Page 79 of Playing with the Heartbreaker

Kendry steals a peek at me and lets a cross rip. It floats in a perfect arc, and I trap it down with my chest.

Now what? My brain wants me to analyze, but my feet have another plan.

Rhoads’s voice rings between my ears. Don’t over think it. Trust your instincts.

I fake out the defender in front of me, then take a quick peek at the corner of the goal. The keeper is a step too far off her line.

My right laces connect with the ball, and I concentrate on leaning over it to keep it on the ground. I look up after I’ve struck it and smile.

The keeper dives, but it doesn’t matter.

I have the element of surprise, and she’s out of position. I’ve trained enough with Janae to know.

The ball whooshes against the net in the back corner. The Cardinal Ridge fan section erupts. My team piles on top of me. Though I can’t see him in the sea of bodies, in my mind I hear my dad screaming, “Atta girl, CB!” at the top of his lungs.

Immediately after, Rhoads’s ecstatic face after I beat him the first time in our training session surfaces in my mind.

That prickling feeling—that Big Moment energy—tickles the back of my neck. I look up.

There, in the front row where he hadn’t been before, stands Rhoads Simpson, grinning at me like I’ve won the World Cup.

My whole body turns to jelly. I almost look away, but something stops me. I only have room for positive emotions today, and whatever this thing is between us, I’m going to enjoy this moment.

Instead of shutting him out, I smile back.

* * *

Cardinal Ridge holds on for the win, 1-0. After the final whistle, I cheer with the rest of the team all the way to the bus. And if my eyes are sweating as much as my forehead, well, I’m not ashamed. My team just won the state title for our school for the first time ever. Let the tears of joy loose.

I sit down next to Janae on the bus. She ties a white scarf around her braids.

“You, my friend, are a rock star. I know it, the team knows it, and, from what I hear, Rhoads Simpson knows it, too.” She gives me a playful nudge with her elbow.

I offer a half-smile. “I don’t know.” I mean, I definitely know how I feel around him, despite my better judgment. And now that I’ve reached this goal, I wouldn’t be sacrificing my game for a boy. But I would be putting my heart on the chopping block. Which, of course, I’ve realized has been my fear this whole time.

“Girl. Are you Egyptian?”

I stare at her. “Umm?”

“Because you are in de-nial. That boy digs you so hard he’s about to hit China.”

A genuine laugh escapes my lips. Janae always cracks me up. I roll my eyes.

“You can try to deny it all you want, but you’re only hurting yourself. You forget I have the insider scoop.” She tosses her microbraids over her shoulder.

“I’m stoked for you, J.”

She beams. “Yes, Dillon is fine, and I am all. About. That. But you deserve love, too.” Janae nudges my shoulder with hers and wiggles her full eyebrows suggestively. “Give Hotty McStriker a chance already!”

Is everyone calling him that now?

“Slow down, matchmaker.”

“Chloe. We won State. What’s the next excuse? Club ball tournaments? Winning state again next year? Getting into college? You don’t have to put your love life on the backburner just because you have dreams. You can date and be a baller boss at the same time. Exhibit A.” She gestures to herself. “Just sit back and watch me work my magic.” She holds her hands up, palms out. “It is said, and it shall be done.”

Then she digs around in her bag and offers me a velvet pouch that looks suspiciously familiar.

“What’s this?”