Goal Keeper_A Pearson Players novel

by Sarah Nego

  “Okay, only because you laughed at my bad joke, I’m going to cut you some slack. Stop in here before practice. If you’ve been following my instructions and the swelling is down, I’ll wrap you so you can still practice.”

  The rock that had lodged inside my chest imploded into dust. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” he said, waving me off. “But don’t skip coming back in here. If I don’t see you before practice, I will hunt you down at the field and tell Coach you can’t play on Friday.”

  “I promise I’ll come in,” I said, already scooting down off the table.

  “And I want to see you in here Friday after lunch so I can check the ankle out before the game. I’m working at the hospital later that afternoon, so one of the other trainers will be at the game, but I want to see that ankle. Right after lunch, come here. I’m going to tell your coach you can’t play unless he hears from me.”

  “I swear. At twelve thirty, I’ll be right here. Good as new. Ready to play.”

  Joe rolled his eyes and tapped the bottle. “Every four hours. Now get out of here.”

  I grabbed my bag and headed toward the door, already feeling better. “See you before practice.”

  “Take it easy until then,” he said, pointing at my ankle. “We don’t want to risk another injury.”

  I nodded and headed out of the room.

  Joe was right. I absolutely could not risk another injury. Which was exactly why I needed to stay far away from Ryan VanKamp.

  I’d been down this road before with a guy who didn’t see my dreams and what they meant to me. Who didn’t understand the sacrifices I was willing to make to reach them. I paid for that mistake with a busted ankle and lost scholarships.

  There was no way I was going to throw away this second chance, and Ryan was like a big neon sign flashing danger. I wouldn’t risk another injury. Neither my ankle nor my heart could take it.

  Fifteen

  Ryan

  Friday

  The crowd at the girls’ home opener against Western Oklahoma State was decent sized for a soccer game but kinda disappointing considering they were probably the best team at Pearson. It wasn’t a surprise though. Texas was absolutely, one-hundred-percent dedicated to football.

  That was made clear by the parking lot on the other side of the soccer stadium. The local high school had a home football game that was still two hours away, but their parking lot was already filling up and causing a traffic jam getting to the soccer field.

  After waiting in a huge line of cars, we had to stop at the concession stand because Scooter was starving, so we made it to our seats a few minutes after kickoff.

  “Stupid football games.” Crash flopped down to the aluminum bench and glared at me. “I should be at home pre-gaming for a night out. Tell me again why we had to come.”

  I sighed and sat next to him, my eyes scanning the field of the game already in progress. “Because we’re supporting our fellow soccer players.”

  Scooter sat next me, carefully balancing a coke and three hot dogs. “And what’s the real reason.”

  I shrugged. “Maybe if Vanessa sees us being appropriately supportive, she’ll give in a bit on her no-dating-us rule.”

  Crash snorted and rolled his eyes like a pro. “Sure. And next week, Justin Timberlake will be filling in as our coach, and Rhianna will be handing out massages after practice.”

  A whistle on the field called my attention, and I glanced down to see what had happened. Just a throw in. Vanessa ran into position, moving her arms against the defender from the other team enough to get possession of the ball without getting called for pushing. I knew Vanessa better than anyone else at Pearson University, and Crash was right. There was no way she was going to change the rule.

  Not unless I came crawling back to her, groveling on my hands and knees pleading for her to take me back. And even then she might not budge. Not that I would be testing the theory. Finally free from her, I planned to keep my distance.

  It was still nice for us to be here and support the girls. We were friends with most of them even if they were forbidden from hanging out with us. And if Luci happened to be one of the girls we were there to support, then that was a nice coincidence. At least, I’d keep telling myself that.

  I checked the goal box, but Leanne was the one protecting the net. That meant Luci was… I glanced to the sidelines, and there she was, standing in front of the bench, looking ridiculously sexy in her goalie kit. As the home team, the rest of her teammates had on white jerseys, but the goalie had to stand out so the refs knew exactly who was allowed to pick up the ball.

