𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙎𝙤 𝙂𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙣 ―𝐣𝐬𝐩

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 - 𝐈 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫

James

I stood on the pitch, watching the team practice, scanning everyone's performance with a critical eye. I was just about to call them over for a break and give some pointers when I saw her approaching late. Martha was trudging toward us, dressed in Nate's oversized New York Giants jersey (some American footballers name on her back) , cycling shorts, and sneakers. Her blonde hair was messily tied up, and she was clearly trying to hide the fact she'd been crying. My first instinct was to snap at her for being late—something I usually would—but then I saw her face.

Merthin bolted over to her as soon as he saw her too, wrapping her in a protective hug. Louis and Freddie exchanged confused glances, but I stayed quiet, watching as Martha quickly wiped her face and attempted a smile. Merthin Aurum is a troublemaker in the flesh, but he is a total softy for his big sister.

"Run the magic hoop drill down," I told the team, "I'll be right back."

As everyone groaned and got moving, I made my way toward Martha, grabbing her by the arm gently and pulling her aside. She sniffled but didn't say anything at first. When she bent down to grab her fallen wand, her body slammed back against mine. My breath hitched as my crotch reacted immediately—fuck, no, not now. But her perfect round ass was already pressed up against my pelvic bone and- fuck.

Her back pressed into me for just a second, and she froze. I felt her pause, and then she straightened up, turning to me with wide eyes, a mischievous smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"Did I just give you a boner?" she asked, her voice almost too innocent to be real. It was weird hearing her say that word, like it was too sinful for her pretty little lips.

I stared down at her, trying to keep my expression neutral, but my face was definitely heating up. "No." I tried to brush it off, but there was no hiding it in these grey sweatpants. She had to have felt it. And if she didn't, she'd see it now.

She giggled—a soft, genuine sound, and her face flushed as she covered her mouth. "Oh my god," she whispered, "I did!"

I raised an eyebrow at her, playing it cool. "Not a big deal, princess. It happens." It does happen, life is like a dick, sometimes it gets hard for no reason, or in my case whenever the blonde bitch I supposedly hate is around.

She was blushing, clearly surprised by the whole thing. "Well, it's a big deal to me," she muttered. "I've never—"

"Never what?" I leaned in, smirking at her obvious embarrassment.

"I've never given a guy a boner before!" she blurted out, her face turning even redder. That's a lie. I've gotten rock hard because of her a few times since we started our whole deal. Of course I wasn't going to admit that. She doesn't need an ego boost.

I couldn't help but laugh. "You seriously expect me to believe that?" I teased. "With how you look?"

She huffed, crossing her arms defensively. "Yes! What's that supposed to mean? I don't exactly have much experience, you know!" She blushed so hard after that and tried to cover her face by burying it inside the oversized jersey she clearly stole from her twin.

"Could've fooled me with the way you prance around in lingerie and short skirts," I shot back, smirking as her blush deepened.

She looked away, biting her lip, probably regretting that little outburst. "It's not like that." And I noticed she grabbed a tiny vial with a shimmery yellow liquid inside, then downed a little of it before hiding it back inside her sports bra again. What is that? A potion?