“Ben got me back.”
“Who’s Ben?” Evie asks.
“He’s the goalie. He wasn’t going to at first, but I think he was as desperate as I am to get Slater back to where he needs to be.” I see Zane glance over my shoulder, and I turn to see Quint change his face really quickly. “What?”
“Nothing,” Zane sits back against his chair, but I turn to Quint.
“What?”
“What, what?” he asks.
“Quint. What was the look? What are you guys not saying?”
“Nothing.”
“Quint, come on. If it involves Slater, I want to know.”
The guys come back out onto the field, but I’m zeroed in on Quint. “Tessa, it’s not—”
“What the guys aren’t telling you,” Evie says, joining the conversation from my other side. “Is that Slate continues to weaken the longer you and he don’t bond.” She looks at Zane. “Right?”
Zane doesn’t look like he wants to agree, but Quint does. “Yeah. The longer Slate’s around you, and you don’t bond, it willweaken him. It also makes him,” he points out to the field. “This version of him.”
I stare at him. “This is my fault.”
“Tessa,” Zane says, leaning forward. “That’s not how Slater would want you to feel. You’re new to all of this. He wants you to get to know him, our world, and all that it entails. I know him, and I know he doesn’t want you to do something you don’t want to do or rush you into something. Believe me, that’s the last thing we want.” He clasps Evie’s hand as he says the last part.
“But,” I start.
“Look, you can’t do anything right now, anyway,” Quint says, patting my leg. “Just enjoy the game. Let’s get Slate through this game with a win, so they can advance to the next round. Then we can go from there.”
“Man, Quint,” Evie says. “When did you get so wise?”
He grins. “You hear that, Zane? Your girl thinks I’m wise. She thinks I’m wiser than you.”
Evie frowns. “Okay, now I didn’t go that far.”
Quint grins. “You didn’t have to; I know you’re thinking it.”
Evie stares at him. “You know what? I take back what I said.” She turns to Zane. “He’s obnoxious.” Zane wraps an arm around her shoulders and pulls her into his side.
“Yes, he is. You’ll find the best way to deal with Quint is to ignore him. That’s what the rest of us do.”
“Hey now,” Quint calls out, but he doesn’t really seem concerned. He nods at the field. “Here we go.”
I lean forward and find Slater. “Come on, Slater,” I mutter under my breath. “You got this.”
Play starts once again. It’s our possession. I watch as we get it downfield and move towards their goal. We get several good looks at the goal but nothing comes of it. Then they get it down to our end. One of their players takes a shot from really far out, but Ben blocks it and clears it. Then it’s back in motion. Severalmore times, we work it towards the goal. Bruce headbutts it to Diego who kicks it in, but their goalie blocks it, drawing a groan from the crowd. They work it back down the field, but we get it back and make our way downfield. Slater gets it and dribbles it downfield. Two players come at him, but he jukes around the first one and beats out the second one. He sends it to Diego. Diego gets closer but then sends it back to Slater. And then Slater sends it soaring from far out. I hold my breath as it soars past the goalie into the far right corner of the net.
Goal!I jump to my feet. “Yes!” I scream with Evie and the other fans and watch as Slater’s teammates gather around. I take a breath and then take another one. Maybe we can pull this out after all.
Quint elbows my side. “Whatever you did to him worked.”
I scowl at him. “Whatever Ididto him? I didn’tdoanything to him. Good grief, you make it sound like I flashed him or something.”
Quint nearly bends over laughing. “Oh, that would be good. He would probably play the best game of his life for that.”
I turn to him. “Quint.”
