"Do youreallylike him too?"
Elle's tone comes out exactly as she intended—pointed and obvious. I shoot her a look—one I hope saysThat's none of your damn business, and you have some nerve to even ask.She keeps her eyes on her daughter, and before I can respond—or do something worse—a dull thud bounces off of the ground.
Game on.
Elle spins around, and I follow, finding the ball just a few feet behind us. I race toward it, easily catching up to her. Kenzie runs past us, expecting her mom to send it toward the goal.
Over my dead body.
I take one more step further before twisting my body to face Elle head-on. Her eyes meet mine for half a second before she winds up to kick the ball as hard as she can.
"Go Tess!" I hear from down the field, and as if I needed more of a reason to win this battle, I have it now.
Elle starts her follow through, but instead of meeting her foot like she thought I would, I plant my toe on top of the ball and yank it back toward me. She whiffs it completely, and with nothing to counter her momentum, she slides on her back heel and drops to the ground.
I hesitate for just a second, contemplating if I should help her up. But then I see Ruthie jumping up and down by the goal, and decide—nope.I'm not choosing kindness today either.
I keep moving instead, dodging another mom like it's nothing—the one with the slingbacks. But when one of the girls on the other team comes at me, I pass the ball to a dad up the field. The parents don't scare me—it's the preteens I'm afraid of.
The dad, Roger I think his name is, dribbles a few feet before two of the boys double-team him. Ruthie strides toward the middle to help him out, receiving his pass and turning on her heel with confidence. She weaves through two players, earning her aNice work!from who I assume is Grandma Birdie on the sidelines.
A whoosh passes by me as Kenzie darts toward Ruthie like she's on a mission.
"On you!" I yell as I race toward the net.
Ruthie glances back, picking up speed as she bee-lines it up the middle. I rush to the corner to be there for her—visual support, a pass, whatever she needs. She dodges another dad, then sends it my way, cutting in the opposite direction and losing Kenzie all in one motion.
The mini-Elle turns toward me as I catch the ball at my feet and Ruthie sprints in front of the net. "Tess!" she yells, wide-open and ready, her arm above her head calling for a pass. Her eyes grow as she notices Kenzie growing closer.
Without hesitation, I wind up and send it to her with every ounce of hope and athleticism I can muster. Thanks to luck—or karma, I don't know or care—the ball ends up right at Ruthie's feet. She pulls back, then kicks forward, tapping it into the corner of the net.
The ref blows the whistle as the sidelines—and the rest of our team—erupts into cheers. Voices grow louder, which I assume means our teammates are headed our way, but I don't see them at all.
My vision tunnels as Ruthie runs right to me, her face beaming. I meet her, and she jumps into my arms, knocking the wind out of me in the best possible way. I stumble back to keep us upright, and we both break out in laughter.
"You did it!" I cheer, swinging her around. I catch sight of Elle from the corner of my eye, still dusting off her biker shorts, Kenzie close by with her arms across her chest.
Setting Ruthie down, my eyes find hers glazed with excitement, her cheeks flushed with heat and pride. "Wedid it," she says, her voice bright and endearing.
The rest of our team circles around us, even some from the other side joining in the huddle. They clap our shoulders and congratulate us, kids laughing and parents already holding their backs. I smile at them, but when I look down at Ruthie, still tucked against me, that's when my heart really beams.
Winning is sweet. Beating Elle might be sweeter. But getting to be on Ruthie's team… that might be the best part of all.
38
Liam
"Rook, can we focus? I have other things to do today."
"Oh, yeah. Sorry, man." Jace sets his phone on the table face down. "It's my little sister sending random emojis from her iPad."
I nod, staring at the paused image of Holloway mid-swing. "I didn't know you had a sister. How old?"
Jace smiles. "Yeah, Vienna. She's four goin' on fourteen."
I can't help but laugh. "Been there. I take it you guys are close?"
He looks down at his phone like he can see her through it and nods. "Yeah, we're pretty close now.”
