Page 34 of Dangerous Play

I contemplated his words and shook my head. “No… I wouldn’t have. He has this way… to make you believe whatever he wants.”

“I figured. You just need to let it play out, and you can be there in the shadows watching over her. But you can’t always protect the people you love from making mistakes. All you can do is be there for them afterwards.”

Pushing away my milkshake, I turned to face him. “Do you think I’m making a mistake?”

“I told you the first day I think this is crazy. But hey, you sold me on it, and for my own selfish reasons, the answer is no. But I do understand your reasons as well. I just think… this is more of a revenge relationship I a saving Daisy one.”

He was reading me like an open book.

“Hey, revenge is a dish best served hot.” I laughed at his saying.

“Just because I don’t believe in revenge doesn’t mean your reasons and your feelings are not valid, Blossom. They are, and the only thing that matters is for you to be able to deal with the situation. I’m here for you.”

I was dancing on the fine line of falling for him as he was being the perfect dreamy boyfriend even without trying to be. His actions spoke louder than his words. Yet, when he acknowledged my feelings and didn’t discredit them, it did something to my heart. It mended the broken parts.

Perhaps, I was more broken than I thought if a couple of nice words and simple acknowledgment of my feelings made me emotional.

Ander did pull a number on me, and I was only scrapping the surface of all the damage he did.

CHAPTER NINE

MAX

“Aarons, take the shot!”Coach shouted, pissed off.

A frustrated groan left me as I watched my perfect pass make it to Derek’s waiting foot and he missed the goal by mere inches, allowing the ball to fly into the stands. I should have taken the shot, but all my life, I was a team player and never someone who took unnecessary risks.

Halftime’s whistle sounded, and wiping the sweat off my face, I moved toward the changing room.

“I’m sorry, man.” Dex jogged up next to me and gave me his sad puppy eyes. “Not sure how I missed it.”

“Me neither,” I muttered. Being pissed at him wasn’t going to win us the game. Hidden Hills was playing much better than we anticipated and their defense was air tight. It took me almost the full halftime to get the ball away from them and give it to Dex. He gambled away an easy shot.

Or rather, I made a mistake not taking the shot myself.

But I was a team player and if I could, I always passed the ball to the person who was meant to score.

I didn’t look up at the stands, I didn’t want to know if Ivy made it since her last text suggested she was running late. I didn’t even understand why I cared if she was there or not. She was my fake girlfriend, it shouldn’t have mattered. I was used to not having anyone watch my games, but the idea of Ivy being in the stands for me was exciting. Not that I would ever admit it to myself.

Guess losing with her watching would suck double time.

“Okay, guys,” I said, my voice strong and confident despite my inner feelings conflicted. “We still have another forty-five minutes to turn this around. We are switching to 3-5-2 formation. Hudson, Liam, you will be able to assess the situation and see if you need to defend or attack. Maddox, Andrew, and I will have the opportunity to dominate any midfield battle and move the ball. Maverick, you need to step into our midfield battle while having enough defensive cover, and Dex and Marco, you better link up and not stay isolated.”

“We haven’t really practiced this,” Marco muttered, concern shining in his green eyes.

I nodded. This formation required heavy coaching, otherwise if our midfield is breached, we were fucked, and defending a wider position was tough too.

“Why don’t you switch with Oliver?” I glanced at my other teammate who was an attacking midfielder but could be used as a forward. “He can help you at the front. Can you guys do that?”

Oliver nodded, and after exchanging a look with Marco, he nodded as well.

“Great.” I clapped, eager to get back on the field and destroy the other team. “Coach?”

“The idea is the right one… let’s see if you can all keep your positions and do your god damned job,” Coach Parker muttered, and I was expecting slightly more encouraging words, but I would take whatever at this point. At least he wasn’t shouting.

“Titans on three,” I called them around and placed my hand in the middle. They all piled their hands on top of mine as we formed a tight circle. “One… two… TITANS!”

The team jogged back to the stadium as I bumped my fist with Maddox and the two of us followed.

---