Chapter 25

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

MAX

"Wake up!"

A loud bang shook me awake as I blinked my eyes open and stared down at the peacefully sleeping Ivy by my side. Her blonde hair was spread across my chest, and gone were the pillow barricades we used before when sharing a bed. All our limbs were entangled under the duvet, and I didn't know where she started and where I ended.

We had become one.

"Go away!" I shouted at whoever was in front of my door.

Last night was a blissful haze of many orgasms, takeout, and even more orgasms. None of the guys had even seen Ivy as I ushered her to my bedroom and kept her locked away all night long. I wanted to have her all to myself.

"Max, open up!" The door shook from the bangs.

"What the hell?" I shouted, standing up as Ivy stirred awake. "I'm not alone, and you just woke Ivy up!"

"Trust me… you will want to see this." Maddox banged the door one more time before I unlocked it and ripped it open.

"What?" I asked, staring him down in only my boxers. Thank God, I put those on to go downstairs for water in the middle of the night.

Ivy pulled the duvet over her head and muttered something incoherent.

"I tend to agree with her."

"Move." Maddox told me, entering my room with Liam and Dex on his heels.

"Are you guys serious? Ivy isn't even dressed!"

They ignored me as they took a seat at my desk chair and armchair, and Derek leaned on his crutches.

"What is this about?" I demanded to know, pissed off by the interruption. This wasn't how I planned to wake up next to Ivy.

"Hi, Ivy!" Dex greeted the duvet bundle with a wide grin. At least he acknowledged her.

I rolled my eyes and handed her a random T-shirt I had on my armchair and her discarded panties so she could get dressed under it.

Within minutes, she emerged, kicking the duvet off the bed and sitting cross-legged on it. Her hair was a mess, sticking up on all sides, but I couldn't help but smile at the sight of her.

"Have you checked your phone?" Liam asked. I glanced at the nightstand.

"I forgot to charge it overnight; I was busy," I muttered, plugging it into the charger. "Will you please tell me what's going on? I feel like someone has died or something crazy happened."

"Here I thought this was an intervention to not date me for real," Ivy added with a grin.

The guys chuckled. "No, we fully support you taking on the real girlfriend role. He needs it."

"He's been super whiny without you, so we're glad to see you back," Dex nodded.

"He is standing right here!" I folded my arms in front of my chest. "What should I have seen on my phone?"

Maddox stood and handed me his phone, where several ESPN headlines flashed:

Coach Henderson has been retired from coaching the US National Soccer Team.

Coach Henderson has been replaced by legend Aiden Hitchings as head coach for the US National Soccer Team.

NCAA College Soccer Superstar, Maximilian Aarons, ends Coach Henderson's career as head coach.

Scandal: US National Soccer Team Coach picks daughter over country.

My jaw dropped to the floor as I stared at the headlines. Clicking on the first article, I scanned the text on how the US Soccer Federation had received some screenshots where Thalia was begging her dad not to pick me for the National Team out of spite for what Ivy said about her. What's worse, Coach Henderson did reply with something along the lines of "no problem." Which would have been fine if they had another midfielder with similar stats, build, physicality, and talent as me. But I was in the top four midfielders in the country according to all stats, and him not even considering me was already causing a lot of backlash. Now these screenshots really buried him.

"This is crazy… How did they even get these screenshots?" I asked, turning the screen to Ivy so she could understand what was going on. Then it hit me.

Her lips pulled into a small smile, and she crossed her arms defensively in front of herself. "Well… Merry Christmas?"

"You're joking," I gaped at her.

Ivy shrugged. "I was looking for something good on Thalia way before the whole mess, and this was just the perfect thing. And to be fair, I warned her what would happen if she didn't leave you alone."

"This is amazing," Dex laughed. "Nice job, Poison Ivy."

"Don't call her that," I warned him without taking my eyes off Ivy. "Gosh, you are truly amazing," I muttered, appreciation lacing my words.

