Page 155 of Made Better Together

We keep passing, passing, passing, slowing down any momentum they have, until—shit—Alondra bobbles it and the Stanford winger takes possession with seventy seconds left.

Sprinting down to the other side, the Stanford striker, Kelly Laplante, is in perfect position when the winger slides a pass to her.

I’m stuck at midfield while she rotates her hips and kicks the ball. Time slows down. It’s headed to the top right corner, Kelly’s favorite spot.

Mo, our goalie, must remember that intel too, because she immediately heads in that direction. Fingertips extended, body stretched straight…

She blocks the goal, thank fucking God.

Mo just saved the game for us.

I quickly look over to where Connor is standing. I can’t see him, it’s too far, but I know he’s somewhere in that exact corridor. I hear his voice in my head: “You’re going to do this.”

When the refs’ whistles blow to signal the end of the game a few passes later, the screams across my teammates reverberate across the field.

We won the College Cup, 1–0.

“OH MY GODDDDD,” Bree shouts when she spots me. Her bear hug is so powerful it knocks me on my back, though her arms brace my fall so I don’t hit the ground too hard.

I laugh. “Girl, don’t injure me now.”

She snickers back. “Worst roommate ever.”

The rest of the team joins us, jumping, hugging, screaming.

April offers me a hand and I stand up. The field is starting to flood with students who traveled to the game, coaches, and families. Dad appears, striding in my direction.

“Ahhhhh Dad!” I jump into his arms, and he swings me around like he did when I was four.

“I’m so proud of you.” He kisses the top of my head as he sets me down.

“Can you believe it?”

“I can. You worked your ass off for it.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

The chaos around us continues to grow. “I’m going to head out to catch my flight back, but we’ll have dinner in Orlando to celebrate this week?”

“Sounds great.” One last hug, and he wades through the crowd to get to the main exit.

It’s the exact opposite direction from the dark hallway I know Connor stood in while watching the game. My instincts tell me he’s probably still there, waiting for me to come see him.

I lean toward Bree, who’s three feet away. “Cover for me.”

Once she nods, I weave through the sea of people. My purposeful energy hopefully masks my odd destination: the stands across the field.

Sneaking into the area where the seats begin, I hustle to the hallway, but it’s empty.

Huh. Maybe he took off?

I keep going through the pathway, where it opens up into the larger walkway of the stadium. People are milling through, and then I hear⁠—

“Eden.”

It’s Connor’s voice, and when I swing my body around, there he is.

“Congrats, Rosy, that was awesome.” He takes two steps toward me to close the gap. “But what are you doing here? You’re still wearing your cleats…” A chuckle comes out as he glances down at my sweaty, dirty gear.