Harris nodded stiffly. “Yeah, me too. I’ve got a bunch of promotional stuff to put together for The Comeback.”
#TheComeback
It was the campaign for this season. An easy way to show fans that last year’s losing season wasn’t the end, and the Storm had a plan. With Silas back, however, their chosen word took on a whole new meaning.
“Awesome.” Miriam pointed at her computer. “Then, I’ll just get back to this.”
Harris nodded again before he stood up and wiped his hands over the thighs of his jeans. “Right.”
He started walking away, and Miriam felt a wave of guilt over dismissing him when all he was trying to do was cheer her up. “Harris?”
He stopped and turned.
“Thanks for this. Really.” She tried a brighter, less tear-stained smile.
He gave her another small smile before turning and returning to his own office. Once he was gone, Miriam tried to focus on her own work again. But it was much harder this time. Not only because of Silas—though that was going to be hard enough on its own.
On top of everything else, she worried that Harris might not be the only one who noticed the tension between her and Silas. How was she supposed to do her job and get people excited at meet and greets if Silas was there? She’d be counting down the minutes until he left, and that kind of energy came through no matter how hard you tried to cover it with a smile and a cheery voice.
Miriam pulled up the roster of players on her laptop. The three new additions were yet to be added, but Miriam knew what she needed to do. She needed to make sure Silas was invited to as few events as possible, and that there was always a buffer of several players between them.
That way there would be no more chances of surprise hugs and all the dangerous feelings that went along with them.
Silas
Silas needed a plan.
It had been a couple of days since he’d seen Miriam, but now that he knew what it was like to hold her again, no matter how briefly, all he could think about was getting her back.
At practice. At home. Every minute in between. He literally ached to see her again, but it was impossible to find an excuse to talk to her. When he wasn’t at practice, he was working out, or getting in extra training sessions. The effort was worth it to get back in the good graces of the team, but it didn’t leave much time for dropping by the Storm office during business hours.
The only solution? He needed to sign up for each and every community outreach event that came up.
Unfortunately, he hadn’t received any requests from Miriam and the rest of the team was still being pretty tight-lipped around him, not that Silas expected anything different. It had been less than a week since he’d signed his contract for the Storm. He’d need a little more time to earn their trust. But he needed Miriam’s trust too.
Silas pulled on a Dri-FIT tee and a pair of soccer shorts as he got ready for his morning workout. Team workouts were mostly optional, but this way he’d stay in peak physical performance with the intensive workouts. It also gave him some much needed time with the rest of the team to show how serious he was—especially since he wasn’t getting much interaction outside of team events since he was living at home for the time being.
He could have opted to live in one of the shared houses with some of the players who came in from different cities just for the season, but he wanted a place of his own. He hadn’t had a chance to buy one with the sudden signing to the Storm, but he would.
He jogged down the stairs from the second story, past the kitchen, and toward the front door.
“Silas.”
He stopped and turned at the sound of his mom’s voice. “Good morning.”
“And a good morning to you too.” She walked over and grabbed his face. She brought it down low enough so she could kiss his face. “I know you’re a grown man with a professional soccer career, but it’s just so nice to see you. Two years is too long to stay away from your parents.”
Silas barely resisted the urge to wipe his cheek as he straightened back up. “You act like you haven’t seen me at all. I was here for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Plus all the away games.”
They’re home games now.
His mom’s lips pressed together in a tight line. “The holidays never felt long enough. And you and I both know you were too focused on the game when you were here for them.”
He put his hands around her shoulders and squeezed. “I’m here now.”
“I’m happy you are.”
So was Silas.
Everything had felt wrong in Wisconsin. It wasn’t just the weather—though his teammates on the Wolves laughed every time he pulled out a jacket for weather that was below sixty. It was the little things too. They thought his casual use of the word ‘y’all’ made him sound like a southerner, when everyone knew that Florida wasn’t technically the South. Meanwhile, they called everything by weird names and said ‘ope’ all the time.
The move had been a huge mistake, but he’d been too embarrassed to admit it.
So instead of keeping a house in his hometown and only living near the team seasonally like players all over the league did, he’d stayed through the long, cold winters, and started saying ‘you betcha’ unironically.
“Off to practice today?” his mom asked.
He shrugged. “The gym.”
“Don’t overdo it.”
Silas rolled his eyes at her mothering.
“Oh, and I’m planning on making chicken marinara for dinner if you think you’ll be around.”
Silas’ stomach growled in response. While he only planned to stay with his parents long enough to find a place he
