Falling For You ('Brothers' Spin-Off)

Chapter 33: Qualifier Game

Chapter 33

May

I felt like I was in a movie, or one of those inspirational sports commercials for Gatorade or something.

I wiped my hands on my shorts to dry them as I took a deep breath, my lungs rattling in my ears.

I could hear my heart beating rapidly, the adrenaline pulsing through my body as my hands started shaking.

I squeezed them tightly before wiping the sweat off again.

"Come on Grace!" Marley yelled from the sideline.

"Sh." I whispered to myself, trying to lower my heart rate.

A handball in the penalty box resulted in me standing behind the PK line, about to make or break the game.

It was tied 3-3 and there were less than two minutes left on the clock.

This game would determine if we went to the quarter-finals of play-offs or not.

It was intense.

AP exams ended last week and the team was more than ready to take on last year's state champs.

"Let's go Gracie!" I heard Michael yell from the stands, his voice piercing through the silence of the soccer field.

I swore under my breath, shaking out my feet as I glanced at the ref.

He gave me a nod before raising his whistle to his mouth.

My heart swelled in my chest as I took a few bounces back from the ball.

As the whistle blew, my stomach twisted with anticipation and I threw my weight forwards, the inside of my foot making solid contact with the ball.

As soon as my foot lost contact with the ball, I jumped into ready position incase the goalie deflected it.

Relief flooded through me as she dove in the wrong direction.

I spun around with a sigh of relief, hearing the satisfying sound of the ball hitting the back of the net with a swish.

A smile crossed my face as the rest of my team gathered around me as we jogged back towards the halfway mark.

"Nice job, frosh." Gigi, the captain, said with a wink.

I stuck my tongue out at her as I jogged to the outside of the center circle.

Despite the fact that I was no longer the lone freshman on the team, considering I was now a sophomore, the nickname stuck.

"Go Grace!" Michael yelled again from the stands.

This time, I wasn't stressed, and I let myself laugh as I glanced over to the cluster of Ryders in the stands.

"Woo!" Wesley yelled, a grin crossing his face as we made eye contact.

"Grace keep your eyes off of your boyfriend!" Gigi called with a laugh.

I stuck my tongue out at her again as the whistle blew and the other team took the kick.

It was ridiculously dumb of them.

One of their strikers ran straight between Gigi and me, and the one with the ball tried to pass to her.

"Go!" I yelled to Gigi, pointing away from me as I jumped to intercept the pass.

I cut around the striker, glancing around the field for the closest option.

I dodged two midfielders before chipping it across to Gigi.