Page 38 of Five Things I See in You

Iris sits beside me and bumps her knee against mine.

“Just give me one good pass, and I’ll handle the rest.”

“I’ve given you two good passes.”

“Well, third time’s the charm. That’s what they say, right? We’re not arguing about stats now. Give me another decent ball, and we’re good.”

In the second half, I start drifting inside more. Receive, lay it off, make myself available again. Not everything works, but at least we’re no longer doing the same thing over and over. We’ve changed our shape, just as Hades asked.

The equalizer comes in the fifty-second minute. Natalia attacks down the other wing and fires a shot across goal. The keeper barely gets a hand to it. The rebound drops near the six-yard box, and I reach it before the defender.

I stab a foot at it, and for a second, I’m not sure it’s gone in. Then the crowd erupts, and Iris comes running toward me with her arms open.

“Man, Brit, thank God!” she shouts in my ear as she hugs me. “I was starting to get nervous.”

“Really? Couldn’t tell.”

“I know. I’ve got a lot of self-control,” she says, and I’m not sure whether she’s joking.

After the equalizer, they start leaving more space, and we take advantage of it. We still get a scare on a counterattack that our keeper saves with her foot. Zoe tells us not to get carried away and points at the clock. There’s still time.

In the seventy-ninth minute, a short clearance falls to Zoe. I raise my hand before she controls it, and she sends the ball out to me on the left.

The fullback comes out to meet me. This time, the other defender isn’t close enough to help, and I have room to run.

I push the ball ahead with my first touch, gain some space, and look up. Iris is making a run through the middle, but a defender is blocking the passing lane. The keeper is a little off her line.

I can go for it.

A few months ago, my first thought would have been what my father would say if I missed. I’d have played a good pass to Iris, and if she didn’t score, he wouldn’t have anything to criticize me for. Today, I see the keeper off her line and shoot from distance.

The ball flies inside the far post.

Iris reaches me so fast she almost knocks me over. Then Natalia, Jade, and I don’t know how many others join us. I can barely breathe with all those arms around me.

The last few minutes drag on forever. We sit deeper than I’d like, and I clear a ball I probably could have passed instead. But they’ve thrown everyone forward, and we have to protect our lead.

At the final whistle, I drop to my knees. Iris falls back onto the grass with her arms spread wide, and Zoe reminds us to shake hands with the other team.

We all have the same goofy smile on our faces. We’re in the final.

In the mixed zone, the reporters ask about my goals and the comeback. I give my usual answers until one of them asks what’s changed over the last few games.

“I’m calmer,” I say after a moment. “I think it shows in how I play.”

Not an especially brilliant answer. But it’s true.

When I come out, Jordan is waiting with the families. She’s still wearing this morning’s jacket, her hands tucked into her pockets. She smiles as soon as she sees me.

“I got here at halftime. The meeting ran longer than I expected. I’m sorry. Your brother filled me in on the first half, though. Every detail.”

Callum is a few yards away, talking to Mireya and waving his arms as he describes a play.

“I warned you he talks a lot about soccer.”

“I think he has good reason to be proud of his sister today,” she says, gently brushing my left arm.

I want to hug her, but too many people are around, and we still have one game left. Our agreement has never bothered me so much.