The Beautiful Game 01

During the 7v7, Coach Benson had asked them to focus on possession, and both teams passed the ball back and forth, without trying to press forward for a goal. The coach blew her whistle, which was unusual during this exercise and told the team that although they were trying to maintain possession, they still needed to be aggressive and take opportunities to score. She sent them back on the field, and M.J.'s red squad was doing a great job of keeping the ball from the blues, when M.J. found herself with only one defender to beat. Tara, who pretty much knew all of M.J.'s tricks, was an all-Conference defender and not easily beaten. As M.J. approached her, she decided to try Eduardo's move and shifted the ball to the outside of her right foot. Tara moved slightly right, and M.J. knew that she had her beat, so she tried to do the flick, but tripped, and found herself, embarrassed, flat on her ass in the damp grass. She hadn't fallen like that since her U-10 days, and she lay there, hoping that the ground would open and suck her in. Her teammates stopped playing, fearful that their star had hurt herself, and Sam ran over to check her out.

"You O.K.?" Sam asked, concerned.

"Yeah, just embarrassed," M.J. whispered.

"Then get your ass off the ground so that Benson doesn't have a heart attack."

M.J. stood up and jogged in place to show that she was fine. Which she was, until she noticed Eduardo watching her. She turned red and jogged back into position, saying, "Let's go. We have Kennedy to beat on Monday."

The scrimmage continued until the Coach blew her whistle again and the sweaty Rams walked off the field, grabbed their water bottles and gathered around the coach.

"Good practice, girls," she said. "Better focus today, for the most part. If we play our game, Kennedy won't have a chance, but if we don't, we could be disappointed. And you don't want to be disappointed, do you?"

"No Coach!" they yelled in unison.

"Remember, Kennedy likes to use three up front, which makes them dangerous, but also will give us the midfield advantage. Sam, you will have to control the pace, and distribute. The defense will need to mark tightly and communicate. And we need to just play our game, and stay within ourselves." She looked at M.J. as she said that, and M.J. again blushed.

The girls began to walk toward the locker room, but M.J. delayed, pretending to fix her cleats. As she walked toward the school, she noticed Eduardo dribbling his soccer ball right at her. It was not a coincidence, and he dribbled right up to her. M.J. could smell his sweat, and his body wash or cologne or whatever it was that teenage boys used.

"Hey," he said. "I saw you try the Ronaldinho move."

She was surprised that he had no accent because he was supposed to be from Ecuador. She replied, "That's what it's called? I didn't do it right, though."

"It is hard. It takes a long time to get it right," he said. M.J. noticed that his voice was friendly and higher pitched than she expected. He continued, "My name is Eduardo, I'm new. I've seen you practice, and you are very good."

M.J. blushed and said, "I'm M.J.—short for Mary Jane, which no one has called me since 3rd grade. Thanks. I've seen you, too. You have incredible footwork."

Eduardo smiled, and M.J. felt something that she hadn't since Josh and basketball camp. "Thanks," he said.

"Why aren't you practicing with the team?" she asked. "They could use a player with your skills."

"I wish," he said. "My paperwork has some problems, and if I'm not eligible by tomorrow, I can't play in the playoffs. But I come to practice to watch, just in case."

"That stinks," M.J. replied.

There was a silence before Eduardo said, "Do you want me to help you with the Ronaldinho?"

"Sure," M.J. said, enthusiastically.

He demonstrated the move slowly, so she could see how she needed to move her right foot over the ball, and how to flick her ankle properly. He made it look easy, but M.J had trouble initially. But after about 15 tries, she started to get it right more often than not, and after 25 tries, she was getting it right almost every time.

"I've never seen a girl who could do that move," Eduardo said, with admiration.

M.J. blushed again, although she wasn't really sure why.

"How about I defend you, and you try to get around me," Eduardo offered.

M.J.'s competitive nature kicked in. She had never backed down from playing against the boys, and usually held her own, even when they were bigger and stronger than her. Eduardo was shorter than her, and wiry. She put the ball at her feet and attacked him. But he knew she was going to try the new move, so he stole the ball. He kicked it back to her, and she came at him again, but this time used a stutter step, which turned him the wrong way, and she blew past him. He looked at M.J. and clapped his hands softly. She kicked the ball to him, and he used more fancy footwork to get past M.J. The two of them played like this, alternating, for some time, until M.J. heard Sam yell, "Hey superstar, get in here and change, unless you want to walk home."

