Page 36 of Queen’s Gambit

“Dude, think about it. Her father is all about keeping her pure, right? He can’t say no if you get her pregnant. He’ll want to keep that shit quiet. Fast wedding and all that.” He shrugged. “Just think about it.”

“I’m not doing that to her.”

“I’m not saying do it to her. I’m saying ask her how far she’s willing to go to seal the deal.” He shook his head. “What the hell did you think I meant? I’m a dick, but not a total douchebag.”

Marcus walked away, and I resisted the urge to jump on him and pummel the ass into the grass. But...I had to admit that there was merit to the idea, even if it went against everything I stood for and wanted for us. I didn’t want to force Vadin into accepting me. I wanted him to see me as an equal, a son, and be proud that I was part of his family. Purposely getting Ana pregnant seemed like a sure-fire way to destroy all I’d worked toward. God only knew what Vadin would do.

“Genovese, get over here,” Coach yelled.

I jerked, realizing I was still standing in the middle of the field by myself. Coach was drawing on his clipboard as I jogged over to my team on the sideline.

“Marcus and William focus on their defenders. Be obnoxious and get them flustered. You think you can handle that?”

“I think Marcus has that down, Coach,” I said and got a laugh.

“Funny. Are you ready to score, Edmundo?”

“Yes, sir. It’s in the bag.” Coach’s lip twitched up.

“Don’t get too confident. That’s when you make mistakes.”

I looked over my shoulder at the opposing team huddled up. “Maybe, but I doubt they’ve improved since the last time we faced them.”

“Hell yeah, we’re going to crush them,” Marcus said, hitting me in the arm.

“Lawrence, you know what to do. Get the ball to Edmundo.”

Coach continued down the roster, setting positions, giving tips, and reminding us about the plays we ran during practice. I tuned him out and focused on the pitch. When I was out on the field, my worries disappeared. It was simple: attack, shoot, score, win. But the moment I stepped outside of the white boundary line, it all came crashing back.

There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for Ana. But that didn’t stop me from feeling the weight of what I still needed to accomplish. Thinking about her drew my eyes to the bleachers and my heart swelled, the pounding so hard it blocked out all the other sounds. She was watching me and mouthed, I love you. With those words, nothing else mattered.

The referee blew the whistle, calling for captains, while the rest of the team got into position.

“Hawking Shores calls it,” the ref said.

“Tails,” the captain said as the coin was tossed in the air.

It felt like I was watching a visual representation of my life as it flipped end over end and landed in the referee’s hand. He smacked it down on the back of his other hand and I waited with anticipation for him to reveal the result.

“Heads, Wayward’s choice.”

“We’ll kick off,” I said.

“Very, well. Let’s have an honest game and good luck,” the ref said as I shook the opposing captain’s hand.

Game on.

Thirty minutes in and we were tied at one. Hawking’s attacking had not improved, but their defense was hard to break through. I was also fed up with Lawrence. He was acting like a hot shot and trying to score instead of passing the ball.

“Lawrence,” I yelled as I ran into an open area deep in the Hawking Shores’ defensive zone. He glanced at me but didn’t pass. I watched helplessly as Lawrence got boxed in by two of their players. The ball was stripped away and up the pitch before he even realized what was happening.

“What the hell,” I yelled, holding my arms out to the side. He ignored me, but enough was enough.

Abandoning the game, I ran after Lawrence and pushed him, forcing him to stumble to the side.

“What the fuck was that?”

Lawrence could be a prick, but I’d been a good friend to him. I thought we’d gotten past the jealousy and one-upmanship.