Page 132 of Stealing for Keeps
It might be slightly delusional, but the truth is, people like to be a part of something great. And the Frost Lake High soccer team has been phenomenal since Coach Collins became head coach.
I bounce on my toes as the teams take the field. Austin scans the crowd briefly, tipping his head to his family. The entire Keller family is in the front row, wearing Frost Lake colors. Even Torrance is clapping as her brother gets ready to play. Austin continues glancing around the stadium like he’s looking for someone else. I stare at him, willing him to spot me standing in a crowd of hundreds.
I thought he might call last night after the back-and-forth in the sketchbook. It’s dumb, I know. I should havejust gone over to his house or texted him. The truth is that I was scared to put myself out there after everything that happened.
It’s my fault we aren’t together. I pushed him away because I didn’t want to ruin things for him. I should have at least told him how much he means to me. I don’t know how I would have survived the past few months without him. He showed me that there was so much to look forward to still. And I don’t want to survive the next month or year just being friends.
“Let’s go, Knights!” I yell loudly as Vaughn prepares for kickoff.
Lacey smiles, bumping my shoulder. “You sound like a cheerleader. Good volume and clarity.” Her smile turns down at the corners in an impressed expression.
“I learned from the best.” I bump her back.
The intensity of the game from the start is like nothing I’ve witnessed. It reminds me of some of my biggest skating competitions. The air crackles with tension. Even the weather seems to be taking its cues from the field. The temperature has dropped, and the wind is brutal.
Neither team lets up as the minutes tick by. It’s back and forth from one side of the field to the other. Ralley is fast, and their defense is mean. The crowd yells at the ref as one player throws an elbow that gets Vaughn in the lip. To his credit, Vaughn doesn’t react except to send a glare so icy that I swear the temperature drops another few degrees.
The response by Frost Lake is to dig deeper. I can see it in their expressions and the renewed energy as they race down the field. They are a different team with Austin and Vaughn out there working together.
They set up for the play. Rowan has the ball, and hedribbles, weaving through players and then passing to Vaughn. Vaughn immediately sends the ball to Austin, who takes it toward the goal, passing it back to Vaughn at the last second when the goalie is focused only on him. The ball soars into the goal, just beyond the goalie’s fingertips as he tries to leap back into position to stop it.
“Goal! One-zero Frost Lake.”
Screaming, Lacey and I jump up and down, grabbing on to each other and smiling. It’s only one goal, but it feels so monumental in the shift of energy in the team. Austin and Vaughn celebrate on the field, hugging and yelling things we can’t hear from here.
The rest of the first half is all Frost Lake. They don’t score again, but the momentum at halftime is in our favor.
Lacey and I get hot chocolate and crowd around a heater to warm up. A light rain has started to fall, but no one has left.
“You seem more nervous than the players,” Lacey notes as I toss my empty cup in the trash, then rub my gloved hands together. She smiles.
“I’m not,” I argue. “I have the same level of nerves as everyone else.”
She chuckles lightly. Having a best friend who knows you better than you know yourself is annoying sometimes.
“I want him to win. His entire family is here and…” I trail off. “I guess in some twisted way, it’ll feel like the breakup was worth it.”
She lets her head fall to one side and sticks out her bottom lip. “You miss him.”
“Of course I do.”
“You haven’t said. You’ve been all woman on a mission. New job, joining the hockey cheer team, studying likeyou’ve never studied before. I thought maybe you were moving back into your single girl era with me.”
“Keeping busy was easier than sitting around sulking. I’ve done enough of that for a lifetime. Besides, I needed the time to figure things out. That part wasn’t a lie. I want to be good for…” I start to say Austin, but it wasn’t just about him. “…whoever I’m with next.”
“You are the best friend I’ve ever had, and you are so talented in so many different ways. I’m glad you took time for yourself, but, babe, you don’t need to be perfect to be ready for love. You just have to be willing to let people seeyou. You let Austin in, which is incredible all on its own, because you were in a bad place. And guess what? He liked you exactly as you are. He saw all the incredible things you are, not the amazing things you think you need to do with your life to please your parents or anyone else.”
“I know,” I say, because I do know, even if it’s hard to wrap my brain around it.
“Tell him how you feel.”
My throat tightens, and I swallow thickly.
Applause close to the field draws our attention. The team must be back on the field.
“I will,” I say. “But right now, let’s go watch them beat Ralley.”
She nods, tosses her cup, then slips her arm through mine. We walk back huddled together closely.
