~ ~ ~
I walked out onto the field with excitement coursing through me. As the sun sunk lower in the sky, the temperature dropped with it and a crisp breeze blew around me.
It was cold, but I was bundled up in an over-sized black hoodie with a bright red 19 on the back of it. Right below the number was Abbott spelled out in block letters.
Jaxon had given me his soccer hoodie to wear for the game, and honestly, it wasn't likely that I'd be giving it back any time soon. Not only was it the warmest thing I'd ever worn, but it smelled like him.
I felt so creepy when that thought went through my head. It smelled like him. I sounded like a stalker or a serial killer.
I stood on the sidelines as students, teachers, and family members filled both sides of the bleachers. Both teams were doing their warm ups at opposite goals and I was pumped.
It was the first game of the season, and the team had been practicing extremely hard for this. I had my hair in a ponytail to keep it from flying around my face and I had on my warmest pair of jeans and my favorite black converse.
Jaxon and Alex were leading warm-up drills while the coaches talked to the referee. The time seemed to fly and soon enough, the ref was blowing his whistle for the start of the game. Both teams ran to their sides for a quick drink of water before going out to their assigned positions.
My stomach flipped when I saw Jaxon jog towards me. I handed him his water bottle which he took with a thankful smile.
After taking a drink he leaned down and pecked my lips. "Good luck." I said to him.
He looked down at me and smiled, brushing some loose hair behind my ear. "With you here, I've got all the luck I need."
I rolled my eyes and took back his water bottle but my smile grew. "Okay stud, go bring home a win."
He saluted me before turning and jogging out to his position as right forward. They'd already done the coin flip and the other team was starting off with the ball.
The ref blew the whistle and the game began.
The other team's forward kicked the ball forward and the team behind them immediately advanced forward. The ball went around for a while, our team took from them, they took from us, and back again.
This team was good, but our boys were better. I'd seen them in practices, they had skills like none I'd ever seen.
I cheered on our defense when the ball got a little too close for comfort to our goal. Luckily Ian got a clear spot and kicked the ball up field. He was great as a defense because he could kick a soccer ball more than half the soccer field's length.
They started to show their skill in the second quarter when they scored twice. It was 2-0 when the coach blew the whistle for half time and they all came over with smiling faces.
I went over and stood behind the coach trying to hear what he was doing about the positions. I jumped when coach's voice boomed out.
"Allen!" He yelled.
I'd grown used to him calling me by my last name. I spent a lot of time at the practices. Coach sort of made me into an assistant, making me set up cones for drills, getting water bottles from his car during practices. It was fun though, and it filled a lot of my time. The team didn't seem to mind my presence.
He probably wanted me to back off. I took a step away. "Sorry, coach."
He looked back at me and brought his hand up, signaling me forward. I stepped forward hesitantly until I was next to him.
He tilted his clipboard towards me. "I'm thinking of putting in Weston and Brady. What do you think about midfield?"
I looked up at him in surprise. "You want my opinion?"
He looked at me impatiently and I quickly nodded.
"Okay, okay." I looked back down to the clipboard and let my eyes scan over it.
I glanced up at the guys, most of them were looking tired as they drank their water and awaited hearing their positions. Jaxon met my gaze and grinned. I smiled but looked back down at the names on the board.
"I think they're good on mid. But," out of the corner of my eye I saw him raise an eyebrow. "Instead of keeping Cameron and Jaxon on forward, move them back to defense so they don't have to run as much, it kind of gives them a break. Then put Ian on center-mid so that he can keep the ball up, and then have Alex move up to forward with Matt."
He rubbed his jaw as he thought about my plan. "Ian as midfield and Alex as forward?" He sounded skeptical.
"Well," I cut in. "We're already ahead two points, so all we have to do this quarter is keep the other team from scoring. Three mid-fielders is a good wall to keep the ball from coming back, and if Ian's power kick can keep the ball away, the other team will get tired chasing it around. Then fourth quarter, we go back to original positions and score again."
I watched his facial expressions, slightly nervous. This was the first time he'd ever asked me about positions. If he was ever hesitant about the line-up he might ask Cameron or Jaxon since they were team captains, but never me. I wasn't even on the team.
