Chapter 23
Ishika
Ifinish my shift early as Dr. Bull has to cancel all his appointments and tend to his eighty-year-old mother, who is feeling unwell.
My dad has some new equipment upgrade happening at his clinic and he cancelled dinner.
Mom is spending the evening with her friends and my best friend, Sadie, who is very excited about my new relationship, is out of town to attend a cousin’s wedding.
I decide to call my brand-new, shiny, boyfriend to see if he wants to hang out.
I call Ryan a few times but his phone goes to voicemail. Then I try Owen’s number to invite him over for the weekend barbecue. He picks up after a few rings.
“Hey, Ishy, I can’t talk right now. I am stuck on this boring temp assignment. The pay is great but the workload is shit. But why aren’t you on the bleachers supporting your man?”
“What are you talking about?”
“The Daredevils are playing tonight and Ryan is the team captain. He didn’t tell you?
You do know how he got his moniker – Savage, don’t you?
Because he is selfish and ruthless when he is on that field.
Oh! Did I mention there’ll be girls? Bro has a big fan base still.
A lot of diversity since his high school days.
There’s a group of MILFs who come to watch him exclusively. And then there’s this Amish…”
“I wish I could kick you in your nuts right now,” I say, frowning and jealous.
He chuckles. “Just saying, you could go and show my brother some love. If you start now you might make it by halftime.”
“Gimme the damn address.”
“Call Zoe, ask her to hold a seat for you.”
The playground is about thirty miles from my work in a neighboring town. But I have to see my man play. I beat the rush-hour traffic and reach my destination in forty minutes.
By the time I get to the bleachers, the game is well into the second half.
There is a restless, tense energy in the crowd.
I can’t make out the players from the distance but I scan the field trying to find Ryan.
The game is between two local soccer clubs.
But for a local soccer match, the fan base is infectious and crazy.
I squeeze past rows of handmade team banners, team flags, and eager face-painted fans who demonstrate their support for their respective teams.
“What did I miss?” I ask Zoe, taking the drink bottle she offers from her hands. I unscrew the cap of the bottle and chug down half of the water.
Zoe fills me in with the game updates, its past halftime. The score is three to three. The Daredevils are in red-and-black jerseys and their opposition team, the Rebel Knights are dressed in green and blue.
“Jake got a yellow card for grabbing the collar of the opposing team player. Well, he was close to punching the guy, but Aariv stopped him. And now he’s arguing with the referee,” Zoe continues. “Shit! He just got a red card.”
“Wait. Jake plays soccer too?”
“Yeah. He’s a pro gamer, that’s his profession. But he loves playing soccer whenever he’s home. Which isn’t very often. Poor Jake, he’s really struggling today.”
As Jake is leaving the field, my eyes land on the man who is talking to Jake, trying to calm him down.
I take a moment to gawk.
Knee-high socks and cleats never looked so dangerously sexy. Ryan pats Jake’s back, as Jake nods in response to something that Ryan says and exits the field.
Ryan turns and runs across the field, barking orders to his team.
He is commanding as a team captain. His black-and-red jersey shines under the floodlights.
His jaw is dusted heavily with his five-o’clock shadow, his eyes are murderous, and his thighs are beefy, muscular.
His dark hair sticks to his forehead and his body is drenched in sweat.
He is like a jaguar as the game resumes.
He dominates the field. He leaps forward and runs goal to goal, positioning his team, yelling, passing the ball to his offense.
Not an ounce of exertion shows in the complete exercise as he chases the ball, dribbles, and kicks skillfully and passes.
The match is pure thrill. Our team’s defense breaks every single offense of the opposing team.
But the rival team’s goalie is an absolute beast as he stops three consecutive goals.
I have watched Ryan play before. Our schools were rivals; Brent and Ryan were archnemeses because they were both team captains for their respective soccer teams. Brent had invited me many times to his games, but I wasn’t interested in sports.
I went to the soccer games because Sadie wanted to go show support and cheer for our school.
However every time I went to support Brent, I would end up staring at Ryan and following his every move as if I were hypnotized.
And Ryan knew what he was doing. He was a god on that soccer field.
He had a strong fan base both boys and girls.
I had witnessed his fangirls firsthand. One time after a goal, he winked at a girl and she actually fainted.
I had scoffed when during the next match, a hot cheerleader threw her panties at him.
And of course that one time when he had a minor shoulder injury and the game was paused.
This shy nerd brought out her violin and played him a two-minute piece that she had composed only for him.
The bastard listened to the whole serenade pretending to be injured.
Once the piece was over, he kissed the girl’s cheek, thanked her, even got the crowd to applaud and hype her up, then he went back to the game to score the winning goal.
His coach pretty much let him get away with anything as long as he played to win. And he always did.
Brent hated his guts. Hated that he was so charming, that his plays were so effortless.
I hated those girls. How easy it was for them to blow kisses at him, how easily they could walk up to him and hand him their phone numbers. It was repulsive how desperate they became for his attention. They were stupid really; I didn’t get why a girl would act so lovesick for a boy.
But, even I couldn’t resist him. There was something that kept pulling me toward Ryan.
I remember this one time, during halftime, he caught me looking as he took off his jersey to reveal his torso.
I couldn’t help it when my eyes lingered on his toned body.
How heat flashed on my cheeks. How I swallowed feeling guilty, being caught off guard.
The cocky bastard had smirked at me. He flexed his biceps and raised his eyebrow at my state of duress as he toyed with the waistband of his shorts, daring me to keep looking.
