For the Win

by Sara Rider

  “You really love your team, huh?”

  “It’s not just the team. It’s everything. This is my home. I know I’m getting old, and if I get injured, I’ll be traded in an instant. Here, I’m the Hometown Hero. I don’t want to play out my days as a New York Nobody or—”

  “A Houston Has-been? Pittsburgh Passed-over?”

  He tickled her again, making her squirm and squeal. The torture didn’t end until he planted a steamy kiss on her lips.

  “We can’t cancel the game just because of Cricket Field. The whole city is choosing sides and rooting for their favorites. Think of how many side bets rest upon our shoulders. How many little boys or girls are about to be disappointed when their idol is bested.”

  Gabe laughed. “You know, I’ve been thinking about that, and what it means for our fans. I’ve got an idea.”

  Lainey kept her mind open as she listened to his proposal. By the end, she was more excited for this dreaded day than she’d ever thought possible.

  22

  This is it, folks. Today is the day we declare the winners of Seattle’s Battle of the Sexes. Will it be our beloved, longtime fan favorites, the Surge? Or will the new kids in town, the explosively entertaining Falcons, walk away with the championship? Fans are filling the seats at Cricket Field to find out. Hold on, what’s happening? It looks like Havelak and Lukas have yet another unexpected twist in store for us . . .

  GABE HAD NEVER DISAPPOINTED his fans before, and he wasn’t about to start now. If they were going to sit out in the rain to watch him, Lainey, and their respective teammates battle it out, he was damn well going to put on a good show.

  Seconds after the coin toss, five Surge players walked over to the Falcons side of the field and switched jerseys with their counterparts, shocking the crowd with their refusal to allow one sex to be declared superior. The decision to mix teams was one Gabe and Lainey had come to with surprising ease. If their own relationship were any kind of example, Seattle’s soccer community would be stronger if the Surge and Falcons were allies instead of adversaries. Luckily, their teammates all agreed. Turned out Gabe and Lainey had been the only ones taking this rivalry personally all along.

  Gabe forced out all negative thoughts about the damn potholes beneath his feet and readied himself for the game of his life. The ticket holders didn’t seem to mind the last-minute venue change, despite the metal benches being ice-cold and none of the concession stands serving beer. Still, he needed to suck it up and play out one more match on this uneven shit hole for the sake of the fans. It was one game, and if he was cautious, he’d make it through unscathed and never set foot on this field again.

  From across the field, he made eye contact with Lainey, who’d been strategizing with Aiden at center field. She mimed shooting him with a finger gun.

  “Don’t let her get to you,” Alyssa said cheerfully, slapping him on the shoulder. “It’s a friendly competition.”

  “She looks like she wants to rip out my guts and eat them for breakfast.”

  “That? Nah. That’s her friendly face.”

  “What’s her not-so-friendly face?”

  “You ever come up close to a hungry grizzly bear in the wild? It’s kind of like that moment the grizzly goes from stalking you to devouring you with its giant teeth.”

  Gabe took the time to process that thought and nearly missed the ref’s whistle. Lainey tapped the ball to Aiden standing a couple of feet next to her, and then the two were off like dueling streaks of lightning, winding through Gabe’s team with a series of superfast give-and-go passes. Before he had a chance to react to the attack, Lainey fired a shot from the edge of the box. Helplessly, Gabe watched the ball sail toward the far corner of the net. Joe dove valiantly, but it was out of his reach.

  The ball hit the post with a ferocious boom, rebounded out toward a defender, and eventually bounced out for a corner kick.

  Lainey shrugged, but her eyes sparkled dangerously.

  Game on indeed.

  He’d been worried about playing against women and whether his naturally larger size and strength would be too much. Not that he dared mention that to Lainey, of course. But he had once witnessed a man break another man’s ankle with nothing but the force of a simple, clean tackle. Some level of restraint was necessary, but not so much that Lainey would spot it as a weakness and take advantage of it.

