Page 57 of Offsides

“Fuck!” Cowboy cursed.

The timeclock was quickly approaching ninety minutes, and the equalizing goal had just been scored. What the fuck had just happened?

“Make a note to remind me that we need to work on set pieces,” Gunnar muttered, a scowl on his face. “Because whatever the fuck that was, was unacceptable.”

The Rising players ambled their way back to their positions, tails between their legs. They knew they had messed up. Out of the corner of his eye, Cowboy saw Avery signaling to Liam in goal, undoubtedly trying to cheer him up. Of all the players, the Irishman would probably take it the hardest, feeling it was his fault for not stopping it. And most of the time, he’d probably be right, but Cowboy couldn’t put the blame for this one on the kid. A failure to clear the ball out of the box by the defense on a corner kick like that left Liam exposed.

Seconds continued to tick away, Chicago taking their time lining back up. They were trying to run down the clock, forcing overtime. That was the last thing they needed.

“Fuck,” Cowboy muttered again, stepping away from Gunnar’s side and pacing toward the bench. Theo looked over at him, sidestepping to close the distance between them. He could feel the pull of her, like a magnet to metal, her calm trying to center him.

“They got this,” she whispered, eyes locked on his.

“In the next…” he trailed off, looking over to the fourth official, holding up his board with the designated stoppage time. “Two minutes?”

“You were the one who told me this team has what it takes, don’t forget that.”

Her words were like a salve on a wound, instant relief washing over him. He had told her that. And he believed it too. This team did have it. They also only had two minutes to prove it.

The thwack of Chance Walker’s boot sending the ball soaring up the field pulled Cowboy’s attention back to the game. Theo didn’t leave his side though, standing by him with the moral support he needed. In this moment, nothing about having her here was forced, or even felt like she was here on work-related matters. No, it felt like she belonged here, as part of the team. It was a complete one-eighty from her first game on the sidelines with him, where she had barely looked up from her phone, her rigid form stock-still next to him in the seats. That Theo would never have offered up words of encouragement like the one who was standing here now.

Boone Jarrett caught the pass with his chest, letting it bounce to the ground, before rushing forward with it. He was cut off by a Chicago player, who sent it out wide. Seeing the open space, Chance bolted forward, pressuring the midfielder with the ball. Sending the ball back to his defensive teammate, the Chicago midfielder dodged out of the way before Chance could tackle him.

Out of nowhere, Dash appeared, heading straight toward the defense. There was no one faster in the league than Dash, with or without the ball, and Cowboy’s heart skipped a beat. The defenseman must have seen Dash coming, because he passed back to his goalie, in a move so quick that if Cowboy had blinked he would have missed it. But Dash didn’t miss it. He changed his angle, rushing the goalie, who still had the ball at his feet.

“Is he gonna…” Theo started, her hand grasping onto Cowboy’s.

Cowboy’s heart leapt, from both the feel of her hand in his and what was happening before his eyes. Dash was challenging the goalie, pressing him for the ball. A swift flick of his right foot, and Dash stole the ball, shifting his weight just enough to tap it into the goal with his left. The back of the net swayed from the weight of the ball, and the crowd erupted.

“Holy shit!” Cowboy yelled.

“AHHHHHHHH!” Theo squealed, her grip on him tightening.

The world seemed to stop, everything in slow motion, as the players on the pitch ran toward Dash, tackling him to the ground. Chicago’s goalie threw his glove against the ground, cursing himself, much the same as Liam had done a moment ago. Cowboy could barely breathe, waiting to see if it was real or not. But the celebrations continued in front of him, Felicity and Talia jumping up and down behind them. This was real.

Three short blasts, followed by one long whistle blow later, the game was over. The Atlanta Rising had won the Fremont Cup.

“We won!” Theo exclaimed, launching herself at him.

He reached out, just in time to catch her. Wrapping herself around him, Theo let out another happy noise, sending shock waves through him. He pulled her in close, kissing her quickly, careful so no one would see. Camera crews, including Theo’s, would be swarming them any minute. They needed to be professional, and as much as he hated it, that meant not kissing the fuck out of his girl right now. But he was okay with that, because there was something more important than kissing her. Than even winning the Cup. And that was the fact that she was in his arms at all. Because despite everything she had told him during that game against Toronto before, she was invested in this team. In him. And she was doing what she had said she would never do.

Theo Kappas was celebrating.

Chapter Twenty

That was quite possibly the most unprofessional thing Theo had ever done.

And she didn’t care one bit.

It was one thing to be a sports fan and cheer in private. All sports reporters were fans—that's why they covered sports. They loved the game. But cheering in public, on the sideline, while covering the team or game was a no-no. Still, standing here, watching that incredible play, there was no way she couldn’t cheer. Even if it was against the rules. She’d become too attached to this team, to these players, to their technical director, to hold back.

Maybe some rules are made to be broken…

Theo tightened her grip around Cowboy’s neck, burying her face in his shoulder. Her whole body ached to keep kissing him, to let him know how much she cared and how proud she was of him and his team. But being wrapped around him in this moment would have to be enough.

She would have plenty of time when they got back to the hotel tonight to congratulate him. Properly.

A wave of ice-cold water rained down on her, jarring Theo from her thoughts. Cowboy yelped, rushing forward, still holding on to her as he moved. Looking up, Theo saw Michaels and Henderson holding the large, orange water cooler—now empty—the former contents spilled all over the sideline where they had just been standing. Theo let out a laugh, tossing her head back, as a piece of ice wiggled its way down her shirt, leaving an icy wet trail as it moved.