He was teasing me and I was so embarrassed.
My childish response to that was to flip him off by raising my middle finger in the air and screaming, “Asshole!”
“This is going to end in a stalemate,” Zoe says, biting her nails bringing me back to the present.
Ten minutes left on the clock when I totally act on impulse. I am going to be that lovesick girl. I climb on to my chair and scream, “SAVAGE. SAVAGE. SAVAGE.” I’m acting like one of his crazy fangirls.
Zoe laughs and joins me. Getting to her feet, she screams, “Go Daredevils!” and then she gathers a crowd where everyone is screaming his name, “SAVAGE!”
Clap…clap…clap.
“SAVAGE!”
Clap…Clap…Clap.
A group of girls sitting in the row above, copy us. They stand on the seat and cheer. Soon there is a section of the audience cheering for the Daredevils.
Something is happening on the field at the same time. The players on the ground huddle together as Ryan and Aariv rearrange the team’s formation. I am trying to follow how the other team is positioning their players.
“Ishy, he’s looking for you,” Zoe screams in my ears.
“What?” I ask.
The noise around me is deafening. I don’t think Ryan can even see me but then Zoe elbows me and I follow her gaze looking at the field. He stands under the lights, squinting his eyes and searching the crowd.
His frantic scan misses me at first but then he returns to where I am standing. A smile curves his lips, that gorgeous ovary-melting dimple surfaces. He sees me and waves. I wave back more frantically with both my hands this time and he laughs.
The coach shouts for him as the game is about to resume.
Adrenaline courses through my veins as I watch Ryan take his position.
His eyes focus as the whistle blows and the ball is in the air.
Ryan strides forward, reaching and tackling the ball as it lands.
He balances the ball between his legs and he races down the field, shredding through the opposition’s defense and nearing the net.
His left arm extends away from his body, the inside of his right foot strikes the ball a little off center.
The ball swerves, confusing the goalkeeper for one moment but that moment is enough.
Because somehow magically the ball bounces inside the net.
And Holy Moly, It’s a fucking goal!
“What The Heck!”
“Did you see that?”
“Can you believe it?”
“That’s Savage for you.”
The screams and chaos, the shock and elation, and then infectious merriment of the loyal fans booms around us.
Zoe and I are holding each other and screeching our lungs out until my throat feels hoarse. This is epic. This win feels personal.
Zoe drags me toward the field. The security personnel at the gates smile at Zoe and lets us in. Zoe runs into Aariv’s waiting arms and he kisses her, pulling her close.
There are so many people scattered on the field.
As I scan the perimeter, my vision collides with a pair of deep blue eyes watching me, I run the entire field and take a leap of faith.
He catches me, lifting me up, and my legs wrap around his waist. I bury my face into his sweat drenched neck, inhaling his masculine scent.
His body is buzzing with revved up energy.
I hold him tight but he has much better plans.
Ryan kisses me, making a guttural sound so deep and hungry in his throat that makes me shiver with need.
“You didn’t tell me you were coming,” he says, breaking the kiss.
“You didn’t tell me you had a match. I can’t believe I was about to miss that. You were fantastic. That was some mean-ass soccer, dude.”
He laughs. “I had my lady luck. How could I not win?” Lowering me to the ground, he then introduces me to other players on his team.
His team is heading over to the bar to celebrate, but when I say I can’t stay to join them, Ryan cancels too, stating he has an early shift tomorrow.
“Jake,” Aariv shouts just then.
Ryan screams, “Jake, wait.”
Aariv turns to Ryan. “I’ll check on him. I’m his ride. You two carry on.”
Ryan looks wary but nods.
We walk toward the parking lot, saying our goodbyes to Ariv and Zoe. Ryan tucks me under his arm and I snuggle into him.
“Will Jake be okay?”
“Yeah, he will be, eventually. He is heartbroken and he doesn’t know how to handle it.”
“What do you mean heartbroken?”
“He has feelings for Mia. She was his best friend. Last night, Jake had finally mustered up the courage to go talk to her. But he found out Mia has a boyfriend now and she brought him home this weekend to meet with her mother. Jake obviously backed out. He’s even more miserable since…”
“That’s sad,” I say.
“Yeah. I would be much worse if that ever happened to me,” Ryan says, his tone serious.
I turn to see him looking down at me intently. I break away from his hold and block his path. “How do you know? Have you ever had your heart broken before?”
“I never gave anyone that much power before. Until now.”
“And now you have?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“I want to believe she’s worth the risk. I’d rather have a piece of her heart than having nothing at all. And if she chooses to bleed me dry later, I might even let her.”
I clamp my hand on his mouth. “Let’s make sure that your heart never gets broken. Okay?”
“I sure hope so,” he says, removing my hand and kissing my knuckles.
“My dad wants to meet you.”
He tenses immediately.
“Let me correct myself. I want you to meet my father. He saw you yesterday and I told him about you. He asked me to invite your family over to our weekend barbecue. There’ll be other people, a few of his colleagues and friends from the country club. It’s super casual.” I reword.
His brows furrow thoughtfully; I can see him contemplating but he surprises me. “I’ll be there.”
“He’ll love you.”
“If you say so.”
He does not sound very enthusiastic.
“Hey, I was told players get this high rush after a win. Pent-up restless energy can be put to good use on the leather seats of my car.”
“In five minutes, I need a shower first.”
“No, don’t shower. I want you sweaty and dirty.”
“Fuck! I created a monster.” He picks me up and throws me over his shoulder. “Where’s your car, Princess?”