I sat my things on the end of my bed and headed straight for the shower. I removed my clothes vowing to never wear the dress again. The scent of sex hit me. I still smelled like Van. Could Joel smell it on me? The thought was mortifying. I held back additional tears, but couldn't stop thinking "What if?" What if I hadn't gone out with Van? What if I hadn't melted into his arms with the first kiss last night? What if I hadn't had so much to drink? What if I drown wild Cami in a vat of poison? That was the best what if I had.

I scrubbed myself, even my tender lady bits that were swollen and raw. The small stubble scratches on my skin pissed me off. What the hell did he do, mark his harem so everyone could see? I was such a stupid fool. My first real assignment and I fell into bed with my contacta stupid, blowhard jock.

I set my alarm on my phone and crawled naked under my covers. Again the what ifs swamped me, but I managed to shut them down. I slept until the bing bing bing on my phone went off. After a quick shower to clear my head, I dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. I planned to enjoy the match. I also wanted to be comfortable and approachable looking like I fit in at a rugby match.

Taking Charlie's advice, I hit The Slam Tavern first. The parking lot was crowded. I walked through the front door and the noise about overwhelmed me. As my eyes adjusted I noticed red and yellow shirts everywhere. So much for me looking like part of the crowd. A young waitress came up to me and asked if I wanted to sit at the bar or a booth.

"Is Estella here?"

"She's working the bar. You need to talk to her or do you just want a seat in her area?"

"I'll sit at the bar, thank you." I walked to the long bar and noticed a couple of empty stools at the end. Charlie turned around on his stool and shouted my name. He pointed me to the empty seat next to him. He stood and helped a woman at his side down from her stool. Once she was standing, I saw she was at least an inch under five foot.

"Hey, Cami, meet my wife, Stub." The woman smiled and put her hand out.

She had short, died red hair and a pixie face with laugh lines at her mouth and eyes. She smiled from ear to ear as she greeted me. "You're all Charlie's talked about since yesterday. He tells me you're a rugby virgin."

I laughed delightedly. "That's me, blushing virgin here." If they only knew.

Charlie moved aside, pointed me to the stool between him and his wife, and ordered me a beer.

I shook my head. "I need to drive to the match, so I don't think beer's a good idea."

"Oh no, you're taking the bus with us," Stub said.

"Bus?"

Charlie answered. "Yes, we bus to the stadium and bus back. Many of the fans are staying at the Inn and they can walk from here if they drink too much. Rugby is a drinking sport and we had to find a way to do what we love and abide by the law." He placed the beer in my hand.

I took a tentative sip and it wasn't too bad, much better than my previous glass of wine from my first dinner. Estella greeted me from behind the bar, "Glad you made it before the match."

"Thanks. I see just as many yellow shirts as red."

"You stand out if you don't wear your color. We sell Slam shirts for twelve bucks if you want one."

"Absolutely. I'm not exactly blending in at the moment."

They all laughed as Estella dug out a plastic-wrapped red t-shirt from under the bar. "I'll put it on your tab and you can go change in the bathroom if you want."

"Go change. We'll hold your stool," Stub said as she waved me away.

I walked through a sea of yellow and red shirts on my way to change. The shirt colors intermingled as rugby fans talked to each other about everything from today's match to specific players. I heard Van's and Joel's names mentioned a time or two. I had to wait a few minutes for the bathroom. Unfortunately, two young women walked up behind me and had an open discussion about the last person I needed to hear about.

"Van will be here after the match. I plan on going home with him," the skinny blonde said to her friend as she practically jumped up and down.

"Yeh, good luck with that. You said you went home with him before. You know he doesn't do the second date thing."

She lightly slapped her friend on the arm. "Who said anything about a date? I plan on fucking his brains out like I did the first time. I dyed my hair so he won't recognize me."

"Bought your tits too." They both laughed.

A bathroom stall opened and I gladly walked in. I hoped Van went home with blonde boobs and caught something, preferably crabs. I took my shirt off and put on Slam red. "The Slam" was also in large letters across the back. I walked out of the stall thankful the two women were no longer in my line of sight. I wove through the crowd back to Charlie and Stub. They were talking to a man and woman in yellow shirts.

"Cami, meet Ron and Katy. Ron's brother Tommy plays for Crush."

It was interesting to get their perspective as the relative of a player. I learned Ron played rugby in college and Katy continued playing for a women's team.

Ron pulled Katy's t-shirt between her breasts, bringing her close, and kissing her briefly on the lips. He turned to me when he let her go. "There's nothing sexier than Katy covered in dirt, scrapes, and blood needing a little TLC after a match"

Their affection made me slightly uncomfortable, but I was fascinated about women playing rugby. We talked until the bus arrived. It would take two trips to get everyone to the stadium, but Charlie had a standing pass for the first ride for him and his guests every home game. The bus took us straight to the stadium, and before I even stepped off, I could feel a level of excitement I'd never felt. Red was the prominent color, but yellow made a good showing. And then there were the costumed fans scattered here and there. It was crazy. From face paint to pirates it was a different world and this was outside the stadium.