“Let’s go get ’em.”
One last cheer went through the room as they all filed out once again. This time it was different. Everyone was bouncing on the balls of their feet as they waited to be called, whether it was pure excitement, to keep their muscles warm, or a combination of both, it didn’t matter. This was it.
Silas’ heart raced as he listened to his teammates get called out one-by-one. The crowd was going wild, and he got even more pumped waiting for his turn. The lights in the arena were low, and there was a spotlight on the place where all the players entered the field.
“On offense, number thirty-two, Silas Jenkins!”
Silas jogged out to meet his teammates. Like the last game, he looked to the floor seats next to the home bench to see if Miriam was there yet. To his surprise, she was. Harris was next to her, of course. And Allie had decided to grace the arena with her presence two games in a row. Only this time, it was to watch the game beside Miriam.
He didn’t let Miriam’s little bodyguards deter him. He still wanted to acknowledge Miriam—do something that would make it obvious that he was looking for her. At the last game, he’d sent her a wink, and it had gone terribly. This time, he tried a different approach. He gave her a tentative smile.
Miriam must have liked it much better. She smiled back and gave him a little wave, which Allie immediately repaid with a sharp jab with her elbow. Silas chuckled. Miriam’s smile grew.
Did that mean he was making progress?
He couldn’t stop to think about it too much. They were a short rendition of the National Anthem away from kickoff, and he needed to make sure he played hard like the last game. Silas gave Miriam one more smile before he pushed back his shoulders and tried to clear his mind.
The song finished and the lights came back on. Everyone but the refs and the starting lineup for both teams left the field. The whistle blew, and the game started.
Maryland got the kickoff, and Silas tried to get possession of the ball but didn’t have any luck as one player passed the ball to another. The players moved into the Storm’s side of the field. Silas knew Coach was going to have a coronary if it stayed there for very long since this team was known to have a weak offense. It made the Storm look bad.
Silas stayed on his assigned player while he watched Cardosa take the ball from one of Maryland’s guys. He kicked it back to Finn, who quickly scanned upfield looking for a target and kicked it to Silas. Silas got the ball and dribbled it upfield, passing two of Maryland’s guys. He took a shot...blocked.
The other team’s keeper threw the ball across the field and back into the Storm’s defensive zone. Grant jumped up and hit the ball with his head. That sent it back toward the Moons’ end. Silas got it and dribbled it upfield.
He wasso closeto the goal and wanted to take a shot, but there wasn’t a clear opening. He saw Cardosa was open and passed it to him. Cardosa took the shot, and the ball went over the keeper’s shoulder into the back of the net.
“Go-oal!”
Celebratory music played as the lights dimmed. Spotlights went over the crowd and then settled onto the huddle of Storm players in the middle of the field. They wrapped their arms over each other’s shoulders forming a large circle and started jumping in unison singing, “Olé, olé, olé, olé!” the entire time.
They had to be broken apart so that game play could continue. Silas realized after the fact that the guy to his left had been Grant—and he hadn’t made some terrible remark either. Coach quickly pulled Silas and Cardosa out before play started up again and replaced them with Barros and Vinny.
Silas entered his team’s box and took a quick swig from his water bottle before he leaned his arms on the short wall between them and the field. He watched as his teammates passed the ball back and forth in an effort to get it upfield.
“Hey,” Miriam said.
Silas pulled his eyes from the game happening only a couple of feet away from him and turned to face Miriam, who had made her way to the side of the box next to the bench. Now she was only a couple feet away. It was an easy decision to step away from the field and walk toward the back of the box. Miriam met him on the other side.
“That was a good play.”
“Thanks.” He smiled. “Cardosa did a great job of getting it past their keeper.”
“And you knew you needed to pass it to someone else.” She paused and bit her bottom lip. “I could tell you wanted that goal.”
Silas’ heart swelled that Miriam knew him so well.
“There’ll be others.”
She rested her hands on the barrier between the home bench and the box seats. “I know.”
Silas’ eyes went to her hands. He’d made the mistake of moving too fast already. The voice inside his head was telling him to stop. He ignored it and put his hand next to hers anyway, barely brushing his fingers against hers as he did so. “I’m really glad you came tonight.”
Miriam closed her eyes. “I am too.”
Silas moved his hand closer and rubbed his thumb over the top of her hand. “Thank you for coming.”
“You’re welcome.” She opened her eyes and jerked her head toward the other players. “You should probably go stand with the rest of the team.”
