For the Win (14 page)

Before Gabe could gather the courage to ask her out on a proper date or even kiss her good-bye, she handed him the keys and popped out of the car. “If I hurry, I can still make practice on time,” she said, almost to herself as though she'd already forgotten about him.

Gabe watched her jog to her car and drive off. A sharp pang stabbed at his gut. Usually he was the one running off without a single glance backward.

14

The fans can make or break the game. And nothing tops Seattle's sports fans.

—
Gabe Havelak, postgame quote on Channel 7 News

LAINEY PUMPED HER LEGS
with every stride, racing to catch the ball before it rolled out of play. The defender was on her every step, leaning into her shoulder and trying to knock her off balance. She stretched her leg out to angle the ball away from the line just as the defender slammed into her back. Lainey pivoted on her left foot, then cut sharply in the other direction toward the net. Only the goalie stood in her way. She dribbled forward a few paces, positioning herself for the perfect shot. She drew her right leg back to strike.

The next thing she knew, she was facedown in the dirt, the skin on her outer thigh and elbow ripped off from the sharp grass. She could already feel a massive bruise forming at her ankle where the Chicago Boomerangs' defender had just hacked her down. A screeching whistle pierced her eardrum.

God, she loved this game.

Jaime ran to her side and offered her a hand up. Lainey surveyed her position as she rose to her feet. Just a few yards outside the box. She had this.

“You better watch out. These ladies are getting desperate and scared,” Jaime said, pointing to the offending player, who was arguing with the ref over the call.

Lainey smiled. It was exactly how she wanted her competition to feel. She placed the ball on the grass and took her time assessing the angles while the ref whipped out the yellow card and scribbled in her notebook for dramatic effect.

“Hey, check it out.” Jaime pointed to a nearby row of spectators. “You've got a fan club.”

Lainey glanced over her shoulder. A giant, glittery pink poster with her name on it was being hoisted and waved around in the air in the front row.

By none other than Gabe Havelak.

“What the hell?” Never in a million years did she anticipate seeing this.

“I take it the weekend went well?” Jaime teased.

“I'm not talking about it,” Lainey said. She hadn't heard a word from him since their drive back to Seattle on Sunday. It had taken all of her control to not let herself become obsessed with thoughts of him in that time. It was a fun weekend, and now it was over.

“You totally slept with him,” Jaime teased. When Lainey remained silent, she gasped. “Holy shit. You really did sleep with him. Good job, Lukas. I'm impressed.”

“Not talking about it,” Lainey repeated. There were ten minutes left in the game, and she intended to make every one of them count.

The ref gave her the signal to take the free kick. Jaime ran over the ball in a fake-out, and Lainey followed up with a hard, curving drive to the back of the net.

The crowd exploded.

The scoreboard read 3–0.

This was heaven, all right.

FOR THE FIRST TIME,
Lainey was happy to be in the locker room with her loud, abrasive teammates. They'd just kicked the Boomerangs' asses in their second preseason game, and the thrill of victory was in each one of their eyes. Momentum was in their favor as they entered the regular season. Coach Labreilla had a noticeable lilt in his incomprehensible voice during his postgame speech. Frank was in a good mood, which probably had a lot to do with the stands looking considerably fuller than they were the last home game they played. Even Carson Chester stopped by to congratulate them on a job well done in his own pompous way. Somehow, the Battle of the Sexes shenanigans were translating into a genuine fan base.

Jaime was standing on top of a bench, leading them through a made-up chant that had even Lainey—who did not chant—muttering along. This was the first time they felt and played like a team, not just a group of individuals arbitrarily thrown together.

Lainey couldn't imagine how the day could get any better.

“Hey, Captain, what's the plan for the fund-raiser? Come up with anything yet?” Alyssa inquired, reminding her that the day could possibly get a lot worse. Between the week spent at the soccer camp and the sexual vortex that swallowed up her time and brainpower last weekend, Lainey hadn't made any headway into developing a viable fund-raiser.

“Working on it.” She gathered her bag and jacket, ready to head home. But as she turned to leave, a voice stopped her cold.

“Knock, knock. You ladies decent?” Gabe was standing at the door to the locker room with Tessa beside him, clutching the pink sign in front of her. “We were hoping to get a few autographs.”

A collective “awww” resounded through the room as Lainey's teammates lined up to grant the girl's wish.

“Hey, Lukas, got plans tonight?”

Alyssa answered for her. “Of course she does. Let's see. Go home. Do some stretches. Eat a healthy dinner of raw vegetables and lean protein. A hot bath, and then an early bedtime.” She listed off the items on her fingers.

“How about joining Tessa and me for some ice cream instead?”

“That's not a good idea,” Lainey said quietly. Not because she didn't want to go. She desperately wanted to experience that same exhilarating passion and carefree-ness she'd given in to the weekend before. But those kinds of desires were dangerous when a guy like Gabe was involved. She didn't know what to expect when they'd parted company last Sunday, but it hurt more than she'd anticipated when she didn't hear a word from him afterward. She spent all her free time picking up shifts with her uncle to make up for the obscene check she'd cut at the charity gala, which helped only a little bit to keep her mind off Gabe.

“It's a great idea,” Alyssa said, grabbing Lainey's arm and ushering her toward Gabe. “But I insist you get photographic evidence of her eating ice cream. Otherwise I'll never believe it.”

Gabe held his hand out to her while his sister flashed her big, pleading, puppy-dog eyes.

“Fine,” Lainey relented. Saying no to Gabe was one thing. Saying no to Tessa, knowing the girl idolized her, was impossible. Besides, she didn't want to argue with him in front of her teammates. Not when things were finally starting to go well on that front.

