Page 47 of Penalty Kick

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

As far as Dash was concerned, today was the first day of the rest of his life, or whatever the hell that odd saying was that hung in Liam’s locker.

Granted, every day this week had felt that way. There was a magic in the air making everything seem brighter, more vibrant. He felt more alive than ever before, filled with something that put a bounce in his step that he’d thought was only a thing in movies.

All because of Talia.

From the moment he first saw her, walking into the team meeting room back in January, he’d felt a pull toward her. Her simple beauty lit up that room, making all the noise and chaos of a bunch of athletes meeting for the first time melt away. That might have been what had initially caught his eye, but wasn’t what was keeping it. No one—not even his mother and sister—saw him like she did. Believed in him like she did. It was like she had a front row seat to the deepest parts of him. The fact that she hadn’t run for the hills surprised him every day.

The heavy summer air clung to him as he rushed down the field, ball at his feet, the sound of his teammates’ voices surrounding him, energizing him. He lived for this, the beautiful game. It might only be an end-of-training scrimmage, but to be out on the pitch, playing, was something he would never take for granted. Especially now that he was back on the team fully. With a bye this coming weekend, it would still be awhile before he saw actual game minutes, but he didn’t care. He was back.

Plus, the bye this weekend meant that he was going to get to spend more time with Talia. The rest of Saturday night had been filled with cuddling and kisses. Once they had finished Dirty Dancing, they’d moved on to another one of Talia’s favorites, some old movie about a guy in a red jacket—who reminded Dash of Devlin from Bunz—rebelling against something. What, Dash wasn’t quite sure. Not that he’d paid a whole lot of attention. Despite Talia insisting that he would love it, he’d been too preoccupied by her in his arms. The soft coos she made, the warmth of her, how she tensed up before something exciting was about to happen on the screen. It had been the most perfect night of his life.

At least until she agreed to go dancing with him Sunday night. He hadn’t been able to convince her to do the same lift from the movie, but getting to hold her in his arms and not give a damn who saw was more than enough. Talia had mentioned her desire to keep whatever was happening between them to themselves—not wanting to invite the outside world in just yet.

“Not a secret,” she’d said. “But not public information either. I want to see where this goes without everyone else’s opinion. Figure it out on our own. Because the second we let the cat out of the bag, all we’re going to hear is everyone else’s thoughts on how it’s either the best idea ever, or the worst.”

Dash agreed. He hated keeping it quiet. He would have much rather screamed it from the rooftop of the training center. But their lives were not that simple. Plus, this meant that he didn’t have to share her any more than he already did. Which was plenty.

“Left!” Beau Blackwood called out, letting Dash know his position, pulling him from his thoughts. A quick glance over and Dash found his teammate’s boots, knocking the ball over to him, letting him continue it upfield, toward the goal.

Slowing down, Dash held back, watching the semi-iconic older player take over. He'd been doing a lot of watching lately, and it had gotten old. But not anymore. He was back in action—back as the star of this team, and nothing was going to stop him.

Thwack!

The sound of the ball coming off Liam’s glove stole Dash’s attention. Chance charging at him came into his view, red pinny over his training jersey, Mahoney hot on his heels. Chance was quick on the ball, but not as quick as he was, as long as Dash could read him and know which way he was going to go. Chance was about fifty-fifty with which side he chose, making him one of the harder to read players in the game, but Dash knew his teammate. And lately, Chance had been favoring his right. He’d watched him these past few weeks, and was almost positive that was where he was going.

Stepping in front of Chance, Dash checked him just enough, making him wobble. It was a slight move, but it gave him the space he needed to steal the ball.

“Fuck!” Chance cursed.

Maybe all his watching had come in handy.

Another few steps and he was where he wanted to be. In front of the goal. It was just him and Liam now. One on one. This was his sweet spot—they both knew it. This was where he proved that he was the star of this team and that he was worth the second chance they were giving him. Winding up, he kicked the ball, giving it all he could. The sound of the leather from his shoe meeting the leather of the ball let out that telltale ring, filling the air. God, he loved that sound.

Except the sound was the only good thing to come from that move. Soaring over both the goal and the Irish Viking standing in front of it, the ball was so off target it was like he’d tried to miss. Had he been playing that other sport the Americans called football, it probably would have gone perfectly through that yellow fork-like thing he’d seen on TV. Which would have been good—except that was not his football. His shot needed to meet the back of the net. And it had done the exact opposite.

Fuck.

“Was that meant for me?” Liam asked, a wide smile on his face.

“It was meant for the back of the net, Padre,” Dash quipped, pointing at his buddy. “Where all my shots belong.”

“I think that’s in the back of the parking lot,” Mahoney shouted.

“Learn to control that, Dash!” Gunnar hollered. His coach’s voice sounded annoyed, but not angry. Which was the same as it would have been with any one of them shanking the ball the way he had. So at least that was a good sign.

Thoughts of Talia are off-limits during games…

A few quick blows of the whistle signaled practice was over. Leaning forward, Dash rested his hands on his knees, trying to hide his disappointment in himself. He’d wanted to end training on a high note.

Liam slapped his hand on Dash’s back as consolation, jerking his head toward the locker rooms. That was a good idea. It was hot out here, and the cooler air in there would feel good. Plus, he could see if he had a text waiting from his girlfriend.

Girlfriend. Fuck, did he like the sound of that.

“Just for purely logistical purposes,” Liam said, once they were sitting in front of their lockers. His voice had a weird tone to it, like he was fishing for something. “When I order a Lyft for the reception on Saturday, should I make it for four people? Since you’ll also be picking up your date in my building?”

Liam made no effort to hide the knowing smirk on his face. Dash swatted at him with his towel, unable to hide his own shit-eating grin.