Page 70 of Penalty Kick

In slow motion, Emily drew her leg back, shifting her weight to kick the ball. Dash’s heart leapt, eyes locked on Liam, who was ready and waiting for her next move. What Dash couldn’t tell was whether Liam was going to save it or let it go. One thing Liam was really good at was knowing when to let the players have it and when to go for the save. This moment could go either way. The loud thwack of the ball filled the air, the ball hurtling toward Liam.

“GOOOOOOOOAAAAL!” Dash screamed.

He didn’t need to see the movement of the net to know that it was good. Didn’t need to wait for Emily’s—or anyone else’s—reaction. She had squared it up perfectly to the corner farthest from Liam. The kind of shot every goalie hated, because it meant their clean sheet was history.

The whole team cheered, even the players who were technically not on Emily’s side for this scrimmage. It was a major accomplishment for this young lady, and there was no way it was going to go uncelebrated.

“I did it! I did it! I did it!” Emily squealed, jumping up and down. Tanner was right next to her, almost as happy as she was. For half a second Dash couldn’t help but wonder if there was more going on there, if nowhere else but Tanner’s mind, but then he stopped himself. Just because the love bug had bit him, didn’t mean that he needed to start pairing off everyone in sight.

“Nice job, coach,” Talia said, a coy emphasis on the last word.

“I do not know what you are talking about. That was Emily. I stood here.”

Slipping her arm around his waist, Talia pulled him into her. The softness of her touch was welcoming, making him fight the urge to grab her ass, lift her into his arms, and kiss the fuck out of her. But they were in public and in front of the kids. Making out here was a major no-no, regardless of how bad he wanted it.

And fuck, did he want it.

“You are the one who has spent time with her every practice, working on her fear of the ball coming at her. You are the one who helped her learn how to move with the ball. And you are the one who showed her where to aim so that she would score. So, I repeat, nice job, coach.”

Looking down at her, Dash couldn’t help but smile. She had a point. He’d worked a lot with Emily. But the credit still belonged to her. Dash wrapped his arm around Talia’s shoulders, giving her a squeeze. Everything inside him wanted more, but he was going to behave. Ignoring where they were, they didn’t have enough time for all the things he wanted to do to her anyway. Practice was about to be over, and she had a shift at Bunz tonight.

The good news was they left for Phoenix tomorrow afternoon, and she was coming with the team. As much fun as the phone sex had been while he was in Portland, nothing beat holding her in his arms. Which he planned to do both nights while they were away. Talia coming with the team meant she would have a room all to herself, preventing any more interruptions from Liam like last week.

Pressing a kiss to the top of her forehead, right at her hairline, Dash inhaled the sweet scent of her. He let it fill his nostrils, holding his breath as if he could get high off such a smell.

“A good coach will make his player see what they can be, rather than what they are,” Dash quoted.

“Where did that come from?”

Dash started to answer, but was cut off by a deep, gruff voice. One he would recognize anywhere.

“Me.”

* * *

Talia stiffened at the sound of Gunnar’s voice, her pulse jumping. Oh shit. This was not how she wanted this to go down. This was not where she wanted this to go down. In her head this happened over dinner, preferably at home or in the back room at Bunz where there was privacy, where she and Dash could tell him together. Once she had figured out the words to express exactly what she was feeling for Dash, and exactly what their relationship was.

No, you’ve got this. What is going on between us is not Gunnar’s business. Not until I make it his business…

“Hey!” she greeted, turning to face Gunnar. The scowl on his face made it perfectly clear exactly how he felt about the arm that Dash still had wrapped around her. Felicity stood next to him, a smirk on her face so big it threatened to take over, laughter in her eyes. Those were the exact reactions she would have expected from these two. “Come to check out the team?”

“Hands off my daughter,” Gunnar growled.

Dash immediately let go of her, taking a step back. It might have been a million degrees in the Georgia summer sun, but Talia still felt a coolness surround her at the loss of him. She missed him, his hard muscular form that seemed to fit so perfectly against her. It was the right move though, no matter how much she hated it.

“It is not what you think, Coach,” Dash said.

“I’ve heard that from you before,” Gunnar responded, his scowl deepening. “And I distinctly remember telling you to stay away from my daughter.”

“Gunnar!” Felicity scolded.

“Was he to stay away and fulfill his hours you assigned him at the same time?” Talia asked, pointing out the flaw in his logic. She appreciated that he had her best interest at heart—or at least what he thought was her best interest—but she was twenty-two. And this was the twenty-first century. A chaperone and parental permissions were not required for her to date.

“Yes.”

Talia rolled her eyes so hard she was sure she was going to see her own brain. He was being ridiculous.

“We are friends, and we are coaching together. No need to get your panties in a wad,” she sassed.