Offside (8 page)

Caitlyn snorted. “He asked you to babysit? Are you freaking kidding me?”

Faith shook her head.

“What a jerk.”

“It's okay,” Faith said. “He's not a bad person. I just made a mistake. I shouldn't have liked him.”

Caitlyn was quiet a second. “Yeah, falling in love with a teacher never turns out well. You'll get over it eventually.” She rose to her feet and walked onto the field.

Faith watched as Caitlyn, Olivia, and Addie passed a ball back and forth. Taking a few deep breaths, she got to her feet and positioned herself at an angle between Caitlyn and Olivia. Caitlyn sent a pass her way.

Faith returned to the bench when the match started. The Copperheads were playing the Blue Lake Trojans. It was a team they'd beaten easily earlier in the season. But whether it was because the match was on a Monday night or Coach's head was someplace else—like with his
wife and new baby
—the Copperheads were already down 2–0.

Faith's head wasn't in the game either.
I'm an idiot
, she thought.

She'd misread every one of Coach Berg's kind words and gestures. He wasn't being romantic, he was just showing concern. Caitlyn's photo captured a moment in time that didn't mean anything. Alan—Coach—was trying her at midfield to help the team, not because he was doing Faith some huge favor. And she'd thought he might kiss her that night? Confess his feelings? She wished there were a hole in front of the bench that she could crawl into.

At halftime, the score hadn't changed. It seemed like the threat of a loss hadn't dawned on Coach Berg until the team huddled together. He laid into them.

“I know you're tired! But Monday matches are no different than any other night. You will not lose to this team! You're better than they are.”

He waved Faith over.

“Look,” he said, “about midfield. If we were ahead, I'd consider it. But not tonight, okay?”

She nodded. It was what she'd expected.

“But Addie needs a break.”

“Okay. Great.” It surprised Faith how much she wanted to play defense. She felt comfortable there. And it was where she could help the team most right then.

Inspired by Coach's grilling, the Copperheads quickly scored. But soon after the Trojans took possession, they were deep into Copperhead territory again. Caitlyn charged the attacker with the ball. She reached in with her foot to steal, but the forward did a stepover and kept possession.

“Crap!” Caitlyn yelled as the forward dribbled toward the goal.

But Faith had already shifted to back her up. She was focused on the ball in front of her but aware of the net behind her back. The net was the lake. She would not let the ball drown. The Trojan forward must have seen the resolve on Faith's face—she pulled up short. Caitlyn rushed in alongside Faith, double-teaming the charging Trojan. Under pressure, the forward made a weak pass back to one of her teammates—which Sophie intercepted for the Copperheads.

As Caitlyn trotted to her position, she stuck out her hand. Faith slapped it.

“Thanks for the backup,” Caitlyn said.

“You too,” Faith responded.

Faith had never played so intensely, and Coach kept her in for the rest of the match. The defense didn't allow another goal, either, and the game ended in a 2−2 tie.

After the match, Coach gave the team a few minutes of feedback and then quickly left. Faith noticed Melody trotting after him. She must have been Coach's plan B babysitter.

As Faith walked across the field toward home, she heard a “Hey!” She stopped. Caitlyn caught up with her.

“Good match,” Caitlyn said. “Sucks we didn't win, but you did good. It's like you've caught fire the past couple of games. You should think about playing club ball.”

Faith shrugged. “I can't afford—”

“Hear me out a second,” Caitlyn said. “My club has some scholarships. The way you're playing right now, I bet you could get one. But you'd need to play Saturdays.”

Faith nodded.

“League tournaments are a great way to get seen by college scouts too” Caitlyn continued.

College. It wasn't the same thing as sharing the white cottage with Coach Berg. But in a way, it sounded even better. More real.

“I'll think about it,” Faith said. “Thanks.”

Caitlyn took a deep breath. “Okay. I need to show you something.”

Now what?
Faith thought. Caitlyn took a cell phone out of a pocket on her game bag. After showing Faith the photo, Caitlyn pressed a couple of buttons and it disappeared.

“Why?” Faith asked.

“I don't know. I suppose because I shouldn't have taken it in the first place.”

It wasn't exactly an apology, but Faith was grateful anyway. She nodded.

“I need to get home.”

“Yeah. See ya.” Caitlyn walked toward the locker room as Faith headed in the other direction.

After taking a few steps, Faith turned and called, “Hey, Caitlyn? Um… if you guys are doing something Saturday night, could I, like…” She shrugged, too embarrassed to finish her question.

“Tag along?” Caitlyn finished for her. “Sure.” She paused. “Hey, if you can wait a minute, I'll give you a ride home.”

“Okay. That would be great.”