Page 81 of Dangerous Play

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

MAX

The cheerof the crowd carried me away as I ran across the field in the hot weather. I had no clue who decided that Nevada, the middle of the desert, was a great idea for a soccer cup final, but here we were, sweating our butts off in December.

I was naive to pack a long-sleeved jersey because I was debating changing my soaked short-sleeved one just past halftime. I panted as Ridoc U’s team, which had never made it to the final before, gave us a run for our money.

“Their defense is top-notch,” Maddox muttered, jogging closer to me, and I nodded, assessing the opponent’s formation.

Sweat trickled down my forehead and neck, and I needed to come up with the best strategy for us to break through their defensive formation. We always kept our 4-3-3 formation with a strong attack and defense balance and rarely had to change it up, but with Dex gone, we had to rely on other players in the midfield to get the game moving. Our new formation of 3-4-3 was working well in the first half. But now, with the opponent not attacking, we had a good chance of changing it further.

I called a timeout, and gathering the team, I glanced at both coaches. “Let’s do 3-5-2,” I announced, removing one more defender and strengthening the midfield more. “We’ve already done this once; we can do it again. I know we haven’t practiced, but everyone knows their job. Micah, you’re in, replacing Nico. Sorry, bud, this isn’t personal.” And it really wasn’t, but he was the weakest in our defensive line, and both Hudson and Aaron were needed. Our other defender, Maverick, was already benched, so Nico got a great chance at least playing. “Let’s move the ball in the midfield, and if you have the shot, take it. Seb, position well in case you’re needed. Midfielders, do not lose the ball, do not let the midfield break up. Show them why we are better, and let’s fucking score.”

The guys cheered, minus Nico, who looked pissed off as hell, but I couldn’t find it in me to care.

“We need defenders who can play midfield too,” Coach Parker said to an annoyed Nico, who shrugged and walked off like the childish asshole he was. “You made the right decision, Aarons.”

I wasn’t doubting my decision, not even close, but it was good to get feedback. I didn’t second-guess myself or worry about what people might think of me. At that moment, my only thought was winning, and I was willing to make whatever decision was necessary to achieve that.

With a nod, I glanced at the team. “Everyone good with their position and assignment?” I asked, looking at every single one of them.

They all nodded as I held their gaze, and I let out a satisfied grin. “Let’s go, then!” Liam clamped me on the back as we jogged to the pitch, and he flashed me a wide grin.

“What?” I asked, not daring to look at the stands. I knew Ivy might have been there watching me, as Nova told me she talked to her. But I hadn’t even dared glance toward my parentsor friends, not wanting to lose my newfound cool calmness and confidence.

“You’re really growing into this captain role, captain.”

“That’s the point, isn’t it?” I asked with a grin and focused on the ball that was being played between two of our players. “Or am I supposed to keep sucking at it?”

“It just felt like...” Liam shrugged as he caught the ball, and we both made our way toward the opponent’s goal.

I didn’t look for Derek, as he wasn’t there. I didn’t seek out Sebastian. I saw Maddox from my peripheral vision move in, and Liam passed the ball to him, moving it toward the goal.

I picked up my pace, and running faster felt easier thanks to all the running I did with Ivy. I was less tired, stronger, and I even enjoyed it.

Positioning behind one defender, I made sure I wasn’t offside as I signaled to my teammate to make the goal-pass.

Maddox moved around his own defender and kicked the ball in a nice, curved line straight to my feet.

I pivoted in place, and as soon as the ball touched the grass, I kicked it toward the goal. I didn’t need to pull any tricks, and I didn’t stop to overthink or second-guess.

The worst thing that could happen was I’d miss, and we’d try again.

But there was nothing worse than not taking the chance.

And as I watched the ball land in the net, I felt the heaviness settle onto me, my chest aching.

We basically won at that point; there was no way their defensive strategy was going to score unless we fucked up the last ten minutes.

The whole team celebrated as they all jumped on me, doing our usual celebration after the goal. But my head was already somewhere else, onto the next task.

And as I turned toward the bleachers, scanning the crowd, looking for the familiar blue jerseys, I passed my cheering parents and stopped at the girls standing up and screaming. I watched their happy faces and their silly little dances. I saw Rosie screaming her lungs out, Nova hugging Brooklyn, and Paige standing on her seat trying to talk to Alfie. They were all there, cheering us on and supporting. All but one.

That one empty seat cut me deeper than anything else as that uncomfortable weight suffocated me.

“You did it,” Maddox shouted. “We basically won!”

I cracked a soft smile, but it wasn’t close to what I was supposed to feel.

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