Page 83 of Dangerous Play

I walked off the field, my entire body aching from the impact I took, and I tried to hide my grin as I passed the very pissed-off referee, opponent, and Coach Parker.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Coach Parker shouted at me, and I winced despite my shit-eating grin.

“You always told us to use our heads, Coach. I did just that.”

I caught a glimpse of Coach McCarthy turning away to hide his laugh as Coach Parker shook his head.

“Get off the field.”

“Yes, Coach,” I saluted him as I walked off the field, laughing to myself.

I was totally going down as the worst Captain of the year, but I didn’t really care. All that mattered was that I really did try my best and made impulse decisions without overthinking too much. And it felt fucking liberating doing that.

“Did you just repost all your photos with Ivy?” Nova screamed as I exited the changing room to meet up with the girls and our fans and hopefully get some dinner.

“Congrats on the big win, Max, your goal was so impressive, and your slide tackle was the best I have seen. You are truly an asset to this team, and we are so lucky to have you as captain,” I corrected Nova with a grin. “That’s what you meant to say, right?”

“No.” She grimaced, not even giving me a hug—just crossing her arms and staring at me. Maddox’s jersey was way too big on her tiny body and looked even more ridiculous as she put a coat over it.

“Yes, I did,” I replied to her question, confirming what I did during the last minutes of the game instead of watching my team win.

“Why?” she asked, her face a mix of confusion and surprise. “Like, why now?”

“Something Maddox said on the field got me thinking—”

“You mean when you guys were supposed to be playing soccer instead of asking for dating advice,” Nova interrupted me.

“Not exactly how it happened.” I narrowed my eyes at her, still grinning. “But it did end in a kind of advice until we were rudely interrupted by... you know... the game.”

“What the fuck did you do to Maximilian Aarons?” She stared at me like I had gone completely crazy.

And maybe I had.

I didn’t consider that possibility, but it was a real possibility.

“I think he’s been replaced with a clone.” Liam appeared behind me, his arms around Brooklyn already. They’d been dating since freshman year of high school, and they still acted so madly in love it was disgustingly sweet.

“Definitely,” Maddox agreed, his mouth curving into a grin as he carried the trophy. “You forgot it in the changing room because you were too busy staring at your phone.”

“Keep giving me shit.” I shook my head, unbothered. “I don’t care.”

“You unarchived all but the one where your hair looked bad,” Alfie jumped on the let’s-make-fun-of-Max train, and I grimaced.

I had great friends. Truly.

“I did post a photo of all of us with the trophy,” I muttered in my defense. “I even tagged you all as collaborators or whatever that shit is.”

“Look at you, buddy, all grown up knowing how to use social media. I’m so proud of you,” Liam cooed, making me want to punch him.

Instead, I rolled my eyes.

“Fuck off.”

“You only posted that so people would go to your profile and see all the Ivy pictures,” Dex said, leaning on his crutches. His grin was wide as he joined us, and we made sure he was included in the trophy team picture. After all, we owed him this win too.

“If you’re all done with whatever this is.” I motioned around our little circle. “I’m starving.”

“I like this new Maximilian,” Maddox observed. “You are cooler.”

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