Penalty Box: A Second Chance Sports Romance (Love in the Arena Book 1)

by Kayla Tirrell

The guys took turns taking shots on goal. Finn was running back and forth in the goalie box blocking them one after another. The guy never slacked, even during warm up. When Silas’ turn came, he was sure that Finn became even more determined not to let the ball pass.

  This went on for another ten minutes as fans continued to fill the stands. When the buzzer went off, Silas gave the crowd, mostly a sea of green and black shirts, one last glance before jogging off the field with the rest of the team.

  They all hurried to change into their kits, and Coach was giving them one last pep talk before the announcer started calling them out onto the field.

  “This is our game. We’re going to get the win tonight.”

  “Yeah,” the guys all answered in unison.

  “We’re going to send Maryland back home with the L.”

  Everyone started cheering and clapping. “Yeah.”

  “Let’s go get ’em.”

  One last cheer went through the room as they all filed out once again. This time it was different. Everyone was bouncing on the balls of their feet as they waited to be called, whether it was pure excitement, to keep their muscles warm, or a combination of both, it didn’t matter. This was it.

  Silas’ heart raced as he listened to his teammates get called out one-by-one. The crowd was going wild, and he got even more pumped waiting for his turn. The lights in the arena were low, and there was a spotlight on the place where all the players entered the field.

  “On offense, number thirty-two, Silas Jenkins!”

  Silas jogged out to meet his teammates. Like the last game, he looked to the floor seats next to the home bench to see if Miriam was there yet. To his surprise, she was. Harris was next to her, of course. And Allie had decided to grace the arena with her presence two games in a row. Only this time, it was to watch the game beside Miriam.

  He didn’t let Miriam’s little bodyguards deter him. He still wanted to acknowledge Miriam—do something that would make it obvious that he was looking for her. At the last game, he’d sent her a wink, and it had gone terribly. This time, he tried a different approach. He gave her a tentative smile.

  Miriam must have liked it much better. She smiled back and gave him a little wave, which Allie immediately repaid with a sharp jab with her elbow. Silas chuckled. Miriam’s smile grew.

  Did that mean he was making progress?

  He couldn’t stop to think about it too much. They were a short rendition of the National Anthem away from kickoff, and he needed to make sure he played hard like the last game. Silas gave Miriam one more smile before he pushed back his shoulders and tried to clear his mind.

  The song finished and the lights came back on. Everyone but the refs and the starting lineup for both teams left the field. The whistle blew, and the game started.

  Maryland got the kickoff, and Silas tried to get possession of the ball but didn’t have any luck as one player passed the ball to another. The players moved into the Storm’s side of the field. Silas knew Coach was going to have a coronary if it stayed there for very long since this team was known to have a weak offense. It made the Storm look bad.

  Silas stayed on his assigned player while he watched Cardosa take the ball from one of Maryland’s guys. He kicked it back to Finn, who quickly scanned upfield looking for a target and kicked it to Silas. Silas got the ball and dribbled it upfield, passing two of Maryland’s guys. He took a shot...blocked.

  The other team’s keeper threw the ball across the field and back into the Storm’s defensive zone. Grant jumped up and hit the ball with his head. That sent it back toward the Moons’ end. Silas got it and dribbled it upfield.

  He was so close to the goal and wanted to take a shot, but there wasn’t a clear opening. He saw Cardosa was open and passed it to him. Cardosa took the shot, and the ball went over the keeper’s shoulder into the back of the net.

  “Go-oal!”

  Celebratory music played as the lights dimmed. Spotlights went over the crowd and then settled onto the huddle of Storm players in the middle of the field. They wrapped their arms over each other’s shoulders forming a large circle and started jumping in unison singing, “Olé, olé, olé, olé!” the entire time.

  They had to be broken apart so that game play could continue. Silas realized after the fact that the guy to his left had been Grant—and he hadn’t made some terrible remark either. Coach quickly pulled Silas and Cardosa out before play started up again and replaced them with Barros and Vinny.

  Silas entered his team’s box and took a quick swig from his water bottle before he leaned his arms on the short wall between them and the field. He watched as his teammates passed the ball back and forth in an effort to get it upfield.

  “Hey,” Miriam said.

  Silas pulled his eyes from the game happening only a couple of feet away from him and turned to face Miriam, who had made her way to the side of the box next to the bench. Now she was only a couple feet away. It was an easy decision to step away from the field and walk toward the back of the box. Miriam met him on the other side.

  “That was a good play.”

  “Thanks.” He smiled. “Cardosa did a great job of getting it past their keeper.”

  “And you knew you needed to pass it to someone else.” She paused and bit her bottom lip. “I could tell you wanted that goal.”

  Silas’ heart swelled that Miriam knew him so well.

  “There’ll be others.”

  She rested her hands on the barrier between the home bench and the box seats. “I know.”

  Silas’ eyes went to her hands. He’d made the mistake of moving too fast already. The voice inside his head was telling him to stop. He ignored it and put his hand next to hers anyway, barely brushing his fingers against hers as he did so. “I’m really glad you came tonight.”

  Miriam closed her eyes. “I am too.”

