Page 6

six

Sebastian

I am looking forward to seeing Ava. I know my eyes will light up the moment I see her.

Did she decide to ditch me? Or did she forget about my practice entirely?

Coach blows his whistle, and we take our places. I have the urge to look toward the sidelines one last time, only to find Ava standing there in the middle.

Ava watches as practice commences, her eyes on me. She’s smiling from ear to ear, wearing a light blue cardigan and a pair of khaki pants. Her hair is up in a messy bun. I can tell she’s come straight from work.

Ava waves, and I begin to blush. She quickly puts her hand down the moment her father’s gaze shifts to her.

I can’t help but notice that Ava has her eye on me whenever I glance her way. Practice feels a little extra tough today, with Coach throwing extra drills my way.

It’s to be expected; he thinks I’m dating Ava .

Halfway into practice, I can’t wait for it to end. I can feel the pull. It’s hard to deny that my concentration is on the sidelines rather than my practice.

“You did well!” she shouts.

I wave my hand, calling her out onto the field. She shakes her head, waving her hands in the air.

“Are you chicken?” I shout, knowing that if she sees it as a challenge, she won’t be able to resist coming.

Hearing that, Ava rolls up her sleeves and begins making her way down. She can’t find her way onto the field, so I help her by pulling her out of the stands and into my arms.

I see her blush as I hold her by the waist, gently placing her on the ground.

“Are you ready for a friendly match?” I ask.

A mischievous smile spreads across Ava’s face as she takes off her heels, her bare feet touching the moist grass beneath her.

“Just so you know, I won’t let you win easily,” she smirks.

“I love a challenge,” I say, not realizing that Ava has already started running with the ball.

“You cheat!” I shout, running after her.

She laughs hysterically as I begin gaining on her .

It isn’t long before I have her in my arms, but she gives one final kick, smacking the ball off the metal post.

“I almost had it,” she fusses.

“You know what almost means, right?” I hold her tight in my arms, feeling her heart race.

“What?” she asks, listening carefully.

“It means you lost.” I laugh.

Ava turns around, fussing, playfully smacking me on my arm.

“I would have scored if it weren’t for you,” she says.

I can’t help but grab her by the waist and pull her close.

There she is, locked in my arms and looking straight into my eyes. I try hard to resist every urge to put my lips on hers. There are no cameras. No audience. No need to put on a show.

But somehow, I can’t help myself.

I lean in and kiss her.

“Let’s just save that for the cameras,” Ava says, stepping away from me.

I immediately regret my decision.

“Um, yeah, sorry.”

“We should probably get out of here,” Ava says, trying to divert her attention elsewhere .

“I know a great fast-food place if you’re up to it,” I offer.

Ava nods.

“Yeah, I could go for something to eat.”

I smile, happy that she accepts my invitation despite her rejection.

“But first,” Ava says, banging on my chest. “You need a shower because you stink!” She laughs.

We end up at my favorite fast-food restaurant, a place I frequent more often than I’d like to admit. Their food is always consistent and hits the spot every time.

“This place looks amazing,” Ava says, admiring the portraits of the restaurant and their staff through the years hanging on the walls.

“A lot of the workers have been here forever,” I explain as I notice her studying the photos. “You should hear some of their stories.”

She looks surprised.

“Are you part of those stories?” she asks.

I laugh and tell her, “Yeah, they’ve had to deal with me after a few too many drinks or bad dates. But they’ve always been great. ”

Ava lets out a quiet chuckle, her lips curling into a small smile. I don’t say anything, enjoying the moment of shared amusement.

We make our way to a booth, and our waiter appears with two menus in hand. It’s Sal, a familiar face who’s always been far nicer to me than I probably deserve. He smiles and gives me a knowing wink.

“Thanks, Sal,” I say, giving him a quick nod as he places the menus on the table and disappears to the kitchen.

Ava studies the menu intently, while I already know exactly what I’m going to order.

“What do you recommend?” she asks, glancing at me over the top of her menu.

“I always get the turkey quarter pounder with the pepper fries,” I reply confidently.

“That sounds like a mouthful,” Ava laughs. “Literally.”

“It is, but it’s also chef’s kiss ,” I say, dramatically pinching my fingers together, kissing them, and pulling my hand away slowly for effect. “You should try it.”

“Okay.” She shrugs her shoulders, clearly not needing much convincing.

I catch Sal’s eye, hold up two fingers, and nod toward the door, signaling for two to-go orders of my usual. He nods back, scribbling on his notepad before heading to the kitchen .

Our food arrives quickly, packed in white paper bags with grease stains already seeping through. The smell is amazing, and my mouth waters as I pick up the bags.

