AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Let’s play.”
I nodded and kicked the ball that was still laying near my feet. “Let’s do it.”
Faking to the left, and then faking to the right, I kicked the ball back to the left and passed him, heading toward the goal at the end of the huge field. Behind me, he gave chase and I could hear him laughing as he got closer. Right before he caught up, I kicked the ball hard and right into the goal.
“You cheated, you didn’t tell me we were starting,” he huffed as he caught his breath.
“I said ‘let's do it.’ What more did you need?”
“I thought you meant something else. Like the other ‘do it.’ Damn, how misleading.”
My laughter echoed in the evening air and I shook my head. “Sorry to lead you astray.”
“Don’t get a guy’s hopes up like that, and then take him to the goal. It’s mean.”
My stomach was hurting from laughing, tears had sprung into my eyes. He was playing with me, joking, and trying to feed off how bad I just beat him. It was endearing, the way he made me laugh, made me forget.
Made me have fun.
We lined up face to face, with a ball between us. I had barely stopped laughing, but was ready for his turn with control as we stood in a ready position at the center of the field.
“I’m gonna go between your legs,” he growled, making me flush and stand up straight.
With my legs spread open a little, he had enough room to kick the ball softly between my feet. He rounded me on the left side, taking control of the ball again before I could make sense of his words. I didn’t even try to chase him, just turned and watched as he took the ball to the goal.
When he turned back around, he ran a hand absentmindedly through his hair and winked. I knew he was toying with me, but his words made me feel something that I wasn’t sure my expression could hide.
“Your turn.”
Covering my face with my hands, I had to get a grip before he got closer and could see my eyes. I knew my eyes would tell him that between my legs was exactly where he needed to be, and he would never let me live that down. If I stood a chance of sleeping that night, I had to save face, and not let him see me turning into Rachel right before his eyes.
When I tried to hide behind my hands too long, his fingers wrapped around my wrist and pulled it down. “I said it was your turn.”
“Yeah, but let’s not playthatgame anymore,” I confessed, because hiding was useless.
“Just playing soccer,” he shrugged.
“Yeah right.”
The rest of the night was easier, and we scrimmaged like we always did, making my normal vibe around him return. We were still having fun, still laughing, and I could feel everything I had weighing on my shoulders dissipating as the night went on.
I didn't want it to end.
“One last time,” he said, tossing the ball at me. “This time, use your control. I can outrun you, I can overpower you, but if you can handle the ball with precision, I can’t stop you.”
I nodded and wiped the sweat from my face with my shirt. Rhys lined a new ball up in position while I planned my attack in my head.Pull-back, sweep left, roll on my heel, and sweep back.
Those were my best moves and with one last shot for the night, I wanted to beat him. I wanted him at home thinking about how he got bested by the little college girl he had to babysit.
“Ready?”
I nodded and attacked the ball, pulling it back to get control and then sweeping it to the side and out of his reach. Before he caught up to me, I rolled the ball under my heel to change its direction with my intention being to sweep it around him in the other direction.
But something in the way I rolled the ball made my ankle twist and I fell to the grass in pain. “Fuck!” I yelled, loud enough for anyone walking past the field to know someone was hurting.
It was late, though, and only Rhys and I were there. He fell to his knees next to me, stopping me from moving, and grabbed my leg to keep me still. “What happened?”
“I twisted my ankle,” I cried, the pain not yet subsiding to a manageable throb.
