my heel. I passed it to one of my teammates who shot a beautiful long-distance goal. After throwing my arms up and cheering, I collapsed in a heap on the ground with Cass next to me, both of us laughing.
“You need to cut your toenails!” I complained.
“You’re one to talk, bigfoot!” We slapped at each other for another few seconds before it was time to get up and reconvene with our teammates.
After another few exhausting rounds, my team won. Everyone had picked up on my and Cassidy’s high-fiving; they were happening everywhere I turned, including among the spectators. Mom and Dad were wooting on the sideline.
I found McKale watching from the end of a table where he leaned back with a wooden cup in his hand. He was just about the only person not standing. He watched me with an expression I couldn’t discern, but I wanted to figure out. Once I zoned in on him, everything else faded and my feet brought me to his side. I sat down, keeping a little distance between us in case I stank. He sipped his drink.
“Water,” he said. “Ye thirsty?” I smiled at how he pronounced it as “tirsty.” I liked that he was offering to share a cup.
“Please,” I said. He handed me the cup and I sipped, trying not to drink all of it.
“Go on then, finish it,” he told me.
“Thanks.” I drank it and set the cup down.
He opened his mouth to speak again just as a hot sizzle of magic blasted us from the nearby long grasses. A collective gasp rose up, followed by silence while we all stared at the field. All the water I’d just drank threatened to come back up. McKale had gone still and pale as he eyed the air with apparent fascination and dread.
A full minute passed and the portal didn’t open. Two of the little men from the game ran out into the field to check it over. Nobody moved or spoke until the guys shook their heads and shrugged, coming back to the clearing.
“What was that?” I whispered.
McKale turned back around, stiff. “It happens sometimes. False alarms. Perhaps the Fae guard of the realm got too close to the portal.”
“Oh,” I breathed. My heart rate was still too fast.
We sat in awkward silence and I wondered if he was thinking of Khalistah like I was. Hoping she’d never return even though she’d been so “nice” to him growing up. McKale, more relaxed now, pointed to where we’d played the game and said, “Ye’re good.”
My nerves finally began to settle as I trusted that nobody was coming out of that portal. “Thanks. I played a similar game at home. Do you ever play?”
“On occasion. With the Clour lads.”
Ah. Maybe Cassidy had been right with her “reindeer games” analogy.
“We should play sometime. You, the Clour, Cass, and me. It’d be fun.”
A sudden glint lit up in his eyes. “Aye. If yer up for it. Tho’ the lads are rough.”
“You’d be surprised what we can handle,” I said.
He didn’t say anything for a minute, and I wondered if he’d been turned off watching his future mate fight for the ball like a boy. I hoped not, because I wasn’t willing to change that particular part of myself.
“This evening,” he stated.
I must have looked confused, because he clarified.
“After supper, if ye’d still like to play we can go to Clour land.” His voice was questioning and hesitant. Nervous.
“Sure.” I tried tone down my overly-eager grin. “That’d be great.”
Cassidy would be beyond thrilled.
McKale peered down at his feet and smiled to himself.
CASSIDY HAD BROUGHT HER pink soccer ball from home. She tossed it from one hand to the other as McKale led us through the shallow part of the stream and into the patch of trees on the other side. Cass sent me an excited glance. We were entering Clour land.
As soon as we cleared the trees I could hear them. We walked into an open glade that slanted downward at the edge. A rundown cottage was barely visible through the trees below. Then I saw them—all twelve of them—at the bottom of the hill, on their knees watching something in the grass and cheering.
“Hopper racing,” McKale said.
As we got closer I could make out the barrier of rocks lining the “racetracks” and a dozen frogs hopping every which way inside. Rock reached in to nudge his frog and one of the other guys bopped the back of his head.
“Hands off, ya cheatin’ bugger!”
Rock grimaced at his dormant green racer and mumbled, “Bollocks.” His frown turned to a giant smile when he looked up and saw the three of us standing there.
He threw his hands out. “’Ey!”
That quickly, the frogs were forgotten and we were surrounded by the curious Clour. Eight of them were full sized and four were little men. None of them were bearded, but half of them did have facial hair of some sort, ranging from all-around scruff to hair along the jawline like McKale
, only not as well groomed. They were grimy and their clothes were threadbare, but they were undoubtedly cute guys. Just a little… untamed. And thin.