With our burgers and fries in tow, Ava and I stroll toward the beach, the cool breeze brushing against us. We find a cozy spot shielded from the wind and sit down to enjoy our meal.

Ava takes a bite of her burger and closes her eyes, savoring it like it’s the best thing she’s ever tasted.

“Holy shit,” she says with her mouth still full.

“Told you,” I say, unwrapping my burger and taking a bite. Somehow, something so simple feels comforting.

“You looked really good out there today,” Ava says, popping a fry into her mouth.

I glance at her, appreciating how she eats the burger unapologetically, without any concern for how messy it might be. It’s refreshing—just us enjoying the food without pretenses.

“I’m trying harder to refocus on my game,” I admit. “Get back to the fundamentals and block out all the noise.”

“Noise?” she asks.

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been a wreck on the field lately.” She doesn’t respond, but her silence tells me she probably has noticed.

I know my off-field life has been bleeding into my performance, and it’s no secret. Jimmy’s been blunt about it: I’m on thin ice, and if I don’t shape up, I’ll lose my spot on the team—and my inheritance.

Soccer has been my life for so long, it’s hard to pinpoint when I started letting it slip. I’ve always enjoyed the fame, but somewhere along the way, I started enjoying it more than the game itself.

“Don’t you get tired of being in the papers constantly?” Ava’s voice cuts through my thoughts.

We’d been eating quietly for a while, and her question catches me off guard.

“Being in the spotlight isn’t that bad,” I shrug.

“You sure about that?”

“Well, it does have its pros and cons,” I admit.

“I don’t think I can think of any pros,” she says honestly. “I wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

“It just comes with the territory. You get used to it.”

“What’s so great about it?” she presses.

The question stumps me for a moment. Most people expect me to say it’s the recognition or the attention—the chance to date whoever I want. But the truth is, those things are just noise. They’re not why I keep coming back.

“The feeling that people believe in you,” I say finally, though I haven’t felt that as much lately .

“Well, you have whole crowds of people believing in you, cheering you on,” she says thoughtfully.

“When you’re doing well, sure. But if you mess up, they’ll boo you to the exit. You’ll hear it on the news, see it in the papers. It’s hard to escape.” I pause. “So, I just try to ignore it.”

Ava nods, acknowledging what I’m saying. I know she’s probably seen some of the things being said about me lately.

“It is nice having someone on your side, cheering just for you, though,” I add.

“Oh, I’m sure you’ve had many, many girlfriends come cheer for you,” she says with a playful smirk, rolling her eyes.

I shake my head, a wave of nostalgia washing over me.

“My dad used to come to every game. Now he’s in Australia, so it’s more like once or twice a year. But there was this one girl…” I burst into laughter, remembering my ex-girlfriend.

“Ex-girlfriend?”

“Yeah, I asked her to come and watch my game, and she sat there the whole time, painting her nails and doing her makeup.” We both laugh. “By the time the game was over, she must have re-done her makeup at least a dozen times.”

“Well, lucky for me, I do my makeup before leaving the house.”

“I doubt you need to anyway. ”

I know Ava is a natural beauty. I just haven’t ever looked at her as anyone other than my coach’s daughter.

“Like you’ve seen me without makeup.”

“I have, actually. Many times.”

Ava blushes, clearly feeling embarrassed.

I remind Ava of the times when her father would bring her out to the stadium for practice. She would always be buried in her books, paying no attention to anything else. But I was always paying attention to her.

“The days before I was always drowning in work,” she says. I can tell her work means a lot to her.

“I always wondered what made you want to become a naturalist.” My inquisitive ears listen in.

“I just want to make a difference in the world.”

Ava’s beauty and brains are a hard combination to come across. It isn’t every day you see a beautiful woman who knows exactly what she wants from life.

“I never got to thank you properly for what you did. Agreeing to fund my project.” She looks at me with eyes full of gratitude.

“Partially fund,” I correct her.

“That’s beside the point. You saved my project, and I’m grateful.” Ava smiles sweetly .

“In exchange for being my fake girlfriend.” My cockiness resurfaces.

“It’s not so bad once you get the hang of it.” I feel that Ava isn’t as uncomfortable as she was in the beginning.

“Well, I’m glad you’re enjoying it.” I laugh.

I actually can’t wait to have her show up at my next game. I know having her there will inspire me to bring back the spirit of my game.

“I’ll be sure to be the loudest at your next game.” Ava looks up at the sky and doesn’t see the smile that creeps up on my face.

“You don’t need to do anything except show up.” I fight the urge to reach out, pulling my hands to myself.

I can’t help but feel the magnetic pull between us.

“I’ll be there.”

Ava and I gaze at the stars, grazing on the remains of our food.

I’m surprised at how close I feel to Ava at this moment, but I am enjoying every minute of it.