Footwork and Feelings

When Liam approached, I quickly found myself having to make a conscious effort not to double over laughing.

Between his running shoes with at least three layers of socks, and his evident layers upon layers of winter clothing, he looked ready for a hike in the snow rather than running around a soccer pitch.

It only took him a few minutes into the light jog to warm up to concede and toss a few of the layers aside for his return trip.

“You really do warm up quickly.” He mumbled, looking a little embarrassed.

“Do you not like the cold?” I asked.

“Not much, I grew up further south, so this cold is new to me.” He explained.

I listened for a few minutes, asking a question here and there as he explained about his hometown.

Once he finished, I decided to do the same, telling him about growing up only a few hours from here. I ended up telling him all about the Christmas party, and a few stories from growing up with Tea.

I found it easy to talk to him, speaking of stories I held dear and times I cherished.

Only when we stopped running and I started setting up cones for a dribbling drill did silence fill the air between us for the first time today.

It was uneasy.

Every time that we were together prior, I always felt comfortable in the silence between us, except for that interview a couple months ago of course.

This was the first time that I could sense both of us being unsure.

I didn’t want to bring up anything yet, wanting to train first and talk at the end. I think that he knew that, but was on edge the whole time nevertheless.

“You alternate your feet like this.” I said, dribbling through the cones back and forth for a minute, and then passing him the ball.

It was a rather simple drill, but one that involved quick footwork and good stamina. When people think of soccer being tiring, they usually think about running, which is often the case.

However, there’s plenty of aspects of the game that require mental and physical fortitude, and one such aspect is the quick, smaller movements in things like this.

His first attempt was clumsy, but in a way I couldn’t help but find endearing.

I also soon noticed that he was adapting quickly, picking up the movements at a surprising pace, and even managing a few paths back and forth without mistakes towards the end, even if it was quite slow.

Seeing how tired he was already, I took over and continued the drill for a while, trying my best to focus while keeping up idle conversation.

Part of me quickly realized that training with him wouldn’t be something I could do often if I wanted to improve.

Multiple times I found myself showing off rather than focusing on improvement, since seeing him impressed gave me a lot of satisfaction.

After we finished with that drill, I guided Liam through a few different ones, and we eventually finished on shooting, which seemed to be his best area.

Watching him, I determined that his legs must be very strong from all the hiking, which led to his incredible shot power considering he hadn't played before.

While his accuracy was what you’d expect of a newbie, I don’t think any untrained goalkeepers would stop much of what he managed to put on target.

As for my part, my shots were finding their marks better than usual. Simply put, I felt great.

While I wanted to attribute that to Liam’s presence so I had an excuse to invite him more, I was sure that it was due to me finally getting back in a rhythm after my return here.

As my last shot rang off the post and in, we walked over to a bench on the sidelines and drank some water, the session as good as done.

I would still likely end up going to the gym later, but I had a much more present situation staring me in the face right now.

As much fun as he seemed to be having, I was sure that a large part of the reason he was here was my promise to explain what I’d tried to yesterday.

I wasn’t sure why he was so interested as I locked eyes with him, but part of it gave me hope that he might be just as interested as I am.

“So, about yester-” He started.

“I like you.”

I blurted it out like I’d been holding onto it for weeks, which I guess I had.

After a few seconds of silence, I realized that I should probably expand upon the idea.

“I’ve been into you for a little while now, and if I didn’t stop myself yesterday, I would have asked you out in front of the others.” I said it smoothly, not implying that I wouldn’t mind sharing my feelings in front of others, but saying it matter of factly. I wanted it to be just between us for now.

His mouth tried a few different times to speak, giving me a small heart attack each and every time.

“I-I too.”

I’d seen him on edge a few times, even rattled once or twice, but never quite struggle for words like this.

It took me a moment to fully realize the meaning behind those two, simple words.

Our feelings were mutual. I wouldn’t be going back to my dorm having been rejected.

“So you’ll go out with me?” I asked, wishing I hadn’t started celebrating before confirming it.

He nodded, his composure mostly back, and his eyes locked on mine.

I felt myself yearning to lean in and embrace him. A hug, a kiss, I didn’t care which, but I waited for a second, taking in the moment, staring into his eyes above me.

“Ria.”

I nearly jumped off the bench entirely as my voice rang across the open field.

“If you’re done, then get back inside, it’s too cold to stay sitting there.” It was the voice of coach Davis, who must have just arrived back from break, only to find her team’s captain sitting on a bench across the training pitch in below freezing weather.

While I couldn’t make out her expression from where I now stood, I got the distinct impression of instant regret from her mannerisms.

She must have called out without taking in the situation, and felt bad for interrupting.

Part of me wanted to turn around and pretend I didn’t notice, and another part of me wanted to thank her.

I wasn’t sure what I was about to do, but I didn’t want to rush things between us.

“Let’s go.” I said, giving Liam a smile and grabbing his hand, holding it as we walked back together.

Today was everything I ever could have hoped it would be.