Page 37 of We'll Meet Again

“Fuck off!” Billie shot back.

She changed into pajamas and then went into the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. But no matter what she did, she couldn’t get the feeling of Ethan’s lips from her skin where he had kissed her. She wasn’t upset that it remained, only that she couldn’t feel it in other places, too. With a sigh, she crawled into bed and tugged her duvet over herself. From under the pillow, she retrieved the handkerchief and looked at it, willing it to give her any answers. Or maybe even just comfort. It must have worked, as she fell asleep holding it to her chest.

Chapter 10

EtihadStadiumroaredtolife as Stanmore took the pitch alongside the home team, Manchester City. Ethan swallowed down his nerves. Away matches always had him a bit rattled, as he fed off the energy of the crowd. When they were against him and his teammates, they were harder to drown out. Luckily, an encouraging wink from Hector helped.

What didn’t help was that he had been getting radio silence from Billie since their date. Even now, his mind went to her and if she was watching. If she was, what was she thinking? Was she angry at him? She seemed a little hurt that he hadn’t come back to her place with her, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to resist her if she got him there. And he wanted to take his time with her. Really get to know each other before things got more physical. He considered calling to explain, but he talked himself out of that because he didn’t want to seem presumptuous.

The sound of a whistle drew him from his thoughts of her. They lined up in formation on their side, Ethan in the dead center by the ball. After taking a knee, they all stood up, the whistle blew again, and Ethan kicked the ball into play with a pass to Devon. He then lobbed it across the pitch to Peter, who took off along the sideline. Ethan snuck past the light blue shirt marking him and got open, but Peter was up to his usual bad behavior.

“O’Riley!” Ethan called, and waved to try and get his attention, but Peter was looking resolutely in front of him.

Finally cornered, Peter did pass, but backward to Hector instead of directly to Ethan. Even the Man City defender seemed perplexed by the choice, shooting Ethan a quizzical look. Ethan only shrugged and moved to get open again.

Man City forced Stanmore back into their zone, but luckily, the defense acted quickly before the Man City forwards could take a shot. Kâmil won the ball from them and passed it back up toward Artem, who surged forward. Ethan followed, all the way past the midfield and into Man City territory. Artem launched it up the field, and Ethan received it where it landed about a yard in front of him, outrunning his opponent. It was just him and the goalkeeper. He swung his leg back and punted, the pall soaring off his laces. Unfortunately, the goalkeeper was there. He snatched it out of the air and fell down on top of it.

The crowd cheered as Ethan threw his head back and groaned in frustration. Against a team like this, an early goal could be a game changer. And a much-needed boost for the Wasps’ morale in this environment. They might have even had two attempts if Peter wasn’t being so stubborn. Ethan shrugged it off and got ready for the goal kick.

The first half hour of the match remained goalless. Which was encouraging in some ways, but frustrating in others. Finally, Man City got one past Jordan and into the back of the net in the thirty-second minute. Jordan rallied Stanmore while their opponents celebrated to the din of the crowd.

Two minutes of stoppage time were added to the forty-five minute half. Man City took another shot, which Jordan knocked up and over the back of the net, but that meant they got to set up for a corner kick, which was another opportunity. And less time for Stanmore to try and get back down the field to equalize.

Both teams lined up in front of the goal as the Man City striker stood back to take it. He made solid contact with the ball, and it sailed over them. Ethan was the closest, so he jumped to meet the ball with his head and knock it away, back down the pitch toward the goal they needed, only Peter yanked down on Ethan’s shoulders, going for it himself. Unfortunately, his angle was all wrong, and he sent it right into the foot of a Man City defender, who chipped it back into the net. The crowd went wild as Man City expanded their lead, and Stanmore collectively groaned.

“What were you doing?” Ethan snapped. He didn’t usually shout at his teammates, but this felt out of line. Peter’s position wouldn’t have worked; his move was deliberate sabotage. “I had it!”

“Watch yourself, cowboy,” Peter warned, starting to turn his back.

“What is your problem with me, O’Riley?” Ethan demanded, grabbing his teammate by the jersey and forcing him to turn back around. “That I took your friend's spot? Because if that’s it, you need to take it up with the staff, I didn’t make that call.”

Peter sneered. “You wanna have this out here, do you?”

“Yeah, I do,” Ethan replied firmly. It didn’t matter that there was a stadium full of thousands, most of which were still singing about the goal. “Because if we can’t work together then this is only going to get worse.” He gestured to the scoreboard, reflecting their imminent demise. 2-0 was not impossible to come back from, but it wasn’t easy either. Especially with only one more half left to play.

“Alright,” Peter said. “You’re an overrated, overhyped fucking hillbilly who acts like his place here is a given. You’ve got to earn your spot on this team, mate.”

Ethan frowned. He wanted to remind Peter he’d spent a whole career earning his spot on this squad and in the Premier League in general, but that wasn’t anything Peter didn’t already know, so Ethan decided to match his energy. “Andyouare a misogynistic, arrogant limey who’s selfish enough to sink this whole team for the sake of his own petty jealousy.”

Peter’s mouth fell open. The rest of the team had arrived as well, glancing between each other as they weren’t quite sure what was going to happen next.

“We even?” Ethan challenged.

Peter closed his mouth tightly, glancing away. Ethan started to go. But before he could take a step, Peter’s palms made heavy contact with Ethan’s chest, forcing him back a few steps. Reeling, he steadied himself against the goal post. The shove activated something inside him he thought was long under control. He had more than enough practice in a scrap, so he shot Peter a warning look.

“You don't wanna fight me, O’Riley,” Ethan said.

Peter started toward him again, but this time, Ethan saw it coming, and braced himself. Years of fights in the trailer park brought back muscle memory, so he planted his feet, and pushed back with enough force to put Peter flat on his back, landing with a breathy “oof!” as he hit the turf. Ethan rose back to his full height while Peter scrambled to his feet again.

“What the fuck’s going on over here?” Jordan shouted as he jogged over, the ball still tucked under his arm.

“The fucking cowboy doesn’t know his place!” Peter yelled.

“Watch it, O’Riley,” Jordan warned.

“Taking his side, are you?” Peter protested.

Jordan squared up, towering over Peter. “That cowboy’s our best chance at scoring enough goals to win this match, maybe even a cup final. You fuck that up, and I’ll smile killing you.”

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