Page 143 of Made Better Together

“I meant the domestic skills, Eden.”

She giggles again, then cocks her head. “What time do you need to leave tomorrow morning?”

I roll with the shift in topic. “Nine would be good. I left my Waves gear in the car so I can head straight to practice.”

“Okay, so not too early. Good.”

She goes quiet again, and I reach over to start playing with her hair. “What’re you thinking about?”

The rosy hue returns to her cheeks. “Honestly, I’m still stuck on your abs.”

Ah. “Uh-huh.” I cock a brow. “You want me to strip for you?

She rolls over so she’s half lying on me, and gives me a slow kiss. “Please.”

Actually…“You take my shirt off.”

Her eyes dilate noticeably on the command. “Yes, Sir.”

While her soft hands drag the T-shirt over my head, I calculate our options. If we’re going to do a scene, I want to pick from one of her favorites.

She drops my shirt on the floor. I skim my eyes over the bed, which has metal posts in four corners. A classic no-frills college bedframe, but it could serve our purposes tonight.

“Do you have a sash of some kind? Like from a robe?”

Her eyes brighten, and then she nods before walking over to her closet and grabbing a long terrycloth sash.

She turns back to me, holding the cloth out.

“What do you want next, Sir?”

ONE WEEK LATER

TOLLIVER TIMES

Tolliver wins ACC Title, Secures Automatic Spot in the NCAA Championship

After receiving a bye into the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) tournament due to their stellar record, our Tolliver women’s soccer team was able to secure the ACC title yesterday.

The semifinal was a tight 1–1 game, with Tolliver only beating Duke by winning the penalty kick shootout 5–4. In the final, Tolliver looked more dominant, holding a 3–0 lead by the sixtieth minute.

Star striker Eden Larsson played a key role, with a goal and two assists across the two games, but it was the team effort that stood out. Two other Tolliver players had goals during regular time, and not a single player missed their penalty kicks.

“We’re thrilled with the win, and most especially, how we won it,” Coach Brenner said to The Times after the match. “We’ll need to keep playing the team game.”

It’s the third time that Tolliver has won the ACC championship under Brenner, but an NCAA title has remained elusive. With the automatic bid as the ACC winner, Tolliver will now have to win three rounds to get to the quarterfinals. The top four teams will go on to play in the College Cup semifinals and finals in December.

“I believe this is our year,” said Larsson after yesterday’s win. “We’re going to play our hearts out the next six games.”

Larsson said in a recent interview with SoccerQueens that she intends to play in the pro National Women’s Soccer League after graduation.

41

EDEN

TWO WEEKS LATER

“I’m so excited to see you for Christmas!” Mom says after we exchange greetings on the call. This morning, she bought me a plane ticket home for right after my last final on December 20, one month from now. I’ll be in California for ten days.