Blood Passion Ch. 09

The ball twirled in the air, spinning rhythmically towards the center area in front of the goal. A duelling pair of bodies jumped in the air, ascending to the heavens as they took flight towards salvation. One aimed to send the ball downwards, down the throat of the opposition and send the opponent into the fires of hell. The other sought to knock the ball away, defending the gates of the castle to keep the dragon from its prey.

Spiralling downwards, the ball sliced through the wind, homing on its own peerless target. It sought where it wanted to go. The duellists only interrupted its own pathway. A loud grunt drowned out the noise inside the scrum. Time stood still as the ball touched a forehead, waiting to calculate its new angle and trajectory.

It spun away, a swirl of black and white hexagons. Upper corner, primed and ready, the dragon released its fire. She landed majestically, feet touching the swampy muck as if an angel descended from the heavens. Eyes never left the ball, even when long hair thrust itself forward for a front row seat.

Stretching with every centimeter of length in her shoulders, the goalkeeper tried to lay out a shield to protect the castle from the attack. Too far, too accurate, the ball soared into the net, falling to Earth.

Tiffany screamed in pleasure, pumping her fist in the air as she ran to the sidelines in celebration. Executed to perfection, the corner kick blew the opening game of the season wide open. The captain led by example in a rare display where captain's duelled in the air. Both team captains played defence, making a corner kick the only time the pair would battle directly.

Within the first ten minutes of the game, it sent a metaphorical dagger through the heart of the opposition. First blood went to the Dragons, scorching the opposition. Despite becoming rivals, Nik still clapped and shouted support from the sidelines. Coach Rodriguez cracked the slyest of grins, not allowing the perfect display to create internal complacency.

Ten minutes later, Tiffany took an underhand pass from the goalkeeper, shouting directions at her team. However, they were decoys for her hidden plan. She wanted to enact her summer training. Despite acting as if she would lay off a pass to the left side, and dribbled in that direction, the moment her marker took the bait she juked to the right with a crossover.

With blazing speed she scorched the Earth she previously soared off of, speeding down the right side as she sliced through the middle. Her adept control allowed her to direct the ball around fresh markers, aiming nearer to the net. Each stride brought her closer and closer to the sweet spot, the area of the field she had practiced thousands of kicks from.

Perky ears faked deafness as teammates called for the ball. It took seconds for her to sprint from the middle to outside the box. Lining up from the right side, she deftly touched the ball to her left foot and powered home a shot. It left the goalkeeper stunned, unable to react. Her brain did not process the assault fast enough, cooked under the dragon's all consuming fire.

The referee whistled to signal the goal. Tiffany jumped up, fist pumping the air in celebration. She got her brace, the first of her senior year and first as captain. One goal with her head, one with her left foot, leaving a goal with her right foot for the rare 'perfect' hat-trick.

More shouting and cheering rang out in celebration from the sidelines, as even the boys team showed their encouragement. Coach Rodriguez had been instilling a strong team bond with their training. Still, she did not allow her sly smile to extend any further than with the header goal ten minutes earlier.

Halftime came quickly. All the girls huddled around the bench as Zoya gave them a short pep talk. They were up four to nothing. Nothing needed to be said except not to take their foot off the gas. No time for complacency. Keep piling on the pressure. Tiffany listened in, nodding her head from time to time, but in all honesty her mind drifted towards personal glory. She wanted the right foot goal. She wanted that perfect hat trick.

The referee's whistle broke her daydream, switching it back into business mode. Jogging back onto the field she took her place in front of the goalkeeper. The whistle blew again and the opposing team got the game restarted. Immediately they played more defensively, passing the ball back and forth along their own half.

For five minutes this went on. Slowed down to a crawl, what was an exciting first half turned to a boring second half quickly.

"Nancy! Press them!" Tiffany shouted from down field. "Don't just stand around. Press them!"

She shouted orders at one of the strikers. Playing a standard four-four-two, Coach Rodriguez wanted them to play pressing defence. With unlimited substitutes in high school soccer, stamina was not as big a concern compared to the pros. Reality, however, was another story. Nancy huffed and puffed along, terribly out of shape, but being a public school program they couldn't just turn students away without cause.

