The Legend of the Eight: The Charmed (Book 4)

11: The Golden Boy's Girl

ELEVEN: THE GOLDEN BOY'S GIRL
SEPTEMBER 23
KATE DIAMOND

WEDNESDAY AFTER CLASS, KATE WAS wandering the Academy grounds until she arrived at the soccer field. The boys' team was there, getting a practice in before their next game on Saturday. While the boys ran conditioning drills up and down the field, the girl's team was inside the weight room. In past years, the girl's team was just as successful as the boy's, though they were struggling this season without a consistent roster. Phoebe had been notoriously absent. The boy's practice was almost at an end and the boys showed signs of exhaustion—slower sprints, deeper breaths, and longer pauses between sets.

Kate leaned against the chain link fence around the perimeter of the field and spotted Liam slowing to a stop after his sprints. The team's coach, John Bennett, stood off by the water jug and next to him was a man Kate had never seen before. He wore khakis with a light blue polo and on his head was a navy blue hat with a large white paw print stitched into it. He carried a portfolio with him and jotted notes into it, carrying a casual conversation with Bennett. He must have been a college coach interested in recruiting some of the players.

But tensions on the field ran high that day. It looked painful, unorganized even. It must have been due to the fact that a starter, junior John Thomas, hadn't shown up to practice. Bennett blew his whistle and the team ran to the center of the field where they met their coach for their end-of-practice huddle. Bennett spoke with great animation when he addressed his players and they looked at him with respect and admiration. When they were dismissed, they grabbed their things off the sidelines and the man with a clipboard called a few players over—namely Drew Briggs and Quinn Harvey. The rest of the team jogged towards the edge of the field to the team room, passing Kate on the way.

She had her eyes peeled for Liam and when she spotted him towards the back of the group, her palms started to sweat. He slowed his jog when he saw her and stopped on the other side of the fence, using the towel around his neck to dry the sweat from his face.

"Hey pretty girl." His clear blue eyes lit up when he smiled at her, twinkling in the late afternoon sun.

Stomach in her throat, Kate could hardly speak.

"You looked good out there," she said, ignoring the way her hands itched with a want to grab his.

"Thanks. Coach switched me to defense since JT hasn't been to practice all week. Mike says he hasn't been to classes either."

"That's weird, right?" Kate asked since she didn't know JT well enough to judge for herself. "Has anyone seen him?"

Liam shrugged. "I'm sure it's nothing. So, what brings you out here?"

Her stomach lurched when she tried to speak. But if there was anyone who could help her figure out what to do, it was him.

"I was hoping we could talk," she said after a minute. "If you're not busy."

Liam chuckled and gestured to his clothes, stained with grass, dirt, and sweat. "I may be a little dirty and sweaty, but I'm never too busy for you."

She knew he'd say the right thing. He always said the right thing.

Liam reached across the fence and gave her hand a quick squeeze. That knot in her stomach turned to butterflies.

"Let me go shower," he told her before letting go of her hand. "Then I'll meet you right back here?"

She nodded, leaning against the fence where she planned to wait for him. "Thanks."