McKensie’s eyebrows lowered. “Is she your girlfriend or something?”
He wished, and almost said yes, but Silas also knew that with his luck it would somehow make it back to Miriam. That was the last thing he needed while he was trying to win her back. He let out a long breath. “It’s complicated.”
The sly smile returned to McKensie’s face. “Well, if you ever decide that you want something that’s less...complicated, let me know. We could go out sometime.”
She wasn’t subtle, that was for sure. And even though Silas wasn’t interested in anyone but Miriam, he still felt his cheeks warm at McKensie’s obvious interest. It didn’t matter how many times he was hit on, his heart had been lost three years ago when he’d seen Miriam smile for the first time. “I’d better get back inside and see if I can get a few more people interested in coming to our home opener.”
McKensie held up the flyer with the season’s schedule. “Well, you know I’ll be there.”
Silas forced a smile, eager to get inside. “And we really appreciate your support.”
He turned and started back toward the store, when he saw Vinny and Grant walking toward him, both wearing matching Storm hoodies—and frowns.
Grant pressed his lips together and shook his head. “You know, I thought maybe the veteran players on the team were jealous of your success with the Wolves, and that was why they didn’t trust you. But then you lied about the event getting pushed back, and now I get it.”
Silas’ stomach dropped. “It’s not like that.”
Vinny stepped toward him and shoved a finger against Silas’ chest. “You’re trying to make us look bad. And you know what? The joke’s on you because now you just look desperate.” He pulled his hand back. “Did you choose to leave the Wolves? Or were they thrilled when the contract was up, and they could drop your sorry—”
“They didn’t drop me.”
Grant rolled his eyes. “I guess we’ll see when the season starts. But for now, Vinny and I are late for our first meet and greet. So we’re heading inside.”
Vinny didn’t move right away. His angry eyes bore into Silas with a threat of violence. Silas worried Vinny was going to go off on him in the middle of the parking lot, and he didn’t want to think about what kind of damage that would do to the team’s image. Thankfully, he turned and walked with Grant inside the store.
Silas gave them a small head start and took a deep breath. He’d just wanted some time alone with Miriam, but these new guys didn’t know his history with her. Of course, Grant and Vinny would think he’d done it to make them look bad.
Silas had been a part of the Storm for barely over a week and was already making a big impression—just not the one he had hoped.
When he finally made it inside, Miriam was talking to Vinny and Grant. She was smiling. They were smiling. But even Silas could see that everyone was faking their cheerful attitudes.
“So, I think the best thing to do right now is to walk around the store and pass some of these BOGO cards out to shoppers. Tell them it’s good for any game, including the home opener.”
Vinny and Grant both took their stacks. “Anything else?”
“Try to act excited. Tell them that there will be giveaways before the game. Anything to get more people in the door.”
They nodded, and with a glare in Silas’ direction, they both started walking toward the back of the store.
Once they were gone, Miriam spoke without looking at Silas. “I thought I told you that I didn’t need you today. You can go home. Go hang out with McKensie.”
The way she spat the other woman’s name gave Silas an inkling of hope. If she was jealous of him talking to McKensie, maybe she still felt something deep down. Of course, it could also be a deep-seated hatred that would make anything she said sound angry.
Silas tried his best to give her a carefree smile, but everything was going wrong. “Well, I’m already here. Maybe I can stick around the table with you in case anyone comes by.”
Miriam sighed. “Fine. Do whatever you want. You always have.”
Yeah, that sounded much more like hatred than jealousy.
Silas grabbed some more flyers with the season schedule on them while Miriam started straightening already straight stacks of cards. Then she rearranged the plastic Storm cups into a formation that looked oddly familiar to the one it had already been in. All the while, she kept her head low, and her gaze averted from Silas.
As customers walked out, Silas tried to hand them flyers. Some would take them, but by the way they crumpled them and tossed them in their shopping bags without a second glance, Silas knew they wouldn’t be coming to any of the games. Others walked by, avoiding eye contact like Scrooge racing past a Salvation Army bell ringer at Christmas.
It was discouraging. That was, until a guy walked over to the table with a big grin on his face. “Silas Jenkins.”
Silas let out a sigh of relief. Finally, something was going right. Not only did someone recognize him, they seemed genuinely happy to see him. Silas stuck out his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
The man didn’t take it and shook his head. Now that Silas got a better look, he could see that the man’s grin—which was still plastered to his face—was as fake as everyone else’s that afternoon. “I can’t believe you’re back.”
Silas nodded, pretending he didn’t feel the awkwardness that hung in the air. “I’m happy to be playing for the Storm again.”
“Are you?” The man’s brows lowered. “Or are you just buying time until another team shows interest? Maybe the EPL or the Men’s National Team?”
Those had once been Silas’ dreams. There was a time when he would have done anything to be signed to the English Premier League or the Men’s National Team. Not anymore. “Of course not. I bleed green and black.”
There was a small gasp from behind him—Miriam—and Silas knew he’d said the wrong thing.
“Funny you should say those exact words.” The man pulled out his phone and tapped the screen. He then slammed the phone on the table.