Zoya told the players if they showed up to all the practices, and practiced to the best of their abilities, they would get minutes. How many wasn't guaranteed, just the ability to play. Despite her sounding horrendous, like a car engine about to blow, Nancy came to all the practices and tried her best.

One of the wingers moved forward to help chase down one of the passers, opening up a hole. Tiffany scouted it, noticing an opponent slip into the empty space to wait for a pass.

"Push up, Katrina, push up," she ordered, pointing at the open opponent.

Katrina pushed up in time to intercept the pass but she flubbed on kicking it out, the ball bouncing under her boot. The attacker did not wait around to give Katrina another chance, picking up the ball to make her run. After a few steps, what she did not notice, or anticipate, was Tiffany aggressively running out of position. A boot heel knocked the ball away, sliding out of nowhere.

Eyes locked in on the ball, the opponent fell over Tiffany's sliding body with a thud and splash on the hard, muddy soccer field, toppling over itself. Pinpoint perfect, Tiffany timed it for maximum effect. She could have kicked it out while standing, stole the ball, or another trick, but instead she wanted to build a fiery reputation. The foot got all ball. One hundred percent legal. The opponent rolled over in genuine pain from the tackle.

Hopping up to her feet, Tiffany stayed with the play, making sure the ball got to safety before jogging back to her standard position. She did not notice, nor care, that her leg and ass were caked in fresh mud. A few shouts from parents came from the crowd about a foul but the referee never made a motion for the cards or whistle. One hundred percent legal.

"Not my fault your eyes were glued on the ball and not who was coming after it," Tiffany thought to herself.

A minute later the opposing goalkeeper made a good save, knocking a long shot over the bar for a corner kick. Ordering Katrina and another defender back, Tiffany jogged forward and locked eyes with the corner kicker as she took a spot outside the box for a short kick. Tiffany wanted that hat-trick. The ball found its way to her boot, even with a defender marking closely. Too close and too slow. Tiffany slightly backheeled the ball through the defender's open legs. Spinning quickly, fluidly, she pivoted around the stone feet, retrieving the ball at the edge of the box before anyone could get it.

Right leg arched back, hip twisted with harsh momentum, the outstretched right foot whipped forward. Tiffany made it clear her skills were on another level compared to this team and school league. The ball hit the back of the net from the side angle without resistance from the goalkeeper.

Jumping up in the air, she let out a primal scream to signify her glorious hat-trick. Three goals, head, left and right. Perfection. Teammates mobbed her with congratulations, hugging her as they walked off to center field. Euphoric, she could not help but smile widely. All her training, all her sacrifice paying off.

The opposition parked the bus the rest of the game by playing keep away. The few times they tried attacking they were shut down immediately. Being a defender, Tiffany couldn't just become a striker without reason nor was allowed to switch positions at will, so she guarded the gates until the final whistle blew.

The girls were happy, jubilant, high-fiving each other and the boys as they jogged off the field. Coach Rodriguez smiled, happy at the display. Just as quickly she turned her attention to the boys, telling them to get out there and warm-up for the game. Nik nodded, taking off his team jacket and rousing the boys onto the field. He high-fived Tiffany as they walked past each other, as if being on the field erased their bubbling rivalry even for a brief moment.

Zoya put an arm on Tiffany's shoulder before speaking.

"Great job out there. That sliding tackle put the fear into them in the second half. Next game we play I want you to do the same thing first opportunity you get. It'll show us who the cowards are and who won't be bullied around."

Tiffany nodded before speaking.

"Sure coach, I'll do that."

After Zoya turned her attention back to the field, Tiffany walked off to grab her water bottle and team jacket. She'd be lining up next to Coach Rodriguez as an assistant for the boys game. No way Nik could overshadow her accomplishments today.

X

The whistle blew to start the boy's match. Nik made sure it'd begin with a bang. Receiving the pass from the striker off the kick-off, he paused for a moment to take in his surroundings. Both wingers sprinted down the flanks as instructed by the coach for their opening gambit. She wanted to catch the other team off-guard with the bold move, leaving it at Nik's capable foot.