  Luci was wearing a dark red jersey with thin navy stripes. I studied her as she watched the game, and there was absolutely no denying her passion. She clapped for every player that ran by, and her eyes never left the ball as if she was in goalie mode even on the sidelines.

  She paced in front of the bench, and I noticed she wasn’t limping at all. I’d asked Joe if she’d fallen through on her promise to get that ankle checked out, and he confirmed that she’d kept her word. Luci could be bullheaded, but at least she listened to me about taking care of her ankle.

  “What are you smiling about?” Scooter asked, nudging me with his elbow. “The other team scored.”

  I looked up, and sure enough the scoreboard showed the Lady Pumas down two to one. Both teams were setting up for a kickoff.

  “You gonna eat that?” Crash didn’t wait for my answer before reaching over and grabbing the untouched hot dog I’d grabbed when we stopped for Scooter.

  Scooter stared at me for an awkward moment of silence before turning back to watch the game. “What’s so fascinating about the bench?”

  “What?” I tore my gaze away from where I’d already focused back on Luci to stare at him.

  “You swore we had to come out here and support the girls, but you haven’t watched this game at all.”

  I swallowed and forced myself to focus on the action happening on the field. “I was studying the team to see where Coach Taylor might need to shore up for next year. He’s got several seniors graduating, so he’ll need a good freshman recruitment class next year.”

  “What about this year’s recruit?”

  “What about her?” I ignored the prickling sensation at the back of my neck as my eyes shot over to where Luci was standing in front of the bench, biting her bottom lip as the other team passed the ball closer to the Pearson goal. Fuck me three ways to Sunday if her teeth scraping against those pale pink lips didn’t have me shifting uncomfortably on the stadium bench seat.

  “I figured you might have some new info on the freshman goalie. You two are in Spanish together, right?”

  “Si.” I shot a broad smile at him and took a sip of my coke. No big deal. Just asking about a classmate.

  “Plus, you guys made out at Mark’s party last week.”

  I choked on my drink and took several painful minutes to stop the coughing fit. “How in the hell did you…”

  Scooter shrugged and turned away from me to watch a play at the other end of the field. “Pearson University might have 10,000 students, but when it comes to gossip, it’s worse than high school.”

  “When did you find out?” My brain whirled with various worst-case scenarios. If Scooter knew, did that mean Vanessa did, too? Heaven help me and Luci if Vanessa did.

  “I heard on Monday but didn’t say anything.” He paused to clap for a well-placed pass. “I figured it wasn’t a big deal. But then we got here and you haven’t been able to tear your eyes away from her.”

  “That’s not—”

  Scooter shot my denial down with a carefully raised eyebrow. “Look, man. I’m not trying to get in your business, and I don’t want to break out into a chick session in the middle of the game, but you need to watch it. Vanessa’s on a war path. Right now she’s in an amplified-bitch mode, but we both know she could get so much worse.”

  I watched Vanessa race down the field toward the visi
tor goal before my eyes moved back to the bench where Luci stood watching everything like a hawk. Vanessa was driven in a whole different way than Luci. Where Luci wanted to work hard and prove herself, Vanessa was determined to connect and schmooze her way to the life she wanted. And she wouldn’t hesitate for a second to roll all over me or Luci to get there.

  “There’s nothing to be careful about.” I shrugged and forced myself to stop watching the bench. “You know how things can get at Mark’s parties. It was nothing.”

  Except when it came to Luci, there was definitely something.

  Sixteen

  Luci

  Saturday

  Calculus problem sets

  Cardio @ rec center

  Laundry

  Read next history chapter

  My bed let out a horrendous squeak as I tossed my calculus book down and flopped onto my back.

  “Finally,” Erin huffed out from her bed where she’d been reading a magazine. “Are you done pouting now?”

