Once they were gone, Miriam spoke without looking at Silas. “I thought I told you that I didn’t need you today. You can go home. Go hang out with McKensie.”
The way she spat the other woman’s name gave Silas an inkling of hope. If she was jealous of him talking to McKensie, maybe she still felt something deep down. Of course, it could also be a deep-seated hatred that would make anything she said sound angry.
Silas tried his best to give her a carefree smile, but everything was going wrong. “Well, I’m already here. Maybe I can stick around the table with you in case anyone comes by.”
Miriam sighed. “Fine. Do whatever you want. You always have.”
Yeah, that sounded much more like hatred than jealousy.
Silas grabbed some more flyers with the season schedule on them while Miriam started straightening already straight stacks of cards. Then she rearranged the plastic Storm cups into a formation that looked oddly familiar to the one it had already been in. All the while, she kept her head low, and her gaze averted from Silas.
As customers walked out, Silas tried to hand them flyers. Some would take them, but by the way they crumpled them and tossed them in their shopping bags without a second glance, Silas knew they wouldn’t be coming to any of the games. Others walked by, avoiding eye contact like Scrooge racing past a Salvation Army bell ringer at Christmas.
It was discouraging. That was, until a guy walked over to the table with a big grin on his face. “Silas Jenkins.”
Silas let out a sigh of relief. Finally, something was going right. Not only did someone recognize him, they seemed genuinely happy to see him. Silas stuck out his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
The man didn’t take it and shook his head. Now that Silas got a better look, he could see that the man’s grin—which was still plastered to his face—was as fake as everyone else’s that afternoon. “I can’t believe you’re back.”
Silas nodded, pretending he didn’t feel the awkwardness that hung in the air. “I’m happy to be playing for the Storm again.”
“Are you?” The man’s brows lowered. “Or are you just buying time until another team shows interest? Maybe the EPL or the Men’s National Team?”
Those had once been Silas’ dreams. There was a time when he would have done anything to be signed to the English Premier League or the Men’s National Team. Not anymore. “Of course not. I bleed green and black.”
There was a small gasp from behind him—Miriam—and Silas knew he’d said the wrong thing.
“Funny you should say those exact words.” The man pulled out his phone and tapped the screen. He then slammed the phone on the table.
Silas looked down at it, though he couldn’t read the tiny words on the screen.
“Go ahead, pick it up,” the man said.
Silas reluctantly picked up the phone. Displayed was an article about the Florida Storm from a couple of years ago. Silas vaguely remembered when someone from the paper had come out and interviewed the players as they were training for the upcoming season. Silas’ eyes skimmed until he came across a quote: “I bleed green and black.”
Bile rose in his throat. He’d completely forgotten he’d spoken those words just days before the GM of the Wolves had reached out about playing for him. After that, it was a flurry of excitement and difficult choices.
This man hadn’t forgotten what Silas had said. And if the small sound that had come from Miriam was any indication, she hadn’t either. Silas had plenty of excuses on the tip of his tongue, but he knew that this man didn’t want to hear them. He put out his hands. “I hope you’ll give me a chance to show you what I’m made of.”
The man snorted. “Oh, I think I already know what you’re made of. If my kids didn’t love Bastian Ramirez so much, I’d boycott the entire team on principle.”
Wow. This was one angry fan.
Silas gave him a tight smile. “Well, we appreciate your support.”
The man rolled his eyes and mumbled something under his breath as he snatched his phone, and a schedule, from Silas.
Once he was gone, Silas felt his shoulders relax. “Well, that was awkward.” He spun around to face Miriam, hoping to find some common ground with that encounter. She didn’t share his frustration or anxiety. Instead, she looked at him with disappointment before she grabbed a stack of swag and walked off.
Silas was all alone. Things weren’t going right at all. Everyone hated him, and he was beginning to think it would have been better for everyone if he’d never returned.
Later that day,Silas went to Big Results for a solo workout. He needed to do something to get all the anxious energy out of his system. So he put on an upbeat playlist, put on his headphones, and started in the cardio room.
Though the field was much smaller in arena soccer, it was a much faster paced game. If Silas wanted to be the best forward on the team, he’d need to be able to run back and forth between the two opposing goals without getting winded.
He started the treadmill and increased the speed until he was jogging at a comfortable rate. Once he found his groove, his mind wandered back to Miriam.
She’d looked beautiful that afternoon, possibly even more so than when he’d first seen her on the field only a few days ago. And that was an accomplishment, considering he’d lost all rational thought when he’d seen her for the first time in two years.
