Page 49 of Love and Other Goals

It’s 10:09 a.m., and I know that Mateo will be at least five minutes early to the soccer complex. If I leave right now, I might make it over there before he arrives.

Mateo has done so much to show me how much he values me, so many tangible gestures to affirm my significance to him. I want to show the same effort. Glancing at my reflection in the mirror, I see my hair is wild from being blown dry but not yet tamed by a styling tool, and my face is still totally makeup free. Not how I’d prefer to greet Mateo, but I know my showing up will mean more than my physical appearance.

Grabbing my phone and keys, I dash down the stairs to drive over to the soccer complex. I pull into the parking lot at 10:22 a.m., praying that Mateo hasn’t arrived yet. I’m shutting off the engine just as I see Mateo turn into the lot with Andrès in the truck with him. I wait to see where he parks, then take a fortifying breath before exiting my car and walking over to his.

They get out of the truck, but Andrès spots me first with a grin as Mateo is reaching behind the seat to pull out his bag. “Yo bro, you got a visitor,” Andrès calls to Mateo.

The look of total delighted surprise on Mateo’s face when he turns to see me is worth, well, anything I could possibly give. Andrès takes Mateo’s bag from him and says, “I’ll take this in for you. Just don’t be late or we’ll all get it from Coach.” Mateo slaps his back in thanks as he walks away and then turns to meet me, enveloping me in a hug.

“Lana, what are you doing here?” he says as he pulls back to look me in the eyes. He runs a hand through my hair. “Not that I’m complaining about seeing your beautiful face before the match.”

I smile, my arms still loosely hugging his waist. “I just wanted to show up and wish you good luck. At the match I’ll be lost in a sea of sorority sisters all wearing matching shirts, so I’ll be a little hard to find in the stands.”

He brushes his thumb across my cheek and down the side of my neck, sending a shiver through me. “Please, I could spot you anywhere.”

I know my cheeks are coloring when his lips curl up in his “I love making you blush because it’s adorable” smile, so I give his waist a playful pinch and tell him to get inside so he’s not late. He runs his fingers through my hair one last time, then jogs into the office along with the other guys who are just arriving.

Sitting alone in my car, I can’t stop smiling. Because Mateo started off so far ahead of me in his confidence about his feelings and our relationship, it feels like he’s always being so proactively sweet to me, whereas I’m usually in reactive mode. I feel victorious that I finally got the upper hand in catching Mateo off guard with a display of affection to let him know I’m thinking about him.

A lot.

As in, all the time.

There are much worse things to think about.

The air is tense with anticipation in the basketball arena. All the Greek houses are crowded into the stands in their pair groupings, awaiting the homecoming results. Most people will walk over to the soccer complex to watch the homecoming match, but first we’re all hopefully crossing our fingers to hear the winners announced.

Teegan and I stand on either side of Amaya, arms looped through hers. We all want to win, but Amaya worked her butt off more than anyone to make this a successful homecoming for AOPi. I just hope the judges saw that effort come through.

The president of Greek life at Townsend takes the floor with a microphone and offers generic congratulations to everyone for a great homecoming week. She also talks up our soccer team and their undefeated record ahead of the match, drawing big cheers from the crowd.

“But now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for,” she finally says. “The winning pairing of the 2023 Homecoming Championship is…Alpha Alpha Alpha and Omega Gamma!” The TriAlphas and OGs go wild as Amaya slowly deflates next to me. The full standings flash up on the scoreboard screen, with AOPi and AE in second place, edged out by a mere three points.

All around us, people half-heartedly clap for the victors while consoling each other about our great effort and second-place finish. I wrap my arm around Amaya’s shoulders and Teegan wraps hers around Amaya’s waist. “You still did amazing, Beef,” I tell Amaya. “The standard of excellence for AOPi was next-level this year.”

Teegan hums affirmation and adds, “Yeah, just sucks that TriAlpha also outdid their high standards this year.”

Amaya huffs a small laugh. “It’s true—can’t control what other houses do or how the judges see things. I am proud of what our house accomplished this year.” She pauses, glancing at us on either side. “Still stings though. Especially to stupid TriAlpha.”

I put my hands on Amaya’s shoulders and look her in the eyes. “Amaya, if you’d rather skip the soccer match and go drown your sorrows in ice cream or slushies or any other form of sugar, Teegan and I will gladly keep you company.” Teegan chimes her agreement.

Amaya’s eyes soften. “That’s really sweet of you, Beef. But I’m not going to make you miss your first-ever homecoming soccer match. Text that man of yours that he’d better make sure they win so at least something good comes out of this day.” She pulls me and Teegan into a hug. When Amaya releases us, she gestures at me and says, “I’m serious—get your phone out and text Mateo right now.”

Laughing, I pull my phone from my back pocket and see that I already have a text from Mateo a few minutes old.

Mateo

Results yet???

We came in second place. TriAlpha edged us out

Mateo sends me a series of Boooo-themed GIFs, making me snort a laugh.

I’m going to need you to secure a W today per Amaya’s orders

Amaya’s not one to take lightly. Can’t risk getting on her bad side

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