Tryst Six Venom by Penelope Douglas

it rolls right into their goal.
“Yeah!” Krisjen shouts, our team celebrating.
Amy flips her stick around like a baton, all smiles, and I spare two
seconds to feel the glow before I run back to get in play again.
Time moves fast, Gibbon’s Cross scoring one, and us scoring two more in
the second.
I bang my stick on the ground. “Amy!” I shout.
She flashes her eyes to me, hits the ball just as someone knocks her to the
ground, elbowing her head. I grab the ball, shooting it into the net, and more
boos erupt from the stands.
I smile, but I don’t celebrate, running over and not thinking. I slam Costa
in the shoulder while everyone is distracted, watching her land on the ground
next to Amy and getting her comeuppance. This is the third time she’s done
that to one of us, and the refs aren’t seeing it. Or pretending they’re not
seeing it.
I pull Amy back to her feet. “Thanks,” she says.
I jog back down the field, throwing out my hands at the ref. “You gonna
call something at some point?” I yell.
“Jaeger!” Coach yells, because I’m getting smart with the ref.
Fuck it. They’re throwing cheap shots. We win nothing taking the high
road.
I look over, seeing Clay standing now, her arms folded over her chest,
concern or tension etched across her brow.
I get back in the game, Ruby passing the ball to Krisjen and Krisjen
passing it back quickly. “Liv!” she shouts, shooting it to me.
Second and third period passes, and I wipe the sweat off my forehead,
hair loose from my ponytail tickling my neck. We’re up two goals, but
everyone is exhausted and Gibbon’s Cross doesn’t always play their best
players first. They’re about to get a second wind.
I debate for a moment and then walk over to Coach. “Bring Clay in,” I
tell her. “Ruby’s exhausted.”
But Coach shakes her head. “I’ll make the decisions. Get back in the
game.”
I hesitate, ready to argue, but they’re teeing off.
Running backward onto the field again, I growl at Clay, “So you just
gonna sit there the whole night?”
Make her put you in the game. You can make anyone do anything, right?