  With that last shot, though, the gauntlet had clearly been thrown. Gabe didn’t hold back for the corner kick. He jostled Lainey relentlessly as they awaited the kick, bumping her and tugging at her jersey. When Aiden finally launched the ball their way, Gabe used all the force in his body to rise over her and clear the ball with a fierce header, nearly crumpling her in the midair challenge. His raw pride was summarily replaced with regret. Did he hurt her? Did he bring up traumatizing memories of her head injury?

  Lainey accepted the hand he reached out to her, pulled herself to her feet, and dusted the mud and grass off her shorts. The sparkle in her eye and wicked smile were still there.

  For the next hour and a half, Gabe and Lainey led their respective teams in one of the liveliest and most entertaining and competitive games he’d ever played. Apparently the mishmash of Surge and Falcons, which was intended to foster sportsmanship and a positive respect for the gender differences for their fans, did not diminish the fighting spirit in anyone. Everything was going so well, he almost forgot about the bloody curse.

  The score was 2–1 for Lainey’s side, with about twenty minutes left. Gabe sent a long pass slicing through the midfield to Jaime, who was making a phenomenal run to the corner. She picked up the ball without breaking her stride, driving toward the box. She blew past the Falcons midfielder on the left flank. Johnny cut back to help his flailing defense, and went in for a tackle. It was a clean contact, but Jaime, who had momentum on her side, managed to push past Johnny’s outstretched foot. Excitement swelled in Gabe’s heart. This was a lucky run, and nothing would get in her way . . .

  Jaime stumbled a half step after Johnny’s tackle. She cried out and went down hard, clutching her right leg.

  Johnny jogged to Gabe, a look of horror in his eyes. “I didn’t mean to hurt her! I swear it was a clean tackle.”

  Gabe put his hand on Johnny’s shoulder. “I know, I saw. It wasn’t your fault.” He knew his leadership meant a lot to the younger player.

  Alex Martinez, who’d been assigned as the physiotherapist on call that day, jogged out to Jaime on the ground. Gabe breathed a sigh of relief. Alex was the man he most trusted with his limbs and could work miracles on anyone. Before he even reached her, Jaime jumped up to her feet and bolted down the field.

  “I’m fine! I’m fine! I’m fine!” she yelled as she ran away from Alex. Even with a limp, she was wicked fast. However, Alex wasn’t much of a slouch, either. To the crowd’s amusement, he chased her around the field, keeping stride with her feints and evasions.

  Gabe laughed. “I think she’ll survive, Johnny.” Who would’ve guessed the feisty Canadian was deathly afraid of a little physiotherapy? Alex eventually caught up with her and flung her fireman-style over his shoulder and carried her off the field while she pounded on his back and whined.

  Once a substitute player made it onto the field, the ref blew the whistle and the ball was in play. They rallied back and forth, each player giving everything they could until Gabe’s team finally snuck another goal past Dunkers before the final whistle blew.

  They were going to sudden-death overtime. Adrenaline pounded through his veins. The thrill of victory was almost in his grasp. Just one more goal and the Battle would be over. All he had to do was keep his team in formation and hold off the counterattacks, and victory would be his. The teams regrouped on their respective side for the kickoff. Lainey tapped the ball to Aiden, who took off straight down the field, weaving through Gabe’s team with quick give-and-goes just as before. This time, he was ready
.

  He moved to cover Lainey as she cut toward the net. Aiden’s sharp pass was intercepted by another defender, but it rebounded awkwardly into her path. Gabe launched himself in her direction, just as Lainey went in for a one-touch shot. The full force of their bodies collided just as a long, shrill whistle filled the air. The crowd roared. Whether the fans’ reaction was because Lainey scored or because Joe saved, Gabe didn’t know. All he could focus on was not crushing the woman beneath him as they tumbled along the ground.

