From My Love to My Life (MXM) (sequel to From My Enemy to My Love)

Chapter 1

A/N: This book has a Mature rating

This story will be UNPUBLISHED January 1st 2025. Please plan for that and have all the reading done for it by then. Thanks for reading.

Chet Watakeekul

I ran down the field. The grass was familiar underneath my cleats and felt like home. Sweat dripped down my temples and along my back. The sky was dark, but the bright lights lit up the field. Martinez had the ball. A defender from the other team was right with him. A defender was right on me too. I had already scored a goal that night and they didn't want me to score another one. Bradley had scored the other point for our team. The score was 2-1 and the defending team had to stop us now or risk getting even further behind.

We were playing in our stadium and the crowd cheered as we got closer to the other team's goal. I knew Vincent was in the stands watching along with my parents, but I needed to concentrate on the game now. I focused on the ball, on my fellow teammates and on the defender. The goalie was watching us carefully as he prepared.

Martinez passed the ball to Bradley. I made sure not to advance past the defenders. I didn't need another offside called on me. I was usually good at keeping track of what was happening on the field and not violating rules, but everyone got caught up in the moment every once in a while and violated that offside rule. I had done it last game. I hadn't done it yet in this game.

The goalie was yelling commands at the other defenders while our team was also calling out to be ready. Bradley dribbled the ball towards the goal. I sped up just in case. The defender stayed with me. Bradley kicked the ball high in the air towards the goal. The goalie jumped high to deflect, but he just missed it. He landed sprawled out on the ground. The ball was too high for the net and hit the goal post bouncing off and back into our direction. It happened to bounce back right towards me high in the air. I jumped, hitting the ball precisely with my head and bouncing it back towards the goal.The goalie scrambled to his feet, but he wasn't fast enough and the ball hit the back of the net giving my team our third goal for the night with only five minutes left to go in the second half. The stadium ignited in cheers and people were on their feet. That familiar elation whenever I made a goal washed through me. I looked for my teammates. I saw Bradley first. That goal wouldn't have been possible without him.

Bradley reached me and lifted me off my feet in a hug. Martinez bounced into us and rubbed the top of my sweaty head. Then the rest of our teammates were there reaching to hug me or pat me with their excitement. This was my fourth year on this Major League Soccer team and my first year as a designated player. I was lucky enough to find a team and a college that would work with me while I earned my masters and then my doctorate in sports management. I didn't technically need a doctorate to coach. Once I had my bachelor's, I could have just worked on getting the certificates and I still planned on doing that, but that could come after I stopped playing. For now, I wanted to play, but also wanted to learn all that I could.

Coach Juarez was clapping for the goal even as he was yelling at us to get ready to defend.Our defenders broke away from the rest of us and were quickly rushing down the field to be prepared. The rest of us took up positions around the opposing team as the play started again and they kicked the ball down the field. I needed to help defend, but also be ready to steal the ball or be ready to receive the ball if one of our players managed to steal the ball. The opposing team's forward met our new defensive player, Alvarez. They collided against each other and the forward dropped to the ground over exaggerating as players did sometimes. It was a strategy.

The referee called a foul on Alvarez. I wasn't near Alvarez, but even I could hear him yell in protest. One of the other defenders on our team, Nagbe, pulled Alvarez away from the referee before the referee could give him a card. Alvarez protested, but not too hard as he let Nagbe pull him away. I didn't know a lot about Alvarez. He had played out of the country in previous years. This was his first year in the MLS. He was a great defender. There was no question about that, but there was something off about him. Something I hadn't figured out yet. But whatever that something was, I knew I didn't want to hang out with him if I didn't have to. Maybe it was the stray remark he would make every once in a while about me having a boyfriend. It wasn't anything out right homophobic or mean, but it had always felt weird to me and I didn't like it.