Annoyance. That's what I felt for my brother. I had plans for Eden last night, plans that my dick ached for. But Caleb had to go and call a meeting to discuss new practice times. He also preached about how it was imperative that the boys' team stayed away from the girls' team. He paired his words with a look tossed my way. I responded by saying that I wasn't part of the boys' team. Dad eyed me weirdly, but Charlie laughed like a lunatic, knowing that we were talking about Eden.

Speaking of her, my missing seeing her last night was the reason I sat in her room at this moment. It was the early hours of the morning and I knew she was due on the field in a few minutes for practice. I too had to be there to train Kenzie. When the latter opened the door earlier to let me in, she wore a smirk the entire time before leaving, muttering about how she'd wait for me on the field.

Eden had been in the bathroom for the entire ten minutes that I'd been there, and the scent of vanilla was floating into the room. She was no doubt indulging in a bubble bath to soothe her muscles before practice. I made myself comfortable on the edge of her bed, scrolling through my phone. The bathroom door finally opened and Eden stepped into the room, adorned in only a bathrobe.

"Morning," she grinned, cheeks flushed from the hot water. My eyes trailed her bare legs to where her thighs disappeared underneath the robe. "Aren't you supposed to be at practice already?" She strolled to her closet to take out some clothes.

I stood up and sauntered towards her as she rummaged through the shelves. Wrapping my arms around her, I pulled her back against my chest and kissed the top of her head. Her scent filled my senses, and I suppressed a groan. "Needed to see my baby first," I hummed, turning her around. "We have unfinished business."

She saw the look in my eyes and bit her lip. "Christian, I have practice-"

"Five minutes," I grinned. "That's all I need." Brushing my thumb across her bottom lip, I smiled as she shuddered. I slipped my hand into hers, tugging her towards her bed where I sat down.

Eden was a tiny thing, I could never get over how much I dwarfed her. I leaned back onto my hands, legs spread as she stepped between them. "Five minutes?" she challenged, crossing her arms. "On average, it takes about ten to twenty minutes for women to reach orgasm."

Of course, she researched it. "Wanna test that theory?" She stilled, arms falling to her sides. I smirked, pulling her down so that she straddled me. Slowly, I untied her robe, gaze falling to her hardened nipples. "So fucking pretty."

And then I did something that I'd been dreaming about for days. I sucked her left nipple into my mouth, relishing in her moan. Biting down, she hissed and clawed at my scalp, tugging my hair harshly. I thrust my clothed dick against her exposed folds, knocking her clit. "Christian," she moaned when I smoothed her over the bulge in my jeans.

"Let me see how wet you are," I told her, leaning back slightly as she completely took off her robe. Her pussy was pink and slick. I grunted loudly. "I'm gonna let you decide, baby. Do you wanna ride my thigh or do you want my face buried between your legs?" By the way that she shuddered, I knew she already decided.

I grinned, standing up and tossing her onto the bed. I knew I was staring at her as if I owned her. Eden whimpered since I was yet to touch her. "Do something," she whined, swiftly peering at the clock on the wall. My girl had a thing about being punctual.

"Spread your legs." Without hesitancy, she did. I'd never get over how much she trusted me to take care of her. "Wider." She did as she was told. "You're dripping wet, baby." Her folds were so slick and I loved the fact that I did that to her. Nobody else.

Leaning down, I slid a finger inside of her, and she tensed slightly. I praised her quietly. Her pussy was so tight and warm. I wanted nothing more than to feel her tightening around my dick, but I had to remind myself that she was new to this. She was a virgin. After a few seconds, I added another finger, just like last time. Her pussy throbbed around my fingers as she moaned loudly.

Curling my fingers slightly, I thrust harder and faster, loving the breathy moans that fled her. Catching her eye, I squeezed her clit, and she came with a cry. Her pussy clamped around my fingers. "That's my baby," I growled, riding her through the wave. Without giving her a chance to come down from the high, I yanked her to the edge of the bed and hooked her legs around my shoulders.

"Christian-"

I gently separated her folds with my fingers before plunging forward and eating her pussy. My fingers pressed into her ass cheeks, no doubt leaving bruises, as I drank from her, filled my hunger for her. She was so warm, and at that moment I knew that I'd never get enough of her. Her hips jerked against me as I suckled her clit. "Mine," I grumbled as her pussy tightened around my tongue.