After a moment he nodded and called the guys back into the circle. A feeling of shock filled me as he read off my positions.
The ref blew his whistle signaling the end of half-time and the team went back out, this time on the other side of the field. They went on in the quarter and I could tell that Jaxon an Cameron were grateful for a slight break from the running.
The quarter continued and the guys were doing really well at keeping the ball away from the goal. Coach gave me a pat on the shoulder in approval and started walking down the sideline while calling orders out to the players.
About halfway through the quarter, the ball went out of bounds on the opposite side of the field and we all watched as Cameron went to throw it back in. I noticed one of the opposing team's players getting closer to our side.
I gave him a quick glance in confusion. The ball wasn't anywhere near us, what was he doing?
"Number 19, huh?" He said suddenly and I looked at him with furrowed eyebrows.
"What?" I returned my gaze back to the game. Ian had the ball now and was setting up for a power kick.
"The sweater?" He said. He eyes roamed up and down my figure and I glared at him. "I gotta say, you're not his usual type."
I crossed my arms and walked away a little but he only followed. "Whatever."
I heard him laugh. "Oh I forgot, girls don't like hearing about a guy's past conquests, and you've probably already heard. Abbott tends to play the field in more ways than one." He laughed. "Trust me babe, it won't be long before someone else is telling his newest girl about you."
I couldn't stop the slight hurt that shot through me.
"Awe, don't feel bad." His smile was more fake than Hanna's hair extensions. "Won't that little taste of popularity be nice?"
My blood boiled at his words. I was not just another girl. Jaxon cared about me.
Didn't he?
I looked for him and found him near the center of the field while Alex fought another player for the ball. He was watching me and the mystery guy. Even from over here, I could tell that he was not happy about us conversing.
His eyes met mine and his eyes softened slightly, shooting me a questioning look. I smiled unconsciously, forgetting about the other guy completely.
Jaxon did care about me.
Before the guy could say anything else, the ref blew the whistle and the quarter ended. There would only be one more quarter and the score was still 2-0 with us in the lead.
I watched Jaxon walk towards me with long strides. A few feet away, instead of continuing to me, he stopped in front of the guy who'd been talking to me.
"Abbott." The guy said. "It's been a while."
"Not long enough." Jaxon said bitterly.
When the guy spoke, I could hear a smirk in his voice. "Well, I see you've kept yourself busy. That's a nice little piece you've got over there." He turned around and winked at me.
Jaxon's eyes narrowed and he reached up and gripped the neck of the guy's jersey. "Don't fucking look at her, Carson."
So, Carson was his name.
Carson chuckled before roughly pulling from Jaxon's grip. "Relax, Abbott. She's not my type." He started to walk around Jaxon before pausing. "But, she's not really your type either, is she?"
The team was now huddled by coach, listening for their fourth quarter positions. Alex and Cameron had stayed back slightly, watching the exchange. I stood at the sideline, waiting to see how this would play out.
I just hoped that Jaxon wouldn't do or say anything to get himself kicked out of the game. It seemed that they were finally going to part ways and Jaxon started to walk towards me again. That is, until Carson decided to turn around and call out to me.
"Remember what I said, babe." He said. "You'll be the talk of the town by next week."
I glared at him and Jaxon looked at me questioningly. "What is he talking about?"
I huffed and looked down at the ground. Hesitancy and fear filled me as I felt my walls start to build up again.
No, I thought. I didn't want to close myself off to Jaxon. It felt so good to trust someone, to have someone that I could count on to be there for me. I didn't want to lose that, but Carson's words kept replaying in my mind.
It won't be long before someone else is telling his newest girl about you.
"Melanie," I felt another stab to the heart at my sister's name. I wanted to hear my name. "What happened? What did he say to you?"
"Who is he?" I asked, ignoring his questions.
"Daniel Carson. Just some asshole who loves causing problems. We play against his team every year." Jaxon explained. "Tell me what he said."
He cupped my face and forced me to look at him. I shook my head and pulled away.
"It isn't important Jaxon. You need to go get your position. The fourth quarter is about to start." I nodded towards the team.
