10. Mayson
Mayson
I hate this.
I mean I love soccer, it’s been my life for as long as I can remember and I enjoy both watching and playing it. But being forced to attend one of Colin’s games is not my idea of fun.
Even if I’ll enjoy everything else about it, I don’t want to see him. And yes, I could have not come and dealt with whatever retaliation he had planned, but frankly I want my clothes back. I’m getting tired of washing and wearing the same thing, especially for practice.
I debate inviting a friend or two with me, and play it off like we’re just watching the guys play for shits and giggles.
But the problem is all my friends are also targets for the Rites, so none of them would be safe coming to the game.
Chelsey, maybe, because Luca seems to be taking it easy on her.
Or he’s waiting and building the suspense. Who really knows with any of these guys because none of them can really be trusted .
Apparently I can’t be trusted around Colin because my body is betraying me every chance it gets. I’m a mess and I feel every ounce of it as I pull my ball cap lower on my head while making my way to an open seat to watch the game.
The fall breeze is kicking up, but since I have limited clothes I had to steal a zip up from Colin, which I’m sure he’ll be more than thrilled about. The large plain black hoodie only helps me feel like I’m hiding. Even though I’m not doing anything wrong, everything about this feels like I am.
I notice a blonde with glasses wearing an oversized Vipers sweatshirt and looking like she wants to be anywhere else.
Which is weird because at Northgate the soccer games are the equivalent to football games for other colleges.
Everyone wants to come and be included. But not the girl who I sit next to.
She doesn’t look up or acknowledge me in anyway, and I wonder if she’s here alone.
Or maybe she’s dating one of the guys on the team since she’s clearly wearing one of their hoodies.
Not that I can speak to that since I’m wearing one of Colin’s and most definitely not dating him.
It’s the way she seems uncomfortable that has me speaking up.
“Hi, I’m Mayson,” I introduce and she jumps, clearly not expecting anyone to talk to her.
“Hey, I’m Riley.”
I nod toward her hoodie. “You know any of the guys?”
She opens her mouth to speak, but then the crowd cheers loudly, cutting off whatever she was about to say, and I look onto the field where the players are running out from the locker rooms. At the same time Riley is joined by a guy carrying snacks.
Of course, the Vipers should be led by their captain, Mads Keller, but Colin is the first to run out. I roll my eyes at the obnoxious striker pumping his arms in the air as he does everything to draw as much attention to himself.
He scans the crowd during his showboating and his eyes lock on mine sending a chill down my spine. He smiles, clearly pleased I’m here like he asked. I fight every urge in my body to flip him off, but then he winks and breaks our eye contact to focus on prepping for the game.
“Is that your boyfriend?” Riley’s question has me cringing.
“God no, he’s my stepbrother.”
She hums curiously. For a moment I wonder if she’s going to ask me more, but she doesn’t and I breathe out a sigh of relief.
My focus is purely on the match once it starts anyway.
My adrenaline spikes as I watch, just like it would if I was the one on the field playing.
I watch their center mid, Reynolds, keeping most of my focus on him since we play the same position.
It’s always interesting for me to see and compare where I could improve.
The men’s game is slightly different than ours, and I recognize that, but I also fully believe my team could be out there up against the guys and win.
The visiting team gets possession, dribbling the ball back toward the Vipers goal. Our winger, Gomez, tries to get possession when they pass, but fails and our goalie, Keller, is locked in waiting for the shot.
They take it, the ball just barely gets past his hand and into the goal. The crowd lets out a collective groan while the opposing team celebrates their win.
For some reason during that moment my eyes find Colin’s once again, and see he’s already looking up at me, though I don’t know why. And not only is he looking at me, but he looks pissed .
I narrow my eyes at him, silently asking, “ What?”
He just shakes his head, raises his chin and then gets back into position for the next play. Again, I hear Riley make some sort of humming noise next to me, but I’m too busy being wrapped up in whatever that just was to care.
