Page 11 of Striking Heat
“Sure, Coach Watts,” the rep replies quickly. “Sorry, we had a little mishap over here.”
“You better go. I’m getting you into more trouble.” I laugh uncomfortably as I move my arm from around her shoulder.
“Yeah, me too.” She starts walking away.
“Huh?” I say, unsure of what her response means, but she’s already back over with the team.
My eyes follow her as she takes shots on goal and the keeperworks to save them. The momentum in which she’s striking the ball is putting so much power on it. The keeper is having trouble keeping up. I wonder if the force that she’s striking with has anything to do with the heat that she felt over here.
“Hey, Casanova, are you okay?” Nick asks me.
My attention turns back to him. I shake my head, bringing myself out of the fog I was in for a bit. “Fuck off, man.”
“Uh-huh” is all he says. “Let’s get you up in the press box so she doesn’t take any more shots at you.”
“Ha,” I scoff. “Maybe I put some fire into her. Maybe this will actually be a good game.”
“The last one wasn’t that bad,” Nick says as he follows me up the steps to the press box.
“Stop being so nice,” I say over my shoulder.
Nick might not be that wrong, although I would never tell him that. She sure does have a spunk in her soul tonight. Mac is playing some serious offense, running up the line with great speed and making excellent crosses to her teammates. She’s taken a few good shots on goal and has managed to come up with an assist from one of those crosses. The Blaze are on fire tonight and the crowd is loving them.
We’re in the second half, and the Blaze are still up one-nothing. They look great and they might just beat Angel FC if they keep it up. I must admit that I’m impressed. And I’ll admit that to myself, but not to anyone else. The women are really on their game, especially Mac. She’s carrying the ball up the field while fans around me chant, “Go to goal! Go to goal!”
“Pretty sure that’s where she’s headed,” I say lowly.
Nick elbows me in the side. “You know, you could pretend to be a fan.” He chuckles. “The Blaze are putting on quite a show.”Another reporter must think he’s talking to him, because they end up high fiving.
“Her shooting percentage is in the toilet,” I say. “This isn’t going to be a goal.”
Just as I say it, Mac cuts in toward the center, making a beeline for the goal. She stills and fires at the keeper. It’s perfect placement; the ball soars over the goalie’s outstretched hand and finds the corner of the net. The whole stadium erupts, and fans jump to their feet. Mac turns, grinning a mile-wild smile, arms spread out as she runs toward her teammates, who are cheering along with her.
The camera zooms in on Mac’s face. She cranes her head over her shoulder, in the direction of the press box, and winks. As quickly as it happens, it’s done. She’s being mobbed in a celebratory group hug.
“Was that wink for you?” Nick asks with a chuckle.
“She did wink, didn’t she?”
“That she did,” Nick confirms.
“That wink couldn’t have been for me,” I say with a shake of my head.
Chapter Seven
~MAC~
That wink was for him. I just had to show him who got that attack. I played the game of my life tonight. It’s the home opener we should have had but didn’t. But tonight, we are winners, defeating Angel FC three to one. Two of those goals were mine.
Knowing Danny was up there in the press box, collecting more material for another article, lit a fuse inside me, and I wanted to finish this strong. I wanted that ball to be his head. Or I wanted the ball that I had launched in his direction pre-game to have made contact with his face. It didn’t, and my coaches are still trying to convince me that that was a good thing. Either way, I made sure I pictured his face when I launched the ball toward the goal. The goalie didn’t stand a chance with as much power as I put on those kicks. A few were wide, a few were unfinished passes. But two of them found the back of the net and gave us the win that we were missing.
So yeah, when I looked up at the press box, I knew he was watching me. So, I winked. I wanted to scream in his direction, “Now who lacks attack?”But I behaved and celebrated with myteammates, telling myself that the performance I was putting on was more for me and the fans than for Danny.
“You rocked it out there tonight, girl,” Cassidy says, bumping my shoulder as we file into the locker room.
“Thanks. You were pretty awesome too. Thanks for all those through balls. I think all of my goals were assisted by you.” I tap her on the nose.
She crinkles her nose and shakes her head. “I couldn’t help but notice that wink.” Her voice trails off like she’s waiting for me to fill in the blanks. But I don’t do it. There is nothing to fill her in on.