  They came to a rough stop, shreds of their skin from their knees and elbows left feet behind on the slick, razor-sharp turf. Gabe braced his elbows next to her head and looked down at her. The world around them faded to the background in this perfect moment. Her chin was slicked with mud, wisps of frizzy hair surrounded her face like a halo, and her entire face was redder than a tomato from the exertion.

  “Are you planning to get up soon?” she asked. Her smile made him the happiest man in the world.

  “Can’t,” he grunted.

  Her smile vanished, and her brows furrowed. “What’s wrong? Oh god, is it your knee? Are you okay?”

  He chuckled and kissed her lightly on the nose. “My knee’s fine. This is the problem.” He ground his hips against her, letting the full weight of his inopportune erection settle on her.

  Lainey’s eyes almost bugged out of her head, and her red cheeks deepened to a near purple. “Oh! Um . . . think about Brussels sprouts. Shower mildew. Taxidermy!”

  It took him a moment to figure out what she was doing, but once he caught on, he laughed harder. “Okay, that worked.” He started to get to his feet. Their teammates were creeping toward them, clearly wondering if there was a problem. No doubt, the fans were probably starting to worry if he was okay.

  He helped Lainey up, then waved reassuringly to the crowd. It was the perfect moment.

  He tugged Lainey’s hand just as she began to walk away and whispered in her ear, “I’m in love with you, Lainey Lukas.” He didn’t care whether she felt the same way, all he knew was that it felt damn good to finally say it.

  She gasped, so quietly he almost didn’t notice it. Then she turned toward him and smiled warmly. “Yeah? Good thing, ’cause I just kicked your butt.” She pointed at the ball languishing at the back of the net.

  “Nah. I’m pretty sure I won,” he said, pulling her into a hug.

  She glanced up at him. “How is that?”

  “I’ve got a beautiful woman in my arms, and I made it through a game at Cricket Field without succumbing to the curse.” Feeling more alive and optimistic than ever before, he tilted his head impulsively and kissed her. The wolf whistles and cheers from his teammates only encouraged him to deepen the kiss.

  “Hey, Gabe,” Lainey said when he finally let her up for air. “How about I take you out to dinner next week as a consolation prize?”

  “You know the regular season starts next week, right?”

  “I know. But I’m in love with you, too. What do you say, Havelak? Be my boyfriend for more than three weeks?”

  It felt like his heart exploded. “For you, anything.”

  epilogue

  THREE MONTHS INTO THE season, the Falcons were still averaging more than five thousand loyal fans every home game, sticking with them through all the ups and downs of an amazing first season. Lainey was determined to put on a good show for them. That meant not losing to a team wearing black-and-white zebra stripes. They were tied 2–2 with Miami, but there were still fifteen minutes left in the game to turn things around.

  She stepped up to the ball at half and glanced back at her teammates while waiting for the ref to blow the whistle. Every one of them wore the same fierce expression on their face. We can do this, she thought as she brushed the loose wisps of hair past her ears.

  The whistle blew, and Lainey tapped the ball to Jo. They worked a few rapid-paced give-and-go passes through the midfield until Lainey saw her break. She passed to Alyssa, who could thread the ball through the smallest hole in the defense. Alyssa lobbed it deep to the corner where Jaime, who could smell weakness a mile away, was already dashing ahead for the counterattack. Lainey pushed off on her heels and ran, digging into every reserve of speed and energy in her muscles as she propelled herself forward. The ball sailed in a high cross above the defense at the edge of the box. Almost there . . . Almost.

  Unmarked, Lainey sprang into the air for a header, snapping her core muscles to harness the kinetic power of the cross and redirect the ball toward the net.

  She landed hard on the ground, scraping her knee and jarring her elbow. She ignored the pain and zeroed in on the location of the ball.

  They’d just pulled ahead 3–2.

  The crowd’s roars continued until the final whistle blew. The Falcons’ defense held off the brutal stream of offensive attacks by the Zebras to hold on to the lead.

  Lainey waved to the crowds a split second before her teammates tackled her in celebration. Together they were unstoppable, and she had no doubt that in another three months they’d be celebrating the inaugural American Women’s Soccer League championship.

