An ache starts deep in my chest the longer I stare at us. She looks gorgeous, and I look…happy.
* * *
I wake up to Rowan standing over me. He looks better than he did last night but his voice is hoarse as he says, “Get up, Cap.”
I rub the sleep from both eyes. “What’s going on?”
“It’s time.” With that cryptic message he starts walking out of the media room where I guess I passed out last night. It was a long night of staring at old photos and reading text messages and having a pity party of one.
I follow Rowan through the house and into the living room, coming up short when I see the entire team is huddled around the massive area. People are sitting on the furniture, the floor, others standing or leaning on walls.
“What is this?” I ask, glancing around at the guys.
Rowan walks over to a soccer ball on the floor, uses the toe of his foot to kick it into the air, and catches it. “Team meeting.”
“Okay.”
“Uh-uh.” He shakes a finger at me. “You can only speak if you have the ball.”
I arch a brow but say nothing.
Rowan walks into the middle of the room, movingthe ball from hand to hand and looking contemplative. “I could have pushed harder in practices and games if I had minimized my partying during the season.”
A couple of guys snort with laughter and Rowan cracks a small smile. “I love this team, and next year I’m going to do better by all of you.”
“Disco, you’re up.” He then tosses the ball to Austin, who stands and takes Rowan’s place.
“Where do I even start?” He spins the ball in his hands. “I made a lot of mistakes this year.”
“You mean like kissing Collins’s girlfriend?” someone asks.
“Ex-girlfriend,” Austin corrects with a grin.
“Respect the ball,” Rowan reminds everyone then waves for Austin to continue.
“Leaving out themisunderstandingwith Vaughn,” Austin says, smiling playfully and then cutting me a sly look. “My footwork at the beginning of the season was abysmal, and I had more than a few moments of panic in the past few games. I’ve never played with or against better players or had more fun. This is a great team, and I’m proud to have been a part of it.”
The mood in the room shifts. Austin tosses the ball to Eddie, who talks about feeling the pressure and not handling it well.
It goes on like that. Each guy stands and airs out all the mistakes he made this season. From not trying their hardest to game play errors. No two guys say the same thing, but the common theme seems to be that everyone has regrets. The other commonality is the love for the game and our team. Everyone vows to do better.
When it’s Barrett’s turn, he holds the ball against his right hip. “I guess you could say I made the costliest mistakeson the team. Every ball that got past me this season haunts me, but no more than that last game. I’m sorry I didn’t stop them. And, uh, I’m sorry for being an asshole.”
There’s a chorus of laughter and he grins sheepishly. “The last four years have been some of the best times. I’ll never forget this team. Give ’em hell next year.”
After everyone else has had their turn, the ball is tossed to me. I move to the middle of the room. I can feel every set of eyes on me.
“I let my grades slip, which caused me to miss an important game. Coach was definitely pissed more this season because of me, and there a million other things I probably should have done differently. I love this game and this team. It’s an honor to be your captain, and I’m sorry if I let you down.”
Rowan stands again and takes the ball from me. “You didn’t let us down. Don’t you see? None of us are perfect. We all have things we wish we could do differently. The way I see it, the only option is to come back next year and dominate.”
“Hell yeah,” Eli pipes in.
“What do you say, Cap?” Rowan asks me. “Should we get out of here and have one last scrimmage before school for old times’ sake?”
“I say… let’s fucking do it.”
Rowan puts his hand up in the air and the guys all crowd around him. I’m the last one to put my hand up. Chills race down my arm.