They pushed McKale out of the way to get a closer look at Cassidy and me. Rock threw his arm around Cass’s shoulder as if claiming her. The playful smile she gave him showed she didn’t mind. His claim didn’t stop the boys, though. They were brazen in their introductions, shoving one another to move forward and take our hands, touching our arms.
“All right,” McKale said, forcing his way back to my side. “Let the lasses breathe, then.”
A guy with roughly chopped brunette hair leaned close to my face, his mouth near mine, and sniffed me. I had to lean away to avoid an accidental kiss. I didn’t feel threatened, only amused, but the attention was kind of overwhelming. They had no physical boundaries.
Others took the brunette’s lead, reaching their faces toward Cassidy and me and breathing deeply. A little guy pressed his nose against Cass’s hip and smelled her shorts, making her laugh. Then his hand ran down the curve of her bottom and Cass jumped, saying, “Hey now!” He ran off, getting his hair rumpled by the other Clour who seemed proud of his boldness.
A dark haired guy came up behind me and sniffed my hair, his nose tickling my neck. “She smells so bleedin’ good.”
McKale gave him a shove. “‘Specially compared to you lot, aye?”
They laughed, but I noted the way McKale sidled right up next to me, his arm heating mine.
“Will you introduce us?” I asked him.
He gave a nod and pointed to the brunette guy who’d been in my face. “This ‘ere is Ardan. The bouncy twins there are Carrig and Connall.” He pointed to two blonds with hair as curly as Rock and bright blue eyes. They waved in sync. “The four wees are Davin, Fancy Francis, Tyke, and Jax.” The little guys all grinned and nodded, different shades of brown hair flopping. “This here’s Blackie.” Blackie was the tallest of them, the same height as McKale, with olive skin and black hair that reached his shoulders. He’d been the one to sniff my neck. With some meat on his bones and a brush through his hair, he was good looking enough to be major trouble.
Next McKale pointed at two redheads with freckled faces. “These are Finbar and Fergus, the carrot cousins.” Their hair was much more orange than McKale’s. “And the last Clour is Dashy. The quickest of the lot.”
Dashy, standing at about five eight with sandy, strawberry blond hair, moved forward like a bolt of energy and grabbed both my hands in his before bringing them to his mouth for a kiss. “Please to meet ya.” Then he moved to Cass and did the same.
“This is Robyn,” McKale said, angling toward me. “And her sister, Cassidy.”
“Ah!” said one of the blond twins, I think Carrig. “McKale’s future shag mate! Here here!”
Holy…
Carrig punched the sky and the other boys did the same, shouting, “Here, here!”
Cassidy chortled and covered her mouth while my face turned red hot. Their laughter was lewd and devoid of regret.
McKale shook his head and scratched his cheek. “Do ya have to be a pack o’ sods? The girls came to play a game o’ ball wit’ ya.”
“Ooh! Is that the ball, then?” asked Dashy. “Tis a strange ball indeed.” They all leaned close, vying for position to get a good look at Cass’s pink soccer ball. She held it out for their inspection.
I couldn’t help but like them, even though they were what Mom would call “scoundrels and rascals.” And I felt bad that they didn’t have any kind of guidance, or the presence of females to keep their undomesticated natures in check. Being with them made the world feel off kilter and I wanted to balance it back.
Rock snatched the ball from Cass’s hands and dribbled away, grinning over his shoulder when Cassidy yelled, “Hey!” and chased him.
Playing ball with the Clour was nothing like playing with the Chaun. It was a debacle. A hilarious debacle. It felt good to shed my proper exterior and play hard.
At one point in the game Cassidy screamed, “The next pair of grabby hands that touches my boobs or butt is getting a beatdown!” The guys were hands-on in every way. They would tackle one another, giving wedgies or yanking down each others’ pants. Anything to distract and get the ball. Some of them would even use their magic to shrink small when they were about to be tackled, and then pop back into full form after the aforementioned tackler fell on his face. This was a no rules arena, and we were all panting with merriment, wrestling and cheering when the ball sailed through a goal.
I liked watching McKale handle the ball. He had great control, which was a major turn on for me.
It was the most I’d seen McKale smile. He’d been careful not to be touchy the first part of the game, but as time went on and everyone started getting carried away, he became bolder. During the team choosing, McKale and I were put on opposing teams. I was disappointed at first. I’d wanted us to work together, but it turns out that competition could be a good thing.
