Beyond the Game (preview)

Chapter 1: Practice

"Nice pass!" called out the winger, who received the ball and raced it up the field and towards the net.

"A few more of those powerful through-balls, and we'll have to start calling you the next ‘Lindsey Horan!’" shouted the coach from the sidelines.

The girl grinned at her coaches’ words and, continuing down the field, out-maneuvered the covering defense and set up to take a shot on net. With a powerful kick, she let loose the ball which soared in a looping arc right over the keepers’ outstretched hands and landed in the back of the net; exactly where she meant it to.

“Thanks Dani, that was a sensational pass!” The girl said, turning around and giving a hearty thumbs-up to the girl, Dani, who had made the amazing pass to her. Dani smiled and shrugged her shoulders coolly as if she was used to this sort of praise, which she was.

All around them, there was a whoop of appraisal from their teammates followed by a sharp whistle sounded, signaling the end of practice.

"Hit the showers, team!" said the coach, impressed with the results of her girls.
Danielle Birch was the starting center midfield for a well-regarded Division 3 women’s soccer team. She could have easily made it to Division 1, but an ACL tear in high school had made her a ‘risky investment,’ as all the scouts had put it.

At 5'8" and 150 pounds, Danielle was lean and muscular, a true talent on the field. She was mentoring her teammate, Jessie Reed, who was also in her senior year and the team’s backup center mid. Jessie was fast and nimble, standing at 5'6" and around 135 pounds, though she lacked the edge that made Danielle the coach's first choice.

“Nice work out there, Dani,” Jessie said over the shower stall. “That was a serious through pass you made out there at the end. Plays like that will really put us up over our competition this season.”

"Thanks, but I think my speed's a bit off. My knee's not what it used to be," Danielle replied, turning the shower taps off. She made to reach for her towel.

“You’ll be fine. Our school trainers know what they’re doing with your knee. And honestly, your passing game is on fire lately.” Jessie reached to shut off her own shower taps, then added, “had a good offseason training? And she reached for her own towel. She couldn’t help but admire the fierce determination Danielle brought, not just to the field but to every conversation. Jessie found herself constantly inspired by her.

Danielle chuckled, “Yeah, maybe. I mean, I got lazy for a few weeks after the season ended... definitely felt it when training picked back up.” She smiled, but something flickered across her face—a pang of guilt, maybe?

Jessie merely nodded. She remembered how towards the end of last season, Danielle’s performance had slipped a bit during their last few games, skipping workouts and indulging more at the cafeteria. She’s said to anyone who asked her that the time she spent away from the team was to study for her major, where her grades need picking up, but Jessie knew better. She knew that Danielle was off partying with her friends a tad too often. She’d gained a few extra pounds, but only Jessie seemed to notice the subtle changes: the slight softness in Danielle’s midsection, the increased fluffiness of her backside, the hint of roundness in her cheeks. Despite the weight increase, Danielle continued to outperform the rest of the girls, which is why Jessie suspected the coach had never brought it up with her. These things only made Danielle more attractive to Jessie, who felt a tug at her heart each time she saw her. Particularly when they changed in the locker room or hit the shower stalls.

The girls walked among their teammates from the shower area towards the lockers where their clothes were. Taking stalls next to each other, they each began the ritual of toweling off and putting on fresh clothes.

“Ready to grab some food? I’m starving,” said Danielle, now fully dressed and shutting her locker door.

“In a sec,” Jessie responded, holding back just a bit. She was sitting down, still in her towel.

“Suit yourself. I can’t wait.” She placed a hand across her stomach, which let out a low gurgle. Their eyes met and Danielle smiled at Jessie.

“You go on without me, I gotta fix my hair.”
Dainelle hitched her bookbag across her shoulder and nodded and as she began to walk away, turned and said, “Can’t promise I’ll be able to save you a seat though!”

Still sitting on the bench, Jessie raised a hand and let out a reflexive laugh and watched as Danielle walked out of sight. When she was gone, Jessie let out a low sigh as she felt her cheeks flush with warmth. She sat there, thighs squeezed tightly together, waiting or her orgasm to subside and was merciful of the cotton towel that was now absorbing her essence.

Watching Danielle walk away like that, as well as covertly observing her change into her clothes, she couldn’t help but let her eyes linger, noticing the subtle curves that had formed along Danielle’s hips and thighs, chest and stomach. This Danielle—softer, a bit more relaxed—had a different allure, one that Jessie was only now beginning to fully recognize.

She ran a hand down her towel-covered chest and felt her nipples bud with desire. She was snapped out of her reverie of her visions of Danielle by a pair of girls who had just left the showers and had now entered the locker room changing area.

“All right, Jessie?” called one of them, matter-of-factly as the pair of them passed her.

“Yeah, all good.” She replied.

Jessie stood and turned, her back to the two girls and subtly swiped her towel at the space between her legs, drying herself. She was fearful of the gesture but needn’t have bothered. For, the other two girls were distracted, deep in a private conversation. Jessie dressed hurriedly, pulling her clothes over her thin, lithe frame. Her own build was in contrast to that of Danielle’s, but she knew that.

In fact, she knew just about as much about Danielle’s body as she did her own. For, the two of them had begun dating in secret only last year. The two had shared many third-base encounters, though they had never ‘sealed the deal’. But Jessie had to admit, the last time she went down on Danielle after the end of the season, running her hands up and down her teammates’ softer belly had been the only thing that had made her, Jessie, climax.

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