Extra Time

‘You all right?’ Jim asked, fixing his young striker with a look that told him he expected an answer, and not just the usual grunt or shrug that was sometimes thrown his way whenever he spoke to Ryan Fisher. Yes, he understood that things were complicated, given the kid’s past relationship with Amber, but he was still his boss, and that demanded a certain level of respect, no matter what.

Ryan stopped walking and turned to face Jim, although the manner in which he did so came across as slightly begrudging. ‘I’m fine. Why?’

‘You don’t look fine. You look distracted.’

‘Listen, boss, no disrespect or anything, but we’re not at work now, are we? We’re on a night out…’

Jim moved a step nearer, his face close to Ryan’s as he spoke. ‘Whilst we are here, Ryan, on this island, on this pre-season tour, we’re constantly at work. You got that?’

Ryan just stared at his boss, laughing quietly before walking away, saying nothing. Jim threw his head back and sighed heavily. Shit! That had actually been really unnecessary. Ryan hadn’t been doing anything, he wasn’t causing any trouble, and there’d been no word of his past antics coming back to the forefront during the summer break, when he’d had plenty of chances to relapse. Since his stint in rehab he’d turned into the kind of player every big club in the country dreamed of signing, which is why Jim had given him the captaincy, given him that incentive to stay on track, because, despite everything, he believed in Ryan Fisher. He was one of the game’s brightest stars, a true talent, and nobody wanted to see that go to waste. So why was he starting on him now, for no good reason? What good would that do? Jesus, he had to find Amber.

‘You seen my wife?’ Jim asked Gary as he passed him on his way to the bar.

Gary looked at his manager. ‘Amber? Yeah. She’s out there.’ He indicated the walkway outside. ‘Everything okay, boss?’

‘Everything’s fine, Gary, thank you,’ Jim said, turning and making his way out of the restaurant.

Amber was sitting on the low wall opposite, just staring out ahead of her.

‘Amber?’ Jim waited until she turned her head to look at him, a small smile appearing on her beautiful face. ‘Everything all right, honey? What you doing out here?’

She turned to look out at the beach again, the sound of the waves crashing against the shore the only sound that could be heard, bar the hum of chatter and noise coming from the other restaurants and bars situated along this pretty walkway.

‘I just wanted some air, and yes, I know the restaurant is, to all intents and purposes, outside, but you know what I mean. It’s still a bit claustrophobic over there.’

Jim sat down beside her, reaching out to take her hand. ‘It’s all still taking a bit of getting used to, isn’t it?’

She looked at him, her smile growing wider this time, which in turn made him smile, too. She looked twice as beautiful when she smiled.

‘This time last year I was a single woman, and determined to stay that way. I had a job I loved, my own little house… Things were quite happily ticking along, and now look at me. I’m embarking on a whole new TV career with a major satellite channel, and I’m married to the Premier League’s most high-profile manager. How the hell did that happen, Jim?’

‘Do you regret it?’

She shook her head, suddenly realising that tears were now slowly running down her cheeks and she wiped them away with the back of her hand, quite shocked and surprised to find them there in the first place. What was wrong with her these days? Over emotional had never been something she was known for – quite the opposite, in fact. But hadn’t that only been the case because she’d been holding back, keeping all those feelings under lock and key because she hadn’t wanted to feel them for anyone but Jim? Had it taken until he’d walked back into her life to make her feel human again?

‘No, Jesus! No. I don’t regret it, of course I don’t.’ She reached out to touch his face, and just that one tiny touch was enough to send her stomach on another dip-and-dive session, making her breathless almost. ‘You know how much I love you, Jim. I mean, I had my career, I had my house, I had a life – but I also had nothing, because I didn’t have you. And you were all I ever wanted, you know that. For all those years, you were all I ever wanted. And now I’ve finally got that future I’ve always dreamed of…’ She trailed off, staring out ahead of her again. ‘It’s just a lot to take in sometimes, that’s all. Everything’s happened so fast, and all of a sudden I’m feeling things I didn’t know I could feel, wanting things I never thought I wanted and…’ She left that sentence hanging in the air. Now wasn’t the time to start that conversation.