When one of the twins jumped on Dashy’s back, I took the opportunity to steal the ball away. I only had it for three seconds before I felt an arm around my waist. In a blink I was yanked down and squashed under a long body. McKale and I were both breathing hard and smiling as he looked down at me. And then two little guys, Jax and Tyke, who’d been barreling forward at top speed, tripped over us and we all grunted. McKale stood and held out a hand. He pulled me up, but before we had a chance to wipe off the dirt, the ball was flying our direction, arching through the sky.
McKale and I jumped for it at the same time, but I grabbed his shoulders to lift myself higher and did a perfect header, sending the ball soaring off my forehead into the goal. The other team groaned while mine cheered. As I came down I brought my arms around McKale for an excited hug. We held each other, caught up in the moment, chests heaving with our rapid breaths, until one of the carrot cousins smacked my butt and said, “He ain’t on yer team!”
And then someone pantsed McKale.
His eyes widened and I covered my eyes with a scream of laughter. When I looked again McKale had his pants back up and was wrestling Blackie, who laughed so hard he could hardly defend himself from the nipple twister McKale gave him through his shirt. Blackie hollered and McKale fell to his back to catch his breath.
All around us the guys were tiring as the sun dipped low behind the forest. Cass came to my side.
“We should probably head back,” I said with reluctance.
Cass stuck out her lower lip. Rock came up behind her and slipped his hands around her waist. He leaned down and rested his chin on her shoulder.
“Will ye return?” asked Blackie, sitting up and resting his elbows on his knees.
“Sure,” I said.
“Look how dirty you are.” Cassidy pointed at me.
“You’re one to talk!” I countered. We were both filthy with leaves and grass in our hair.
“Aye, Cassie-lassie, ya need a good cleanin’!” said Rock. And with that he moved swiftly around Cass and threw her over his shoulder. “To the water wit’ ye!”
“Uh-oh,” I said, watching Rock run off while Cassidy screamed in glee. The rest of the Clour gave chase, pushing one another as they went.
McKale and I stood there as their voices trailed off.
“Are they always this wild?” I asked.
“Nay. They’re usually much worse.”
Ha. Together we ambled through the trees toward the waterfall. I felt comfortable at his side. It’d been awesome to see him let loose and have fun.
We got in the water and I waded out to my knees, bending to splash mud off my arms and legs. The others were further down the stream, hollering. McKale went farther into the water and dove, fully clothed. He wiped his face when he came up, and moved toward me. We shared shy smiles. My heart rate jacked up as he got closer, but at the last second he seemed to get nervous, veering toward the shore instead. He sat on the mossy bank, arms draped over his raised knees. I pushed aside my disappointment. What was
I expecting? Him to ravish me?
The very thought made my cheeks warm. I walked out of the cool water to the shore and sat beside him. He was cute with his hair darkened from wetness and his clothes clinging to him. I tried not to stare, but when I stole a peek he was looking at my legs. He cleared his throat and stared down between his knees when he noticed me watching.
Dusk was darkening the sky, and shadows fell around us. We were thoughtful for a moment until inspiration hit and my nerves kicked on.
“So,” I started. “Where I’m from we have this thing called ‘dating.’” My voice quavered a little. “It’s when two people are, um, interested in each other, so they spend time together one-on-one, getting to know one another. Would you… like to do that? Go on a date with me, tomorrow night, maybe?”
I felt nervous as he listened, still with that steady expression. He gave none of his thoughts away.
“I mean, it’s not that big of a deal,” I rambled. “We could just, like, go on a walk together after dinner. Supper. Whatever it’s called. Or we don’t have to if you don’t want to.” Oh, man. I needed to shut up. I stared down at my brutalized shins and bare feet.
“Ye talk so fast,” he said.
My face heated and I felt stupid. “Sorry.”
“No, I don’t mind it. I like how ye talk.”
My face heated further and I was glad it was getting dark out. “Okay.”
“What’s the word ya used? Dating?”
I nodded, biting my lip.
“I think ‘tis a fine idea,” he said.
I couldn’t help but smile at his answer, and the way he said “tink” instead of “think.”
“In that case,” I said. “I have something I want to give you on our date. A present.”
His eyes lit up, but there was something underlying, sort of a fearful edge to his excitement.
“It’s nothing big. My mom told me that your clan values gifts,” I explained. “So I sort of brought something.”
Or a lot of things, but he didn’t need to know that yet.
“Aye. Gifts are…” He scratched his cheek, searching for the right words. “We don’t give or receive gifts lightly. To give a gift, no matter how small, tis like giving a piece of yerself. Accepting a gift means you’re taking a part of them. ‘Tis an honor.”