After a few dozen tries, Lindsey took a deep breath before staring Kean down. Now, she was a talented kid, far better than I could ever be. But she was still a kid. I could see the feint. And if I could see it, Kean could, too. But it was a tactic she hadn’t tried, a tactic she executed with care.
So Kean fell for it, went to the right and jerked sloppily to the left when the ball switched paths. And it just barely grazed the tips of his fingers before hitting the net.
Lindsey went wild. She threw her hands up in the air and jumped around, screaming at the top of her lungs. And just like during the keep away game, Kean’s smile broke out.
“Did you see that, Mom?” Lindsey said, running up to her, buzzing.
“I did. It was amazing, sweetie! I’m so proud of you!” She wrapped her kid up for a tight hug, kissing the top of her head. She then looked back over at me and Kean, who just joined me on the sidelines. “Thank you so much for playing with her a little longer. It means the world to me. Truly.”
“Not a problem,” Kean grumbled, going back to grumpy mode as he was praised.
“You wanna get a picture together?” I asked Lindsey, nodding to Kean. She let go of her mom, teeth sinking into her lips as she considered the offer. Her mom gave her shoulder a squeeze, not forcing the issue like some parents would.
“Yeah, sure, whatever,” Lindsey mumbled. She stepped away from her mom to stand by Kean. The man stiffened, putting a hand on her shoulder. They both had uncertain looks, mouths pressed into thin lines, a matching pair of grumpy players.
“Could you at least —” her mom started but I shook my head at her as I snapped the photo.
“It suits them,” I told her. “Plus forced smiles lookwayworse than resting grump faces.”
We exchanged numbers so I could send her the photos, then collected our respective grumps before saying goodbye. As we watched them walk back to the parking lot, I leaned against Kean, resting my head on his bicep. I felt him stiffen under me, but he didn’t move away.
“Hey, Kean?” I said, head tilting up to look up at him.
“Yeah?” he said, throat bopping.
“Can I use your card to send them some tickets and a jersey?”
Kean looked down at me, face softer than I’d ever seen it.
“Yes. Please do.”
A Pair of Troublemakers
Olli
After such a successful charity game, I was so excited to get back to practice, I’d completely forgotten about the whole Hansen thing until I pulled up to the stadium staff parking lot and saw Kodi waiting by the door in a skirt suit. Then it hit me like a brick, Kodi’s instant anxiety when we got that email, the panic in her eyes, the way she was convinced I wouldn’t be able to save her job.
That shit should’ve kept me up all night and I was ashamed it hadn’t.
“Kodi.” I nodded to her as I made it to the staff door, trying to act like I didn’t sprint here from my car.
“You ready?” she asked, voice tense.
“Kodi, I promise, Hansen won’t fire you over this,” I tried to reassure her, but she shook her head.
“I know you mean well, but my anxiety has had a solid twenty-four hours to mull this over and I really don’t think your word is gonna outweigh past … crimes.”
“Crimes?” I repeated. Kodi waved me off and turned to open the door.
“Hansen’s car is already here, so we should hurry.”
“Kodi, what crimes?” I followed after her. “Do you have a record?”
My mind was racing now. Sure, I hadn’t seen Kodi in several years, but to think she had a criminal record was insane. I couldn’t fathom what kind of crime she’d commit.
“Record?” Her steps slowed for a beat as she thought, then she rolled her eyes and sped right back up. “No, not that kind of crime. Jeez. It was a — it was something stupid I did when I was a kid.”
“Kid? Is it related to when you caught the ball?”
