Page 69 of Dangerous Play

Nova laughed and shook her head. “I’m the coach’s daughter. Off-limits to all the guys on the team. Plus, I would never date a soccer player. They are pretty self-centered and I love being the center of attention so our personalities would crash.”

“Max isn’t like that.”

“Max is a people pleaser.” Brooklyn snorted. “He is the nicest guy of them all, a true gem. But that guy is going to explode one day from all the shit he swallows with a smile. I have no clue how he does it.”

I contemplated her words and maybe to the outside world, Max seemed like a people pleaser, but I got to see his other layers and a glimpse of what he was hiding behind all that sweetheart personality.

“Maybe you just don’t know him.”

She nodded. “That’s true, you know him better than I do,” she said, exchanging a look with Nova. “I was expecting you to jump at my throat for calling Maximilian a people pleaser.”

Nova chuckled. “He has his girlfriend to protect him now; no need for me to get upset. But don’t call him that.”

I found myself grinning, until she turned to look at me.

“Ivy, if you hurt him, I will hunt you down and make you regret it.”

“You let Thalia walk.” I gave her a knowing look. “Definitely not taking your threat seriously.”

The girls laughed but something like sadness flashed on Nova’s face.

“Trust me, if I could, I would make Thalia pay for what she did. But... can’t put my dad in a tight spot. Or Max. So had to find an alternative way to deal with my anger.”

“Which is arguing with Maddox?” I asked.

Brooklyn and Paige howled, and I grinned wider.

“Oh my god, is there anything going on?” I moved closer to her, prompting her to share her secret.

Nova shoved me. “You have the memory of a goldfish. I just told you I’m off-limits.

I hummed while Brooke and Paige gave me a meaningful look. There was something brewing, and I was curious to find out what.

It didn’t even cross my mind in that moment that I might not be around to witness it if we end our arrangement as per the original deadline.

The only thing I kept thinking about was how good it felt to have girlfriends who laughed with each other, shared gossips, and seemed genuinely nice.

“Earth to Ivy.” Rose poked me, making me squeal. “Lover boy is waving at you.”

“What?” I blinked, remembering where I was. Glancing down at the pitch, I saw Max, Liam, Maddox and Derek all waving at us as they were getting out of their warm-up clothes.

I waved back with a sweet smile and my heart melted a bit. Ander never acknowledged me during a game, but then again, I’ve learned over these past few months that what we had wasn’t even classified as love.

“Good luck!” I mouthed, and he nodded, running his fingers through his hair.

Then, he turned and jogged to the pitch. I watched him slip on his game face as he, Maddox, Oliver and Andrew positioned in their lines.

He tried explaining me their strategy, the lineup of three lines with different number of people, but I was way too distracted by his naked chest to remember anything. He didn’t expect me to understand, he just needed to vent and I was happy to listen to him talk about soccer any time. His enthusiasm and passion rubbed off on me and he almost got me invested in soccer.

Almost.

“Where is this asshole scout sitting?” I asked Nova, glancing around the stadium.

“Behind us,” she whispered. “Six rows up. He is wearing an ugly green baseball hat. Trying to disguise himself. I think that’s why Max and the guys wanted to make sure he saw you wearing Max’s jersey and waving at him.”

Oh. Embarrassment heated my cheeks and I couldn’t’ believe I almost convinced myself we were no longer playing this game, when in reality, this was the grand finale.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

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