He reached out and gently touched the side of her face, her cheek resting in the palm of his hand as her eyes met his. ‘I love you so much, Amber Allen. And you have no idea how good it feels to finally be able to say that.’

She smiled, too, looking down for a second, breaking the stare. ‘I used to write that, a lot, when I was at school – Amber Allen. I used to write it over and over, scribbling it down on anything I could find, just to see how it looked.’ Her eyes met his again. ‘How I got through the Sixth Form I don’t know. You were such a bloody distraction.’ Her stomach did another jolt as she remembered how incredibly handsome he’d been back then, in his professional playing days. How young and striking he’d looked. Every girl in her class had fancied him, all of them wanting to be close to her because they knew her dad was best friends with Jim Allen. If only they’d known how close she’d been to their football fantasy. If only they’d known what he’d done to her back then – both physically and emotionally. If only they’d known. ‘And then…’ She stopped talking, looking away briefly. ‘I like it. Being Mrs. Allen, I mean.’ She looked at him again, and for a few seconds she forgot where she was as his mouth lowered down onto hers, kissing her in that beautiful, heart-stopping way that only he could. A slow kiss, a deep kiss, a kiss that sent shivers running right through her and caused those goose bumps to cover her skin, despite the humid night air. ‘Things feel different, Jim. And that scares me. It just… it just feels as if everything is suddenly hitting home – all the changes that have happened, all the things we’ve been through…’

Again, she let that sentence hang in the air, pulling away from him slightly. Jim frowned. What did she mean by that? Things felt different – how? ‘Amber… Do you… do you feel like we rushed into things, is that what you’re trying to say?’

She stood up, facing the beach with its dark, eerie feel, folding her arms against her. She didn’t think they’d rushed into things. How could you rush into something you’d wanted for almost your entire life? But things did feel different. She felt different. The things she wanted now, they were different. And she knew she’d have to talk to him but, not yet. Not here. Now wasn’t the time.

‘Amber? Honey?’

‘I love you, Jim.’ She turned to face him, smiling, and he felt a rush of relief wash over him. ‘And I know you love me, so that’s all that matters in the end. Isn’t it?’

He pulled her against him, his hand firmly in the small of her back, their foreheads touching as he leaned in towards her. ‘Yeah, it is, baby. That’s all that matters.’

Amber snuggled into him, enjoying the feeling of safety and comfort being in his arms brought. He was the love of her life, her world; he was everything she’d ever wanted and she loved him beyond any words. She loved him. As simple as that.

‘This is going to work this time, Jim. Isn’t it?’ she whispered, staring up into his eyes.

He smiled, gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, nodding slowly before kissing her gently, not wanting to pull away, she tasted so good, felt so perfect in his arms. Why had he waited so long to come back to her? Why had he done that? But the thing was, he knew why. He knew exactly why. And he only hoped, with all of his heart, that when Amber found out, she’d understand.

Chapter Three (#u1e760b79-a8e2-51c4-a682-fe83c259f9b5)

Ryan walked into the small, almost secluded tapas bar which was tucked away up a narrow side street in the small fishing village of Poris de Abona, about twenty miles or so from the main Tenerife tourist resorts of Los Cristianos and Playa de las Americas. He’d driven there after managing to escape any major interrogation from his teammates as to where he was sneaking off to during their morning off from training. He wanted to explore, that had been his excuse. And although a few of the lads had looked at him as though he was mad – surely any free time they had should be spent by the pool or playing golf? – after what Ryan had been through, nobody questioned him. Not even Jim. But then, he had other distractions, didn’t he?

Looking around the dimly lit bar, Ryan saw her sitting in the corner, her blonde hair piled up on top of her head, her eyes down, concentrating on her mobile phone. He walked over to the small, square wooden table, pulling out the chair opposite her and throwing himself down onto it, switching on the Ryan Fisher charm in an instant. Now he’d seen her, seen how hot she looked in that pale pink dress, her skin already lightly tanned, he was glad she’d turned up here, unannounced. He quite liked surprises, and surprises that would guarantee him a shedload of sex were the best ones of all.

