Chapter 3

"What the hell was wrong with you? Were you constipated or something?" Matthew Rossi turned to hear his best friend berate him. He knew full well what Oliver was going on about.

"No, I wasn't. Nothing's wrong with me. You know how much I hate not being able to play!" He told him adamantly.

"Oh really...blame it on the red card...are you're always such an ass when Felix brings out the new staff? You were fine right before you saw her! I don't get why you had to do that. The poor girl was crushed! You're her favourite player!" Oliver told him, hitting Matthew hard with his equipment bag. They started walking again, heading for the parking lot.

"Look, I don't see what the big deal is. I'm always a jerk...you explained that to her probably...and she'll only have to deal with me a few times a week. Not so bad." Matthew told him, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Well, if I find out you're giving her a hard time; you'll be in trouble. Red card or not!" Oliver warned.

"What! You're supposed to be on my side!" Matthew complained.

"Felix told me to watch over her. I think you and Nathaniel have been replaced as the babies of the team." Oliver said, giving him a grin. They had reached their cars.

"Shut up...you just like having seniority..." Matthew muttered.

"Yea yea...I'll see you later. Bye Matt...Don't let the red card bite!" Oliver said with a laugh, ducking into his BMW. Matthew waved goodbye to his friend, before unlocking the door of his own car, a sleek black Lamborghini Gallardo. He shoved his bag in, before seating himself, and starting the engine. Oliver had gotten him good...for once.

As he drove through the parking lot, he noticed something odd. Is that an...it's an American car? Matthew thought in surprise. As he passed it, he saw the girl sitting inside it. Quickly, he masked his face with another cold look.

Relaxing once he had left the grounds. It had been a long day. Matthew thought as he drove to the hotel. It was going to be a long month. His five games spanned a pretty long time. A start of the season incident hadn't helped him. It was never any good to confront anyone...even if you were right...Matthew shoved it into the back of his mind.

The girl had been a good distraction from his own problems. Mia...That was her name. Never in his life had he felt his knees turn to jelly at the sight of a girl. Never. And he had seen his share of girls.

The feelings that had caused his heart to swell had in fact scared him. I'm going to have to keep away from that one, he thought, knowing how difficult it would be since she was assigned to take care of him. His mind wandered back to her. Her emerald green eyes were something he had never seen before. They had grabbed his attention the moment he had seen her.

I can't like her, he thought as he drove home. From what he had seen, she was a pretty simple girl. Her auburn hair had been tied back, her pale skin made him think as though she didn't spend much time outside, her slim frame suited her average height. Her looks weren't out of the ordinary...but they had caught him. She wasn't one of those models, he had been known to date...Matthew shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. I've got to stop thinking about her, he reprimanded himself. Its going to be a long season...he thought with dread.