Rico watched her as she rubbed her hands together, gathering up the lingering sensations. “Everything is going to hurt tomorrow. How am I even going to work tomorrow?” she said, trying to remember where she had parked. Everything from before the game was a haze.

“You’re not even feeling that. You run? Work out? This was nothing.”

He was wrong. It was everything. When she ran, she was chasing something. Mostly chasing the thoughts out of her head. Pushing herself, punishing herself. When she’d played soccer in school, she had played the game, that was it. Keeping the ball out of the goal, that’s all that had mattered. Her entire existence had focused on that one thing, and the exhilaration of it had been at once more intense than anything else and yet so elemental, it was the simplest part of her.

That’s how she felt right now. Her cheeks burned, her heart floated, energy coursed through her.

“Were they even a keeper short?” Where on earth was the car? A red Mazda in a sea of sporty red cars. Thanks, China!

To his credit, he didn’t try to hide his guile. “They were a player short. They usually rotate the keeper since theirs went on maternity leave.”

One of the players had told Ashna in the locker room that Rico had met the team this week when he’d visited as a favor to his agent.

The team had made him think of her.

“You could have just asked me if I wanted to play.”

“Would you have?”

“Now you’ll never know, will you?” She pointed the keys down an aisle and pressed the emergency button.

He chuckled at that. How had she forgotten how much she loved his chuckle?

“You were fierce today.” How had she forgotten how much she loved the way he looked at her?

“It’s a sport. It’s easy to forget who you are.” She tried to be nonchalant, but her heart was pounding too hard for it.

“You’re not just fierce on the pitch, Ashna.”

She pointed the key down another aisle, and the car alarm went off. This conversation was setting off its own alarms. She pressed the unlock button and silence returned.

They walked to the car, their arms touching, their fingers flirting with what they really wanted to do, tangle with each other. When they got to the car Ashna gasped. Across the parking lot the Bay Bridge was lit up against a fading sky. Instead of getting into the car, Rico leaned against the hood. She joined him. The view was mesmerizing. Ashna loved San Francisco, but it had been a while since she’d taken the time to notice its wonders.

“I’m sorry I didn’t just come out and ask you to play today. But there has been another thing I’ve been wondering, should I just ask you?”