Page 62 of Dangerous Play

“We missed your big mouth,” Derek said, climbing the stairs.

“Funny you say that.” The girl laughed, and her eyes flashed to Maddox arriving last before returned to me. “Is anyone going to fill me in?”

“Fill you in on what?” I muttered, suddenly annoyed.

Max sighed. “Blossom, this is Nova. Coach Parker’s one and only daughter.”

“She’s a true nightmare,” Derek added as he wrapped his arm around her.

“More like a hurricane,” Maddox corrected with a smirk.

Nova chuckled. “Yeah, still doesn’t explain why she is here.”

“Can you be nice?” Max stared at her. “She is on our team.”

“We like her,” Derek said with a grin, and Maddox nodded.

“I leave for a couple of months and this is what you do.” She shook her head with a dramatic sigh before bursting into a laugh. “Sorry, I’m messing with you. I’m Nova, a drama major.”

“Of course you are.” I chuckled dryly. “I’m Ivy, a computer science and marketing major.”

“Great. I was in Canada recording a TV show over the past few months. We just wrapped so that’s why I’m so out of the loop with all the gossip.”

“It’s not like we weren’t updating you in the group chat,” Derek muttered. “You wound me.”

“Took you all but three minutes to brag about the TV show,” Maddox remarked, staring at his watch. “That must be a new record.”

Nova grimaced. “We should grab dinner.”

“You guys totally should,” Max agreed, hugging me to himself. I scrunched my nose from the smell radiating from him but didn’t pull away. “Blossom and I have plans.”

“Sex doesn’t count as plans,” Nova objected, her pleading green eyes turning to me. “I would love to get to know you.”

“You were hostile,” Maddox reminded her. “Max is protective. They’ll get over it.”

“I was just being me.” She looked like a little sad puppy with her lip turned down and I could see why she landed a TV show. She had on point facial expressions. “Please?”

I glanced at Max and he was already shaking his head. “Ugh, you will regret it, Blossom. Trust me.”

An hour and a half later, we were all in one of the best Italian restaurants in town ordering our weight in garlic bread, bruschetta and pizza. Nova was chatting happily with another girl who was someone’s girlfriend and suddenly this whole new world opened up to me.

The girlfriends of the team.

Besides Nova, there was Brooklyn who was Liam’s high school sweetheart and they made the cutest couple. Brooklyn’s friend Paige was seeing Alfie, the funniest and most genuine goalie I had ever met. And then there was Rosalie who was Aaron’s little sister, a freshman currently, but seemed to be good friends with the girls.

They were all sweet and welcoming me into their little group of supporting soccer girls.

Max’s hand squeezed my knee as I laughed at a story Brooklyn was telling us about Liam and the paintball game theyhad over the weekend. Liam was showing off his bruises on his arm allowing his friends to tease him about it.

“Are you having fun or regretting it?” Max asked, leaning close to me. His pine scented cologne hit my nose and I inhaled it deeply. I loved how he smelled after showering.

“Loving it,” I replied honestly. “They are all so nice.”

“Wait until you get to know them better.”

“Max,” Nova called his name from the other side of the table. “How does it feel introducing her to us? You now made it official.”

“It was official,” he replied curtly with a small grin. “Just because I didn’t subject her to the pain of talking to you doesn’t mean we weren’t real.”

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