Page 2 of Dangerous Play

Respect mattered, after all.

The Lion’s’ captain, Ander Sanchez, did his best to crush my hand, glaring daggers at me.

“Lose with some dignity, dude. Same way you take cock.” I grinned, making him grit his teeth.

It was easy to piss Sanchez off, and I enjoyed doing it.

It was both of our first year as captains and we both wanted to prove ourselves. And while I started a winning streak, he didn’t.

“Talking from experience, Maximus?” Ander barked.

My name was Maximilian, but everyone called me Max.

Well, everyone, but Sanchez.

“Move on, dickhead,” his teammate called out, clearly addressing me, and I moved down the line with Dex on my heel.

“We should crash their sour losing party,” he offered with a wicked grin. “It will be fun.”

I high-fived the last person before I moved toward the sidelines to disappear down the long corridor into our changing room.

“My definition of fun must be different than yours.”

“Come on.” He wrapped his arm around my neck. I hated that he was taller than me and could treat me like I was his little brother instead of his captain. “I’ll tell you one thing: fresh pussy.”

“I’ll tell you something else… pussy that’s not interested in Titans.”

“Everyone loves to fraternalize with the enemy.” Dex snorted as he leaned in, the smell of his sweat making my eyes itch. “Makes a good gossip.”

“Sure,” I muttered, still unconvinced. “Let me shower first and then we will talk.”

“Just think about it.” He released me as he shouldered his way through our changing room door. He had all the girls wrapped around his little finger with his blonde hair and blue eyes. But the dude always wanted more.

“Think about what?” my best friend and fellow midfielder, Maddox, stood next to me, holding the door open for me. He, too, was taller, and it worked in our favor because he was a defensive player also. But while Dex was light, Maddox was his opposite. Composed, dark, and private. He was my best friend since freshman year. They both were, despite their personalities.

I shook my head. “Crushing a Lions’ party.”

“I’m game.” He shrugged as if I offered him a burger. “Would be fun to see their smug faces when they realize we can not only take the championship but their girls too.”

Running my fingers through my hair, I sighed. “It’s either I agree and we all go, or you all go without me agreeing and I have to get the pep talk from Coach.”

“It will be good for team spirit,” Dex shouted, waving his jersey over his head.

A laugh bubbled out of me as my teammates cheered.

“Fine, we are crashing their party.” It was my first year as captain, and I wanted to make a good impression. And I could do that by not denying my team the well-deserved fun after the first game of the season.

Maddox glanced at me, a reserved smile on his face. “It’s okay to have fun sometimes, Aarons.”

“I’m fun,” I said through clenched teeth, dropping my ass onto the bench and pulling my shoes off. “But this season is important.”

“Every season is important,” Maddox mimicked me. “Take a breather, dude. You work way too hard; this whole captain thing is going to your head.”

“We never lost a championship,” I reminded him. “I won’t go down in history as the captain who lost our winning streak.”

“We just won a fucking game, dude.” Dex poked his head out from the shower stall. “Take a chill-pill, get laid. Tomorrow, we return to running laps and chasing ball. Tonight… let’s chase something else.”

Another round of cheers sounded, making me annoyed yet oddly relaxed.

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