Evan played up as a central midfielder. He clearly had the ability to lead the team, even as the new guy, as he set up passes and stole the ball time and time again from the Top Cops’ lame forwards. He had some fancy footwork. Actually, the guy was pretty damn good.
The game went back and forth until Will yelled at Evan to stop playing around. Up until that point, Evan had been playing to support the team rather than taking the ball and running it himself. A mistake, Daniel had thought, agreeing with Will’s assessment. The Legal Eagles’ coach shouted a few commands, and the team positioned itself around Evan.
The score suddenly changed from 0–2 to a tied game. And then 3–2, Legal Eagles in the lead. They scored again. And again.
Halftime came and went, and the game grew even more exciting as tension on the field increased. The Legal Eagles couldn’t seem to believe their success. The Top Cops looked angry, and boy, could they run. They weren’t the best with the ball, but they were fast and mean. And pissy.
Daniel cheered with Kenzie when Evan dribbled past two defenders, took a fake shot, then passed the ball to his open teammate. Had the idiot not been offside, they’d have had a goal.
“I’m confused. Why didn’t that count?” she asked.
Rachel groaned. “I’ll tell you why. Because Will’s boss had her eyes on Evan’s ass and not on the other team’s defense.”
“Yep, that,” Daniel agreed.
Personally, he didn’t know why so many people seemed fixated on guys’ butts, but whatever. He could admit to being interested in the differences between girls and boys, so he didn’t think too hard on it. Or at least he pretended not to listen. But he watched his sister, saw how intently she watched Evan—not Will—and how much she didn’t like the thought of other people looking at Evan.
Her “friend.”
He snorted. Yeah right. Evan was a nice enough guy, and he had a sweet car for sure, but from what Daniel could tell, adult men and women didn’t have friendly kinds of relationships. They either dated or they didn’t. Then again, he only had Kenzie, Lila, and Rachel as examples to go by.
His sister was lamer than lame when it came to the opposite sex, not that he could blame her. It had taken him until just recently to let memories of Bryce go, not letting the douche sour him on life. Because while Kenzie had lost a fiancé, he’d lost a big-brother-almost-dad.
Lila seemed to be a more realistic version of a regular girl who had a normal social life. She dated a lot, no one seriously, and she complained about every dude she met. Except for Hector, but the new guy was, well, new. Yet Lila claimed he had the biggest muscles of all of her dates, and Daniel knew for a fact a lot of girls liked buff guys.
Which had helped convince him to switch his PE class from team sports to weight training.
Then there was Rachel. She had been dating Will for more than a year, and she really loved the guy. It had taken Daniel a while to deal, having just been dumped by Bryce, but he had to admit Will had stones. Anyone who could handle Rachel’s high energy and constant drama but still treated her like gold couldn’t be all bad.
His sister’s friends had normal dating lives but no great guy friends. Just men they dated. They didn’t hang out with guys, not the way they interacted with one another, always spending time after work together, having movie nights and sleepovers.
He would never tell Kenzie this, but he loved Lila and Rachel being close, and he missed Rachel since she’d moved. He’d known them both since he was just a kid, and they felt like family. Lila sure the heck nagged like she was his mother.
A shout brought his attention back to the game, and he watched Evan on a breakaway, just him bearing down on the goalie. Damn, the dude could run, and that was while dribbling a soccer ball. He faked like he was going to shoot, pulled the ball back and around his left foot, then let fly with a solid left shot that hit the upper corner of the goal.
The crowd went wild. Well, he, Kenzie, and Rachel went wild. The rest of the team supporters clapped and gave a few tame hoots. The other side booed and hissed.
“Screw off, coppers!” Rachel flipped someone the bird, and Kenzie and Daniel hurried to hide her infamous finger before someone ticketed them on the way home “just because.”
Rachel laughed so hard she started snorting. “S-sorry. But Lee had it coming.”
Oh, that explained it.
She stuck out her tongue at her ex-boyfriend, who wore a sour expression. “Especially since his new girlfriend totally screwed up the last pass Evan intercepted. Oh my God. Today is the best day ever!” She waved to Will, who grinned and waved back.
Meanwhile, two of the other team’s players converged on Evan, getting right up in his face.
Daniel watched, fascinated, to see what Evan would do.
Thus far, he liked what he knew of the guy. But he always found it enlightening to see how grown-ups acted around other grown-ups, especially people they weren’t friends with.
Evan rolled his eyes and tried to push past the smaller guy, who had a thick neck and really wide shoulders. He looked like a mini battering ram. His buddy stood behind him, hands on his hips, fists clenched.
“Will, help Evan!” Rachel shouted, pointing at the far end of the field.
The Legal Eagles turned as one and watched, assessing. The Top Cops laughed and pointed, waiting for their bully defenders to do something.
Well, the short guy shoved Evan in the wet grass, and the bigger guy stuck out a foot for Evan to trip over. Evan landed on his ass in the mud.
