Chapter 201 Chapter 201 This Forever
It’s halftime, and every single one of us looks half dead.
We’re scattered across the sidelines drinking water like we’ve just crossed a fucking desert. Sweat pours from every inch of our bodies, soaking shirts, dripping down necks, making everyone look feral. Petia and Sal, both goalies, are laid out flat on the grass like fallen soldiers.
The game is tied.
Two goals each.
I look over at Liam and blow him a dramatic kiss.
“You tricked me,” he says between breaths, laughing as he bends over with his hands on his knees. “I got stuck with all these old men. How many of you are in your fifties?”
Four hands immediately go up.
The rest of them fall somewhere between their forties and thirties. None of us are young anymore, no matter how much we pretend otherwise out on this field.
I glance toward my daughters sleeping together on the shaded bench while Constantine sits nearby grinning ear to ear. He’s absolutely loving this. Watching all of us together like this probably feels normal to him in the strangest possible way.
“To be young again,” Jax exhales dramatically before dumping an entire bottle of water over his head. He shakes like a wet dog, revealing the scar cutting through his eyebrow even more clearly. “I bet your dick gets so hard. What are you, twenty-five?” he asks Liam.
I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.
I also keep my mouth shut because, unfortunately for everyone involved, Jax is not entirely wrong. Liam’s dick is rock hard constantly. All the fucking time. Whenever I want it. Just the thought of it has warmth pooling low in my stomach already.
But I’m not giving these assholes extra ammunition.
“I’m thirty,” Liam says, laughing as he glances over at me.
Mia suddenly jumps up and claps her hands together loudly.
“Let’s finish them!”
“Pool after this,” Gabby whines dramatically, making all of us laugh.
The break ends quickly after that.
We jog back onto the field while the people in the stands cheer louder now that everyone’s sweaty, competitive, and borderline aggressive.
Mia, Vladimira, and I take forward again.
Petia throws the ball to Gabby, and she immediately passes it to me. The guys put Liam on defense against me, which honestly feels unfair for him more than it does for me.
I weave around him easily.
“Don’t take it easy on me,” I say while spinning my body around the ball.
His hands briefly land on my hips as he blocks me. “Thank you for letting me in.”
“No flirting!” Sal bellows from the goal. “You already got it!”
Everyone starts laughing.
I break away from Liam, but he catches up fast. I pass to Mia, and she tears down the field like a woman possessed.
She sends the ball to Vladimira, and the two of them rush Sal together, faking him out beautifully before Vladimira scores.
Sal groans loudly while everyone cheers.
“Traitor!” he yells while throwing the ball back into play.
What surprises me most is watching Ivan and Liam work together afterward.
Not tolerate each other.
Actually work together.
Ivan passes to Liam smoothly, Liam sends it back, Dimitri joins in, and somehow the three of them cut through us with terrifying efficiency before Dimitri scores.
Tied again.
“I could do this for the rest of my life,” Liam says while jogging past me, motioning between us.
Something in my chest squeezes painfully at the sincerity in his voice.
“Have I told you how much I enjoy your accent?” I ask him.
Not really a question considering I tell him constantly, especially when he’s between my legs making me forget my own fucking name.
His grin turns sinful immediately.
Petia throws the ball back into play.
The second I turn, Liam deliberately crashes into me, taking me down with him onto the grass. He catches himself above me with his hands so he doesn’t crush me completely.
“That’s cheating,” I laugh.
“I love you,” he whispers quickly before pushing himself back up.
My heart stumbles.
“Vladimira, switch me!” I yell suddenly.
I sprint across the field, switching from the right side to the left.
Dimitri immediately notices.
“You can’t take me,” he says confidently.
“We both know I can,” I shoot back, overly cocky and not remotely sorry about it.
Across the field, Mia and Ivan are fighting each other for possession like two wild animals. She shoves him hard enough to create space before passing the ball straight to me.
I spin around Dimitri.
He traps the ball between his feet at the last second, but I see my opening immediately. I kick the ball cleanly between his legs, dart around him, and head straight for Sal.
I’m scoring.
I fake left.
Sal shifts.
Then I kick the ball upward and launch into a scissor kick.
The ball flies into the net beautifully while Sal throws his hands over his face instead of trying to stop it.
“What are you doing?” Liam yells dramatically. “Catch the fucking ball, not hide from it!”
Sal flips him off while everyone bursts out laughing. “Ivan, tell him how bad it hurts when she hits your face with the ball!”
“Headache for days.” says Ivan.
Liam shakes his head hard. “I’m going to need to whip all of you into shape.”
“Elle is amazing with a whip,” Matteo says instantly.
“Matteo,” I gasp dramatically, clutching my chest. “The betrayal!”
Every single guy immediately looks at Liam, waiting for some jealous reaction.
Instead, Liam just grins.
“Oh, I already know about that,” he says casually. “I know everything.”
The men explode with laughter while I threaten Matteo with death using only my eyes.
Then my father whistles sharply from the sidelines.
Game over.
Once again, we’re tied.
But nobody wants to keep going anymore. We’re exhausted, overheated, sweaty disasters, and the promise of the pool is far more tempting than another round of attempted murder.
“Elena?” Liam calls.
I jog over to him while he stands there with his hands shoved casually into his pockets.
“Yes?” I ask, studying his face carefully.
He looks completely calm. No nerves. No panic. Nothing unusual.
Then Liam suddenly bends down onto one knee.
What the hell is he doing?
He reaches for his shoe.
Relief instantly floods through me.
Oh thank God. He’s tying his cleat.
I glance around laughing nervously, only to realize everyone else has gone completely still too. Even my father stands up straighter.
Liam takes my hand gently.
Confused, I look back down at him.
Then I see the ring.
Everything inside me stops.
“Will you make me the luckiest bastard in the world and be my wife?” he asks softly.
My vision blurs instantly.
“Yes,” I choke out, my voice cracking.
_The End