Just Good Friends Read Online Free Page A

wasn’t like he was some random git,
coming up to her on the beach. Although he might have done that anyway, he had
to admit. She’d looked good in those togs. Especially cold. That had been
particularly choice. She was as small as he’d guessed the day before, but
everything was proportioned just right, her small waist flaring out to very
nice curves above and below. He would bet he could span that waist with his
hands.
    He’d have to get past that prickly barrier first, though. Probably
not worth it. He shrugged and resumed his easy jog. Even though he was due at
practice in a couple hours, he always enjoyed starting the day here, in the
early morning quiet.
     
    “Still dropping your lip about that talking-to you got back
there from Mac, eh.”
    Koti looked up from where he sat on the bench, hands on
knees, to see Hemi Ranapia staring down at him.  
    “Nah. Just thinking.”
    “Cuz.” The veteran halfback sat down next to him. “You
aren’t far off clicking. You need to give it more in the training, though. And
pay attention to what’s happening in the game, how you can contribute, use that
strength of yours where it counts.”
    “I was the fastest in the running drills today, though,”
Koti objected. “Like I am most days. Don’t see how you—and Mac too—can say I’m
piking out.”
    Hemi frowned at him. “ Kaore te kumara e whaakii ana tana
reka. Need me to translate that for you?”
    Koti flushed. “Nah. Got it. My Uncle Nepia used to say the
same thing. ‘The kumara doesn’t say how sweet he is.’”
    “Reckon there’s a reason we’re both telling you the same
thing. We all have eyes, don’t we. We know what we see and don’t see. We know
you’re fast. You don’t need to tell us. What about the tackling drills, though?
How would you say you did there?”
    Koti shrugged. “Not my best skill, I’ll admit. We all have
our strengths and weaknesses.”
    “But you aren’t always going to be the fella carrying the
ball,” Hemi pointed out patiently. “There are times we need you to make the
tackle as well. And when you need to fossick about in the dark places that’ll
never appear on film.”
    “I’m a back, not a forward,” Koti objected. “That’s not what
I’m here for.”
    Hemi stared at him in disbelief. “It’s what everyone’s here
for, if we want the win. And the win’s what’s important. Points don’t matter,
at the end of the day. Tries don’t matter, if we lose. It’s a team game, not an
individual competition. No trophies for the most flash performance. You need to
harden up and do your best for the team, whether that’s something you enjoy or
not. If the team looks good, you’ll look good too. And if it doesn’t, if we
don’t win . . .” He shrugged. “Then you don’t look so flash anymore, do you. No
matter how fast you’ve run.”    
     
    Koti was still thinking about the conversation two days
later as he jogged slowly back along the beach, letting the quiet of the early
morning fill him with its peace. On match days like this Friday, he needed this
ritual even more, the spaciousness of sea and sky settling him down, helping
him start his day with a clear head.
    Looking out into the water, he saw a swimmer heading toward
shore. It was hard to tell from this distance, but he thought it was Kate. He
didn’t often see anyone in the water this early.
    “Good morning again,” he said cheerfully as she emerged from
the water. He handed her the towel he had seen with her things. “You do this
most days, eh.”
    She pulled the towel hastily around herself and stared at
him. “Why are you here at the same time I am? Are you following me?”
    “What?” he asked in disbelief. “Of course I’m not following
you. Just having a bit of a run, stretching my legs like I do every morning.”
    “Why on this beach?” she persisted. “This is my beach.”
    “I don’t think so.” He’d given her a pass the first couple times,
but she was starting to annoy