Silas looked down at it, though he couldn’t read the tiny words on the screen.
“Go ahead, pick it up,” the man said.
Silas reluctantly picked up the phone. Displayed was an article about the Florida Storm from a couple of years ago. Silas vaguely remembered when someone from the paper had come out and interviewed the players as they were training for the upcoming season. Silas’ eyes skimmed until he came across a quote: “I bleed green and black.”
Bile rose in his throat. He’d completely forgotten he’d spoken those words just days before the GM of the Wolves had reached out about playing for him. After that, it was a flurry of excitement and difficult choices.
This man hadn’t forgotten what Silas had said. And if the small sound that had come from Miriam was any indication, she hadn’t either. Silas had plenty of excuses on the tip of his tongue, but he knew that this man didn’t want to hear them. He put out his hands. “I hope you’ll give me a chance to show you what I’m made of.”
The man snorted. “Oh, I think I already know what you’re made of. If my kids didn’t love Bastian Ramirez so much, I’d boycott the entire team on principle.”
Wow. This was one angry fan.
Silas gave him a tight smile. “Well, we appreciate your support.”
The man rolled his eyes and mumbled something under his breath as he snatched his phone, and a schedule, from Silas.
Once he was gone, Silas felt his shoulders relax. “Well, that was awkward.” He spun around to face Miriam, hoping to find some common ground with that encounter. She didn’t share his frustration or anxiety. Instead, she looked at him with disappointment before she grabbed a stack of swag and walked off.
Silas was all alone. Things weren’t going right at all. Everyone hated him, and he was beginning to think it would have been better for everyone if he’d never returned.
Later that day, Silas went to Big Results for a solo workout. He needed to
do something to get all the anxious energy out of his system. So he put on an upbeat playlist, put on his headphones, and started in the cardio room.
Though the field was much smaller in arena soccer, it was a much faster paced game. If Silas wanted to be the best forward on the team, he’d need to be able to run back and forth between the two opposing goals without getting winded.
He started the treadmill and increased the speed until he was jogging at a comfortable rate. Once he found his groove, his mind wandered back to Miriam.
She’d looked beautiful that afternoon, possibly even more so than when he’d first seen her on the field only a few days ago. And that was an accomplishment, considering he’d lost all rational thought when he’d seen her for the first time in two years.
If only she’d been as happy to see him.
Not that Silas blamed her for being angry. Miriam had every right after Silas’ breakup. She didn’t know it, but he’d made the decision to break things off quickly for both their sakes. It had been the hardest thing he’d ever done, to pretend like he’d stopped caring. But he knew if he’d shown even the slightest inkling that he wanted to continue dating her, they would have pushed through a long-distance thing.
Silas had seen too many relationships destroyed by distance. A lot of times it was an issue of couples growing apart when they had states between them. Others, one person ended up resenting the other for ‘tying them down.’
Silas didn’t want that for them.
He knew he’d love Miriam forever, even though they’d barely been dating eight months when he signed for the Wolves. So he broke up with her to save them both the heartache. That, of course, had been insanity. As soon as he’d spoken the words that he could never take back, he’d realized it was absolutely the wrong decision. It was too late. The contract was signed, the words could never be unheard, and in the end, Miriam hated him anyway.
Not that he should have expected anything else.
Silas turned the speed up on the treadmill until he was practically sprinting. His feet hit the rubber mat hard as his stride became punishing. Sweat seeped from every pore, and his muscles burned the longer he continued.
He didn’t stop until he literally couldn’t put one foot in front of the other anymore.
He slowed the speed on the machine until it stopped and lifted his shirt to wipe his face.
“Wow,” said a feminine voice. “That’s impressive.”
Silas pulled his clothing back down and saw a woman standing next to him. Her eyes lingered where his abs had just been on display.
“Thanks,” he mumbled. Thoughts of Miriam still swirled in his mind as he stepped off the treadmill. He walked toward the weight room in hopes of having better luck clearing his head in there.
The woman followed him. “Running from your demons?”
“Something like that.” He grabbed some barbells and started doing bicep curls in front of one of the mirrors on the wall. Silas tried to avert his eyes from where the woman stood behind him and focused on keeping his movements smooth and controlled.
“Do you work out here often?”
Silas closed his eyes and let out a long exhale as he set the weights down and turned to face the persistent woman. “Look, I’m not really in the mood to talk.”
A corner of her mouth lifted. “Really? I thought you were a social butterfly.”
“What do you want?”
“I’m Jessica, one of the personal trainers here.”
He gave her outfit a skeptical look. He thought all the trainers at this gym had to wear uniforms, and she was wearing a sports bra and leggings that weren’t from Big Results.
As if reading his mind, Jessica responded. “It’s my day off. I’m here running through a potential program I’m putting together and looking for a guinea pig.”
Silas lowered his brows. “You’re not hitting on me.”
Jessica barked out a laugh. “Aren’t you the arrogant one? No, I’m not hitting on you. I’m happily married.” She lifted her left hand and wiggled her fingers.
