Page 64 of Fighting for His Life

“I am, Janie. You make me feel like we’re friends. It’s easy to talk to you.”

“But you can’t talk to Jax about this?” she asks. The blush turns redder when I quirk a brow at her. “Sorry. I can’t turn it off sometimes.”

I laugh some more. “It’s okay. I can talk to Jax about anything, but I don’t want to hurt him. This would hurt him.”

“I have a feeling it hurts him when you don’t tell him,” she says thoughtfully then waves it off with a smile. “Zoey, we really could be friends you know.”

“I would like that, but it’ll be a little difficult to get to know each other better once I go home. Well, difficult for me to get to know you since you know quite a bit about me.”

“I just know this stuff. I’d love to get to know you better personally. I love to get to know the person you once were. Will be again.”

“Then we will be friends,” I say before turning my attention back to game. “Awe, come on! That was clearly a foul!”

I turn back toward Janie to see her smiling at me like I’m the funniest thing she’s ever seen. “What?” I ask her my own smile in place.

“You’re just – really into this.”

I nod in agreement without hesitation. I am into this. I’ve never missed one of their games. I’ve even listened on the radio when a tv wasn’t available. “I’ve been watching them since their very first game. I’ve even been to a lot of their practices. Guess I’m their own personal cheerleader.”

“I’m officially done for today,” she says looking at her watch. “Do you mind if I watch with you?”

“Of course, you can. What are friends for? Especially when you need to see how real football is played.”

Jax

We’re down by two with twenty seconds on the clock. It’s plenty of time to get the ball down the field for the win, if Johnson and Anao’I can keep that big ass middle linebacker off me. They’ve been doing a great job all game, but that dude is gunning for me. It’s second and ten on the other teams forty-yard line, and I need to get this ball up the field, so we are at least in position for a field goal.

I take the snap and step back two steps watching for the big motherfucker. My receivers are supposed to be going for the slant which is going to be intercepted if I make the pass. There are just too many defensive players on the same path. Until I notice Zane make the same observation and adjust to outside. A wide-open path. I take another step back and throw the ball straight into Zane’s trajectory with a long pass.

I expected him to step out of bounds with the ball, but there’s not another player near him. He is wide the fuck open and running toward the endzone. I watch as a safety starts gaining on him. I mentally beg Zane to step out of bounds, but our tight end, Warner gets there first, clearing the way for Zane to keep running.

I’m already celebrating our win mentally as I watch my boy quickly close in on the endzone. There’s no way anyone can catch him.

Zane flies into the endzone for the touchdown sending half the team down the field to celebrate the score. Once the touch down is confirmed, we kick the PAT. Zane and I fist bump on the sidelines with the other players.

Our special teams is on the field ready for the next kick-off with ten seconds left on the clock. It’s a long one that forces the offense to take the fair-catch. I watch on bated breath as the offense prepares to make the first play. I can already see it’s going to be a Hail Mary pass. Normally I wouldn’t be too concerned, but this guy is one of the best passers in the league, and his receivers are top-notch.

I see the snap. The quarterback steps back into position watching for his chance. His arm goes back like a slingshot ready to make the pass. But Jacobs, our defensive tackle is already there, throwing himself at the quarterback. He manages to get the tackle but not before the ball is already on its projected path.

I watch as the ball flies beautifully across the field to the receiver in the backfield. It feels like an eternity before the ball lands. Right into the hands of our cornerback.

Inter-fucking-ception!

The crowd stand, cheering so loudly the roof may come off. My team and I run onto the field to celebrate with our teammates and shake hands with the other team.

It was a long, hard-played game, and a well-deserved win.

Reporters begin to come to each of us as usual. I answer questions thrown my way, but I send out a message to my girl before the interview is over. A signal between the two of us that we started in college. I place my fist over my heart telling her that’s where she is before touching my nose letting her know I belong to her. I don’t even know if she’s watching, but it hasn’t stopped me before. Not in the last year of not knowing where she is, and not now. She’s always on my mind, and I want her to know that.

We head to the locker rooms to shower and change. We’re all amped up from our win. The energy is electrifying.

“That was a good game, men,” Coach Baily says walking into the locker room. “Defense could’ve been better, but you pulled it off in the end. They’re a good team, so there was no way this was going to be an easy win.”

A rumble of agreement passes through the room before we all had off for showers and changing. I try to hurry for the official end-game press conference. It’s one thing that makes me wish I played a different position, but being quarterback is all I ever wanted so I suck it up.

“You made some great passes out there, Jay,” Zane says slapping me on the back. “You make me look too good sometimes.”

“Could say the same for you, man. I don’t know if I’d been able to pull any of them off without Johnson and Anao’i keeping that big fucking linebacker off my ass.”

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