Her mouth opened in a restrained scream, and she arched, exploding around my tongue. I lapped up the remaining juices before dropping next to her, my dick aching. But I'd never pressure her. For now, that dazed look on her pretty face was enough for me. When she grinned stupidly at me, I couldn't help but chuckle.

~

I couldn't even begin to explain the amount of rage I had towards Ashley. My fury was boiling inside of me and ached to consume whoever was on the receiving end of it - even three days after the hangover situation. Since the moment she walked through those office doors carrying cookies, I knew she had an underlying plan. I just didn't think that it would be drugging my girlfriend so she could get in trouble.

Dad seemed startled by my curiosity about why he hadn't gotten the full story from Eden. His acknowledgement was, "Miss Orlov was clearly hungover, Christian." I couldn't argue with that. But for the first time, I was disappointed in him. He hadn't even worried to get the full story.

But I needed to pacify myself. Because Eden was unbothered. She never failed to amaze me, stating that she'd rather forgive Ashley than make the situation bigger. Whenever I saw her, she was stretching or writing in that purple notebook of hers. Whenever I got too close to it, she would scold me and I'd grin. Once I questioned if it was her diary - she glowered at me.

"You're not going to sprout a boner, are you?"

The voice sounded agitated, and I glanced up, seeing Kenzie standing opposite me garnished in her training clothes. She was tall, nearly my height. My expression was indifferent as I inquired, "don't you think it's inappropriate to be asking your coach that?"

She wriggled her nose, drawing my attention to the septum piercing lodged there. "Don't you think it's inappropriate for my coach's cock to be saluting me when he's supposed to be training me?"

I held back an exasperated sigh. If there was a prize for the most vexatious person in the world, it would be split in two and given to Kenzie and Jeremy. "Is this conversation just going to comprise questions?"

Kenzie raised a brow, patting down her electric blue hair. "Aren't you surprised that you're having a conversation at all? Or do you not know of your title as Resident Asshole?"

My lip twitched, but it was enough to set Kenzie off. She let out a roar, bellowing something about getting me to smile. "Enough of that," I advised her, but she remained cheering.

Honestly, I would've marched away from her and gone to lounge in my room, but I couldn't. Kenzie was the goalkeeper on her team, so she had to be trained by one. Dad could've undoubtedly gotten his current goalkeeper to do it, but I knew he wanted me around. Besides, the only good thing about being a coach was that it permitted me to monitor my girlfriend. The memory of her coming around my tongue two days ago made me smile to myself.

"Seriously, though. Are you gonna pop a stiffy or not?"

"What the fuck, Kenzie?" I challenged, watching as she trotted in a circle before positioning herself in front of the goalpost. I'd lost count of how many times she did that. "Why would I have a boner out of the blue?"

She did a few squats and stretched her arms. "You're obviously thinking about Eden." I blinked, wondering how she knew that.

Kenzie must've noticed my inquisitive look because she stated, "your eyes are always cold. Like, all the time, like, what the fuck, dude? Smile a little." Once again, my lips tugged up, and she grinned. "The only time you don't look like the devil personified is when Lil Mama is around. But sometimes you're nice on your own too, so I put two and two together. Your eyes go soft when you're thinking about her."

That was impressive. She was more perceptive than I gave her credit for, but I wasn't going to tell her that. "Well, you put two and two together and ended up with five. I'm not thinking of Eden right now."

"That's correct," Kenzie agreed, and I puckered a brow. "You're not thinking of her right now because you're too focused on trying to calm down that throbbing whistle in your pants." I growled, wondering how someone could be this irritating. "C'mon, Chrissy. I won't judge. We all know how hot Eden is."

I profaned under my breath and watched Kenzie glance over my shoulder, her eyes widening. She looked back at me and forced a smile. "What?" I ordered, hoping that she wasn't trying to fuck with my head again.

"Nothing." Her reply was way too swift, so I turned around to see what she was looking at. A distance away from us, where the midfielders were training, Eden was on the ground, slowly lifting herself. She dusted off the dirt and grimaced. Jisoo, the central midfielder, helped clean her off. Ashley stood to the side, a content look on her face.