  “I haven’t been pouting. That was called doing homework.” Except I’d totally been pouting. I promised myself I wouldn’t be upset no matter what happened at our game. I knew Leanne was the starting goalie, and I knew goalies rarely subbed in and out the way other players did. But after how well practices had been going and my performance during the scrimmage with the guys, I’d let myself hope that I might see some play time.

  Of course, I didn’t. I spent the whole game cheering on my team from the bench. And to add to my embarrassment, Ryan was there to watch my failure after I made such a big deal about not telling the trainer about my ankle so I wouldn’t miss the game. I hated how much I let myself care about what Ryan thought of me.

  “Whatever you say.” Erin glanced over at the large stack of work I’d completed. “God, your calculus prof gives way too much homework. I need to know who you have so I don’t take them next semester.”

  Heat flooded my neck when I turned to face her. “I wouldn’t say he gives that much homework.”

  Erin stood up to stretch. “Are you kidding? You’ve been working on problem sets for the past three hours.”

  I blew out a heavy breath and sat up. There was something to be said about being the nerdiest nerd in the honors dorm. “I finished the assigned problem sets last night after the game. He only assigned every third problem. Today I was working through the rest of them.”

  “Jesus.” Erin threw her magazine at me, but I caught it. Excellent hand-eye reflexes were a fringe benefit of training as a goalie.

  I flipped it over to look at the cover and immediately threw it back at her. The tall, smiling blonde staring up from the glossy paper looked too much like Vanessa, and she was the last person I wanted to think about.

  Flopping back on the bed, my mind wandered to our game. We’d played well, and I would know since I’d forced myself to stay focused on the game the entire time. I’d seen Ryan walk in with some other guys, and for one second while he found a seat, I’d allowed myself to think about the party at Dove River and our steamy kiss.

  But one second was all I got when I noticed Vanessa staring at me. After that, I kept my eyes glued to wherever the ball was for the rest of the game. I couldn’t afford to piss off Vanessa any more than she already was.

  I’d wanted to go watch they guys’ game earlier that morning. Sam and Avery were both going and invited me along. But I’d begged off, saying I needed to catch up on homework. Nothing good would come of going to the game and staring at Ryan the whole time, watching him move on the field and remembering his tight muscles pressed against me or his pillow-soft lips kissing mine.

  “What are you smiling about?”

  I opened my eyes to Erin hovering over me. “Oh, I was just …um … happy to have my homework done.”

  “Perfect.” She leaned back and walked to her closet. “That means you can go to the freshman mixer with me.”

  “No.” I stood and shuffled the papers on my desk into a neat stack. “That sounds like an awful idea. Last week was my one allotted party for the year.”

  Erin rolled her eyes before glaring at me. “This isn’t a party. It’s a mixer. Plus, it’s only for freshmen, so it’s pretty much required.”

  “I’m almost certain that a frat house inviting every freshman girl on campus to what is obviously a party isn’t considered required.” I stacked my papers on my desk and grabbed my history book.

  “No, no way.” Erin grabbed the book away from me and tucked it behind her back. “Absolutely not.”

  “Erin.” I kept my voice calm but added a note of warning to her name.

  “No,” she said, shoving the book up her shirt. “It’s my socially understood obligation as your roommate to keep you from turning into that girl that never leaves her room unless she has to. You’re at least a week ahead in all your classes. Your laundry is done, and you don’t have another soccer practice until Monday.”

  “And your point is?”

  “There isn’t a single reason why you can’t come out with me tonight, and one very good one why you absolutely should.”

  “Fine. I’ll bite.” I shrugged and sat down on the edge of my bed. “Why should I go with you?”

  “Because it’s for freshmen only, which means there’s absolutely no chance that your jerk-face captain will be there.”

  Erin had super strong opinions about Vanessa and her “Marxist reign of the soccer team.” She thought the whole team was stupid for not telling our coach about the new rule. It wasn’t like I hadn’t thought about it. Not that I had a real dog in that fight, but I hated how much it hurt the rest of the team.