“Wait a second,” Jaime said, casting a suspicious glance at Gabe and awkwardly slinging an arm around Lainey's much taller shoulders. “What exactly are your intentions with our captain, Havelak?”

Gabe cupped Tessa's ears. “I can assure you my intentions are quite dishonorable and very, very naughty.” His disarming grin succeeded at winning her teammates over.

Jaime cracked a devious smile and leaned into Lainey's ear. “Well, hot damn, Ballbuster. I'm so proud of you. Looks like you're getting cock
and
spoon tonight.”

Lainey had no idea how her hand ended up inside Gabe's as they walked along the boardwalk overlooking the Pacific Ocean, but it sure felt nice. Watching his tongue drag long, lazy licks over his cone had Lainey feeling something a little more intense than “nice.” Memories of the night they spent at her uncle's cabin burned through her mind, sending vibrations all the way to her core.

Having Tessa there helped Lainey rationalize that this wasn't a date, but somewhere along the way, Tessa had “conveniently” met up with some friends and found an alternate ride home. At least Lainey had retained her self-control as far as the ice cream went, sampling only the smallest taste from Gabe's cone. It had taken all her resolve not to lick the bit of vanilla dribble stuck to the stubble of his chin. Instead, she swiped it with her finger, eliciting a wicked grin from the man. Despite his undeniable sexiness, Gabe's goofiness and laid-back charm always managed to disarm her.

“That was some hat trick today,” Gabe said, rubbing his thumb over her hand. “Most people would think a feat like that worthy of a little celebratory ice cream of their own.”

Lainey snorted. “Most people aren't winners. Self-discipline is the only variable an athlete can control on the road to success.”

“Are you saying I'm not a winner?” He hip-checked her lightly.

She returned the gesture. “You tied your match last week against LA.”

“Ouch. At least I succeeded in getting you to go on a date with me.” He licked his cone suggestively.

“By using your sister to manipulate me.”

“Guilty as charged.”

“Besides, this isn't a date. I don't date during the season,” Lainey said, smiling in spite of herself. She had to admit she was having a great time. When they weren't bickering, she and Gabe seemed to have fun together. He was funny, easygoing, and handsome. But those qualities were also what caused the lingering doubts about his intentions. No matter how charming he was, the fact remained that he'd always be her adversary as long as their practice space was in contention. Not to mention that he was the most unrelenting distraction she'd ever encountered. No matter how many times she'd tried to shake his image from her mind, his charming smile and rock-solid body popped right back up at the forefront.

“It's preseason.”

“Close enough.”

“I can't imagine a lot of the men you've dated are okay with that arrangement.”

Lainey shrugged. “It's not a priority in my life.” She'd realized that quite clearly after last year's World Cup. Patrick, an elementary school teacher her aunt had set her up with, had made that accusation many times in the five months they'd dated. He'd had a bullshit excuse for not being able to come to Norway to watch her play, and even as he told her with a straight face that he needed to spend his free time preparing for the fall semester's lessons, she realized she didn't care all that much that he wouldn't be there to support her. She'd barely noticed when weeks had passed in the hospital afterward without a word from him. She'd forgotten about him so completely that it never even occurred to her to call him until well after she was back in the United States. At that point, she'd figured, why bother?

“What is a priority? Oh, right. Winning.” He tossed the remnants of his cone in a nearby trash can. His voice turned serious. The pitying look on his face made her skin itch. “What happens if you don't win the season?”

“Losing isn't an option.”

“Just humor me. What happens if you never win the World Cup with Team USA again, or if the Falcons don't make it to the AWSL finals? Will all the sacrifice be worth it?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. But I know I won't be satisfied if I don't try. After what happened in Norway, I owe it to myself to do my best.”

He stopped walking and cupped her face with his free hand. “You didn't just nearly lose your career. You almost died. Most people in your shoes would want to experience life to the fullest. Don't you want that?”

More than anything. But Lainey knew she could never have everything she wanted. Anything worth fighting for always required sacrifices. She wasn't the type to live her life in the shadows of what-ifs and regret. Facing her injuries alone in another country hardened her. “I refuse to spend my life feeling sorry for myself. And I won't give up on my dreams, either.”

“Why can't you have both?”

Lainey bit her lip. She'd always had to choose. Between her family, who would have preferred she stayed on the farm, and moving away to follow her dreams. They weren't unsupportive, just indifferent. With Patrick, there was no question her career would always come first, just as it was with Simon, her college boyfriend who wanted her to follow him to the East Coast, where he'd been accepted to grad school when she was still a junior. Moving meant giving up her spot on the U-Dub varsity women's team. It was an easy choice, every single time, but a choice nonetheless. Just like she was soon going to have to choose between fanning the spark she felt with Gabe and pursuing her dreams. “It's getting late. I should go home.”

“If that's what you want, I'll take you home, but please don't shut down on me now. Not when we're finally getting along.” He gave her a grin that melted her heart, but she couldn't think of anything else to say, and a heavy silence settled over them once again. No matter how she tried to explain it, she could never convey the passion and drive within her in words.

Twenty minutes later, Gabe pulled up to the street in front of her apartment building and shut the motor off.

“I haven't had a date end before nine o'clock since I was a teenager,” he remarked, looking at his watch.

“Considering this isn't a date, I think your record is safe. But I did have a good time, so thank you.” She unbuckled her seat belt and reached for the door handle.

“Well, if this isn't a date, then there's no harm in inviting me up for a nightcap. In fact, it'd be downright rude of you not to.”

Lainey rolled her eyes, but she couldn't argue with his logic. Besides, she needed the chance to explain to him why last weekend was a onetime thing and purge all thoughts of him from her mind once and for all, and that wasn't a conversation she wanted to have in the middle of the street. His smile widened as she nodded. He bounded out of his car and followed her to her small, walk-up apartment.