Turning back to Kenzie, I urged, "what happened?" She went to shrug, but I stopped her. "Don't tell me you don't know. You watched it happen. Tell me."

She sighed. "Calm down, Mr Long Shlong. Ashley tripped her." Just as I went to stomp towards them, Kenzie yanked me back by my collar and my jaw dropped at her strength. "Don't you dare go over there. Eden doesn't need you babying her. She's stronger than you think."

The wingers, fullbacks and center-backs of the girls' team ran past us, doing laps around the field and being led by Jeremy and Ricky, the latter sending Kenzie a wink and causing her to grin. It made me think back to when Eden stood up for her roommate. It surprised the hell out of me, but I was proud, nonetheless. Once they passed, I told Kenzie, "I know she's strong. But that doesn't mean I have to watch her get bullied."

Kenzie ripped her gaze from Ricky and challenged me, "what are you gonna do? It's not like you can hit Ashley. And you can't get her kicked off the team. You'll get in trouble because you're already not supposed to be involved with the recruits. If you bring it up to Coach Greg, the only thing you're gonna do is get Eden in trouble for being with you."

I scowled, even though I needed to hear that. Kenzie was the only one who knew so far that I finally asked Eden out. "I won't rat Ashley out to my dad. I'm not a snitch like her," I jeered, thinking back to how she squealed about Eden being hungover on Monday. "But she does need to get put in her place. And I'm not afraid to hurt another girl's feelings to protect my girl's feelings."

"Wow, Penis King," Kenzie pretended to swoon. "Why don't you write Eden a poem while you're at it." She tipped her head in their direction. "Look."

I whirled around just in time to witness Eden tell Ashley something. My girlfriend wore a friendly smile the entire time, and by the end, Ashley was the one with a frown. Eden turned back to Jisoo as Charlie proclaimed that practice was over.

Kenzie returned to me and nudged my shoulder with hers. "How much you wanna bet that Eden told her some psychology facts and freaked her the fuck out."

"I'm not betting anything," I countered. "Because I know that's true." She laughed, wiping sweat from her brows. "Tomorrow you're running laps."

She huffed, "Dude, c'mon. Is this because I kept making fun of you? It's not my fault you went from six to midnight!"

I nearly choked on my tongue. "No. It's because you're lazy. Being a goalkeeper is all about being ready for anything. Earlier when I kicked the ball at you, it hit your fucking eye."

"I was distracted by your pork sword!" she shot back, thoroughly exasperated. "My eye stopped the ball from touching the net! That's talent."

"No," I hissed. "After it hit your eye, you tried to catch it, but you ended up hitting it into the net. Enough of this. You're running laps tomorrow and that's final." She opened her mouth to complain, but I said, "shut up." It was rude of me, but when dealing with Mackenzie Palmer, you needed to have the patience of a saint, something I didn't have.

Kenzie rolled her eyes. "Aye aye, Captain Flagpole." And then she strutted off, stepping in a ditch and nearly tumbling over. Luckily, Ricky assisted her to the door. It was weird that I didn't know some of these men. When some of us split after high school, it was sad. But like me - Simon, Ethan, Donnie and everyone else had plans that didn't involve soccer.

I walked over to where Eden sat on the benches, drinking her water. The rest of her team had left and for that I was thankful. When she looked up, I pressed a kiss to her lips. "I don't need a pity kiss," she mumbled. I frowned as I took the seat next to her. "I know you saw Ashley push me."

"That kiss was for me," I acknowledged, stealing another one. "Haven't smoked since London and it's eating at me." I kissed her again, revelling in her giggle. When she tried to move away, I pulled her back and began pecking all over her face.

"Stop!" Eden laughed, trying to get away. She finally slid out of my hold and scoured through her bag. "Here you go." She held out a pack of peppermint gum. "Kenzie took me to buy more, and I figured you needed it too." Her tender smile made me weak in the knees, and I was glad I was sitting.

At that moment, I wondered if Eden and I were ever strangers. I felt like I'd known her forever instead of just one measly month. It felt like a lifetime had passed. I was too relaxed in her presence, at peace. The world halted on its axis when I was with her. Things like that didn't happen with any old stranger.