Time felt slow. A second felt like a minute. Eyes scanned both flanks, pinpointing the weakness in the armor. Cocking his leg and foot back, the appendage swung forward with might and precision. The moment of impact bludgeoned time back to reality, allowing Nik to see the ball spin through the air with great quickness. With the proper spin, the ball's trajectory mapped itself to the awaiting feet of the left winger, who ran directly onto the ball.

The player did not stop, controlling the soccer ball as best he could. Nik could only watch as he jogged through the middle towards the goal. The goalkeeper rushed out to cut down the angle and make himself look big on the breakaway. The defence were caught flat footed by the audacious lob from midfield.

Cheers erupted from the front of the field as the ball soared into the back of the net, and the winger rushed to centerfield, pointing at Nik with a happy, excited face. Their team took the lead, one to nothing in the first twenty seconds, giving them all the momentum to put the pedal to the medal.

As Nik high-fived the winger, and accepted the sporty hair rubs from teammates, he jogged back thinking how good the kick felt. It felt better than any kick he made last season. Deep down he knew why but did not give it a second thought. Winning was all that mattered.

Twenty minutes later, Nik jumped into the air near the center line. His broad, manly shoulders jousted with his marker, as they tried to out-muscle the other off the ball. It bounced slightly off Nik's chest at the peak of his height. As the pair landed, Nik nudged it forward with his head, sprinting forward after it.

Their arms duelled like swords, jabbing at opposing shoulders to knock the other off-balance that crucial step to take the lead. Nik, however, pushed back with ease. The initial one step of space gave him enough room to dash with the ball. A dozen steps forward, he noticed an approaching body slide in from the corner of his eye. Anticipating the angle correctly, he lobbed it forward just enough to clear the slide, and just before jumping over it himself.

He heard signals coming from either side, open strikers ready to pounce on any pass he'd be willing to serve up to extend their lead. Blood rushed through hungry veins. All focus centered on the goal. The jump made him want to finish it himself, not give anyone else the glory. With only a single defender in the way, Nik juked left to fake him out, then step-overed to the right side for an open shot inside the box.

The ball took flight, sprouting dragon's wings as it burned the goalkeeper, hitting the back of the net. It created a nest in the bottom corner, long before the goalkeeper's body smashed into the ground trying to save a ball he reacted too late to intercept.

Nik punched the air, fist clenched, while yelling out a cheer. It had been a highlight reel goal, lifting the already high spirits even further into the clouds. First an assist, and now a goal, he had done more than enough to secure his team the victory in the first twenty-one minutes of the game.

Coach Rodriguez remained stoic, not smiling a centimeter at the audacious strike. She remained calm in the storm of emotions as the boy's bench went wild in delight from the goal. The rest of the game she stood there at the sideline, barely moving as the game bogged itself down into a standstill.

Much like the girl's game, the boy's team played keep away to prevent the score from going bonkers. They were fine with losing, just not by a ton as what appeared would happen quickly after the two highlight goals.

When the game ended, Nik's team managed to score another goal thanks to his efforts by taking a chance at intercepting a pass. A simple pass to one teammate who then passed it off to a striker for the goal gave the team another person to cheer for. Soccer was not hockey though, so no assist for Nik in the box score. His effort in setting up the strike would go forgotten to those who did not see it.

At the final whistle, much like the girls, the guys came off to high fives and good spirits. Nik walked over to Coach Rodriguez with a smile.

"Good win for us coach," he said.

"You're holding back, Nik. Why?" she replied.

"I didn't want to embarrass them, coach."

"After those two goals, I think you already embarrassed them. I want you to twist the knife. No lead is safe, so next game you run up the score."

"Sure, coach, I won't hold back next time."

"I don't want you to lose that killer instinct because the opposition is weak. It'll make you lose focus when we go against one of the bigger schools, not a gym class requirement team."

Nik nodded his head. Not the speech he wanted to hear. He hoped for a pat on the back, a good job like he saw Tiffany get while he was leading the warm-up. To say he wasn't let down would be a lie but he took the criticism as part of being the captain. More weight and responsibility came with the armband.