‘Hey, babe.’

She looked up from her phone, placing it down on the table as she smiled the biggest smile. ‘Hey, back.’

‘So, you thought you’d surprise me, huh?’

‘I needed a break, and this is the last chance I’ve got to take one before the new season starts. It’s already getting busy back at work.’ She looked right into his eyes. ‘And I missed you. I didn’t realise how much I was going to until you’d gone.’

He felt a small twinge of guilt as he realised he hadn’t really missed her at all since he’d been here. He’d been way too busy to even think about her. Busy doing stuff she didn’t really need to know about. ‘I missed you, too.’ Jesus! The lies still came so easily to him. But at least he felt guilty about reeling them off these days, unlike before, when his lies had driven away the woman he should have been married to by now. But instead she was married to his boss. How frigging wrong was that?

‘Really?’ Ellen gasped, her voice shaking him out of his thoughts of Amber. He had to learn to stop doing that, drifting back to memories of someone he was never going to have. No matter how much he still thought he wanted her. ‘Oh, Ryan… I was so worried about telling you I was here, because I know partners aren’t allowed on this trip, and what with me working for the club and everything… That’s why I chose this place to meet, it’s out of the way…’

He shut her up by leaning over the table and planting a kiss on her unsuspecting mouth. She tasted good – a mixture of coconut lip balm and sun cream.

‘Was I going on a bit too much?’ she asked, her voice quiet, her eyes carrying an almost worried expression. ‘I know I can talk for England once I get started but…’

‘Ellen, it’s okay. Really. I’m happy you’re here, and hey, I like a woman who’s willing to break the rules now and again.’ He grinned, turning the Ryan Fisher charm up a notch, and he could see her relax instantly. Her pretty shoulders sagged, and her face almost lit up as she looked at him. But somewhere inside, a very small, very quiet alarm bell started ringing in Ryan’s head – he liked being with her, but was she starting to become just a little too attached to him? They’d spent a lot of time together over the summer break, and he’d tried really hard not to give her any mixed signals, because the last thing he wanted to do was mislead her. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her.

‘Ryan… you and Amber…’

This was a conversation he really didn’t want to get into, not with her, so he was happy when a striking-looking dark-haired woman materialised at their table with two more bottles of beer, smiling at them both before retreating back to her post behind the bar. She provided a short but welcome distraction, and Ryan couldn’t help but watch her as she began serving another customer, smiling and laughing with a group of people at the bar whom Ryan guessed were regulars. It was that kind of place.

‘Ryan?’

He waited a second before turning to look at Ellen, that famous Fisher smile now firmly back in place. ‘Let’s finish these beers and go back to your hotel. Then you can show me just how much you’ve missed me. Okay?’

She smiled back, relief once more quite evident on her face. ‘Yeah. Okay.’

There was nothing like sex for taking Ryan’s mind off things. Nothing like it at all.

Amber closed her eyes and let the burning sun wash over her skin. Sighing contentedly, she settled back on her sun lounger by the huge circular pool at the team’s hotel. It was the day of Newcastle Red Star’s final match in their pre-season tour of Spain and the Canary Islands but, thankfully, Amber didn’t have to start work until later, when she and Ronnie would be at the match, talking to some of the players and interacting with the guys back in the studio, live from the game itself, a game which was being televised in the U.K. that evening on one of the Cloud Sports channels.

So, for now, all she had to do was relax. She couldn’t deny the nerves weren’t still there, though. This was a huge deal for her. She was the new face of football on a major satellite TV channel – for Amber it didn’t get much bigger than that. Cloud Sports had put a lot of faith in her, and she didn’t want to let anyone down, that was all. So far she’d been getting some great feedback, but those nerves were still going to take a while to settle down.

‘You look a bit apprehensive,’ Ronnie said, sitting himself down on the edge of the lounger next to her.