Page 61 of Dangerous Play

“But you need to believe that you deserve it.”

I nodded slowly as his words sank in.

“The truth was always in front of you, it just took you longer to realize it. Ander was and continues to be what we in calla real piece of shit.”

That got me to croak out a choked laugh and Max grinned.

“Now, if you want to break up with me, because you finally realized... I might be heartbroken over it,” he teased with a smile. My heart jumped in my chest and the idea of breaking up with him still sounded too real, painful and not something I wanted to do.

“Can we keep dating?” I asked carefully. “Just until Christmas. We can break up before my birthday in January.”

“That’s a shitty time to break up, it would make me look like an asshole. Why don’t we stick with it until March? I should have a secure spot on the National Team by then and anyway my focus will shift.”

“You know Christmas means my parents, you, me and Daisy. And Daisy means... “

“Sanchez. I’m a big boy. I can handle Christmas with him after we kick them out of the Championship this weekend.”

“Excited?” I wiggled my brows. “I’m sure you will win.”

“Aarons, if you are done charming your girlfriend, get your ass to the field!” Coach shouted from below, the Titans already gathered around him.

“I’m not really done.” Max flashed me a grin.

“It wasn’t a request, Aarons!”

I chuckled, ducking my head, as Max threw a panicked look over his shoulder at me and quickly ran down the stairs. Once he was back on the field, I lifted my laptop screen back up and stared at my little research project called Thalia, because I wanted to make sure Max doesn’t miss out on his well-deserved National Team invitation.

He deserved it more than anything. I watched him prioritize gym over sleep even when I was with him. I experienced all the extra effort he put in outside of trainings and my heart broke a little with every day he kept on waiting anxiously by his phone, checking in with his team and coaches to see when the announcement will come.

“I don’t need to remind you that if you loose on Saturday the season ends for us and the Lions, will move into finals. There is no room for errors. We are playing home, on our own pitch, you all better bring your A games. No distraction. It has been a strong season so far, but one game can change everything.”

Their Coach lacked talent for motivational speeches and looking at the faces of the team every one of them felt it too. My eyes landed on Max, his messy hair falling over his eyes as stood there with his arms crossed, biceps flexing.

“Do not miss!” Coach went on, clearly not reading the room and Dex rolled his eyes. “And take all the necessary risks, but not too much.”

Max shook his head and pushed his fingers through the messy strands.

“We’ve never lost a Championship, let’s not start this year.”

A few guys snickered as Coach clapped and walked away.

“Dismissed.”

“Worst motivational speech ever,” Maddox muttered. “That guy needs some training.”

I let out a short laugh before burying my face back into the laptop. Thalia was plain boring. Liked every post Max posted, commented on everything. She wanted to be noticed and become an influencer but she was trying too hard. Honestly, I didn’t get how her dad didn’t see it. But I guess parental love and all.

“What are you doing here?” A girl appeared next to me. Her hair was braided into one long braid, and she was wearing an oversized sweater dress with knee-high boots. Her freckled, heart-shaped face was morphed into a concerned grimace. “Aren’t you a Lion? Are you stealing our strategy?”

I furrowed my brows and closed my laptop. “I’m Max’s girlfriend.”

“You’re dating Sanchez’s ex?” she screamed and turned toward the team who were gathering their stuff to leave.

Max rolled his eyes and swiftly joined us on the stands.

“Nice to see you too, Sunshine.”

“Sunshine? Really, Max?” She sighed but gave him a hug. “Bet you missed me.”

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