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‘You tricked my girlfriend into having dinner with you?’ Eddy says, fuming now.

Technically, I wasn’t his girlfriend, although I admit it wouldn’t be cool if I was. But I wasn’t, so we don’t need to make a big deal out of this, not on a match day.

‘It doesn’t matter, does it?’ I say to Eddy, widening my eyes, hoping he gets the hint.

‘It does,’ Eddy replies. ‘Because our professional rivalry is one thing, but trying to steal my girlfriend is a whole different play. You only want her because you think she’s mine. If she’d been single when you met, you would’ve flirted with her for ten minutes and moved on to whoever looked at you next.’

‘That’s not true. And you can’t steal someone who isn’t interested,’ Jamie informs him. ‘She had to have been at least a bit interested, to turn up all those times.’

Eddy turns to me. Is he actually wanting me to explain myself?

‘I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that you’re so convinced there’s no way Jamie could actually want me, or how possessive you’re seeming,’ I tell him.

The two of them have been treating me like a ball, one that they keep stealing from each other, until one of them scores, and I’m not here for it.

Jamie smirks.

‘You’re not better,’ I tell him. ‘Because what is this? Why are you winding him up about this on a match day? Unless it’s true, that you’re only spending time with me to upset him.’

‘It’s not,’ he quickly insists.

I puff air from my cheeks. I’m supposed to be here to smooth out their rivalry, not fuel it. The way things are today, me being around isn’t helping; it’s making things worse, and they have a match to focus on.

‘I don’t have time to listen to you both explaining how well you know me while proving you haven’t listened to anything I’ve said,’ I point out. ‘I came to Australia to work, not to be something else for you to compete over.’

‘It isn’t a competition,’ Eddy says.

‘If it is, you’re not winning,’ Jamie reminds him.

‘Enough,’ I snap. ‘Look, I get it, you love to argue with each other, about anything, and you love to compete with each other, over anything, but would you please just save it for the pitch? Take it out on the other side, not each other. Surely you can come together for that? It’s like you can’t agree on anything.’

‘He can’t,’ Eddy says.

‘It’s not me,’ Jamie insists.

I sigh.

‘See, you can’t even agree on that,’ I point out. ‘You know what, I’m not doing this any more. Go out there, compete with each other on the same side, but do it without me.’

‘You’re not coming to the game?’ Eddy blurts.

‘You have to, it’s your job,’ Jamie insists.

‘Nope, making you two get along, that’s my job, and you’re not going to do that with me around, so I’m off.’

‘Brooke, wait,’ Eddy calls after me, but I ignore him.

What is it about these two men – why can’t they suck it up? Ohh, you don’t like each other, big whoop. No one likes their colleagues, that’s life. I don’t know if they need to kiss or fight to the death or what, but I know this isn’t about me, even when it seems like it is. They’re co-dependent, both only feeling validated by the existence of the other. I’ll skip the match, leave them to it, and hope they figure it out.

You know what, I was so, so happy last night. I really thought I’d figured it all out. Now I’m not sure if either of them actually like me, or if they just like winding each other up.

That’s the problem, when you try to start something real from something pretend – how do I know if it is real, or if he’s still faking it? And if that’s true, if Eddy isn’t who I thought he was, then how do I know if I even really like him too? I just wish there was a way to know for sure…

25

You have two choices of entertainment in the hotel bar. On one side, there’s a man in a blue suit playing piano – covers of popular songs – under low, almost sexy lighting. On the other side, there’s a large TV showing the England vs Fiji game, with a much louder crowd in front of it.

I should probably sit by the piano, listen to the music, try to chill out… but I care about that game; I’m a rugby league girly. Who knew that was going to happen?