Free Offside (Pro-U Book 2) by Ali Parker Page B

me a crooked smile.
    "Awesome." I tried to get back into the groove, but the guy wouldn't stop talking. He was a year younger than me and seemed to have a man-crush of sorts. Shaking him was going to be harder than trying to explain to one of the slutty girls at the Omega House why I didn't date.
    "Line up." Coach motioned for us to join him on the side of the field. "Wright, you and Jackson are my blue forward, Daily, Marks, Pennington and James, you're blue midfield..."
    I jogged toward the field and didn't wait to hear who would be on defense for my side. Clint jogged up beside me and lifted his hand as if to give me a high-five.
    "Looks like me and you buddy."
    "I'll take the lead." I hit his hand and took my position, ready to exert some energy and remind myself that I wasn't a worthless piece of shit. The events at the Omega House Friday morning left me questioning everything about myself. Someone in the frat had set us up and brought in date rape drugs for one of two reasons; to rape someone, or to make it look like I was trying to.
    The whistle blew and the scrimmage started, stealing my thoughts and saving me from myself. I moved through the green team’s strikers and midfield before passing it to Clint. I had expected him to try and score for our side, even with a less than clear path to the goal, but he kicked it back my way. I didn't hesitate as I twisted toward the goal and kicked with all my might.
    "Goal for the blue team. Just because they have Wright doesn't mean they’re going to automatically win. Remember. You're all here for a reason." Coach moved up to the sidelines and gave me a big grin. "Show him what you're made of and why he should play his ass off for us this summer."
    A chuckle went around the group as we jumped back into it.
    Two hours later with sweat drenching my entire body, and my heart racing, the game was over. The blue team had smoked the green, but everyone blamed that on me. I wasn't going to tear up about being the scapegoat, but I owed Clint an apology. He'd set me up for the score almost every time without fail.
    "Hey." I walked over to him and lifted my hand in the air. "Fucking amazing job out there today. You didn't have to spot me like you did."
    He hit my hand and smiled. "Yeah, I did. We're on a team, and you're the better scorer. I'll pull out some ninja shit soon, but today was about you."
    "All right." I turned to find Micah jogging around the track not too far from where we were. He'd been good enough to ride up to Mount Ida with me that morning, but we'd not spoken much thanks to me sleeping over the forty-minute drive.
    Coach put his hands on his hips and glanced around. "Good job. Shower up and get out of here. We'll see you guys again on Monday."
    I walked toward the field, stopping only to pick up my water bottle and towel. Basketball season would be starting soon, and Micah would be in his element. He was the shortest guy on the team, but one of the best damn point guards in New England. His dreams of going to the NBA seemed very doable from my seat in the stands.
    "Hey. You ready?"
    He stopped and turned to face me, panting loudly. "You guys done already? I was just getting warmed up."
    "Yeah, you beast. Let's go. We'll grab something to eat on our way back to Providence."
    "I had oatmeal this morning." He brushed the back of his arm across his head and walked toward me. "You didn't eat, did you?"
    "No. Lay off me, mother." I smiled and turned to walk with him toward the car. "Thanks for letting me sleep this morning."
    He snorted. "As if I had much of a choice. You tossed the keys at me and said, 'here fucker. You drive’."
    I smiled and shook my head. "Never. I wouldn't force you to do anything."
    "Yeah right." He took the keys from me and got into the car as I glanced around. Clint was watching me from the field where I left everyone. "Weird."
    "What?" Micah started the car and glanced over at me. "What's up?"
    "Just that guy over there. He did a great job of