Page 48 of Penalty Kick

“Date?” Elliot chimed in from the other side of Liam. “You have a date for the reception?”

I do indeed…

“Sí.” Keeping his response simple, he looked around, making sure that Gunnar wasn’t in earshot.

“You better call Haven then,” Chance said. “Don’t want to be the only guy at our coach’s wedding all by himself.”

“Who are you taking?” Elliot asked.

“Del.”

“She came all that way for the reception?” Liam asked.

“She came for my party,” Dash offered with a shrug, seeing just how uncomfortable Chance was with the questioning. He’d been there recently and knew exactly how he felt.

“No, she’s, errr…moving here,” Chance replied.

Avery poked her head out from the med room, calling Chance’s name and gesturing that it was his turn. Popping up faster than Dash had ever seen him move, Chance took the exit, leaving them in the dust. Liam turned to Dash, nodding his head toward his girlfriend and their teammate.

“That was weird.”

Dash shrugged in response, agreeing with Liam. It was very un-Chance. Then again, he didn’t have room to talk about getting weird over a girl. He was doing the exact same thing.

“Mahoney, you bringing your girl to the reception?” Elliot asked, turning to his left.

“My girl?” The midfielder’s eyes darted back and forth between the group, a nervous look taking over his face.

“Didn’t we meet a girlfriend at Dash’s party? Or am I making that up?”

“Oh, her…errr, no. We, err, broke up.”

Without another word, Mahoney scurried off to shower, not giving them a second look or a chance to ask more questions.

“Dude, just call Haven,” Liam said, giving Elliot a little shove.

“You know you want to,” Dash added.

Elliot glared at them, pushing to his feet. Muttering something under his breath that Dash couldn’t quite make out, their buddy flipped them the bird before following in Mahoney’s footsteps and shuffling off to the showers.

“So, you and Talia,” Liam circled back. “You going to tell me what’s going on?”

“You want us to sit here and gossip like two old ladies?”

Liam laughed. “Pretty much. As her big brother figure, and your friend, I feel I have a right to know.”

Dash had to agree. It was only fair. Liam was his best friend on the team, the person he confided in the most. He could also keep a secret. Dash figured it was safe to let him in on what was going on.

“Not here. Dinner at Bunz?”

* * *

Talia sang along with the pop song that played in the background, barely audible over the hum of the dinner crowd. Thursdays were usually a busy night for them—didn’t matter the sport, there always seemed to be a game being played somewhere on a Thursday. Tonight was no exception.

Shaking her hips in time with the beat, she finished washing the pint glasses that had been piling up at the end of the bar. She’d watched the stack grow out of the corner of her eye as she filled orders, trying to tear herself away long enough to tend to them. It had taken her well over an hour, but she’d finally found the moment. Dishes were generally one of her least favorite parts of the job, but tonight, she’d been happy for the brief moment of escape, allowing her mind to wander.

“You are smiling like a goon, you know that, right?”

Talia spun around, catching Felicity’s eye as she slid onto a stool at the very end of the bar. It was her usual spot, partially because it was usually open and partially because it was out of the way, and seeing her friend/stepmother sitting there made the world feel right.