Page 9 of Racing Heat
I feel bad for them. We’ve only used a backup goalie one time, and that was when Hendrix took a nasty hit. But she was back up and moving the next game. Neither one of them has gone in since, but they come to practice day in and day out and go through the drills in hope that for once they’ll get into the game. I want that for them, but Hendrix is special, and she was a good find on Maxwell’s part. Defensively, she’s our best shot at beating most teams, so the other girls sit bench and wait for their shot, which may never come.
Practice goes fast today and before I know it, Cassie and Mac are making their way over to me.
“Ready for us?” Mac asks.
“Yeah. I need some high shots. Some powerful ones. Get Hendrix ready.”
“Oh, she’ll be ready,” Mac says, winking confidently at Hendrix.
“Damn right I’ll be ready.” Hendrix rolls her shoulders and gets into stance, bending her knees so she’s ready to spring into action.
“Well, be that as it may, we need to work on it,” I tell them. “So, ladies, limber up and let’s get to firing.”
I step back to the sideline while Cassie and Mac pass long balls back and forth to warm up their legs. When they’re good and ready, they start sending shots Hendrix’s way. She’s not wrong; she does well at first. But the more they fire, the more tired she gets, and the shots start falling in.
I was afraid of this. I know what’s going to happen. The whole game, the shots are going to be coming. I know our backs are good. Hell, Amelia’s one of the best I’ve ever seen. I would have her working with me in a heartbeat if I were the goalie.
“Let’s give her a water break,” I call out to the girls.
Hendrix and Mac go over to the bench and grab some water. Cassie stays on the field. She lowers herself onto the turf and stretches her legs out in front of her.
“You good?” I ask her as I approach. “Do you want to get some water too?”
“Nah, I’m good.” Cassie watches me.
I sit down right beside her. Hendrix and Mac are directly in front of us, sitting on the bench and talking quietly. It looks a bit like they’re strategizing, because Hendrix is pointing at the goal, and Mac is nodding along with her and pointing at the eighteen.
“I think we need to get Amelia out here and work on cutting the angle,” Cassie tells me. “See if we can give her some game-like situations instead of just blindly firing at her. Do you really think our defense is going to give them a clear shot right fromthe eighteen? There’s not a chance in hell that our girl will let them just walk right in and shoot. Even from that spot.”
“I should have thought of that,” I tell her, shaking my head.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to think of everything, Coach.”
“But I’m always prepared,” I tell her, my voice dropping low, hoping she hears the innuendo in what I’m saying.
“I’ll have to remember that.” Cassie shoots a wink my way. “I’ll go ask Coach Watts if we can borrow some defenders.”
This turns the drill into a team effort. The offense helps out with positioning and the defense covers them. Hendrix gets some good game practice. I think she’ll be ready. We just need to beat this team so the road to the playoffs isn’t a bumpy one.
Chapter Four
~JASE~
It’s a travel day for the team. Thankfully, we have a late flight and don’t have to be at the airport until almost one. This means I can get in a run with Cassie before we’re off. Normally, when the alarm would go off, I would lie there snoozing for at least fifteen minutes before getting out of bed. But now, I’m rising out of bed as soon as the alarm sounds. Running doesn’t feel like punishment anymore, not like it did when I played. It feels like the best part of my day. Well, seeing Cassie is the best part of my day.
It’s definitely against the rules for us to be dating. Mac and Danny got lucky. Cassie and I would not be so lucky, and August wouldn’t be so forgiving either. She would lose her job, and I’m sure I would be the on first plane back to Manchester. So, for now, all I have are the moments we spend running together.
When I arrive at the boardwalk, I park in my normal spot and wait for her to arrive. It’s become a routine. Whoever arrives first waits for the other. We get out of our cars together and stretch. Once we’re both ready to go, we’re off.
I wait anxiously for the yellow Jeep to come into view, my heart beating faster in anticipation of seeing her. There isn’t a measurement for the level of screwed that I am when it comesto this woman. The sad thing is, I’m not even sure she feels the same way that I do. And I’m also not sure it’s worth finding out. The sting of knowing that she wants me too but there’s nothing we can do about it might be more than I can take.
Her yellow Jeep comes into view, and the sight brightens my day the same way she does. I get out of my car and bounce on my heels as I wait for her to come over and join me for stretching.
“Morning,” Cassie says when she joins me in the middle of the road. It’s a dead end, so we won’t be overrun by cars. And this early in the morning, there isn’t really much beach traffic down here. In the distance, the morning yoga class is assembling by the water.
“Morning,” I reply. “There’s still time to join that yoga class, in case you would rather do that instead of going on this run.”
She giggles, and I wish I could come up with some witty thing to say to keep her laughing and keep hearing that sweet sound.