It seems like the Vipers losing a goal so early in the game has them more fired up than before, evident in the aggressive playing strategy they adopt.
Of course in soccer you can’t get too crazy, this isn’t hockey.
But it seems like Colin doesn’t care about that because he definitely makes some questionable shoves that the refs don’t even call.
The intensity of the game increases and I’m completely locked in.
Especially when Colin has possession of the ball, doing what he does best, much to my dismay.
He may piss me off but one thing I can’t say about him is that he’s a shitty player.
He shoots the ball toward the net, bypassing the goalie so easily it looks like he wasn’t even trying.
This time when the crowd celebrates, Colin hardly acknowledges his teammates. Instead, he turns toward the crowd and looks right to me. I hold my breath in anticipation for whatever he’s going to do, but all he does is smile before turning away.
To anyone else it looked like a normal smile. To me, I know that means he has plans. I don’t know if I’m more afraid of what those plans could be, or how badly I want to find out.
I hate to admit that it’s a good game, and that I actually really like watching the guys.
There are a few moments I feel like I would play differently if it were me on the field.
I get a sick satisfaction thinking about telling Colin every criticism I have from the game.
Even though they won, I have a list I could give him.
I bet he would love that. Biting back a chuckle at the thought, I see Riley and her friend whose name I never actually caught are standing and waving goodbye.
Pulling my cap down on my head, I make my way out of the stadium and feel like I should go anywhere other than home. I don’t want to be around the man I just watched play my favorite sport for the last hour and a half.
Mostly because watching him was more stimulating than I want to admit. I already can’t help myself around him and this might make it worse. As I’m walking out, I pull my phone out in search of a different distraction in a group chat with a couple of my teammates.
Mayson
What’s everyone doing?
Maeghen
Studying
Anja
Pretending to study while I stare at this hot daddy at the library *sweating face emoji*
Chelsey
I’m free.
Well, wait, kinda. I may end up asleep in the next ten minutes because my brain hurts.
None of them are being helpful right now.
Blake doesn’t even reply and I groan out in frustration.
I could go meet Anja at the library, that could be a solid distraction.
I’m about to head that way, but my name is called and I know immediately who it is.
My whole body freezes; I think about running away, but I know he’ll catch me easily.
My body of course is betraying me again because the thought of running and having him catch me makes my legs itch with the desire to do just that.
Colin calls my name again, and I turn around slowly, seeing he’s still in his uniform with sweat slicked hair and wondering how he got away from his coach’s post game.
Then I remember he’s Colin and doesn’t care about the consequences of anything from anyone.
“Where are you going?” he demands and I fold my arms across my chest.
“Why does it matter?”
“You’re supposed to wait for me.”
“That was not a part of your super unclear instructions, your majesty.”
He smirks. “Nah, I’m not your king, but you can call me sir if you need. Or maybe daddy.”
I grimace. “Ew. Neither of those are happening.”
“We’ll see about that. Go home and wait for me.”
“You don’t tell me what to do.”
“I don’t? You came to my game,” he challenges.
“Because I want my clothes back.”
“And you think you’ll get them now?”
I groan, throwing my head back. “Colin, what the fuck?”
“Yeah, babe?” He sounds way too smug.
I shake my head, knowing whatever I’m going to say is not going to help me in anyway. Nothing will ever help me with him and I just need to bide my time.
Though, I’m not one to roll over and just take it either so I can try to play nice but I don’t know how long that will realistically last.
“How about you go home and wait for me there. Then we’ll see about you getting some of your clothes back.”
I bite my tongue to stop myself from spewing all the things I want to say to him, and spit out, “Fine.”
I can tell he’s riding the high of not just one victory today but now he thinks he just got another. I’ll let him believe that for now. Making him comfortable when I push back again will only be more satisfying.
I think I know exactly how I’m going to do it. As I walk back home I think about my plan, it’ll be when he least expects it which will make it even better.
Let the games begin, “ brother.”