  I’d even asked Sam and Avery why they didn’t talk to Coach. Sam had rolled her eyes, and Avery let out a soft sigh. “Because telling Coach might make Vanessa drop the rule officially, but it wouldn’t change anything in her mind, and it wouldn’t stop her from trying to ruin anyone who crossed her.”

  I hadn’t brought it up again.

  “You have a point.”

  I was pretty much stuck with seeing Vanessa way more than I wanted. I did my best to stay clear of her, but it was like she had it out for me. It was hard to imagine she was still bent out of shape that Ryan and I were at the same party last week, but who knew what craziness went on inside her head. At least I was fairly certain she didn’t know about our kiss. If she did, I’d be dealing with a lot worse than the occasional shoulder bump.

  The other upside to freshmen-only was that Ryan wouldn’t be there. Not that I didn’t want to see him. The problem was that I did want to see him. A lot. I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about our kiss and what it would be like to kiss him again. To feel his fingers run over my skin and not freak out when his strong hands cupped my...

  I shook the image out of my head. That was a surefire breakaway play to trouble. Ryan was cute and charming and genuinely nice, and the more time I spent with him in class, the more I wanted. It was in my best interest to limit my exposure to him so I could keep my head on straight, stay out of Vanessa’s target zone, and keep working the plan. And maybe it wouldn’t kill me to go to a party where I knew there was no way I would see him.

  “So, you’ll go with me?” Erin dropped to her knees, her hands clasped in front of her. “Please, please. Pretty please.”

  “Okay, I’ll go.”

  “Yes!” Erin jumped up and ran over to me. She wrapped me in a huge hug that knocked both of us back onto the bed. “You’re still leading the pack in the roommate Olympics.”

  “My joy knows no bounds,” I mumbled into her hair, which was trying to suffocate me. “Now get off me so I can get ready.”

  Erin leaped off me. “Oh my gosh, you’re right. We only have an hour before the mixer starts, and I told Allie we’d walk there together.”

  It was my turn to roll my eyes at her. “I don’t think I’ll need a whole hour to put shoes on.”

  Erin made a noise that sounded like a kitten being strangled. “You can’t go like that.”

  I gla
nced down at my outfit. I wasn’t wearing my cutest pair of jeans, but they were fine, and my shirt was perfect for a party. My dad called it a real conversation starter. It was green, and it read Hedgehogs. Why don’t they just share the hedge? And below that was a cute drawing of a hedgehog saying no. I chuckled thinking about it.

  “Absolutely not,” Erin said, marching to her closet. “This is a party.”

  “I thought you said it’s a mixer.”

  Erin turned around, her eyes narrowed and her fist planted on her hip. She took these things way too seriously. “The invitation for the mixer slash party said the dress was cocktail chic. They’re doing a casino theme.”

  “This may surprise you,” I said, flopping back onto my bed, “but I don’t know what cocktail chic looks like, and I can guarantee you I don’t have any of it in my closet. Looks like you’ll have to go without me.”

  Erin gave me a smile that would look perfect on a classic villain. “Good news for you. Not only did you get a roommate who is fun, brilliant, and dedicated to your social welfare, you also got one who’s just about the same size as you.”

  My eyes darted to Erin’s closet. It was true we were the same size, but Lord help me. Everything in her closet was designed to draw attention. It was all bright bold colors, and half the things in there had glitter. I hadn’t worn clothes with glitter on them since I was six.

  "Erin, I don’t think—”

  “Nope.” She drew her fingers across her lips in the universal sign to zip it. “You already agreed to go with me, and attendance requires wearing something from my closet. You don’t want to get bumped down to a silver medal do you?”

  “Like I really care about your made-up roommate Olympics.” Except I was exactly the sort of crazy nut job who totally cared about made-up awards.

  Erin didn’t say anything. She stood there with that look on her face that said she knew exactly what I was thinking.

  “Fine.” I got up and marched to her closet. “But I have veto power.”