Ivy blushed. "It was nothing. They took forever to conduct the investigation, so I had to leak it to ESPN too, to light some fire under them. And it seems like Henderson couldn't deny the legitimacy of them."

I was truly mind-blown by her cunningness and immensely impressed by her bravery.

"Wow, I really don't know what to say… Thank you doesn't even begin to cover it."

Ivy tucked her hair behind her ears and smiled. "You're welcome. You deserve it."

"I mean, this doesn't mean I'll get the call or anything similar, but I guess it can mean I'm back in the running," I said, trying to keep the excitement limited in my voice.

"Well…" Liam cleared his throat. "About that… Have you checked your phone finally?"

With a sigh, I reached over to the nightstand, turning my phone back on. Within seconds, it was buzzing with messages. First, our Titan's group chat was blowing up, everyone sharing the article. I had missed calls from my parents, my agent, Coach McCarthy, and an unknown number.

My stomach knotted as I swiped through all the notifications before staring at the newest incoming message from Coach McCarthy.

Coach McCarthy

Call me as soon as you see this.

Blinking up at my friends and Ivy, I gaped. "Oh my gosh."

My hand was shaking as I called him immediately. Ivy jumped up, coming right next to me and wrapping her arms around me while Liam threw a pen to get my attention.

"Put him on speaker!"

Pushing the speaker sign, we listened in silence for the ringing tone before the call connected.

"Max?" The voice on the other end definitely did not belong to my coach, Sky McCarthy; instead, it was Aiden Hitchings.

Ivy put her hand over mine and helped me hold the phone as my entire body shook. "This is Max Aarons…"

"Max, this is Aiden Hitchings," he introduced himself, as if I didn't know it. "You probably remember we met briefly after the finals." I nodded, before realizing he couldn't see it.

"Yes, I remember," I muttered, sounding like a total idiot.

"Right." Aiden chuckled. "You have probably heard the news that I took over as head coach for the US National Team for the season, and following the superb season you had with the Titans, I wanted to give you a call and personally extend an invite to the US National Team this season."

I stared at my friends in utter shock before my eyes slid to a very grinning Ivy.

We spent the whole week celebrating with takeout, sex, and various parties. Everyone on the team was over the moon with the news of Henderson being replaced and me making the National Team. I kept telling everyone that it wasn't final—that I might still end up on the bench for the World Cup—but in everyone else's mind, it was a done deal.

Ivy was happy, but I caught her eyes flashing with concern from time to time, especially as her birthday neared. I planned this whole surprise party for her together with Rosalie and Nova to make sure she felt loved and celebrated. I also told her I was happy to go visit her family over the weekend so she could celebrate with them too.

I hadn't asked about Daisy and Ander, but I didn't even want to; they didn't matter to me. As long as Ivy was happy, I didn't mind what the plan was for her birthday.

I was still waiting for the final schedule of when the Training Camp would take place and which pre-games I was required to play. There were always at least two or three friendly matches before the World Cup to make sure team chemistry was there and all the players knew what they were doing.

"You are awfully quiet today," I told Ivy as we reached the viewpoint of the hike I found for us weeks ago when we weren't even together. As soon as I saw this trail pop up on my TikTok, I saved it, knowing she would love it, and I didn't want to be here with anyone else.

"I'm just tired," she muttered, sadness lingering in her eyes as I wrapped my arms around her from behind and kissed the top of her head. "School is crazy busy, and I don't know. Just everything seems to be happening very fast."

I remained quiet for a long second as I watched the ocean appear on the horizon over all the trees we passed.

"Do you think we are too fast too?" I asked her, not wanting to beat around the bush. "I know you said you wanted a fresh start, but it's not like we can pretend we don't know each other…"

She nodded as her body leaned into me more. Her body language was the complete opposite of her mood and words. "I just wish… we had a do-over at things."

I didn't want a do-over, especially not after telling her I loved her and her not saying it back. It was clear I was in love with her, but I wasn't sure she was there yet or if she was ready to accept it.

"Did you get your schedule?" she asked instead of waiting for my reply. "For the camp and the games?"