Silas felt his cheeks warm and hoped that he could pass it off as part of working out hard. It was pretty conceited to think every girl was hoping to hook up, but after McKensie in the parking lot earlier this afternoon, Silas was on high alert. “Ok. So, what’s the catch?”
Jessica lifted a shoulder. “There isn’t one. I’m just a little sadistic and like watching people suffer.”
Silas liked this woman. And he could use a friend right now. Even if she was a sadistic trainer. “How can I say no to hard sell like that?”
Jessica laughed again, and they spent a few minutes finding a time that worked for both of them. When they were done exchanging information, Jessica reached out and slapped his shoulder. “See you tomorrow, pretty boy.”
Silas groaned at the nickname she gave him, but he knew it could be worse.
“And, Silas?”
“Yeah?”
“I hope you’re prepared to bring it, because I plan to push you to your limits.”
Miriam
Thankfully, Miriam hadn’t seen Silas since the disastrous meet and greet at The Sports Emporium. That didn’t mean that the past week had been easy though. She was busy trying to schedule more community outreach events but was coming up dry every single time.
Greg was putting pressure on Miriam to come up with something soon, but it felt like an impossible task. Though she wasn’t sure if there was an actual issue of getting different sponsors to agree to the same dates, or if she was subconsciously sabotaging herself to avoid the possibility of seeing Silas again.
Not that there’d be any avoiding him tonight. It was the home opener, and it was all hands on deck.
“You okay?” Harris asked Miriam as they traveled the perimeter of the arena. It was an area that all the team sponsors had an opportunity to set up tables with more information about their companies. Everyone who came in would see them as they walked to their seats. It was a small perk for supporting the Storm. Miriam and Harris’ responsibility was to make sure everyone was ready to go and then get back to their own table before the arena doors opened.
Miriam shrugged and picked up a flyer from one of the tables they passed. “Yeah, why?”
“Well, you’ve asked the people at Sunshine Bank three times if they need anything.”
Miriam grimaced. “I have?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so distracted.” He paused. “Ever since Silas signed, you’ve been in another world.”
Miriam’s feet stopped, and she turned to face Harris. “Wait. What have you heard?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. And that’s the problem. You’ve been acting super weird the past two weeks. You haven’t responded to any of my texts. What’s going on?”
She bit her bottom lip. “I’ve just been super busy.”
Harris crossed his arms across his chest.
“Fine. I have a history with Silas that I don’t really want to go into. And him being here is really messing with my head.”
“Wait.” His eyes went wide. “You used to date Silas Jenkins.”
Miriam couldn’t believe Harris still hadn’t heard about it, especially now that Silas was back. Apparently ‘her’ boys weren’t as gossipy as they used to be. She felt a blush creep up her neck and fought the urge to cover her face in her hands. “He was just Silas to me. And yeah, I used to date him. That is, until he broke up with me and left for Wisconsin.”
Harris took a step forward. “I wish I would have known.”
“Why?”
A corner of his mouth lifted. “Well, for one, I might have stopped fanboying over your ex-boyfriend every opportunity I got.”
A giggle bubbled up in Miriam’s throat.
Harris’ smile grew. “See? This would have been helpful information to have.”
Miriam started walking again. “Yeah. I guess it was nice having one person not know about the drama. It’s so embarrassing.”
“You ha
ve nothing to be embarrassed about. Silas Jenkins is an amazing soccer player.”
Miriam gave him some major side eye.
“But he was an idiot to break up with you. He’s the one who should be embarrassed.”
The blush from her neck moved up to her cheeks. “Thanks.”
“And if you need me to do anything to make things easier, let me know.”
She was tempted to ask Harris to cover all her duties for the rest of the evening, so she could dip out and avoid Silas completely. But that was childish, and Allie was supposed to meet her at the game tonight. She shook her head and told him that she would be fine.
They made their way back to their table and the next hour went quickly as they passed out more swag for the Storm fans entering the arena. It was mostly kids who grabbed handfuls of plastic bracelets—most of which would end up in the trash, she was sure—but it was great to see their little faces light up when they realized that everything they had on their table was free.
When the crowds started dying down, she and Harris packed up their things. They would go watch the game with the rest of the office staff in the floor seats, until halftime when they would go back out and fill more little hands with plastic trinkets.
The Storm were playing the Vermont Vipers that night, and Miriam could hear the announcer’s voice blaring over the loudspeakers as he announced their players. She hurried to put away the last of the small squishy soccer balls. When everything was done, she and Harris found their seats in one of the suites set aside for the Storm employees. Office staff and non-uniformed players could sit right next to the field in a suite with only a waist-high board separating them from the action on the field.
They got there just in time for the lights in the arena to dim and the spotlights to start moving across the fans’ seats. The announcer yelled, “Let’s get ready to welcome your Florida Storm!”
Miriam’s heart raced as the players were called one-by-one.
“Number seventy-seven, Vinny Nelson. Number seven, Grant Vaughn.”
Penalty Box: A Second Chance Sports Romance (Love in the Arena Book 1) Page 5