NOTHING BUT A BAD TASTE. (✓)

17. COLD FEET

( unedited )

"I THINK MAYA'S GOT COLD FEET," Ebén's lips randomly blurted in the mildewy smelling locker room, now coming to the realisation that his marriage was under threat. A less, evolved Ebén would've pretended the problem didn't exist, and would've nursed his hurt with sex, lots of it.

But, hookup sex was no longer medicinal to him, in fact, it made him more lonely, more miserable. Love had made Ebén evolve, he seemed to care about more things and Maya had turned his stony heart into something soft, something that felt everything.

And whilst proof wasn't something he had to prove his point, he could feel something in retrograde.

"Already?" Chase Jameson's eyes answered Ebén back, all sceptic, as he unwound his ankle tape that acted as a protective shield to his bruised ankle.

"Yup. I aint too sure what I've done, but she's been off with me," Ebén's coiled curls were frayed; just like his chest which was messy with insecurity.

Whilst, the sceptic in him knew that nothing could last forever, with Maya he had no shame in admitting that they possibly could. Their love wasn't based on fickle attraction, or lust, or convenience. They loved each other. He was absolutely and fundamentally in love with her, as she was with him; the kind of love that transformed and shaped a generation.

The kind of love that changed Ebén, and made him better — that made him human. The kind that had him so willing abandon everything he had ever known, just for the chance to get to love her.

"Maybe, it's to do with what happened at the wedding? Swear you said her ex showed up," said Jamari Lowe, the club's new on loan midfielder and a long time academy mate of Ebén's. The two had played in the same academy ranks, grown up studying the same influences — but a first professional contract offer to play abroad had sent the two childhood friends on different trajectories.

Ebén didn't hesitate to shoot down Jamari's accusation. "He did," he chewed, trying to silently figure about what he'd done, "But, I don't think that's it. She would've told me if it were,"

His brain continued to wrack. Maybe it was the stresses that came with being pregnant. It was her that was dealing with her body changes, the constant nausea and mood swings. Maybe, everything was just generally too much and she was just reacting.

"And you sure you didn't leave the toilet seat up? Piss on the toilet seat? Forget... her birthday?"  Chase drummed at Ebén, trying to get him to think.

"Nah." Ebén took a minute to think honestly about whether there were instances whether he had indeed pissed her off without knowing. "It ain't that. I even got her flowers and she was still pissed."

"Oh," Chase and Jamari said the word in sync.

"Oh, what?" Impatience ran through Ebén's tone.

"She's definitely pissed... at something" mocked Jamari, as his towel now hung on both sides of his head, making him look like a romanic emperor.  

"I know that Mari, that's why I'm asking you two fucks to help me figure out what I might've done," huffed Ebén, his muddy socks were low, dressed down in Adidas sliders and a bare, moist chest which seemed to add a green tint to his tattoos. 

"How we supposed to know? We aint mind readers," Jamari clucked, his lack of any serious relationship pedigree was clearly showing. 

"Maybe, she do have the hump?" in jumped Chase, who was a bit more established with matters of the heart. He had been with his missus since he was seventeen, and had seen his relationship self-destruct but was also able to build it back.