Page 39 of Rushing Into Love

“Bree, are you ready for the game?” My sister popped her head into the room, tapping at her watch.

“Oh, yeah! Let me save this and throw on my shoes.” I hit ‘Save’ as she walked out the door, calling for Alex to get her gear together.

Scurrying around my room, I searched for a clean sweatshirt to throw on over my white button down. The temps had dropped over the past week and it would get even colder once the sun went down. I laced up my sneakers and raced out the door, grabbing my messenger bag on the way out.

“Alright, guys, I’m ready!”

I met Brooks and Alex at the door and we all piled into her Highlander. Craig was on call at the hospital, so he’d miss the game, but he’d be home later that night.

“Alex, do you have your mouthguard?” I glanced behind me.

She stared at me with baleful eyes. “Yes, Aunt Bee. And my water bottle.”

“Okay, good. Are you ready for your first game? Excited?” I asked.

“Yep.” Her feet were dancing all around, although her face looked perfectly calm. She was definitely nervous.

“You’ll be great,” I reassured her. “Listen to Coach and run as fast as you can.”

“Got it.”

We drove the few miles to the field and managed to find a parking spot in the almost-full lot. Apparently even Pee Wee football was popular in Peachtree Grove. The overhead lights were just flickering on as we got out of the car and I was glad I brought my sweatshirt. Brooks took Alex’s hand and together we walked over to the field where a bunch of the team had already gathered.

“Good, Alex is here. That’s everyone,” Ryder said as we approached, waving Alex over to the group. He gave me and Brooks a wave of acknowledgment before he continued his pep talk. “Okay, guys, this is our first game of the season. Remember, listen to the plays, pay attention to your teammates, and most importantly, we’re all here to have fun. Hands in. On the count of three—one, two, three—”

All the kids put their hands in and shouted, “Go Lions! Roar!,” then they broke from the huddle and Ryder and the parents helped fasten flags. Brooks and I made our way over to the bleachers, next to the field where the Lions would be playing. We climbed up three or four rows and scooted into the middle, next to someone Brooks knew from the PTA. They started chatting about the school fundraiser, so I idly scrolled through my phone, checking my Instagram.

There was a new post from@PaxJones, an artsy-looking photo of him on a surfboard with some early-twenty-something girl kissing his board.#lame, I thought, as I blocked him. The last thing I needed was hourly updates on who Pax was currently doing.

Next up was a post from my mother. It was a pic of her and her man standing in front of a lewd piece of art at the Boca Art Festival.Eww,I thought, shaking my head. Too bad it was poor form to block your mother. She’d probably call me tomorrow and ask why I didn’t heart it.

The next Insta was an advertisement from “Thirty Under 30,” reminding all applicants to send in their paperwork by the end of October. So, I had about a month to really kill this whole career thing. It was my last shot—I would turn thirty at the beginning of December.

The referee’s whistle cut through the night air and the Pee Wees took their places on the field. The Lions won the toss, so they had the ball first. Alex was playing back right, behind the quarterback.

“Ready, set, hike!” Charlie threw the ball straight down the middle. Another kid caught it and ran about ten yards before his flag was pulled. Second play, much the same, except we managed to run further down the field, getting a first down. On the third play, they ran a reverse, Alex running by Charlie and grabbing the ball.

“Go, Alex!” Brooks and I both jumped to our feet, screaming. She ran ten, twenty, thirty, forty yards.

“Oh my gosh, she’s going all the way!” I yelled to Brooks, clapping my hands.

“Go baby!” Brooks shouted, jumping up and down, her brown hair bobbing. “Go!”

The crowd let out a huge cheer as Alex crossed into the end zone, scoring the first touchdown of the game. Lions 6; Bears 0. Brooks and I high-fived each other, hugging.

“That’s our girl,” Brooks cried, ecstatic. A dad next to us offered to send Brooks the video he’d taken and she happily gave him her number so she could send it to Craig.

Ryder looked up at the stands, a huge grin on his face, shooting us a thumbs-up. He’d written that play just for Alex, and he’d been right—she was a rocket no one saw coming. She’d exploded up the field and none of the boys could stop her. My heart burst with pride for my niece. All of her teammates were clapping and cheering, excited for her and their touchdown.

The rest of the game passed quickly. Alex had a few more good runs and several other kids on our team managed to make touchdowns. Our defense was good and we held them off several times. The final score was Lions 24, Bears 12.

After the game, we made our way down to the field. The kids were still jumping up and down, high fiving each other, pumped at their win. Brooks and I ran over to Alex, and we both hugged her before Brooks scooped her up, giving her another a big hug.

“Awesome job, sweetie!” Brooks said.

“Thanks, Mom,” she blushed.

While they were having their moment, I took the opportunity to break away and congratulate Ryder on his big win. A few of the other moms were swarming him, telling him how great he was, flipping their hair and batting their eyelashes. I stood back a little, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot, not wanting to compete with them. Ryder looked over and somehow managed to extricate himself from the hive, striding over to me.

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