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I’m too stunned at her words to be able to reach for her before she retreats into the locker room. I can’t follow her in there, that would just make things worse. My phone rings again. Instead of my manager, this time it’s the head of the athletic department. This is it, then. I know now that today was my last practice with the Seahorses, a fantastic group of girls that let me meet the love of my life. Heartbroken, I ignore the call. There will be plenty of time to get fired later.
All thoughts of my career fall to the wayside. The only thing that matters now is protecting Maya.
Chapter 8
Maya
Three months later
Soccer practice is easier with our new coach but much less fun. I miss being pushed to the limit, even though Nathan often infuriated me with his jibes. I even miss being called a sea cow when I flub a pass. I know I shouldn’t be thinking about him after all this time, but I do. I miss him constantly. Our last interaction often runs through my head, with the tortured look in his eyes after that awful person took our picture seared into my memories. Of course, we shouldn’t have been making out in an alley, but I couldn’t have kept my hands off him even if my life were at stake. That’s why I refused to see him when he left campus for good after resigning, refused to answer his messages, and then deleted his number from my phone.
I still look him up on social media and in the news each day so that I can keep up with what’s happening, but I ignore it if one of my teammates brings him up. I only want to keep up with what’s happening with him through official means, and not the gossip columns. I think my teammates miss him as well, though, and I think they blame me for his leaving. I guess they’re right, but how could I have resisted him? How could we resisteach other?
His big fear that I’d be hounded by reporters never came to pass. I gave one simple statement that the situation wasn’t what it looked like, then refused to ever speak of it again, not even to my friends. As a result, the journalists and paparazzi gave up. There were a few people in the beginning that popped out of the bushes to get a picture of me, but they quickly grew bored when I never interacted with them.
“Good job out there today, ladies,” our new coach calls cheerfully as we head toward the locker room. No one’s grumbling like they did after Nathan’s practices. None of us are even that sweaty.
I listlessly get changed and head to the part-time job I took at a sporting goods store. I like the people there and find the marketing aspect interesting enough that I might ask for full-time hours. It would mean giving up soccer, which I can’t do if I want to keep my scholarship, but soccer was the only reason I was going to school in the first place. It’s just not my passion anymore, so I’m seriously thinking about quitting.
I know better than to make such a rash decision while my heart is still in pieces, however. I keep waiting for the pain to ease, but it’s as sharp as the day I ran away from Nathan. The things that used to bring me joy are dull and meaningless now.
When I get back to my dorm room that night, my roommate Gina, who’s a graphics design major, has a news article up on her giant computer screen. She sucks in a breath and tries to close the tab, but I’ve already seen it. I read it on one of my breaks at work.
“It’s fine,” I say, glancing over her shoulder. It’s the same big, bright picture of Nathan that I saw earlier, proudly holding up a soccer jersey. He’s been signed to a team again, a good one at that. The smile on his face twists my heart, but I keep from showing it. I’m good at hiding my misery after three months of practice. “I’m happy for him.”
She’s a good friend, so she shuts down her computer and leaves me alone. I really am glad that Nathan’s got his dream back, but I wish I could be part of it somehow. Of course, that’s impossible. We’re divided by an ocean, and he absolutely can’t risk another scandal, not so soon after returning to the field. I curl up under my blankets and quietly cry myself to sleep.
The next day, I start to head to practice like usual, but my heart just isn’t in it. I let myself veer away from the field before anyone can see me. They can think I’m sick or something, I really don’t care. After wandering aimlessly around the campus for a while, I’m about to head back to my dorm when I hear someone shout my name.
Am I dreaming? I turn to find the source of the familiar voice still shouting at me.
“Oi, Adams, why aren’t you running laps?”
It’s really him.
Nathan jogs across the quad toward me, and my heart races when I see his beautiful, wide smile. But why is he here? I’m frozen to the spot until he reaches me and stops, pulling me into such a big hug my feet leave the ground.
When he lets me go, I look around to see if anyone might be watching. My heart sinks when I see a few curious students pausing at the scene he just made.
“Don’t worry, I’m not your coach anymore,” he says. “We can hug all we want. In fact …” He leans down and kisses me thoroughly, and it’s so good it makes me sway into him.
“You’re real,” I say, laughing at how foolish I sound. My hands run up and down his chest, which is still just as strong as I remember. He asks if I’m happy to see him, and I answer with another kiss. “More than happy, but—”
“There’s no reason for us to be apart anymore,” he says, tugging me to the closest bench where we sit. He takes both my hands, rubbing over my knuckles with his fingers. “Listen, I know you want to finish school, so I’m prepared to fly here between games and bring you over whenever you have a break. I’ve never stopped thinking about you, Maya. Not this whole time. Everything I’ve worked for these last three months has been so we can be together.”
His hands are warm around mine, and I look up at him only to see how sure he is. My heart swells, bursting with happiness that I’m near him again. Long distance sounds awful compared to the feeling flooding me right now. “I’ve been thinking about quitting school.”
He shakes his head, looking almost angry. “I can’t let you do that for me.” His scowl disappears after a second. “But I can help you get into a school in England. Or help you find a job, if that really is what you’d rather do. I don’t want you to give up anything for me, but …” He pauses and takes a breath, before searing straight to my soul with his gaze. “I love you, Maya. I’ve loved you since you first ran onto my field.”
My heart may actually burst from my joy at his declaration but at the same time I’m overwhelmed. “I love you, too, Nathan. But how will I be able to get a job?” The idea of living in a foreign country is daunting alone without that. I’ve never even left South Carolina. “How can this work?”
Chapter 9
Nathan
For the last three months I’ve kept my head down and focused on my training. It was easy to put my partying ways behind me because no woman compared to Maya. No night out with the lads came close to tempting me away from my goal: get on a team again so I could give Maya the life she deserves.
I’m thrilled when she says she loves me back, even after I disappeared. I know how the press can be, and it seemed like the only way to keep them off her back was to stay away. I’ve been giving myself heart attacks, worrying that she was going to despise me when I saw her again. Now that I know she loves me, I’m not going to let a little thing like a work visa get in the way of our happiness.
