Page 89 of Drifting

I don’t take my eyes off the field, waiting for Mav to get up.

The other players climb off him, and Mav stands to hold the football up in the air.

I grip Cam’s shoulders. “Holy shit, that’s not possible.”

“Mav has always said he could catch anything Luke throws.” Cam chuckles.

“I believe that.”

The buzzer goes off, announcing half-time, and Cam sets me back on solid ground.

As the football players exit the field, the Lancaster band heads out onto it. They play a few songs, then leave to make room for our band and cheerleaders to take the field. And what a mess they are. One cheerleader kicks left when all the rest are kicking right, and they bump into each other. It’s comical to watch.

Is it wrong to feel a small sense of satisfaction at their mishaps?

Halftime ends, and the football teams come back out. The Lancaster coach must have ripped into his team, because the Wolves come out of halftime even more aggressive. The rest of the game is just brutal, and some of their tackles are questionable.

“What the hell? That’s not legal! Did you see him grab Mav’s face mask and slam him down?” I cup my hands around my mouth and yell, “Hey, Ref, how about calling some penalties?”

I’m concerned about Mav. That last hit was a hard one, and he gets up slowly. Dom helps his brother over to the sidelines where Mav sits on the bench so one of the coaches can look him over. He must be okay, though, because he’s back out on the field a moment later.

Paige cringes. “I don’t think the Lancaster Wolves like losing.”

“No one enjoys losing.” I also think me hitting one of their guys pissed them off.

Now, they want revenge.

In the next play, Luke passes the ball to Nick. He pushes his way through and wins another first down.

They perform the same play again, but this time, Luke gets sacked right as he releases the ball. Nick catches it an inch from touching the ground. He takes off, running like his ass is on fire, but one of the Wolves’ defensive backs catches up to him and grabs Nick, tackling him. On the ground, Nick stretches his arm out to put the ball over the goal line.

Touchdown!

While the kicker gets us another point, Dom argues with the coach on the sidelines. The coach must give in, because a sadistic smile creases the corner of his mouth before he shoves on his helmet and runs back onto the field. What’s he doing? He’s on the offensive line, and the defense is on the field now.

Cam rubs his hands together. “Shit is about to hit the fan.”

“What do you mean? Why is Dom on the field?” I’ve never heard of an offensive player switching to defense.

“Dom convinced the defensive coach to let him play,” Cam explains. “When he’s done this before, it turns into a bloodbath.”

My eyes widen. Oh shit, is right. Dom’s going after Evan for slapping me.

The second the ball leaves the quarterback’s hand, Dom takes off right for Evan. He smashes the other man to the ground and says something to him before getting back up. It turns out Dom is a one-person wrecking machine, and he goes after all of them. I kind of feel sorry for them.

Okay, not really.

Even with the cheap shots the Wolves try to take, they don’t score another point. When the game ends, our team wins twenty-one to seven, with Mav winning MVP of the night.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“Thank God that’s over. I don’t think I could watch Sam take another hit,” Paige says. A second later, her eyes widen, and her mouth falls open, her cheeks turning crimson as her eyes dart between Cam and me.

She obviously didn’t mean to say that out loud, and I snicker.

“So, Little One wants Sammy,” Cam teases.

Paige lowers her head and turns even redder.

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