“Yeah?” he asks, wiping his eyes.
“Shut up.”
He grins wickedly. “Yes, Ma’am.”
The other team gets possession, and I hold my breath as they make good use of it and get a good look at the goal. But Bruce clears it out of there and sends it downfield. They get a few more attempts but don’t score. We also get several looks at the goal but don’t score. It’s a particularly long, drawn-out half; and I feel like I’m going to self-destruct from the stress of it. And then, Slater lines up for a shot and takes it, but the goalie gets a piece of it and it goes high. But Diego is there. He headbutts it, and it goes right past the goalie.Goal!
I’m jumping up and down screaming until my voice is hoarse. I glance at the game clock. “Three minutes. We just have to hold them for three minutes.” But I can see a renewed energy in our guys. They know this is theirs if they can just hold on. But at one minute left, they line up a shot. Ben goes for it, but they kick it to another player instead. And now, our goal is open, uncontested.
“No!” I scream.
But then Slater is there. He comes out of nowhere and lines up his body between the ball and the goal and blocks the shot. There’s a groan from the fans from the other side, but our side is screaming at the block. They get a corner kick, and I hold my breath. But Ben blocks their first attempt, and then Bruce gets it out to Xaden. I watch as the seconds wind down, and then the whistle blows. Our side erupts, and I watch as Slater and his team run together to celebrate. I sit down and try to catch my breath. “They did it!” Evie yells, standing beside me.
I shake my head. “They held on.” I feel like I can finally catch my breath.
Quint grins down at me. “You okay down there?”
“I think I’m going to throw up.” He just laughs and whistles loudly for the guys.
We wait for the bleachers to start clearing out before we begin making our way to the car. “Stick close,” Zane says to Evie and me. It takes a little while to make our way through the crowd.
“Can we see him before we leave?” I ask Zane.
“Yeah. For sure.”
We make our way down to the field where the guys will come out. When they finally make it out, Slater’s not with the first group. Lots of fans are gathered, so they cheer when our guys come out. I keep watching for Slater but don’t see him. Ben comes out and gets a loud cheer. He smiles and waves his hands. When he comes past where we’re standing, I call his name. “Ben.” He turns and walks over to me. “Thank you.”
He smiles. “Thankyou.Whatever you said to him worked.” He glances over his shoulder. “He should be out soon. Coach was talking to him.” Worry lines my face, and he smiles. “Don’t worry; he’s fine.” He turns away like he’s going to start walking away but then stops. He gives me a look, and I’m not sure what he’s thinking. “This is my third season playing with Slate. He’s never had a girlfriend. Shoot, he’s never even been interested in girls. And then you come along, and he’s suddenly a different guy. We can’t even get him to focus on a semifinal game.”
I grimace. “I’m sorry.”
He gives me a small smile. “Don’t be. I think maybe what you and he have is the real thing. Soccer’s awesome, but it’s just a game. Most of us won’t even play professional. Your boy probably will, but most of us won’t. But it’s still just a game. What’s more important is the people in our lives. I think our boy has figured that out. Because the unshakable, unflappable Slate is suddenly very flappable. That’s a good thing, Tessa Parker.” He fingers the bag over his shoulder. “See you around, Tessa.” He takes a step backwards and then adds, “Maybe name your firstborn after me, if it’s a boy anyway.” He winks and then jogs off.
I feel my face heat to a hundred degrees, especially when I hear Zane and Quint laughing beside me. They obviously didn’t miss a word Ben said. Still, I store his words in my heart to think about later. Those words are something I will think about for a long time to come. “Tess.”
I take a breath at the sound of that voice. I turn around and beam at my man. “Slater.”
He scans my face and frowns. “Why is your face red?”
“Yeah, Tessa, why is your face red?” Quint asks.
I elbow him hard, and he grunts. Slater narrows his eyes on my face. “What happened?”
“Oh, nothing. Just your boy, Ben, was giving me some good life advice.” He looks over my shoulder and narrows his eyes. “Don’t worry. It was good.”
“Yeah, he wants you guys to name your firstborn child after him,” Quint butts in. I try to elbow him, but he moves out of the way. “Those things are sharp; they’re like weapons.”
Slater stares down at me, and I cave. “Ben was just saying that he’s played with you for three years and has never seen you with a girl.”
“Yeah, he didn’t think you were even into girls,” Quint says from right beside me.
“He didn’t say that!” I huff at him. “Would you go away?”
“Nope. I’m like the gum beneath your—”
“Quint,” Slater interrupts. “Get lost.” He says all this without taking his eyes off my face. Quint leaves, grumbling the whole way; but I ignore him. “What did Ben say?” Slater asks.
“He just said that he’s never seen you with a girl before and that you’re no longer unflappable, I believe is the word he used.” Slater frowns, and I smile. “It was good, really. I’m blowing it. But he basically said that soccer is just a sport, but relationships are everything. I think he was giving his approval of our relationship, if that’s a thing. And yes, he did ask us to name our firstborn after him,” I add with an embarrassed laugh.
