Page 40 of Spark
Cam is standing close to the sidelines, where he’s leading the warm-ups. Paused in mid-stretch, he gapes at Finlay, mouth open, then echoes his daughter’s words, "You’re here."
Finlay lifts a grinning Olive into his arms. "Hello, Cameron. And Olive."
Aware of my teammates’ stares, I drop my bag by the bleachers and quickly change into my cleats. Then I jog onto the field and wave hello. "Sorry I’m late, boys."
Cam still looks shocked. "Um, let’s get back to warm-ups."
I do a few squats and standing lateral lunges, knowing I’ll need to add in more when I can throughout the rest of warm-ups to catch up with my teammates.
Cam leads us into a series of walking lunges. He keeps smiling at Finlay and me. The goofy grin keeps setting off my own.
On the opposite end of the field, our opponent, the under thirty team, is warming up. I catch Apollo’s gaze and we exchange waves. He seems to be settling in okay with the guys over there. I hope he enjoys his first game.
Finlay and Olive walk over to the bleachers and sit with Hercules. As I shift into high knee stretches, then quad stretches and kicks, then skills prep, I’m aware of Finlay’s gaze. I need to concentrate on what I’m doing. Losing focus is a sure-fire way to get injured.
The ref arrives and chats with Cam and Aspen. I grab some water and pop in my mouthguard.
Finlay approaches me. He gestures at my jersey and shorts. "I didn’t have time to properly take you in as we rushed to get here. You look good. Sexy. Very sexy."
I snag hold of his hand and bring it to my lips, trailing kisses along his knuckles. "Hold that thought. Maybe we can do something about it at the bar or during dinner."
Behind us, my teammates are drifting onto the field and exchanging playful banter and trash talk with the other team. We’ve played and practiced with those guys so many times and always go out to the bar together after matches. We’re all friends, but everyone wants to win. When I see the ref taking his position, I know I need to get out there and join them.
Finlay frames my face with his hands. His expression has shifted from playful to serious. "Good luck out there. Be safe."
"Always." Grasping a fistful of his T-shirt, I tug him closer. "Kiss me for good luck?"
The softest kiss brushes my lips. "Be safe, Mateo."
That he’s told me to be safe twice seems odd, but I nod and step back. His hands fall away. The urge to kiss him again overwhelms me, but I force myself to jog onto the field.
I take my place beside Owen and ready for the ref’s whistle.
From the start, we’re on the attack. Line breaks and great support have the under thirty team on the defense giving us the momentum we need to keep the ball moving forward. Spotting a gap, Owen plunges ahead for a thirty meter try. I high-five him as we tee-up the ball for the conversion kick.
Score! I pump my fist. Glancing over to the bleachers, my grin widens when Finlay waves and I wave back.
We’re on fire because with the next possession, we do it again, only this time Anderson makes the try.
Cam leads the forwards in doing damage to the front while our backs run rampant all over the field. Davonte runs a hard line, softening up the middle so Blaze and I can outflank the defense, allowing for Kobe to get the try from the corner.
Just as our confidence is growing, the under-thirties poach the ball three times, gaining ground. Using the maul, they effectively obstruct the ball carrier in our red zone. After repeated attempts, the under-thirties avoid a first-half shutout and finally put their first points on the board.
At the end of the first half, we’re up by a score of twenty to five.
I jog off the field and sit next to Finlay. He smiles at me, but it doesn’t reach his eyes.
“You okay?” Downing water, I link our hands together.
“Sure. Great.” The divot between his eyebrows is bottomless, and the snapping of his gum is louder than a shoot-out in my favorite video game.
“You seem stressed. Is anything wrong?”
“I’m fine.”
He’s obviously not. Maybe the game is going on too long for him. Maybe he’s bored. Maybe the other people in the bleachers are too noisy, or maybe he forgot sunscreen and is afraid of turning into a lobster. Whatever the reason, I need to find out, and make it up to him later.
We both accept orange slices from the container Olive is passing around to my teammates. She’s the cutest kid and makes me miss my niece and nephew. My sister and Eve brought the kids to the game last week. I make a mental note to call both my sister and my parents when I’m on my way into work tonight.
