Miriam rested her hands on the board dividing the field from the floor seats and watched the game, trying her best to ignore the strange feeling in her chest every time Silas got the ball.
Vermont—a team with a high percentage of rookies—ran around chasing the ball as the Storm passed it expertly back and forth quickly moving into an offensive position. Bastian brought it upfield, side-booted it to Silas, who took a shot and...goal!
The sirens went off and the arena lights dimmed. Spotlights shone over the crowd for a moment before they landed on Silas and Bastian. All the players ran out in the middle of the field to slap their backs as the crowd cheered loudly.
Miriam’s eyes went to the clock.
14:13
Silas had gotten the first goal of the game—of the season—in less than a minute.
She wasn’t sure if she was supposed to be excited or upset that the golden boy had made such a triumphant return. Her eyes went to the jumble of players in the middle of the field. The ones who weren’t playing, slowly returned to the bench as the lights went back up.
Just like old times, Silas’ gaze found Miriam’s. He wore the same wide smile as earlier, but somehow, he looked younger at that moment. Like a child on Christmas morning who’d just opened the one present he’d wanted more than anything.
Miriam supposed that was a pretty accurate interpretation. Silas only cared about the game, and that play was sure to make the MASL highlights that week. Not only had it been made quickly, but Bastian had set it up perfectly. She kept her face neutral as he continued to look at her, and eventually he turned away.
The crowd settled down as the ball went back into play. It was going to be a long night for Vermont if they let goals like that in all night, but it looked like getting scored against so quickly gave them a renewed fervor. They started moving faster, they tightened up their passing, and they brought it up into the Storm’s goal. A forward from the other team took a shot that Finn easily caught. He then hurled the ball across the field putting it comfortably on the other side. The Storm took possession and took a few shots on goal, hitting the posts each time.
It went on like this for the first quarter, during which the Storm managed to get one more goal. It was scored by Cardosa, one of the mid-fielders, and got the same fanfare as before. When the buzzer went off signifying the end of the first quarter, players from both teams formed small huddles near the benches. At the same time, someone from business development went out on the field and talked about one of the team’s sponsors—a local insurance company.
Miriam struggled to pay attention. As someone who worked in the office, she should have been focused on the short program they’d put together promoting the business. But the players were so close, and Silas was right there.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It didn’t matter where Silas was. Miriam didn’t care. She’d just gotten caught up in the excitement of the game—an easy thing to do—and had nearly forgotten the heartache golden boy had put her through.
Nearly.A mistake she wouldn’t make again.
When her phone buzzed with a text that Allie had arrived, Miriam was relieved for the excuse to leave the arena. She needed a little fresh air. A trip to the concession stand with Allie was exactly what the doctor ordered.
“I’m going to go get some nachos and a soda,” she said to Harris, who had been surprisingly quiet the entire game after their brief discussion about exes. “Want anything?”
His eyes went to the players, still in their huddle, before returning to Miriam. He shook his head. “Nah, I think I’m good.”
“Suit yourself,” she said, a little too cheerfully, before she walked out of the arena.
Once she was away from the loudspeakers, music, and fans, she couldthink more clearly. Miriam could see how ridiculous the pull she had felt toward Silas in the arena had been. It was the team mentality. Cheering so close to the action made fans feel like they were part of the Storm, and that made fans excited about their victories.
Then why did you only feel the pull toward Silas?
Miriam didn’t want to dwell on that thought and thankfully, Allie was already in front of the concession stand.
Her friend looked up. “You surviving?”
“If wanting to jump onto the field to kissandpunch Silas is surviving, then sure.”
“Oh, Miriam. Neither one of those says ‘I’m over him.’”
She sighed. “I know.” Miriam wasn’t over Silas. She didn’t think she’d ever completely gotten over him in the time he was gone—not that she hadn’t tried.
Allie jerked her head at the woman standing behind the counter who was waiting for them to order. “Stuffing our faces with nachos might help.”
“If I keep trying to solve this with food, I’m going to gain a hundred pounds by the end of the season.”
“In that case.” Allie turned to the woman. “We’ll take an order of nachos, a giant pretzel, and two churros.”
Miriam’s eyes were wide. That was way too much for the two of them, but Allie was already pulling out her credit card to pay. Once they got their food, Miriam started to walk back into the arena.
Allie grabbed her arm and shook her head. “Nope. You are not allowed to go back in there.”
