TOUGH ROMANCE || scoups || BOOK ONE

43

Hani

"Why do kids' sports start at such ungodly hours? And why is the grass so wet? Look at these shoes! They'll never recover." Dokyeom complained as we set up our folding chairs on the sideline of the football field.

"It's nine in the morning, not four a.m." I said dryly. "Maybe if you and Jennie hadn't made and then drank an entire pitcher of margaritas last night, you wouldn't be cringing like a vampire at the light of day."

He collapsed into his chair, looking impossibly stylish in Raybans and a thick knit sweater. "It was my last night in town before my trip to Paris. I couldn't say no to margaritas. Besides, it's easy to be Suzy Sunshine when you're getting laid regularly-"

"Zip it!!" I said, shooting a look at the rest of Mimi's cheering section. My parents were sitting with Jennie, who didn't seem any worse for her half of the margaritas. Mum was doing her mum thing and introducing herself to everyone in a twenty foot radius, asking them the names of their players and proudly pointing out Mimi in her number 6 jersey.

Taeyong, the badass biker, strode down the sideline. He was wearing a t-shirt and jeans and a scowl. He smirked at us. "Bring it in!!" He bellowed. Fifteen girls in all shapes, sizes and colours jogged and skipped their way over to the unlikely head coach.

"That guy looks like a probation violence, not a girl's football coach." Dokyeom observed.

"That's Taeyong. His niece Wonnie is the one with the pigtails. She plays forward. She's unbelievably fast." I told him.

Mimi looked up from her team huddle and waved at me. I grinned and waved back.

The ref blew two short blasts on the whistle, and two girls from each team jogged to the center circle. "What's happening? Did the game start?" Dokyeom asked.

"They're doing the coin toss." I said. "The coin toss determines which team gets the ball for kick off and which direction they're trying to score."

"Look at you, football mum!" He teased.

"I may have done a little reading up on the sport." I said. I'd done a lot of research.

The whistle on the field signaled the start of the game, and I cheered along with the rest of the crowd as the action got underway.

Two minutes into play, I was holding my breath and Dokyeom's hand in a death grip as Mimi got the ball and started dribbling for the goal.

"Go, Mimi! Go!" Dad shouted as he came out of his chair.

Mimi faked a move to the right before heading in the opposite direction around the defender and firing off a pass to Tara, Seoyeon's niece.

"That was good right?" Dokyeom asked. "It looked good. Sneaky and full of deception."

"The coach says she's a natural." I said proudly before yelling, "Go, Tara!!"

Tara lost the ball out of bounds, and play was paused so three players could tie their shoelaces.

"A natural. That's impressive."

"What did I miss?" Seoyeon appeared next to me in jeans and a Nirvana tank top under a soft gray cardigan. She had her black hair piled high in a knot on top of her head and stylish sunglasses. Her lips were painted ruby red. She waved to Tara and plopped down in her own camp chair.

"Just the first two minutes. No score. And Taeyong hasn't screamed 'Come on, ladies!' yet." I reported.

On cue, the biker cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted "Come on, ladies!!"