M.J. had lost track of time, and she turned to Eduardo and said, "Thanks, that was fun. See you in school tomorrow," before jogging into the locker room. She skipped her shower and changed into her sweats and ran out of the locker room. Sam was waiting for her with a big grin on her face.

"Soccer flirting, huh?" Sam said, "Is that the only way you can talk to guys?"

M.J. realized that Sam might be right, but wouldn't admit it. "I don't know what you are talking about," she replied, unconvincingly. "He was helping me with a move," she protested.

Sam smiled again, "I hope he has some other moves to teach you."

M.J. realized that Sam wasn't talking about soccer and tried to turn the tables on her, saying, "Hey, captain, I thought we were supposed to only be thinking about soccer and beating Kennedy. What kind of example are you setting by talking about sex?"

Sam smiled back at her best friend and said, "I was talking about soccer—you're the one with sex on the brain. For once"

They laughed and got into Sam's car and began to drive home. After a few minutes, Sam said, "Seriously, M.J., if you like him, you should do something about it."

"I guess," she said, "but what about the playoffs?"

"M.J.," Sam said, "don't tell Coach that I said this, but there are more important things in life than the playoffs."

"Maybe," M.J. said, thinking to herself.

"One thing, though," Sam said, "remember when I went out with Carlos last year?"

"Yeah," M.J. said, "I remember the drama."

Sam paused and said, "So, luckily it was a false alarm, but what I wanted to say is that I think Spanish guys like to take the lead, so you need to get him to ask you out, or you may scare him away."

M.J. thought for a second and said, "Playing those games are not my strong point. What should I do?"

Sam sighed. "How is it possible for someone to be so skilled on the field and so lame off the field? Just talk to him. Be interested. Maybe touch his arm. Flirt, damn it."

"O.K.," M.J. replied, sounding unconvinced. "I guess I can try that."

Sam dropped M.J off at her house, and before entering the front door, she picked up a soccer ball that was sitting on the small lawn and practiced the Ronaldinho move a few times until it felt comfortable. She entered the house smiling.

Friday

M.J. couldn't wait until practice, and her classes were a blur, punctuated with two sightings of Eduardo, one in the hall, and the other in the cafeteria at lunch, where she noticed him sitting with a few of the male soccer players, talking, and laughing.

When she came out on the field to start her warmup jog, her stomach fell when she didn't see Eduardo dribbling alone on the sideline. Disappointed, she decided to focus on her jog, and as she rounded the turn so that she was facing the boys' team, her concentration was broken by the sound of laughing. She looked up and saw both Tommy Storman and Alex Fredericks, the best defenders on the boys' team lying on the ground, and Eduardo fishing the ball out of the goal behind Carlos Mejia, the goal keeper, and Sam's former boyfriend.

She smiled, because that must have meant that Eduardo's paperwork came through and he could practice with the team. As she continued her jogging, she noticed that the boys seemed to be practicing with more intensity, and their coach actually seemed happy. Their first playoff game was Tuesday, and being the 7th seed, they had to travel 40 minutes away to play the second seeded Wildcats. Maybe, if they won on Monday, she could convince Coach Benson to give them the day off from practice to go watch the boys' game. She decided to ask Sam to discuss that with the coach.

The girls' practice was spirited, and Coach Benson kept on them to focus and to play their game on Monday. Under Conference rules, they were not allowed to practice over the weekend during the playoffs, and although an unofficial "captain's practice" was a convenient way around the rule, Coach Benson told them not to have one, both because she wanted them to rest, and because she was worried that someone from a rival school would complain, risking some punishment that would tarnish their perfect season. So, after a last 7v7, and some more strategy talk, the girls were released until Monday afternoon.

As M.J. walked to the locker room, she sensed a boy coming up behind her. Her heart began to beat faster as she hoped it was Eduardo, and her hope was realized when he jogged up to her.

"Hey," he said, flashing her a smile that highlighted the way his white teeth contrasted with his brown skin. "I got to practice today and can play on Tuesday."

M.J. smiled back at him and said, "That's awesome. You'll be their secret weapon."

"Can I ask you a favor?" Eduardo asked.

"What?" M.J. replied.

"My little sister is 11 and has AYSO practice tomorrow morning, and I went to her practice last week, and the coach doesn't really know much about soccer. I offered to help him, but I think her team would like to see a great female player like you, too."

