Dangerous Play

27 » ice cream Sundays

Finn shoved away from the player guarding him and sent the ball toward Nick in midfield, who he could barely see through the hair in front of his eyes. The rain had refused to let up in the second half of the game, plastering the wet strands to his forehead and making him realize he really needed a haircut. Next time he would steal some of Abby's pre-wrap to use as a headband.

Speaking of his sister... He still couldn't believe the referee had kicked her out. They weren't even allowed to do that, technically, but this referee was a douchebag, so he couldn't say it was that unexpected.

Nick had received the ball, turned, and fired off another pass upfield for Kieran. The dark-haired boy shook off the defender on his tail and sprinted forward. He barely even slowed down to receive the ball, catching it on his foot with a perfectly controlled touch as he dribbled toward the goal.

Finn jogged toward the center circle and came to a stop just before he crossed the centerline. He watched as Kieran flew past several midfielders and entered the other team's goal box. Two defenders converged on him.

One of the other team's players ran toward the commotion, blocking Finn's view of events. He heard Kieran yell, but by the time he could see the box, his friend was already on the ground and the ball was in the goalie's hands.

The spectators erupted. Finn heard his own parents shouting for a penalty kick, a sentiment echoed by many of the other parents and his own coach. Even the assistant referee was waving her flag frantically, signaling the foul on Kieran.

The fucking center referee didn't even glance at the assistant ref, instead gesturing at the other team's goalie to play on. Finn knew he shouldn't have been surprised, and yet somehow this idiot managed to disappoint again. He was sorely tempted to take a page out of Abby's book and tear the ref a new one, but he couldn't let his team down by getting sent off.

Kieran picked himself up off the ground. Mud was splattered all over the front of his jersey and shorts, which he tried in vain to brush off as he glared at the referee. Finn was too far away to hear him, but he could certainly imagine the Spanish curses tumbling out of his best friend's mouth.

The side referee was still stubbornly waving her flag, which Finn had to give her props for. The shouts from the sideline had morphed into calls for the ref to look at the AR, which he finally did, with a large amount of reluctance.

The assistant referee—who, Finn suddenly noted, was a rather attractive girl around their age—held the flag horizontally across her thighs in the signal for a penalty kick.

Finn was sure the center referee would simply ignore the AR, but the yells from the sideline had increased in volume. Seemed like Abby's showdown with the referee had given the other spectators a spine. At this point, even he couldn't ignore the demands of the masses.

With a face like he had just sucked on a lemon, the referee blew his whistle and pointed at the penalty spot. Finn grinned, though it was a small victory. He and the other defenders moved forward in anticipation of the penalty kick.

"This game is bullshit," Cairo said. A couple of the other team's players heard him and glared, which he ignored. "Props to your sister for calling this dumbass out."

Finn agreed privately, though all he said was, "This is far enough." The defenders settled about halfway into the other team's half to watch Kieran take the shot.

In all their years of playing soccer together, Finn had never seen Kieran miss a penalty kick. Today was no exception. The goalie guessed the direction of the shot correctly, but didn't stand a chance against Kieran's powerful foot as he sent the ball rocketing into the goal.