Page 23 of Offside Rule

Xavier released me, and looked for something in his bag before handing it to me. I frowned when I realized what it was. My fingers curled around the blue material of his jersey, admiring his name and player number. As I played with thematerial in my hands, the smell of his aftershave wafted to my nostrils.

He smiled as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “Would you keep this for me until I get back?” he asked.

I bit my bottom lip. I couldn’t believe we were actually doing this, thatIwas doing this. But then, who could resist someone like Xavier? His looks and words were charming, he was respectful and caring, and underneath it all, he was a young man with a maturity beyond his years. He was different than I had imagined him at first. I had thought he was a spoiled player with only one goal in mind—getting a girl into his bed every night.

He wasn’t.

With a shaky smile, I accepted his jersey. “Sure.”

He stepped closer, considering his next words for only a moment before his eyes filled with certainty and determination. “Be my girlfriend,” Xavier blurted out.

I almost choked on my own saliva, and froze in place. Be his girlfriend? I was aware this was going to progress to something bigger, but the question took me by surprise. We—or at least I—had just gotten used to the idea of being affectionate with each other in a way I hadn’t been in years.

One part of me screamed in excitement at the idea, but another part begged me to explain what kind of commitment that would require of him. “Xavier, I have?—”

“A daughter,” he cut me off. “I know, and I don’t care. I mean, I do care, but I care in a very, very good way. I love kids, and I'm super good with them. I would fucking love to meet her.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but he interrupted me again.

“And don’t tell me I’m too young, and it’s not going to work, because we both know that’s bullshit.”

Well, I was left with no walls or arguments to hide behind. Those were the only reasons I could rationally argue that heand I wouldn’t work. But now that he’d addressed them? I had nothing to protest.

“So?” He gave me his cheeky grin again, then took a curl of my red hair and tucked it behind my ear. “Would you like to be my girlfriend, Arianna? Would you give us a chance?”

I felt like a giddy teenager, and since I couldn’t form any words, I just smiled.

He looked to the sky and threw his fists in the air, letting out a yell. Everyone turned their attention to us. Some of them were giving us ugly looks, but others smiled at him.

My cheeks were probably burning red, and as I swept my eyes to the ground, I noticed a lizard near my feet. Xavier was still spinning and shouting. When he moved to step closer to me, I placed a hand on his chest, stopping him before he could crush the poor thing.

“Watch out,” I warned him.

At that, he frowned, not understanding what I’d meant until he lowered his gaze. The sound that came out of his mouth next was something I had only heard in horror movies. He jumped behind me instinctually, letting out a scream as his fingers clutched my waist.

Tears sprang from my eyes as I let my laughter overtake me. Who knew someone as big as he was would be so scared of something so tiny?

I placed a hand on my stomach, feeling how his fingers had branded my skin from how hard he was squeezing me. I don’t know how long it took me to calm down, but by the time I had wiped my tears from my eyes, Xavier stood in front of me and cleared his throat.

He had his hands in his pockets, looking anywhere but at me. Before I had the chance to say anything, he spoke first.

“As my official girlfriend, can you promise me that we will never speak about this ever again?”

SEVENTEEN

XAVIER

ONE MONTH LATER

“Are you nervous about the next match?” Arianna asked in a whisper, tracing circles on my sweaty, naked chest, her head resting on my shoulder.

I was in her bedroom, and we had tried to make as little noise as possible, given that her mother and daughter were in the same house. It was the third time this month we had found ourselves in a situation like this. She had refused to let me pay for a hotel every time I had come to visit because, and I quote, “You spend enough money flying here.” I had tried to cross her once, and she had refused to speak to me the entire time I was there.

Her question floated in my mind. I was never nervous before a game. I knew what my team and I could do. The truth was, we had made it so far that losing would still be a win, since it was our first time playing in a championship. We were still young, unlike many of our adversaries who felt theyhadto win. Because, as a football player, you realistically had an expiration date. Yet with what we had achieved so far, I had no doubt the future held great things for us.

“No,” I responded, playing with her hair as the first rays of sunshine painted the room. “There are things much greater than winning.”

Arianna looked up at me, frowning. “Like what?”

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