Page 16 of The Keeper and I
By halftime, the score was still one-nil with Chelsea looking threatening as they put pressure on Stanmore’s defense and held them on their side of the pitch. They had taken several more shots on goal, including one from a set piece, but Jordan stopped them before they crossed into the net. Laci found herself holding her breath and releasing it each time Jordan made a save.
While Tate went to retrieve some snacks, Laci checked her phone. She had a couple likes on her Instagram story but also a new DM. The username read dane_2307, and to her dismay, it was exactly who she thought it was. The guy who’d followed her from the photo shoot. He’d sent several messages:
You’re at your boyfriend’s match wearing the other team’s shirt?
There’s being private and there’s lying, Laci.
To think I almost believed it when I saw him walk you home. But you didn’t even kiss at the door.
Her stomach turned to stone as she read the last message. He had followed them? When? How? She never saw any sign of him. Then again, she’d been so wrapped up in Jordan that she doubted she would have noticed anything else.
Several thoughts occurred to her. First, Dane knew where she lived. She was going to have to look into getting the police involved to feel safe. Second, he knew she was lying about dating Jordan, and she had no plan for this. It hadn’t occurred to her to carry on with the lie, but she forgot Dane followed her socials. She never thought he’d be looking out for evidence of her pretend relationship. Third, she was going to have to act fast to recover from this slip up.
Another message popped up:Just give me a chance, Laci.
She locked her phone and stuffed it into her pocket as she took a deep breath. She needed a few minutes to think, but the second half was starting. Jordan was in her direct line of vision in the goal on her side of the pitch. God, he was distracting.
A nudge to her side made her turn her head and face Britt who shot her a questioning look. “Are you alright?”
Laci nodded hastily. “Yeah, I’m fine.” She looked out at the pitch, taking notice of Jordan’s profile. “Just fine.”
The second half provided a much-needed distraction from her worries. The pace of the game picked up with Stanmore going on the attack, though still unable to equalize. Laci got a good look at Jordan. The way he prowled the penalty box was like a panther. His eyes always focused on the ball, tracking it around the pitch, ready to pounce. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of what that gaze might look like up close.
Finally, Chelsea capitalized off a mistake by one of Stanmore’s midfielders and they made a break for the other end of the pitch. A wall of blue shirts closed in around Jordan’s all black kit though the top of his head still poked out above them. Ethan Knight took another shot. Jordan sprang to his left and batted the ball back toward Ethan. Knight poked it away from the Stanmore defender and shot again, but Jordan scrambled to his feet and jumped, stretching his limbs as long as they would go to get his fingertips on the ball. It was just enough to put it up and over the back of the net. Laci barely held back a cheer.
Chelsea got set up for a corner kick, and Laci kept her eyes fixed on Jordan as he braced himself—until Jax called over to her.
“Lace, d’you know anyone named Dane?”
A shiver ran down her spine, and she faced her brother. “What?”
“He sent me a message on Instagram asking if you’re really dating Jordan Frawley,” Jax said, brow furrowed. “What’s going on?”
Before she could answer, the Chelsea forward kicked the ball with a resoundingpoomf, and it sailed toward the goal. A crowd-wide groan went through the stadium when Jordan caught the header from a Chelsea defender at the far post. The only eyes not on the action were Laci’s, her brothers’, and Britt’s. Their focus was solely on her while she scrambled for an explanation.
“I, uh…”
The crowd started a wild protest as Stanmore’s attack improved. They cut through the Chelsea defense with surprising accuracy and finally slipped one past the goalkeeper. Stamford Bridge erupted into boos while the Stanmore section cheered. Frustrated by the noise, Laci put aside her voice and began signing to explain everything to her brothers and Britt, from running into Dane after her photoshoot to Jordan walking her home. She left out her attraction to him though. Even without the risk of being overheard, she was a little embarrassed to admit he wasn’t actually interested in her.
“Oh my…” Britt replied.
“Do you need to stay with us for a couple days?” Tate offered.
Laci shrugged. “I have no idea. But I have to do something if he’s seeking out my family now.”
“Have you told anyone else about it?” Jax asked.
“No, I thought it was over until today,” Laci answered. “I can’t believe I didn’t think about the match. I should have been more careful.”
“This isn’t your fault,” Britt insisted. “We’ll figure something out. There has to be a way to cover it up.”
Laci cast a desperate look at Jax whose eyes were trained on the pitch. She followed his gaze to where Jordan stood, inside the penalty area, prepping to take a goal kick. Jax tapped his finger against his lips, and Laci dreaded to think what he might be coming up with.
“I’ve got an idea,” he signed.
The match ended in a one-one draw.
As soon as the final whistle blew, Jax herded the group out of the stands to where he knew the visiting team’s bus would be parked and waited for the Stanmore athletes to emerge. Already, a few of them were trickling out. No one tall enough to be Jordan, of course, but that meant they were in luck.