  The only thing that would make the moment better would be if Gabe had been here to witness it in person. The Surge had a match in Atlanta tomorrow, which meant her boyfriend would be on a flight today. Her boyfriend. God, she loved calling him that. Not that a relationship between two professional athletes was easy. There were a lot of nights where she would give anything to be in his arms, feeling his warm breath against her cheek, rather than hearing his voice through the phone. But all that time apart made their reunions even more special. Maybe she didn’t have it all in life, but it was as damn near close as anyone could ever get.

  She lined up with her teammates to shake the Miami players’ hands, then led them on a postgame cooldown run around the field. As soon as she rounded the corner, she stopped dead on the spot and sucked in a breath.

  “Ouch,” Jaime said, bumping into her back.

  “Gabe’s here,” she whispered. She would recognize his strong shoulders and glacier-blue eyes a mile away, and yet her brain could not compute the image of him leaning against the clear fiberglass rain cover of the players’ bench. He wasn’t supposed to be here.

  “And that turned you into a gargoyle?”

  “Why is he here?”

  “Go ask him, silly.” Jaime shoved her in his direction. “I’ll finish leading the cooldown.”

  Lainey broke away from her teammates and jogged to Gabe. His mouth split into a smile that made her heart backflip as she approached. “Aren’t you supposed to be in Atlanta right now?”

  “I’d rather be here watching you kick ass.” He pulled her in for a quick but steamy kiss. “Nice goal, by the way.”

  “And Coach Heidermann is okay with you missing your flight?”

  “He’s letting me catch a later one. He agreed it was more important for you to hear the news from me.”

  Her heart skipped a beat. “What?”

  “I’m officially retiring at the end of the season. The announcement goes public tomorrow.”

  It was as though she’d forgotten how to breathe. She stood there, wrapped in his embrace, and stared at him, too dumbfounded for words. “What are you going to do if you aren’t playing anymore?”

  “You’re looking at the new Evergreen High School varsity girls’ soccer coach.” Pride filled his voice. “There was an opening, and it just so happened I’m a pretty good fit for the job. It also means I can run my soccer camps full-time in the summer, maybe even expand them.”

  “But—”

  He settled a finger over her lips, shushing her. “I know what you’re going to say. This is what I want. I won’t regret it. Being with you made me realize what I really want out of my life. The truth is, my knee isn’t going to hold out for another season, and there is so much more I want to do with my life. I wan
t to end my career on a high note, not like some washed-out has-been. You make me happier than another season with the Surge.”

  “But I would never make you choose between me and soccer.”

  He kissed her temple. “I know. Go back and finish the rest of your cooldown. Your teammates are waiting for you.”

  “A-Are you sure?”

  He brushed his lips against hers, spun her around, and sent her off with a pat on the butt. “I’ll be right here when you’re done.”

  The postgame wrap-up seemed to drag on forever. And when she’d finally finished up with the press and snuck in a shower, Gabe was waiting for her outside of the locker room.

  “Come on, I have one more surprise for you,” he said when she made her way back to him.

  “You’ve already given me everything I could ever hope for. What else is there?”

  He grabbed her hand and led her toward the interior of Chester Stadium. “You’ll see. I want to give it to you in private. Now, there’s this little matter of a bet we need to settle . . .”

  Lainey paused, looking at him curiously. “What do you mean?”

  “You won the Battle of the Sexes.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his car keys.

  Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “Your Porsche? You’re giving it to me? I was never really serious about that bet.”

  He shook his head. “I’m not actually giving it to you. Technically, by law in Washington State, a wife is entitled to half her spouse’s property.”

  Her heart pounded while her brain tried to process what he just said. He knelt to the ground and reached into his pocket once more, this time producing a ring. “What do you say, Lukas? Will you make me the happiest man on earth?”

  The happy tears that had been threatening to spill from the moment she saw him standing on the field finally leaked out. “Yes!”