Blood Passion Ch. 07

Glued to the screen, Nik took in every moment. Sure it was the women's game, and sure if his aunt wasn't playing professionally would he actually be watching it versus the men, but they were professionals. He could learn simple movements and tendencies from how they played. Like watching tape, he studied how his aunt slipped in and out of channels, finding space and marking certain players, or her tag partner in the middle. He played the same position so it made sense for him to pay the most attention to them than the others.

"Knight runs back, eating up ground as Roma go on the counter. Closing down on Gallo fast. Stripped. What was Gallo thinking not passing the ball with all that time?"

Box-to-box, she ran hardcore on offence and then sprinted back double-time on defence to cover any gaps. Their manager played an aggressive, pressing game to put pressure on the defence all the time. No rest. A war of attrition. It worked wonders against teams who lacked the conditioning to keep up but it also ran her own team ragged. Krystal told Nik a few years back this was why previous teams were interested in signing her. All that stamina in the tank to run like a demon and not be out on the bench the next game.

"The ball lands at Knight's feet. Nutmeg! Right through the middle she sprints with lots of space. The midfielder is trying to catch up but is a couple steps behind. Outside the box now. Options on her right and left. She takes a shot...Goal! Goal! Goal! A lightning bolt into the corner! Knight breaks the game wide open with that suburb strike from distance. Parma are not going to be happy going down this early, and Knight is looking to get herself some of the striker's glory."

Nik jumped out of his seat in joy, cheering on his aunt from the audacious, highlight reel shot from outside the eighteen yard box. No chance for the keeper on that one. Top corner. Nik did not know it but Veronika could hear his cheering from her bedroom, chuckling at the situation.

"Great opening goal, ladies and gentlemen, for the opening of the Women's Serie A season. Knight is not letting her age show one bit," the commentator added as the goal celebrations ended.

"That goal rocked. I need to save that highlight and see if I can pull it off during a game," Nik commented. "That would impress the coach for sure if I can get the timing down. I suck at doing nutmegs."

Half-time came and gone, the game stalling at one to nothing. Ten minutes of defensive play lulled the game, a trademark for the Italian league. Defence first and always. Nik kept his attention zeroed in, enjoying the rough tackles performed by the midfield on both sides. At least in this league, the women were given a little more latitude to get physical and the refs did not call any tiki-taka fouls.

"The goalkeeper sends the ball into the midfield. Headed forward. Intercepted by Knight. She has Romano on her. Both are pushing each other as they run through the middle. Trip. Romano fell over giving Knight more space. Laser beam into the box. Up goes Bianchi to chest it into the air. Goal! Goal! Goal! Bicycle kick out of nowhere. Where did Bianchi get the audacity to try a bicycle kick? The crowd is going crazy here in the Stadio Tre Fontaine. It is only the opening game of the Serie A season and we've see two contenders for goal of the season."

"Whoa. That was insane. That pass came from the halfway line into the box. Aunt Krystal must have been working her ass off in the off-season. She kept her word. That assist was awesome!"

Like a kid in a candy store, Nik enjoyed the game. He stayed glued to the screen, soaking in every moment of the game. A blowout. Five to zip. They parked the bus for a reason despite the media saying their team were top four contenders this season. Krystal picked up a second, nifty assist too, and the striker Bianchi got herself a hat trick. All in all, Nik enjoyed the game. He could go to bed happy, excited for the next day on a high.

Wrapped up under his covers, thumbs frantically searched up all the players on the Roma team, especially this Bianchi woman. Nik went into the game blind on purpose, not knowing anything but a cursory knowledge of the team and players. Krystal had been playing in France the past few seasons, so aside from a random Champions League clash, he knew absolutely nothing about the team. He wanted to see how good they were with his own eyes. No biased news stories or pundits with their hyperbolic takes designed to get people's panties in a twist to drive up ratings. Just the sweet skills of professionals on full display. He'd make his own decisions based on what he saw with his own two eyes.

X

Back in Italy, Krystal's team high fived and celebrated coming off the field. Feeling tired, Krystal used the team morale to lift her energy level. The box-to-box style required copious amounts of stamina. Never resting, always moving, back and forth, it wore a body and mind down like a millstone. No longer a plucky, twenty-something, she knew her days at the top-tier were being counted like a miser counts coins.

"We made that a statement win, team," the female coach called out in the locker room. "Good, solid effort from everyone. We controlled the game from start to finish but this was a game we were expected to win despite the pundit predictions. Next week is the real test. We've got Juventus earlier in the season than usual, away, and they get nasty in their home stadium. It is going to be a real fight, and we need to use this positive momentum to take the three points from them and take the lead."

All the women looked around, nodding in agreement. Parma got the blood pumping, an early warm-up for the bigger challenge. Two giants squaring off early in the season meant a lot of TV time and butts in seats. A win away would mean a major blow to Juventus' morale, but if they lost it'd do the same to them.

"We got to be smart this week with our recovery time, girls," Krystal spoke up. "Any other week we can party and go wild but this week we need to be professional and all business."

"Yeah, Krystal is right. I don't want to look back and wonder if going dick chasing cost us the title if we lose the game next week," a different player spoke up in unison of Krystal's message.

"Tomorrow is a day off. We pick up training the day after so enjoy the victory," the coach finished.

No big speech. Nothing else needed to be said from a five to nothing hammering, and Krystal led with the same idea in mind the coach had. The coach left the team to bask in the win and get cleaned up before heading to home for the night.

"Hey, Krys, you really not going out tonight to celebrate? Just making good for the coach, I bet," a team member asked. "A new club opened up. Picking up some guys would be cake."

"I'm going straight home to bed, and you should too. Lots of cock chasing in the off-season," Krystal replied.

The player shrugged as she started stripping off, getting ready to hit the showers. Krystal sat there, slowly stripping off her gear piece by piece. She tried to keep her body in professional shape. Slim and slender, her glistening abs dripped sticky sweat as she pulled off her jersey. Aside from being a lesbian, no doubt her athletic, lithe body would not be at the top of the attractive list for the men into the cushion for the pushing look.

"You'll never get Krystal to go clubbing during the season, rookie. She sleeps in her uniform with a different kind of ball between her legs," another voice chimed in.

Standing in the stall next to Krystal, she had her shoulder length, blonde hair in a ponytail, letting it flutter in the air as she pulled off her jersey top, tossing it into the locker stall. Pulling off the sports bra revealed a canvas of welts and bruises.

"You should listen to her, rookie. We brought her in from France to help us finally win the league title and we put Parma to the sword to open the season," the blonde continued.

"I'm still going to enjoy myself tonight, Bianchi," the player snapped back, caught up in the emotion of the win.

Krystal shook her head. She did not wear the captain's armband, nor even the VCs. A hired mercenary, the Roma manager snapped her up on a Bosman to help give the team that missing edge to finally topple their rivals in Juventus for the title.

"Rookies never listen, do they, Krystal?" Bianchi laughed.

"I'm here to do a job and we got it done tonight. As long as she doesn't do something stupid to ruin our chance at the title, I'll let the captain handle matters."

Bianchi laughed again, grabbing a towel from her locker. Naked, she walked off to the shower room, leaving Krystal to keep undressing.

"This is going to be a good season. I hope Nik enjoyed the wonder-assist I told him I'd get for him," she thought to herself as she finished undressing, heading to the showers.