"It is important." He said. "I'll skip the entire fourth quarter if you don't tell me now."
I rolled my eyes. "Stop being so dramatic. You're the team captain, you can't miss it. You won't."
He sighed. "Please tell me."
I chewed on my bottom lip and looked at him. His eyes were pleading. I shrugged.
"He was just trying to mess with me, to make you mad I guess." I glanced at the ref and luckily he didn't look ready to start the quarter yet. "Telling me about, your um," I trailed off.
"My what?" He asked.
I blew out a breath. "Your exes. And how disposable they were." I shrugged again as if it didn't bother me.
Honestly, it shouldn't have bothered me. I shouldn't be this involved with Jaxon, I shouldn't rely on him this much. When I finally switched back with Melanie, would he still want to be with me?
"Mel, Daniel Carson is the biggest idiot on this planet. The last girlfriend I had was over a year ago." I looked at him in surprise. He brushed some hair back from my face. "I'm not the type to just date anyone. You are not disposable, not even close."
His eyes bored into mine, full of honesty. I felt a wave of emotion wash over me and I swallowed the lump in my throat.
"Really?" I asked. My walls slowly began to melt away and he nodded.
"Absolutely." He kissed my forehead and wrapped his arms around me. I let out a shaky breath as I let the feeling of his embrace consume me.
A smile touched my lips and I stepped away from him. "You still have a game to play." I reminded him.
He raised an eyebrow. "I do, don't I?"
I grinned, my body relaxing. "Well, don't keep your team waiting."
He nodded, quickly pressing his lips to mine. "I'll see you after."
I watched him join his team before running back out onto the field. Jaxon was back on forward with Cameron and they were energized and ready to finish the game.
Carson's plan to make Jaxon mad worked, only not to his advantage. Carson was dribbling the ball down the field when Jaxon went straight at him and slide tackled him. He got the ball away and simultaneously caused Carson to trip and fly right into the grass face-first.
The crowd in our side of the bleachers cheered and I joined in with them. When the referee didn't call Jaxon on the play the other team started yelling profanities and two of them even got yellow-carded.
Cameron kicked the ball and it sailed right into the goal only a few seconds before the ref blew the whistle four times ending the game.
I threw my arms up and cheered loudly. The team ran around, jumping in victory, patting each other on the back. They had to calm down slightly to hi-five the other team but as the crowd came down from the bleachers to congratulate them, the excitement built once again.
I wanted to run out and congratulate them too, but this felt like team bonding time. I didn't want to interrupt, so I stayed back and waited for the crowd to disperse.
After a few minutes I saw a certain black and red jersey disconnect from the mass and jog towards me. A wide smile adorned his face as he wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me up.
A light laugh flowed from me and I squeezed him tightly. "That was amazing!"
Jaxon let me down only to lean down and capture my lips in a kiss. The air left my lungs, my fingers ran through his hair and I pulled him closer. The weather was cold, but my skin felt hot. I felt a need build inside of me, to be closer to him.
I was lost, my head spun, and confusion came over me when he pulled away from me. My eyes opened slowly, I was met with the crystal blue color I'd grown so attached to.
His lips began to move as he spoke and my body froze at the words that came from them. My heart stopped beating, or maybe it beat faster, I wasn't sure.
"What?" I whispered in shock.
His thumb brushed against my bottom lip and I shivered. He brought his hand down and linked his fingers through mine. The world around me seemed to slow down.
"I love you."
~ ~ ~
Hoooooly cow.
I cannot believe what just went down, can you??? Like wow.
Ohhkay so the bomb was dropped, how do you guys feel about that? I'm feeling pretty good, but that's just me.
I was going to add a whole other part to this chapter that I had planned out, but near the end I realized that this was already a longer chapter than normal, so I decided to just make two chapters.
Since this was going to be longer, I have the next chapter already half written, so expect that to be up really soon. I hope you're excited for the final chapters because they are coming soon!
There will be more to come very soon, so be on the look out.
Unless you hate this book and you don't want to read more. If that's the case, there is a lovely arrow in the top left corner of your screen, feel free to click on it.
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Thanks For Reading :)
~Lori~