"No," I shook my head. My arms tightened around her as she scoffed.

"I saw the U.S. is playing Spain in a friendly game on my birthday weekend."

I dropped my head into her neck and kissed her favorite spot, but she pulled away.

"Why didn't you say something?" She turned in my arms, her eyes full of hurt. "I would understand. I know soccer comes first, and it's just a stupid birthday. But I wanted you to tell me."

"Because I was trying to get out of it," I confessed. "I called Hitchings, asking if I could play any other game, any other time, no matter what. But because it's a weekend game, both the school and the team think I need to play it. Plus, it's Spain, and he wants a strong team. I was on the phone with him this morning too, trying to move it, begging him to come up with a solution. I don't want to miss your birthday. I want to be there for you."

Ivy hummed. "It's not about my birthday…"

"What is it then? I'm sorry this is a mess right now and I can't offer you anything more stable. I can't offer you a do-over now. This is all I can offer you. My time, as much as I have of it, and my attention whenever I can spare it."

"But soccer comes first." There was resignation in her voice. "I know soccer comes first. I didn't expect to come first. I guess it just hurts now that I realize it."

I ran my hand through my messy hair and sighed. "You know you matter. You are important to me. Hell… I…"

"Please don't say it again," she whispered, tears pooling in her eyes. "I've already been here. I've already done this with Ander."

"This is different." I took her shoulders in my hands and looked deep into her eyes. "I want to do everything to make this work, and I want to give you everything. I'm not saying it will be easy, but we can make it work. I will be coming back between games and training camps. I still study here; it's just for this semester. Don't let four months of hardship take away what could be a very long future."

Tears spilled from her eyes. "I know. I'm trying to be positive, but I can't go through this again, Max. I can't just be waiting around for your attention. I want to be with you, truly, but I will always come second, and right now, if you choose to focus on your career, I should focus on my life. I can't keep living with the Titans and attending Westpoint where I don't have any friends."

"Just transfer to Hillview," I offered. "We have the same programs. You can even transfer all your credits."

"I picked Westpoint because they have the best computer science program," she reminded me. "And I'm going to see it through. But if you choose soccer, it's only fair you let me choose myself too, and we can meet up after the World Cup, next semester. Give each other time to grow and work on what we want. And if in September we both feel the same and want to resume this relationship from where we are right now, we can. But don't… put me through this uncertainty of a waiting game."

"You said you would cheer me on no matter where…" I reminded her of her words before the semi-finals as I wiped her tears. "Was that fake?"

Ivy let out a strained laugh. "No, Max. Nothing was fake for me. But you keep asking me all the time what was fake and what wasn't, and that's why I told you we need a do-over. Like this, we are both so caught up in what happened when it was supposed to be fake and all this uncertainty. It's really not healthy. And to answer you, I will always support you. No matter what or where. I can be next to you as your friend, but I can't put myself through the back and forth. It might make me selfish to choose myself when I spent so much time and energy helping you believe in yourself, but I need to do this for myself. For once in my life, I need to be selfish and put myself first, because it's clear no one else is willing to put me first."

I couldn't argue with her. Not when she made such valid points. We were at one of the most beautiful sceneries I had seen in a very long time, and my heart was breaking.

I had never experienced heartbreak before. But the way my chest ached and felt like something was breaking inside me was real. The pain radiated through my whole body, and my throat burned from all the emotions.

All I could do was nod because I couldn't put her first. Not when I had my dream, one I had worked for years to achieve, right in front of me. I would have never forgiven myself for that. No matter how much I wanted to put her first and show her how much she really mattered, I had to realize she was right, and maybe we needed this distance.

"I never intended for this to end this way," I muttered. "When I approached you at the beginning of the year."

Ivy nodded, dabbing at her tears. "I know, but it did. It's none of our faults, it's just bad timing. But maybe if the timing is better next time…"

"Yeah… next time," I echoed her words, and I just hoped this wasn't one of those right person, wrong time situations. Because I couldn't lose her forever.

Not when she was walking away with all the pieces of my heart.