  Silas moved his hand closer and rubbed his thumb over the top of her hand. “Thank you for coming.”

  “You’re welcome.” She opened her eyes and jerked her head toward the other players. “You should probably go stand with the rest of the team.”

  No, I should stay here with you.

  She smiled like she could hear his thoughts. “Have a good rest of the game.” Then she turned and walked to the other side of her box to stand with Harris and Allie. Allie immediately started speaking to her, and while Silas couldn’t hear the words being said, it was obvious that Allie was telling her what she thought about Miriam talking to Silas.

  Meanwhile, Harris’ eyes went from Silas to Miriam and back again. His brows were furrowed, and his lips pursed. If there’d been any question before, there wasn’t anymore. Harris had a thing for Miriam, and Silas was pretty sure he’d just lost a fan with that little convo.

  It was totally worth it though.

  Silas returned to his spot in the front of the box and leaned against the board once more. Maryland took a shot that Finn easily blocked, and the ball moved up and down the field as both teams fought to get—and keep—possession.

  The game continued with both teams scoring two more goals before the half.

  When the team retreated to the locker room, Coach let them know how unhappy he was that the game was so close. He paced in front of the players, calling them each out by name.

  “Bastian, your footwork was sloppy. Grant, you need to take more shots on goal. Finn, you got lucky on their shot that hit the bars.” He paused and looked at Silas. “I seriously can’t believe I’m having to say this to you, but you know better than to flirt with Miriam during the game. What if I needed you out on the field?”

  Silas lifted his hands. “You’d literally just called me off. It was fine.”

  Murmuring went through the locker room, and Silas realized his mistake. He hadn’t denied flirting with Miriam, he’d justified it. There was sure to be a reckoning with Finn when the game was over.

  Coach shook his head and put his hands on his hips. “I don’t care if you think it’s okay or not. Don’t let it
happen again.”

  He answered with a “yes, sir” under his breath and listened as Coach launched into the game plan for the second half. He drew different plans on the whiteboard and reminded everyone of their marks.

  “I don’t want to see Maryland get another goal. Do you understand?”

  A round of yeses echoed off the walls of the locker room, and with a few more pats on backs and cheering, the team went back out to the arena.

  Miriam gave Silas a small smile as he walked by her seat to the home bench. While he waited for the halftime show—some local dance company—to finish their routine, Silas couldn’t tear his eyes away from Miriam.

  If he wasn’t allowed to talk to her for the next thirty minutes of gameplay, which would end up taking close to an hour to finish, he wanted to drink her in as much as possible. She wasn’t looking at him, her eyes had gone to the dancers on the field, and she and Allie were involved in a heated conversation.

  Harris lingered on the other side of Miriam, clearly listening, but not contributing to said conversation.

  “Silas.”

  His head snapped toward the sound of his coach’s voice.

  “I’m serious when I say you’d better not let Miriam become a distraction.” He had his arms crossed and was frowning. “We did this show and dance last time you played for the Storm. I’m not about to watch you get distracted again.”

  “Get distracted again?” Silas took a step toward Coach. “I never let Miriam keep me from doing my best out there. I always kept it professional.”

  He pressed his lips together. “Just make sure you keep it that way.”

  Silas nodded, but he wasn’t sure that he could follow through.

  Keeping things professional and not letting Miriam distract him had been part of the problem when they’d dated two years ago. If Silas had spent a little more time getting distracted by a future with Miriam, instead of worrying about getting the most goals of the season, he might not have made the mistakes he had.

  The dancers finished up and waved at the crowd. When they did, the coaches on both teams sent their players out on the field.

  Finn jogged to the goalie box as Silas and four other guys found their spots. They’d no sooner got out when the referee blew his whistle, and the ball was in play once more. Coach kept Silas in for most of the third quarter, and somehow he only allowed his eyes to stray to Miriam when he made his first goal of the night about halfway through.

  Like before, she smiled back at him, and the thought of thawing the cool exterior she’d had with him for the last couple of weeks warmed him all the way down to his bones. But once the celebrations were over, his focus went back to the game.

  Fixing things with Miriam and his teammates was going to force him to find a balance. One that involved showing the guys on the Storm that he was committed to the sport and the team, while simultaneously showing Miriam that he was not the same guy who’d put soccer above relationships.

  It’s not going to be easy, he thought, as he drove the ball upfield. He took a shot and made another goal. But he realized, as he looked back at Miriam who was smiling in his direction, it would be worth it.

  Miriam

  The only person who was able to show up to Silas’ grand idea of reading in schools was Silas—not that Miriam was completely broken up about it.

  She’d heard through the grapevine—okay, through Finn—that Silas had been called out in the locker room for flirting with her. Allie had accused Miriam of the same thing. Being solo with Silas would give her an opportunity to clear the air with Silas without an audience.

  Miriam would explain that she didn’t mean anything with her comment about the game. As a fan and employee of the Storm, she was allowed to be invested. How many times had she gushed about Finn blocking an onslaught of shots from another team? She cheered loudly with everyone else when Barros made that goal with a bicycle kick. It didn’t mean that she was secretly in love with either of those players.

  Of course, she’d never dated any of the other players.

