Chapter 27 #2
I motion for her to sit in the dugout, and we start to lace up our boots in a comfortable silence.
I notice that Lily’s have a red heart stitched into the side, but the heart isn’t fully connected, almost like a part of it is missing.
She doesn’t see me looking as she stands, hands on her hips, looking out at the perfectly manicured pitch.
“I’m going to get us a few balls and cones. I'll be back in a few.” She just nods, her eyes not leaving the view in front of her.
After collecting some supplies, I jog back, but my stomach drops as Lily has her head in her hands, her feet tapping furiously.
She doesn’t register my approach. When I stand directly in front of her, she’s physically shaking, breathing heavily, and irregularly.
“Lily?” Placing my hand lightly on her shoulder, she still doesn’t acknowledge me. She’s lost, gone inside herself.
“Petardo, you’re safe.” Sinking beside her, I rub circles on her back.
“I’ve got you.” Scared pools of deep emerald stare up at me.
“Breathe in for five.” I take in a breath, and grasp her hands that are clenched tightly in her lap.
“Out for five.” She still isn’t responsive, but I continue, hoping I can get through to her.
“You’re here and you’re safe. Breath with me.
” I squeeze her hand until she squeezes me back, taking in a shaky breath. “That’s it, stay with me.”
We stay entwined, breathing in rhythmic, calming breaths until her hands start to loosen in my hold. “You’re here.” She visibly relaxes. “You’re safe.”
“Th-anks.” She stutters. “I’m sorry.” She rubs her temples. “I can’t believe I’ve done this here, now.”
“Don’t you dare apologize.” Turning her to face me, I run the backs of my fingers down her cheek.
“I shouldn’t still be like this.” She groans. “This.” She points at the lush green pitch in front of us. “This is my happy place.”
“And it will be again,” I say softly. I think I have to approach this the same way I have everything with Lily. She doesn’t respond to the treat her like glass approach. We sit, looking out at the pitch for a few quiet moments, before she squeezes my thigh. “Show me what you’ve got.”
“You going to join me?”
“Soon.” My heart skips a beat at the half smile she gives me.
Jogging onto the pitch with a new ball at my feet, I play around a little, doing tricks and flicks, getting my body warmed up.
After a few moments, I take my shot. “It’s getting a little lonely out here, Chambers.
” Winking at her, I continue to keep the ball moving as she rises from her seat and crosses her arms, jutting her hip out, and fuck, if she doesn’t look like my every fantasy.
Testing her further, I run toward her, flicking the ball into the air before I strike.
The ball sails towards her with just the right amount of power.
I don’t want to knock her off her feet. And just as I thought, she instantly reacts.
She unfolds her arms and widens her stance as she takes the ball down on her chest, rolling it down her body, which she effortlessly twists as the ball falls at her feet.
But before it hits the ground, she strikes through the ball, passing it back to me, where it lands directly on my right foot.
“Is that all you’ve got?” I echo her words from last night, and she barks out a laugh.
“Come on, Chambers, you know you want to tackle me.” I wiggle my brows, and even from this distance, I can feel her eye roll.
“More like throat punch you.” She sets off into a jog toward me as I sprint away from her toward the goal.
“You’ll have to catch me to do that. Not sure you can keep up the pace,” I shout, running the length of the pitch.
Hearing her strides quicken as she tries to catch me, I don’t expect the shoulder barge that almost knocks me off my feet as she takes the ball from my feet, flicks it up, and turns in the opposite direction with an infectious laugh tumbling through the air.
“You’re going easy on me, push pop,” she shouts over her shoulder.
That insult catches me off guard like it did the first time, and the laugh that bubbles up out of me is freeing as I continue to chase her down.
Swinging her whole body into a strike, the ball flies from the edge of the box, straight into the top right hand corner.
“How did you—“ She shakes her head as I come to a halt next to her.
“Get you to do what you’re fucking good at doing?” I pull her into my side, loving the way she effortlessly leans against me.
“Flattering me does nothing. It only makes me think you’re up to something.”
I smirk. “You don’t need me to wrap you in cotton wool and take it easy with you. You’re meant to have a ball at your feet, Chambers.” Squeezing her hip, I gaze down at her. “You just need to get that feeling of being free back.”
“Let’s go again.” She pulls away and jogs to collect the ball from the goal, looking over her shoulder at me, her cheeks a little flush, but there’s a sparkle in her eyes that wasn’t there a few moments ago.
My chest expands with pride, because I did that.
I put that look on her face, and now I know I want to keep doing it.
But to do that, I need to know why it went in the first place.