M.J. smiled. She was pleased that he thought that she was great, and she appreciated his thinking about the girls. And, she thought to herself, maybe this was his brand of soccer flirting. She responded, "What time, and where?"

Eduardo's face lit up. "10:00 at this field, tomorrow."

"That works out great," M.J. said. "My sister has her practice on the side field at 9, so I can come with her here, then stay with you after. See you then."

"See you then," Eduardo said, grinning.

Saturday

On Saturday morning, M.J. was up early and put on a pair of shorts that she correctly believed showed off her long athletic legs and a tight t-shirt that said "Girls Got Game", put her hair into a pony tail and grabbed her cleat bag. She made sure that Gwen had her shinguards and cleats and that her mother was awake and ready to drive Gwen to practice. As they drove to the field, M.J. told her mother that she was going to stay after Gwen's practice to help a friend's sister's team practice.

"What friend?" M.J.'s mother asked. "I didn't know you had a friend with a younger sister that practiced after Gwen."

M.J. was a little embarrassed, and said, "A new friend. His name is Eduardo and he just moved here from New York."

Annette smiled to herself. She had noticed that M.J. put herself together better than usual for Gwen's practice, and now she knew why. "Tell me about this Eduardo," she said, trying to sound stern, but really pleased that M.J. was showing interest in something other than sports. "You've never mentioned him before."

"He's from Ecuador, but just moved here from New York. He has the most incredible footwork that I have ever seen, and he just joined the boys' team. His sister just joined AYSO and Eduardo thinks that her coach needs help, and that I would be a good soccer role model for the girls," M.J. blurted out.

Annette again smiled to herself. That was maybe the longest speech that she had ever heard M.J. give. She must like this boy, she thought.

Gwen's practice was, as always, fun for M.J. Her coach was pretty good, and a nice guy who appreciated her help, although he sometimes seemed to look at her legs a little longer than might be necessary. Gwen was enthusiastic, but lacked her older sister's talent or focus. After the practice, M.J. said goodbye to her mother and sister and jogged off to the main field. Annette waited and watched her and could see her meet up with a boy. But from the distance, she could not see what he looked like. Annette and Gwen walked to the car and went home.

When M.J. arrived at the field, Eduardo was sitting on a small bicycle, watching some girls chatter before practice started. A skinny, dark haired, brown skinned girl stood shyly away from the group. M.J. assumed that this was Eduardo's sister, who was the new girl and didn't really know her teammates. She greeted Eduardo, who smiled broadly when he saw her and asked, "Is that your sister?"

"Yeah," he said, "her name is Veronica."

Before they could do something to get her integrated with the team, the coach blew his whistle. He was a big guy, balding with dark hair and glasses. He called the girls over, chatted with them in a friendly way, then set up a fairly standard grid based activity that he probably learned from a coaching manual. While the girls played, he watched, and made reasonably useful comments.

Eduardo approached him and said, "Coach, you remember me, I'm Eduardo, Veronica's brother? I helped out last week?"

"Yes, and thanks," he responded in a friendly way. "I appreciate your help—I can't demonstrate things the way you can." He then looked at M.J. "Aren't you M.J. Tucker?"

"Yes," M.J. replied.

"I'm David Jordan. My older daughter Cindy is a freshman on the team. I've seen you play a couple of times, and I've read about you in the local paper. You're incredible."

M.J. blushed. "Thanks," she said, looking down. "I know Cindy. I think she could be a really good midfielder if she keeps working at it. And she is great to have on the team."

"Thanks," he said. "I'll tell her." "Laura," he yelled at the team, "focus on your positioning when you receive the ball."

Eduardo said, "Coach Jordan, we are here to help you today, so let us know what we can do."

"Wow," he said enthusiastically. "You can really be helpful. Next, I want to work on their 1v1 play. I want to have a player turn and shield the ball and have a defender try to take it from her. Can you demonstrate?"

"Sure," the teenagers both said.

The coach called in the girls and let them have water before discussing their performance in the activity they had completed, then explained shielding and defending against a player shielding the ball.

"Eduardo and M.J. have offered to demonstrate."

Eduardo kicked a ball out onto the field and said, "M.J., you come at me, I'll defend."

