Page 73 of Penalty Kick

Worry was painted on Talia’s face as she waited for his answer. It was as if every little thing their players were feeling was flowing right through her. Dash’s heart squeezed, wanting so badly to pull her in close and tell her that everything was going to be okay. Because it was. They had this.

“Tanner,” he answered her, walking out to where the kids were standing.

Once he’d told them the plan, he helped Tanner line up. They had gone over this a couple of times in practice, and even more one-on-one. Dash knew the kind of skill the kid had, and knew that he could do this easily. All his training had been against Liam—one of the top keepers in the league, a fact that was backed up by stats and not just Dash’s opinion—and he had gotten plenty by the Viking giant. And not just because Liam had let him.

“Just like we practiced,” Dash encouraged, looking Tanner straight in the eye. “If you can score on Padre, you can score on anyone.”

“But—” Tanner started.

Dash shook his head. “No buts. You have this in you. I know you do.”

The ref’s whistle pulled Dash back into the moment. Turning to each of his buddies on either side of him, he gave them a nod. He had this in him. Just as Tanner had easily sunk his shot during the Unified game, Dash knew he would do the same thing. Only difference was, this shot would result in a much-needed point on the board. The Rising were not up on Phoenix by five like the Unified team had been. The score was level at zero, with only fifteen minutes left in regulation.

Lining himself up, Dash did exactly what he needed to. Exactly what he had practiced hundreds of times. Exactly as he had instructed Tanner.

He sunk his shot.

High and to left, just as the boys had said, the light swish of the net was one of the most beautiful things Dash had ever heard. It was a sound he would never, ever get tired of.

A collective groan rang out in the stadium, the Phoenix fans obviously not thrilled that Dash knew exactly where to place the ball. Or that their goalie had gone in the other direction. The dismay was drowned out by the cheers and screams from the traveling Atlanta fans and Dash’s own personal cheering section on the bench. The chorus of voices crying out was distinct enough to know anywhere, making Dash’s heart sing right along with them. Turning to face his crew, a smile took over his face. Seeing all of them, fresh off their own win, dressed head to toe in electric blue was simply amazing. The happiness that was flowing through him couldn’t be beat.

Or at least that was what he thought until he saw Talia standing next to them, beaming with pride. His girl looked on the verge of happy tears, a bright smile shining from ear to ear. The urge to kiss her returned, but that was going to have to wait until later. Much, much later—when he could kiss her all he wanted. Wherever he wanted.

Twenty minutes later, after what seemed to be an excruciatingly slow five minutes of stoppage time, the final whistle blew. They’d won. The three points they’d desperately needed to solidify their spot at the top of the table in their division were theirs.

Exhausted, Dash considered dropping to the pitch right there, letting it all soak in. There was no time for that though, as the Unified team rushed the field, surrounding him, assaulting him with hugs and high fives.

“Give Dash room to breathe!” Talia called after them, her laughter weaving its way through her words. It was a pointless instruction, all of them way past the point of listening. Dash didn’t care though. They were exactly who he wanted to celebrate with.

“D-aaaas!” Tanner exclaimed. “Weee…boooff…scooo-red!”

“We sure did, buddy!” Dash answered, pulling him into a hug. Tanner squeezed him so hard for a moment Dash thought he might pop like a balloon. Who knew he was just as fierce of a hugger as he was on the pitch. “It was a good day for us.”

Tanner gave Dash another squeeze, this one easier on his internal organs, before running off toward Liam. A few more of his players congratulated him, but for the most part, they too had wandered off to mingle with his teammates. Looking around, that same sense of pride came back, filling him up as he watched his teammates give all their attention to the kids. Dash knew this was exactly what Gunnar and Cowboy had meant all those times they talked about being one organization, whether during a team meeting or a press conference, and being a part of something like this was truly special.

It wasn’t lost on him that he’d almost lost all of this not that long ago. What had happened in Vegas was no longer at the front of his thoughts, his embarrassment subsiding as he put his focus elsewhere, but he hadn’t forgotten. Losing all of this, all these people, would have been devastating. He needed to be better—to continue to be the person they needed him to be—if he wanted to keep them. If he wanted to keep Talia.

“Hey you,” Talia said, appearing in front of him like he’d conjured her with his thoughts.

“You have no idea how hard it is to not kiss you right now.”

“Is that what scoring the winning goal does to you?”

“Sí.”

He’d felt that so many times, but had never been in a position to act on it. He’d come close in Vegas, since she’d been on the sidelines with Felicity and Theo. He stopped himself then though, just as he was doing now. Difference was, in Vegas he’d turned around and done the stupidest thing ever just a few hours later. Tonight, there would be none of that.

“I know you need to shower and all that, but we have some time to kill before we meet my family. If you still want to join us.”

“Talia, I told you, I would not miss it.” Taking her hand, he laced his fingers in with hers. They fit so perfectly in his, he was convinced they had been made just for this purpose.

“Good. Then if you don’t have to do media stuff, there is someplace I’d like to show you.”

Someplace she wanted to show him. So much for thinking that he couldn’t get any happier. Knowing that Talia wanted to let him into her life, show him places that meant something to her from her childhood, made him feel…giddy. He wanted to know everything there was about her, see every place she’d ever loved, and be by her side to find new places that they wanted to visit over and over again. There was no denying it—he was head over heels.

“Then we should move. I do not want to miss a second.”

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