Her Striker by Charlene Raquel
Chapter One
"You can wipe that pathetically hopeful look off your face. I didn't come here to see you."
Those two sentences bounced around in her head. Destroying her. She had imagined seeing Drew thousands of times, and not one of those fantasies included utter dismissal and distain.
Gwen Mason watched him strut his way to the soccer field, harem of groupies following behind him, giggling. Apparently, those girls didn't remember they were no longer in high school.
Heartache isn't supposed to last years.
Gwen had thought she was over it. Over him, but the gut-wrenching pain in her chest, squeezing her heart and stealing her breath, nearly dropped her to the ground.
Andrew Maxwell's unexpected venom had Gwen swaying as she tried to draw in air. She managed to stay on her feet long enough to stagger over to the pristine bench outside the tennis courts, crumbling onto the painted wooden slats.
Tears threatened to fall as she tried to swallow past the lump in her throat. She would not cry. She was tougher than that. The top-ranked tennis player at Stonewall University doesn't fall apart over an old boyfriend.
An old boyfriend with messy blond hair that just ached for fingers to run through it and crystalline blue eyes that used to pierce her soul.
Ugh. She was an idiot. Gwen couldn’t and wouldn’t think about their past. His ugliness would taint the memories and they were all she had left.
Twisting the tennis racket round and round between her hands, she focused on the ground, trying to pull herself together. Team practice was soon, and she needed to be at her best. There was always a younger girl trying to unseat her from the number one spot, a position she’d held since her freshman year.
The official NACC Women’s Tennis schedule didn’t officially begin until the spring, although they played tournaments during the off-seasons. They needed to be in top form all year round.
It was hard not glancing toward the field where the soccer team was warming up. Her eyes drifted over. Yup, she was that girl. The one who was just crushed by her first love, only to watch him from afar. It was pathetic, and that was exactly what he called her. Pathetic.
He was still surrounded by girls, and even a few of the other players gathered by him. While Drew had never loved attention in the past, time seemed to have changed him completely. He never would have spoken to her that way.
Spinning the racket faster, she focused on it as her mind wandered. What was he doing here at her school? He had made it clear that he would never set foot on Stonewall's campus. Now he was warming up with the team?
Gwen had such high hopes for her last year of college. His arrival just ensured that her senior year would suck.
Drew was drawing attention from his harem and all the other players as well. As one of the best strikers in the country, everyone knew his name and reputation. He scored just as much on the field as off.
He was a league favorite and always brought in a crowd of adoring fans, groupies, and of course, girls of all ages. All of them hoping to get up close to the famous high scorer.
Gwen only knew this, of course, because Drew was all over the sports news. She only watched for the latest about tennis. At least, that was the lie she always told herself.
Summer was usually a time for Gwen to coach beginner’s tennis to kids in the area and decompress from the academic year, but this summer’s fun had come to an abrupt end. The last few weeks before her senior year would consist of watching Drew hold court.
And he would hold court; Stonewall’s soccer team was one of the best in the nation and Drew would be at the helm. Division One Soccer was no joke and was even more competitive at Stonewall.
Why did he transfer for his last season? How did he bypass college league rules about switching schools to play sports? Her mind filled with questions.
Knowing his father, Gwen was sure Drew was in perfect standing. The senator would have made sure of it. There was nothing Drew’s powerful father couldn't or wouldn't do to get what he wanted.
The Drew from high school would have never wanted a favor from his influential father. He had walked away from that life. Walked away from her.
Gwen stopped twirling the racket. It offered no answers.
Pulling her deep brown eyes from the spectacle, she forced herself to concentrate. Gwen needed to keep him out of her head and focus on the tournament coming up next week. She was up against some tough competition and needed to remain on top to keep her scholarship.
“That was sad even for you,” sneered a voice that made Gwen cringe and nearly drop her favorite racket.
Gwen forced herself to rise from her seat and face the new arrival. There was no way she was going to allow Clarissa Bachini to stand over her glaring. She would much rather face the bully on her feet. Clarissa loved to try to intimidate people with her height. The girl was more than five feet ten inches tall, towering over Gwen’s five feet three petite frame.
“It’s sad and what was the word he used? Oh yeah. Pathetic. It really is pathetic of you to even think someone like Andrew Maxwell would notice you.” Clarissa cackled, and her two friends laughed even louder. “He’s a legend and you are nothing. A lowly scholarship student.”
Gwen squared her shoulders and stuck out her chin. “A scholarship student who happens to be nationally ranked.” She knew better than to stick around for Clarissa’s nasty rebuttal. Nothing good would come of it, so she pasted on a smile, scooped up her duffle bag and strode onto the court.
She dropped her stuff along the fence, checked the band holding her long, blonde hair into a ponytail and began to stretch, trying to ignore everything around her. It was harder than she thought with everyone flocking to get a glimpse of the new star soccer striker. Her life sucked.
Lunging forward on her right leg, knee bent, she stretched her leg muscles and tried to tune out the groupies. Why were the soccer practice fields next to the tennis courts? Would she have to see him every day? Maybe she could change her workout schedule so she didn’t have to run into him.
If she did that though, she wouldn’t get to see him. Maybe he was right. She must be pathetic to still want to catch a glimpse of the guy who ruined her life, crushed her heart and just publicly humiliated her.
She switched legs and watched as Drew began to do the same thing. She could probably predict his entire warm-up routine.
They used to work out together almost every day in high school, running, stretching, and weight training. She still ran almost every day. Glancing at Drew, Gwen wondered if he still did too.
Ugh. She needed to get him out of her head. Raising her arms over her head, she leaned to each side, making sure her shoulders were loose. A tennis ball whizzed by her face, missing her by only an inch or two.
Gwen jumped back and nearly tumbled over her bag. Obnoxious laughter from the other side of the court caught her attention.
“Whoops. So sorry.” Clarissa grinned at her while her two lemmings, Blaire and Luci, cackled. Those two followed Clarissa everywhere and copied her every move.
Gwen had even seen them wearing matching tennis skirts around campus. She tried to stay away from them as much as possible, but she couldn’t avoid them all together. The three of them would always be mean girls who refused to grow up.
Clarissa was not officially on the tennis team. She hadn’t made the cut, so her father donated a ridiculous amount of money to the university. Suddenly, she was an alternate. An alternate who would love to see Gwen knocked out of the top spot. She worked out with the team and was supposed to help the players warm up with a few volleys.
Ignoring the trio, Gwen finished her stretches and grabbed her racket while others moved into the courts. She was saved from dealing with more of their bad behavior when the coach entered the courts and called everyone over.
Luck was definitely not her friend. The assistant coach paired her with Clarissa.
“Gwen, I want you to work with Clarissa. Get her skills up to par. We are going to need her for the fall tournament. Megan broke her wrist. She needs surgery and won’t be playing any time soon.”
Clarissa grinned at her from across the way. My life really does suck, Gwen thought.