She nodded and ran out to the ball. Eduardo took a balanced defensive stance and waited as M.J. dribbled directly at him. Before she reached him, she spun so that her back faced Eduardo and she used her body to protect the ball. Eduardo moved behind her, and M.J. properly took the initiative and jammed her butt into him and tried to turn him. Eduardo pressed back against M.J.'s butt, looking to make her lose her balance and allow him to steal the ball, but she was strong, and kept pressing against him. Suddenly, M.J. realized that Eduardo's penis was getting hard from her rubbing against him, and she lost concentration long enough that he stole the ball and dribbled away.

"Good," said Coach Jordan.

"Your turn," yelled M.J. at Eduardo, who dribbled at her and turned. M.J. pressed her crotch against Eduardo's butt, and he tried to maneuver around her. Although she had played soccer forever, for the first time she was conscious of how good it could feel to have an offensive player rubbing against her. But her competitive instinct kicked in, and she gave Eduardo's shirt a small tug and used his loss of balance to steal the ball.

"Great," the coach said, and sent his team out in pairs to try the same.

M.J. felt warm and a bit flushed, and Eduardo looked a little embarrassed. They watched the girls try to mimic their actions, and helped them improve. One pair, though, wasn't getting it at all, and M.J. took the ball to demonstrate. She pressed against Eduardo and demonstrated how she used her arms and body to shield the ball. Eduardo, this time, seemed content to let M.J. press against him, and she again felt him stiffen. But this time, she kept her focus, and kept pressing against him until she heard a small sigh, signaling that he was distracted, and she spun around him, laughing.

"Hey, that's not fair," Eduardo complained good naturedly as M.J. kicked the ball back to the players and told them to keep practicing.

M.J. couldn't stop thinking about the way that Eduardo's hard penis felt against her ass while Eduardo enjoyed the feeling, but was a little embarrassed by it. They separately worked with the girls until practice ended. Coach Jordan thanked them, and the girls began to disperse with their parents.

"M.J., we live pretty near the school. Do you want to walk back with us?" Eduardo asked.

"Sure," M.J. said. Eduardo walked his bicycle with M.J. and Veronica away from the school and down the street into a neighborhood that was mostly home to Spanish speaking recent immigrants. Although M.J. had lived in town her whole life, and had Hispanic friends at school, she rarely ventured into the residential neighborhood. After a while, they arrived at a multifamily house that had seen better days and entered. Eduardo's family lived on the first floor. They entered into what was supposed to be a living room, but had been turned into a bedroom. From the clothing and soccer paraphernalia, M.J. assumed that it was where Eduardo slept.

They walked through the room into a small kitchen, and Eduardo introduced M.J. to an older woman. "Mama, this is my friend M.J. She is an amazing fútbol player and helped out at Veronica's practice."

Eduardo's mother replied, in clear, but accented English. "Nice to meet you, M.J. I am Anita, and thank you for helping out. Can I get you something to drink?"

"Nice to meet you too," M.J. replied. "Some water would be great, thanks."

Anita poured three glasses of water and gave one each to M.J., Eduardo, and Veronica.

"M.J., would you like to go back to the field and work on some more moves?" Eduardo asked.

"Sure," she said.

He grabbed a ball, said goodbye to his mother and they started walking back to the field.

M.J. couldn't get the feeling she had when Eduardo pressed against her out of her mind, and she felt tingly and a little uneasy. Not being the most talkative person under usual circumstances, she kept silent. Eduardo, embarrassed about the way he had become aroused and that M.J. clearly felt his arousal, was also quiet. As they walked, occasionally their arms brushed against each other, and Eduardo almost took M.J.'s hand, but decided not to.

When they got back to the school, AYSO practices were still going on, and it was hard for them to find a place to practice. M.J. said that there was a small patch of grass near the football field that usually wasn't used by AYSO. She told Eduardo that she sometimes went there on the weekends to practice alone, and that it was also used by the students to sneak away for smoking or drinking. They climbed a small hill, then walked down a small path until they got to the field. It was empty, except for a few beer bottles and cigarette butts, so they started kicking the ball back and forth to warm up.

M.J. continued to practice the Ronaldinho move, and Eduardo showed her a couple more fancy things for her to add to her bag of tricks. At one point, Eduardo was demonstrating a fine point of one of his tricks, and he was facing M.J. and placed a hand on her hip. Being shorter than M.J., his eyes were looking at her neck, and he tried, unsuccessfully, not to look at her breasts.