Page 79 of Tackle

“Black thirty-three. Black thirty-three. Hut. Hut.”

Oz stood on the sidelines watching their offense out on the field. They were down by three points with only seconds left of the game. He looked over his shoulder toward the stands. Emerson was there somewhere in the ocean of people but it was impossible to know where. He felt her though. As crazy as that sounded, it was also true.

Luckily, both their flights had been uneventful and as planned, they’d spent the rest of the day, just the two of them, holed up in Emerson’s hotel room—even ordering room service—until he’d been forced to go to his for lights-out.

They’d texted briefly that morning. He knew she’d planned to spend the day exploring the city with Ivy and then the two were meeting his mom at the airport. And now she was somewhere in the sea of people at his back, cheering him on.

He focused his attention back onto the field. It wasn’t over yet. A field goal would tie the game, sending them into overtime. Body tense, he watched the action play out. He hadn't realized how badly he wanted to win until they’d started losing.

Their offense lined up. It was third down and they only needed a few yards to be within comfortable field goal range. Colt would probably hand off to Cutler. He was the smallest and quickest guy on the team, able to make running plays even in the most challenging of situations.

Oz watched, eyes glued to the ball, expecting a hand-off that never came. Instead, Colt reared his arm back and let the ball fly. It sailed down the field, so fucking far, it almost seemed an impossible sight.

Oz’s gut clenched. His hands fisted. Throwing the football had been a huge risk. Not one he was sure he would’ve made if he were in Colt’s shoes.

It felt as though the whole stadium held their breath—Oz included.

And still the fucking ball flew.

Players from both teams ran down the field, Linc among them. Then the ball started its dive.

Linc made it to the end zone and was watching the ball. Hell, the whole world was probably watching the ball.

And then it happened. In the blink of an eye, the ball was in Linc’s hands.

Cheering as he’d never heard before deafened him. It came from all around. In the stands. On the field. His fellow defense, coaches, and second string who waited on the sidelines. Hell, even the refs had gotten into the celebration, too stunned by what they’d witnessed to keep their cool. Like a tidal wave, his body surged with the crowd onto the field, his brain still not fully comprehending they were Super Bowl champs.

Mayhem ensued and discombobulation had him following the herd. All he saw was a solid mass of bodies coming together. It wasn’t until his throat grew raw, that he realized he’d been shouting and yelling as loudly as everyone else. He felt slaps on his back, hugs around his middle. And then he saw Linc, raised high into the air, ball still clutched in his hand and held high above his head.

And that’s when it clicked.

They’d won the fucking Super Bowl.

“Hey, Oz, you got a minute?”

Oz was stuffing the last of his gear into his duffel and looked up to see Colt standing before him. “Sure.” He zipped his bag and stood to his full height.

After their coaches had all made their victory speeches, celebrations had paused for the team to shower and change and meet back at the hotel. They weren’t flying out until the next day and Oz had a feeling there’d be a lot of teammates nursing hangovers on that flight.

“Listen, I’ll talk to Linc later, when he’s in a better headspace, but I just wanted to apologize.”

Oz frowned. “Apologize for what?”

“For being an asshole these past couple of years. For not being a good friend. For being a self-centered jerk. I don’t know. Pick one. Or hell, pick them all.” He chuckled. It sounded strange and Oz realized just how infrequently he heard him do it.

“With what almost happened with Ivy…” He ran a hand through his hair, looking agitated, and Oz could tell it would be a long time before he was over that fright. “Let’s just say, it changed my perspective on things.” He shook his head. “Man, I was so stupid.”

Oz cuffed him on the shoulder. “Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“No, I need to be. And that starts with telling people how I feel. It’s hard for me to open up and share, but Ivy’s helping me with that.”

Oz could relate. Emerson has helped him a lot in that regard too.

“So I wanted you to know that, although I might not have shown it in the past, our friendship means a lot to me.” His chuckle was laced with awkwardness.

Oz could relate to that too. In fact, he was now in the embarrassing situation of not knowing what to say. He decided on an uncomfortable, “You’re important to me too.”

They executed an even more awkward bro hug and then Colt laughed. A full-blown, head thrown back laugh. And it didn’t sound weird or awkward. It just sounded happy.

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