Zoya gathered all the players around to congratulate them, saying this would be a good momentum builder for the next game in a week. Their first away game meant they needed to get their permission slips in if they already didn't. No slip, no travel on the bus. After the small speech she dismissed the teams.

X

Tiffany stood in the showers after the game. Hot water created giant plumes of steam in the girl's shower room. The coach gave her congratulatory speeches and the other girls quickly got changed to head home. Few of them took the game as seriously as Tiffany, seeing it only as something to do for the college applications or to catch the eye of one of the boys.

Under the water, she rubbed her body all over with the scented soap her mother bought. It smelled of roses, and felt invigorating as her fingers danced along the dirty skin. Despite her heroics on offence, she made her name from being the hardwoman on defence. More than once she had to make desperation slides to knock the ball out of harm's way, as the defence buckled by the few slicing attacks the opposing team managed to conjure up when deciding not to park the bus.

Sometimes Tiffany felt in practice the team relied on her too much, thinking she would always be there to bail their asses out of the fire. Since Tiffany actually cared, it made it hard to call their bluff. It only made her want to shout at them in practice to get their asses in gear. Now, in the shower, she tried to push aside such thoughts and enjoy herself.

Curious fingers slid down between her legs to feel her moistened cunt. Winning made her wet, and this moment of alone time needed to be taken advantage of. One finger slipped inside, testing the sensitive waters.

"Mmmmm," she moaned gently.

The finger kept exploring the sexual cavern, searching for the mystical g-spot. Tiffany wanted to find a pleasure center that could be enjoyed without her mother's cock setting it ablaze, something for her fingers only. While the exploration continued, the other set of fingers began rubbing her clit, adding a partner to the sexual crusade.

"Oh yeah, mmmmm, it feels so good," she moaned a little louder.

Tiffany's toned stomach expanded and contracted gently. All her summer workouts were on display for no one, as the water flowed over the emerging ridges of her abdominals. She did not craft them to impress any boy in the school. They were her badge of honor as she competed to be the best in the country.

"Mmmmmm, yes...yes...right there..."

With her newfound physicality, she also unearthed these wicked desires inside herself. The repeated fuckings from her mother only made the teenager think of two things, soccer and sex. She paid for sex with good grades, making mommy happy, but when not on the field or finishing a school assignment, she'd try to find a quiet spot to enjoy the more carnal delights in life.

"So good, so good, a second won't hurt," she continued to moan, pushing a second finger inside her cunt.

The fingers worked in unison, setting her pleasure centers alight in ecstasy. Leaning against the wet shower wall, she kept moaning while her knees buckled. The first orgasm struck home after five minutes of self-pleasuring. If not for the wall she'd have slipped and fell ass first onto the hard floor. Luckily, no one else could hear her slutty moans.

A minute later, composed but the smell of sex eminating from her skin, she turned around to lean forward against the shower wall. The hot water recleaned her skin, making sure she left the locker room smelling perfect and not having just orgasmed in school. Lucky for her no one heard her for no one stuck around.

"Next time I'm going to dominate the game more. I'll make sure the college scouts will have to come to the games. I'll use the trick I learned from exploring with mother. No one will be the wiser," she thought to herself.

X

Nik sat in the car, still feeling the effects of adrenaline coursing through his veins. The goal and assist secured the win for the team, allowing them to start the season on the front foot. He knew he could do more though. The toughest opponent on the field only bothered him slightly. Strategically, he only needed to do what he did.

"Great job, baby, you won the game. I'm happy for you," Veronika beamed, slightly caressing his hair. "You know, I went out and bought a special gift for you to celebrate the start of the season."

Nik looked over and smiled. Who would turn down a special gift, especially a surprise gift?

"What is it, mom?" he asked.

"Something that'll be our secret. You do not have a girlfriend in your class to give you a womanly reward so mommy will have to substitute for that position," she told him, licking her lips in anticipation.

She acted like she wanted the special gift more than he did, turning on the car to take them home.

"Can we get something to eat? I'm hungry?" he stated, rubbing his stomach.

"Sure, we'll grab some takeout on the way home. You looked good on the field. The other parents were singing your praise with that goal. I'm surprised you only scored once though. I would have bet on at least a hat trick."