  And none of them looked nearly as good making those plays as Silas.

  Miriam shook her head. Nope, she was not going to think about the way Silas’ butt looked in his kits, and she wasn’t going to admit that she kept sneaking glances at him while he was sitting in the home bench area, wishing she could find an excuse to touch him again.

  She wiped her hands on the front of her Storm-green dress as she waited in the school’s front office for Silas to arrive. He wasn’t technically late, but every minute spent waiting made Miriam more anxious about seeing him again. The more she tried to calm her heart, the more it wanted to burst from her chest.

  The bell on the front door chimed, and Miriam turned to see Silas standing in front of her carrying a small stack of picture books. He smiled as his eyes traveled over her dress and back to her face. He took a step forward and leaned in so that his mouth was only inches from her ear. “You look gorgeous.”

  Miriam ducked her head to hide her blush. Did he know the effect he still had on her?

  “So do you,” she said quietly before they signed in with the administration.

  And man, did he look good. Silas was wearing a Storm polo and a pair of khakis. His hair was wet and there wasn’t even a hint of a five o’clock shadow on his face. She forced her mind to ignore the fact that he’d just showered, and instead focused on the fact that he was taking this outreach event seriously by dressing up and bringing his own books.

  The two got their passes to be on school grounds, and one of the secretaries walked them to a second grade classroom. Silas held the door open for the two women, and once he followed them into the hall, he took his place next to Miriam.

  Walking next to him, she could smell his woodsy aftershave. The scent mixed with his strong form next to her, made the scene feel all too familiar. She had to ball her hands in fists beside her to keep them from reaching out to grab him.

  One school trip to read to children didn’t undo the last two years. Silas had left her. He’d broken up with her at his first shot at playing for a winning team. And just because her body wanted to fall back into old routines, didn’t mean that she should.

  The young woman led them through the halls, constantly looking back to make sure Miriam and Silas were still following. Eventually, she stopped and peered through the small window on the door. “This is Mrs. Johnson’s room. She’s expecting you, but it looks like she’s in the middle of a lesson.” She looked down at her watch. “I need to return to the office, so if you’ll just wait in the hall, she’ll call you in when she’s ready.”

  Miriam nodded. “Thanks again.”

  “Of course.” She smiled tightly at Miriam and then sent an appreciative glance at Silas. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

  “I think we’re good,” he said, taking a side step toward Miriam. His arm brushed against hers. “But thanks.”

  The secretary’s smile fell as her eyes went to wear Silas and Miriam arms touched. She nodded and said, “Mrs. Johnson should be letting you in soon.” Then she turned and walked back in the direction they’d all just come.

  Once she was out of sight, Miriam took a step back and put some distance between her and Silas. She cleared her throat and jerked her chin at the books. “So, what did you bring?”

  Silas looked down at the stack in his hands and started reading the titles. They were all silly books that Miriam was sure the kids would enjoy. When he’d gone through them all, he looked up at her. “Do you want to take turns reading?”

  She laughed. “They don’t want to hear a community outreach manager read. They want the professional athlete.”

  “But you’re just as important to the team.” His face was serious.

  How many times had Silas said those exact words to her? He always made her feel like she was vital to the Storm—vital to Silas. Those words always made her feel important, now Miriam didn’t know how to respond.

  Thankfully the door to
the class swung open, and Mrs. Johnson took that moment to invite them into her room. Two dozen children were sitting on a colorful carpet in the middle of the room as Miriam followed Silas inside.

  “Class, this is Silas Jenkins. He’s a professional soccer player right here in Waterfront.” The kids looked up at Silas with wide eyes and awestruck smiles. “He’s come visit us today to tell us a little bit about his team and to read to you. Isn’t that nice?”

  The kids responded with shy yeses and nods.

  “Mr. Jenkins, I’ll let you take it away.” Mrs. Johnson clapped loudly as Silas stood in front of the kids.

  When the teacher was sure the class’ attention was focused on their guest, she retreated to her desk and started scribbling on papers with a red pen.

  Silas looked between Miriam and the teacher who had already busied herself with grading papers. “I’m really excited to be here to tell you more about the Storm. But before I do that, I’d like to introduce you to my special friend, Miriam Taylor.” He held his hand out at Miriam.

  She forced a smile at his introduction. At most meet and greets, she melted into the background, allowing the players to shine. She was used to it. She was happy with it. But Silas must have felt she was somehow slighted because he started talking about how important a community outreach manager was to the team.

  “I get to play soccer for my job. That sounds like a lot of fun, right?”

  The kids all cheered.

  “Well, that job wouldn’t even be possible without Miriam. She’s the one who goes out into the community, to places like your school, and tells people about the Storm. She’s got one of the most important jobs on the whole team because she’s the one who makes sure that the fans are in the stands.”

  A boy in the back raised his hand.

  Silas pointed at him. “Yes?”

  “But nobody wants to go if there aren’t players to watch.”

  Miriam felt the corners of her mouth lift into a small smile. Silas thought he was going to go into a classroom of seven- and eight-year-olds and teach them about the nuances of being part of a professional sports organization, and this little boy was schooling him. She watched Silas eagerly to see his response.