Dangerous Play

35 » a game in hand

Finn whooped in excitement with his teammates as the ball hit the back of the other team's net, courtesy of Kieran's powerful shot. The goal put them up comfortably at 3-1. He almost felt sorry for the other team, who looked exhausted. Tournament weekends were always tough—if a team made it to the final, like they had, you were playing four games in three days between Friday to Sunday.

Sporting Academy was tired too, though you'd never be able to tell by the way they were playing this game. Kieran especially seemed to live for the pressure. This latest goal gave him a hat trick, but he'd also scored one in their morning game earlier.

It was a clear Sunday afternoon—Finn was thankful the weather had been nice all weekend, though he was surely sunburned after being outside for so long. After this game, he was ready to go home and shower and then take a nice, long nap.

He shook his head and bounced on the balls of his feet to get his energy up as they set up for the kick-off. With every passing minute, they were closer to being crowned champions. Things had gotten a little dicey yesterday when their team fell into a slump and only managed to eke out a 1-1 draw against the Kansas City Legends, which their coach was not happy about. Thankfully they had woken up today ready to go, and had won their morning game, which put them in the final they were currently playing.

A Legends forward had received the ball and was rocketing toward their goal. Out of the corner of his eye, Finn saw Cairo darting forward, and backed off. Cairo hit the ground in a beautiful slide tackle, poking the ball out of reach and in his direction. Finn didn't hesitate. With one touch, he sent the ball spinning toward Nick, one of their midfielders, who immediately passed it to Brady.

Their team managed to keep possession of the ball for a few moments, passing it around like a game of hot potato, before someone expertly lobbed it over the heads of the Legends defenders for Kieran to run onto. Before he could break away with it, however, the referee gave three short blasts of the whistle, signaling the end of the game.

Finn blinked. Before he knew it, his teammates were pushing each other together, shouting in celebration. Kieran was getting slapped on the back from everyone, congratulating him on his hat trick. Finn grinned and joined in, tousling his friend's dark hair. "Congrats, buddy. You actually managed to score five this weekend."

"I scored six, you jealous bastard," Kieran shot back with a smile. "How many did you get? Just the one?"

Finn rolled his eyes as they headed for the sidelines with everyone else, still celebrating. "I stopped at least three shots directly, too. That should count as double."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just be glad we won, sí?"

"Better get used to it. Next thing you know you'll be lifting that Champions League trophy."

Kieran got a far-off look in his eye, as if he was actually picturing the silver cup that signified the best competition in international club soccer. By then, they and their teammates had reached the bench, where their coach was giving them all a rare smile. After a brief, mostly congratulatory speech, he led them back onto the field to receive their medals and get their pictures taken.

Once the tournament photographers had disbursed, the parents swarmed their group, each one demanding a turn to take photos. Finn spotted his parents and sister, as well as Kieran's mother, which was a rare sighting. Eden hadn't been able to make it, since her team was playing at a different park, but she'd sent him a very flirty good luck text before the game that lifted his spirits immensely.

He couldn't wait until next weekend, when the girls' tournament was over and they could officially start dating. He understood Eden's reasoning for waiting, but he almost didn't care anymore. Dating Eden wouldn't make him root against Abby's team. Selfishly, he hoped they wouldn't end up playing each other in the final—if one team crashed out before then, he wouldn't have to face that dilemma at all.