Page 164 of The Forever Play

I stood my ground, my upper lip curling as I threw my helmet down with a smack.

“Forty-five minutes, then.” Coach crossed his arms. “Are we gonna make it a full hour, or do you just want me to pull you from the game this weekend?”

“Fuck,” I whispered under my breath, my pulse hammering as I ran a hand through my sweaty hair. I couldn’t be benched again. I fucking hated that.

Spinning with a growl, I stalked over to the cones.

“Sorry, man.” Grady winced as I passed him, but he didn’t stick around to run the drill with me. Fuckwit!

Even Zander bailed. He usually would have stayed for moral support, but he’d been stupidly distracted with this whole ex-girlfriend/new daughter shit.

So there I was, stuck on the field by myself.

Coach popped out to check on me once, hollering some new instructions at me, then punching me directly in the nutsack when he ended with “And when you’re done, pick up all the gear. Once it’s stored away properly, you can go.”

It pissed me off, but I got through my fucking drills. My head was pounding, and I couldn’t fucking wait to get out of there. All I had left was the cleanup, which was damn unfair. So I was a little hungover. Give me a fucking break!

Snatching one of the balls off the ground, I hurled it down to the other end of the field.

My chest was heaving as I watched it bounce off the grass and ping toward a Black girl who was standing on the sidelines watching me.

Fuck, how long has she been standing there?

I frowned at her, ready to bark her off the field and tell her she was trespassing. But I figured I may as well check her out first. She was pretty hot. Long black hair with a wave to it, lean body with a decent rack. She had a sweet curve to her ass, which was obvious in those tight jeans she was wearing.

Shouting at her was possibly the wrong move. What would actually make me feel better was getting in those pants. If anything can put you in a better mood, it’s a quick fuck to release some of the tension, right?

Sauntering toward her, I was about to smirk and do my chin-raising gesture, but she looked away from me, walking over to the ball I’d just thrown.

Her gait was a little weird. Was she limping?

I frowned, studying the way she awkwardly leaned down to grab the ball, but then she was pinging back up straight, pointing at me and yelling, “Go long!”

Yeah, right.

Those skinny arms?

I ignored her, moving forward to collect the ball, then unhinging my jaw when she sent a perfect spiral down the field.

With a surprised blink, I spun and sprinted after it but missed, the ball bouncing wildly near my feet before I picked it up and threw it back.

She hobbled to the side, getting herself in position and catching the ball before giving me a pointed look and saying again, “Go long.”

This time, I did as she told me, watching the ball like a hawk and making a perfect catch.

Damn, what an arm.

Spinning back with a curious frown, I jogged toward her, throwing the ball back as I went.

She caught it and passed it back to me when I ran forward.

Cradling the ball against my side, I stopped a few feet away from her. “Who are you?”

Her smile was slow and beautiful, stretching over her face and sending this weird spark through my chest.

“The name’s Nylah.” Her brown eyes glinted. “And you are?”

“Carson.” I pointed at myself. “What are you doing here?”

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