She seemed to become more comfortable here in California. I expected her to still be anxious about playing soccer, considering how she acted back in London. Yet, she constantly astounded me. I also had Kenzie monitoring her and so far, there were no mentions of any nightmares, thankfully.

I was about to pull her in for another kiss when a shadow fell over us. Looking up, I saw Caleb with his arms crossed and a glare on his features. His eyes were rigid, distant, and he was looking at me as if I was the villain. Funny, considering that he was the villain in my story. "We need to talk."

Eden flushed in embarrassment and hopped to her feet, swinging her purple bag over her shoulder. "I'll see you later," she murmured. She looked as if she was about to hug me goodbye, but Caleb glowered and she scurried off.

Clenching the pouch of gum in my hand, I stood up, going nose to nose with my brother. "What the fuck was that?" There was so much anger in his eyes that it surprised me Eden didn't disintegrate under his stare. But he had no right to look at her as if she was some sort of rodent.

"I should be the one asking you that," he tossed back, matching my lethal tone. "Are you fucking trying to tarnish Dad's reputation? He wanted you back because he missed you, but the only thing you're doing is smearing his name with mud."

Pushing his chest so that he could step away from me, I demanded, "what are you talking about?" As far as I was concerned, I kept my discussions with Dad brief and I stayed out of everyone's way. So I had no idea what Caleb's problem was.

"A parent called into the office this morning," he seethed and I scowled back, still not wrapping my head around everything. "Luckily, it was me who answered instead of Dad. He might've had another fucking heart attack if he did, and it would've been your fault."

I rolled my eyes, not liking his dramatics. All I wanted to do was spend some time with Eden. We didn't get to go out frequently during the week because of practice, and by the end of the day, she was exhausted. So we usually ended up watching a movie or making out. That sounded perfect right about now.

"Ashley's mother called in to complain about favouritism." My throat went dry, and I felt anger clouding my vision, nearly unable to hear Caleb over the thrumming of my heart against my ribcage. "Do you know what this could do to Dad's reputation? No one would trust him. No one would join the team or want to be on it-"

"Is this because Eden's my girl?" I cut him off. Even hearing the mention of those two despicable women made my blood run cold. Trust Ashley to be a jealous bitch. Even though Eden and I were dating, I never interfered with her training. That was entirely in Charlie's hands.

Caleb frowned suddenly, "actually. Your name wasn't mentioned." My frown matched his, wholly disoriented. "The complaint wasn't about you. It was about Eden and how she was dating one coach to get ahead. When I questioned Ashley's mom, she said that Eden was dating one of the LaCroix Fury players who coached regularly." He pointed at me. "I took a wild fucking guess and assumed it was you."

"That makes no sense," I shook my head. "Ashley has to be angry at me for blowing her off. She doesn't need to hate Eden."

He paused, brows rumpling. "Ashley originally tried out for the position of Striker. Eden got the position that she was pining for." I sighed and Caleb nodded to himself. All this over a spot on the team. "In any case, she said she'd lodge a formal complaint if we didn't fix this."

"You said they didn't mention my name," I reminded him.

"So what?" he shot back, the annoyed grimace back on his face. "Ashley lied to her mom because she hates Eden and is obsessed with you. But that doesn't mean the other girls will lie. What happens when a formal complaint is made? What happens when Dad has to question everyone and finds out that his own son was breaking the rules-"

"I'm not breaking any fucking rules-"

"You're dating a recruit!" He bellowed. "Don't get me wrong, I like Eden. She's sweet and funny, but I love Dad. You didn't see how broken he was when you left, Chris. This, you going against him and ruining his reputation as a fair coach, is going to shatter him completely. And who's going to have to pick up the pieces when you leave, again? Me and Charlie."

Tears were forming in his eyes, but he blinked them away before rounding on his heel. I knew how much my departure hurt Dad, but it was needed, especially for me. And I wasn't doing anything to ruin him. I was dating a girl I liked - what was wrong with that? I technically wasn't even Eden's coach. I was Kenzie's coach.

But of course, Ashley and her mom didn't care. But I did. And I needed to keep Dad's reputation intact, shut down Ashley's mom's complaint, and still keep Eden. Just as I made to go inside, an idea hit me.