He smirks. “How about you try to keep up, yeah?”
Huh?
“You have yet to score against me. What am I keeping up with exactly?”
And the weirdo just laughs in response.
Coach’s whistle snaps again. “You two done with your romance? Back to position!”
We line up again.
And when the whistle blows, I’m already moving.
By the time this round ends, my shirt’s soaked through, my lungs are burning, and I’m smiling. They’re good. Way better than the fuckers I played with before. But so am I. And so is any secondary student whose mum puts them on a pitch for extra credit. So that’s not really saying much.
Still, if this is the level it takes to get noticed by the bigger clubs, then I’m exactly where I need to be.
Swoosh.
The ball hits the net, but this time it isn’t me.
“Falling asleep there, McKingsley?” Moore winks.
I scoff. “Man gets a pity goal and doesn’t know how to act.”
Coach’s whistle cuts through the noise. “Alright, lads. Since you two can’t seem to stop trying to outdo each other—McKingsley, Solace—one-on-one. Let’s see who’s got the better legs.”
The whole team erupts with ooohs and wolf whistles.
Solace, who I guess is Moore, grins, stretching like he’s about to walk into a runway show. He’s quick and lean, wiry, while I’m taller by a lot and heavier by a good forty pounds.
This won’t be easy for him.
“First to score wins,” Coach says. “Keep it clean.”
“I hear you like it clean, Titan, prefer it even.”
I’m getting a headache.
“Why’re you still chatting bruv?”
The ball drops between us.
Solace makes the first move, darting right with lightning speed. I shadow him close, body low, reading every twitch of his calves. He’s fast, faster than I fucking expected, but I’ve got reach.
“I heard you say in an interview you were coming to save us Titan. That true?”
“Shut up and play.”
“Ouuu. Someone’s mad.”
He flicks the ball between my legs; I pivot fast enough to cut him off.
He laughs. “Not bad, Titan.”
“Shut up, I said.”
I push past him, shoulder in his chest, the ball glued to my foot as I sprint toward the goal. He catches up, sliding in from behind, and for a second, my boot catches mud. I slip, recover, and fire it bottom right.
