Page 108 of Second Down Fake

“Anything,” he breathed a sigh of relief, jaw unclenching and shoulders deflating.

“You tell Becca.”

Diego closed his eyes with a wince. “Okay. Only because I love you.”

I melted. Full on, heart stopping melted. How do knees even work after a guy like Diego says he loves you?

“You love me?”

“I’m hoping the feeling is mutual. Or at least you can lie so that when Becca verbally destroys me in front of your parents, I have some hope that you’ll come back to Norwalk with me, anyway.”

I threw my arms around him, wrapping my legs around his waist in a full-on monkey crawl. “I love you, too. I love you so much that I’ll stand by you even after you’re embarrassed in front of my entire family. In fact, wait an hour so my aunts and uncles can witness it, too. Just so I can prove how much.”

“Let’s save that humiliation for off season, okay?”

“Done,” I promised.

THIRTY-SEVEN

CASSANDRA

Mila, Lena, Cici, and I pressed tight to each other in the freezing stands. November had felt chilly, but January was torturously cold. Despite bundling up in enough clothes to make it difficult to put my arms down, the biting wind penetrated the layers with ease.

“We should have played in Arizona.” Lena’s teeth chattered together, and she pulled Mila closer, tucking the girl under her arm like a baby duck.

“If you’d just let me tell the head honchos you’re pregnant, maybe we would have gotten a pity box seat,” I said, my breath making wispy clouds with each word.

“If he wasn’t offering boxed seats to Mila, we weren’t getting a seat,” she replied.

“Go, daddy!” Mila screamed as her father piledrove a center into the turf with a painful thud. “Get those bad guys!”

“She seems real torn up about it,” Cici said. “Screw it. I’m about to freeze to death and I’m not impregnated by anyone on this team, so I don’t care if we’re losing. I’m getting hot chocolate. Who wants one?”

“I’m coming, too,” Lena agreed. “I can’t feel my fingers and I need a space heater. Mila, coming in?”

She shook her head. “I’ll stay with Cassie.”

The little girl clung to my side as Cici and Lena left for warm drinks.

After a four and out, the Breakers’ offense returned to the field. Between the cold and the seemingly inevitable imminent loss, the crowds were restless, eager for the last minutes to count down so they could climb into their heated cars and get warm at home.

I stood up, cheering for the offense as they crawled down the field, each play only gaining two or three yards at a time, all of them hard earned and gritty. The minutes in the final quarter counted down and the crowd perked up, sensing a shift in the game. One touchdown and a two-point conversion, and the Breakers would slip into the lead, clinching their first Super Bowl appearance since the formation of their team.

When Cici and Lena returned with drinks, Noa placed the ball five yards from the end zone. Third down. Diego clapped, and Noa threw the ball between his legs. Diego caught the ball, falling back two yards. Frankie crossed in front and Diego pitched him the ball. Frankie cut ninety degrees, sliding by Noa and making a break for the end zone.

He approached the line, wide open turf in front of him.

Until a defender stepped out of nowhere and mowed him into the ground.

The cheers turned to shocked silence as the clock hit 1:59. Two victory formations later, the Breakers lost their first conference championship.

Disappointed groans erupted from the stands as the season concluded with a loss.

“Next year,” Lena said confidently. “We’re definitely going to the Super Bowl next year.”

“Alright, that’s enough freezing. I’m getting preggers and the baby out of the cold. You staying out here to do your thing?” Cici asked.

“I’m not a baby!” Mila protested.

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