Thankfully, the game gets underway and I notice that, like me, he is watching Hendrix quite intently while he and Danny make small talk that doesn’t involve me.
“How long have you and Mac been dating?” I hear Ash ask Danny.
“Umm, it’s almost been five months,” I hear Danny reply from beside me.
I was relieved when Danny sat beside me with Ash on his other side.
I wouldn’t have wanted him right beside me. He shouldn’t see how often I stare at his sister or that I cheer for her more than the others. “Is that it?” I can’t help it. The answer surprises me. He and Mac seem like an old married couple. Same with Cassie and Jase.
“Yep, this is her first season, and we met at the beginning of it,” he reminds me.
I nod. “Oh yes, I remember the press conference that was the subject of many meetings for me,” I say with a chuckle.
“Why is that?” I hear Ash ask him.
I don’t hear the answer, though, because the ball is being dribbled hard down the field by a Portland Thorns player. She has some serious speed on her, making it easily past Cassie and other midfielders. I look down and see that Coach Watts is yelling and waving his hands, trying to get the defense in thebest position possible. I miss having Amelia out there; she is one hell of a defender, although currently she is sidelined with torn meniscus. It took two defenders working together to make up for her not being on the field.
And right now, they are not enough. The ball easily makes it past them. Now it’s one-on-one between Hendrix and the forward. I hold my breath as I watch the offensive player strike the ball. It goes high. Hendrix jumps but it’s not enough, she can’t get to the ball.
It goes in.
“Fuck,” I say under my breath, hoping that Ash hasn’t heard me.
That puts us down very early in the game. In fewer than ten minutes, they have one on the board against us.This is going to be a tough game,I think to myself.
“Damn it, Hen, you weren’t much of a wall there,” I hear Ash spit out.
“She did her best,” I reply without thinking.
Danny’s head snaps in my direction. I look over to see that Ash is looking at me too.
“I’m sure she did, but I’ve been watching my sister for a long time. I think she should have come out a bit on that one. Don’t you?” he barks in my direction.
I shrug and take a sip of my Scotch. “I trust her judgment out there.” He’s staring at me again, so I look in his direction. “Don’t you?” Sure, it was antagonistic, but I don’t give a shit. I’m sure she did her best out there. I mean, it would have been better if she would have saved it. But she’s only one player. It had to get through eleven other players. It’s not all on her. It can’t be.
“Yes, I do,” he snaps. “But I think she could have come out on that one. She’s not perfect, August,” he reminds me. “Believe me, I’ve seen her play a hell of a lot more than you have. I know what she’s capable of.”
“With all due respect, I’ve been watching her since day one on this stage. I know what she is capable of too.” I can’t believe he thinks that she didn’t do all she could. He’s her fucking brother. He should be supporting her, not calling out her faults.
“You think I haven’t?” Ash asks. His brown eyes are fixed on me, and he looks angry as a hornet with a vein that looks like it might pop on his forehead.
“I don’t know. I just met you. I haven’t seen you here before. But I can tell you that you’re not the only one who knows Hen.” I shake my head and turn my attention back to the game. “This isn’t a competition.”
“Easy,” I hear Danny mumble beside me. “You promised that you would be nice,” he mutters.
I just nod. Ash mutters something under his breath about me being an asshole. But I don’t even bother to respond to him or let him know that I heard him. I promised her that I would be nice to him. And I have been. But I never promised her that I wouldn’t defend her if I felt I should. And that was exactly what I was doing.
The game continues on and unfortunately, it is more of the same, although the Blaze manage to get on the board twice. Mac sinks one from far out and Maria, a right winger, manages to net her first NWSL goal. A foul is committed in the box, which means Hendrix has to face down a penalty kick.
When that happens, I stand and go up to the glass. My hand rests on it and my eyes are fixated on her. “Come on, Henny, you’ve got this,” I say.
I can feel someone’s eyes on me. I’m not sure if it’s Danny or Ash. If I had to put money on it, I would put it on her brother. But I don’t even bother to look to see if I am right. I just keep watching.
I watch as Hendrix prances on her toes, ready and waiting to attack whatever angle the ball may be fired from. From myview, it looks like she’s staring her down, which usually works in Hendrix’s favor. I remember her saying that she can track the eyes. As long as they don’t mislead her. The whistle is blown and the kicker fires. Hendrix dives to the right, but the ball goes to the left. The PK ends up going in. I wonder if that’s what she did to fool Hendrix.
“Fuck,” I say a bit too loudly. I see Ash stand out of the corner of my eye, but I just walk away to get another drink.
This game is a rough one. Thankfully, it’s almost over but we are down five goals to two. Not our best game. Every shot they take on Hendrix is going in. I have no idea how this is happening. For the first time since watching the Blaze, I wonder if Jase is considering warming up our backup goalie. I see no signs of it, but I can’t help but think that giving Hendrix a rest is what we need right now.
