Page 143 of Love Me Dangerous

“Yeah,” he says, his serious eyes holding my gaze before he spins away. I watch him greet one of his teammates, his face lighting up. They disappear into the entrance.

A few hours later, Sofie and I meet the rest of our group outside the stadium.

Inside the gates, it’s like a carnival. The band plays from the bleachers above us, students mill about teasing and flirting, and parents talk in clusters, laughing and excited.

The crisp fall air is tinted with the scent of corndogs and hot pretzels. Now I see why Barb and Henry insisted I wear my Finn River Falcons T-shirt and hoodie—almost everyone here is dressed in the school’s regal blue and gold colors. At least half of the kids are wearing face paint.

On the field, both football teams are warming up. William is easy to pick out because he’s tall but not broad like the linebackers. And his throw—tight and precise, like a machine.

Henry and Barb lead us up the center of the bleachers to what is apparently “our section” but thanks to my Alaska clan, our group is so big that we spill onto two rows. Henry and Barb’s friends are here and they dive right into football talk with Rowdy. Sawyer and Jesse get into a deep discussion about ways to soup up car engines while Neve and Linnea offer everyone bags of popcorn and licorice ropes from their pit stop at the snack bar.

Sofie squeezes my hand. “Are you nervous?”

“Fuck yes.” I laugh.

She leans into me. “Think he’ll play?”

“No, but it’s still really big for him.”

Ava, Hutch, and Kirilee arrive, and we make room. I pretend not to notice the way Sawyer scoots Jesse down so Kirilee can sit next to him. Apparently, Kirilee ended up at the vacation rental last night, though Sawyer says they just talked.

“I haven’t been back here since our graduation ceremony,” Ava says, her cheeks rosy. “Were we this crazy?”

“Some of us were,” Hutch replies.

Ava laughs. “Right.”

The cheerleaders assemble on the field with the breakthrough banner and the marching band plays the fight song. We get to our feet and cheer, the noise cascading into a deafening roar as the Finn River High School football team races onto the field. They break through the banner and continue to the sidelines for their final pep talk. The band plays “Louie, Louie”while the crowd sings and the field is cleared.

Sawyer claps me on the shoulder. “This is lit. William know how lucky he is?”

“He’s earned it,” I reply over the booming chorus.

Sawyer squeezes my shoulder. “Damn right, he has.”

By the end of the first half, the Falcons have only scored one touchdown. The opposite team’s defense is tough. If the season’s opener is this much of a nail-biter, it’s going to be an intense season.

From the sidelines, William and the assistant coach play an ongoing game of catch so he’s warmed up should the need arise. I had hoped maybe if the Falcons had a comfortable enough lead the coach would let Will play. Just to give him a taste. But the game’s too close, and no coach would jeopardize the game like that.

The Falcons finally get in the end zone again by the middle of the fourth quarter. But in a fast break play directly after, the opposition scores a touchdown, which ties the game with only seven minutes remaining.

Then it’s our ball. The crowd is tense, like we’re squeezed into a pressure cooker. On the play, one of the other team’s linebackers breaks through and races for our quarterback.

We all jump to our feet as our quarterback gets sacked, then buried by half the opposing team’s defense.

“Did he fumble it?”

“Is he okay?”

The field clears, but our quarterback and one of his teammates are still down. The athletic trainer races out with his assistant.

The band goes silent while the cheerleaders take a knee, facing the field, their pompons at their sides.

The trainers help the quarterback up and assist him off the field. He’s limping a little on one leg but otherwise looks all right.

The crowd claps and cheers him to the sidelines. The cheerleaders wave their pompons.

“I hope he’s okay,” Ava says over the noise, frowning at the quarterback being helped onto the trainer’s table.

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