The Striker's Forbidden Love

mercifully over legs shaking, lungs burning, the whole team scattered

d her bag, and found the screen alread

s. Same blo

ered, staring at the screen lik

e her, drenched in sweat, entirely too cheerful for som

pen the messages despite every instinct tellin

rk? Cute. New n

re this morning. He loo

so fast it nearly to

Priya said, squinting at her. "That's

down on her knee now, heart doing

that. It keeps

ing herself up on one elbow to

y. What's

and then, for reasons she couldn't enti

voice low, glancing around to make sure nobody else was close enoug

away, replaced by somethin

ia said, and saying it out loud made it feel realer than it had fel

ked, quiet now, glancing instinctively toward the

ust long enough to feel guilty about it on Sofia, sitting a little apa

said honestly. "I

someone. Not just me." Priya said, and for

too friendly with my own coach?" Mia said, laughing

it later." Priya said, shrugging,

ood instead, brushing grass off her shorts, using the movement as an excuse t

practices ran like the man had personally tak

mes that Mia could've executed the corner-kick routine blindfolded, half

ofia said at the water table, wiping sweat off her face with the hem of

there's exhaustion. We're

g." Mia said, more defen

ly, just observant in the specific way Sofia always seemed

ly nothing to be embarrassed about, nothing anyone could point to, nothing that had actua

ole secret." Mia said, aiming for

roup laughed again, easier this time, tension dissolvin

Mia could relax fully into it. "Water bre

an most weeks combined, and dragged themselves back into formation. Mia lined up beside Sofia, close enough

they jogged into position. "For what it's wort

said, and mo

something." Sofia said, not quite a question,

mediately and completely, how practiced the lie ha

half-second longer than the drill really allowed, turning the exchange over in her head, trying to decide

it finally clicked the way he wanted it to click. By the final whistle, the whole team was wrecked in a good, honest way, l

fell into step beside her, voice low

es." He said, already walking

unpleasant drop it had do

le again?" She called aft

red, deliberate, nothing like his usual bluntness told her this conversation