Page 1 of Blitz'd

ChapterOne

ZANDER

“Head in the game, Z,”my best friend Russ says, using his helmet to knock against mine.

I turn to him with a smile and a wink. “Always. We’re gonna fucking crush Meridian. Home-field advantage, baby.”

“You know it!” Russ claps hands with me again, his hazel eyes flashing and his curly hair flopping in his face. The freckles that cover his nose stand out in sharp relief against his light brown skin. “Make sure you rub it in that bitch’s face when you have more passing yards than him. I’m sick of his trash talk on social media.”

My smile drops as I think about the quarterback from Meridian University.

Kerian Slade.

We’ve both been starting quarterbacks since our sophomore year and the sports world hasn’t let us forget it. Every time one of us makes a highlight reel for a perfect spiral pass or avoiding a sack, it’s blasted for all to hear, along with comparisons.

And Kerian hasn’t tried to do anything to stop news analysts from comparing us. In fact, he makes it worse, always taking digs at me in his post-game interviews, saying how he’s better than his rival and tries to show it after every game.

Add to the fact that they’re a more prestigious university two cities over? Yeah, the rivalry is real.

I keep my growl to myself, though. No one needs to know how much Kerian gets under my skin. “This is our game. They’re in our house. I ain’t worried. ESPN will be showing my highlights tonight.”

Russ grins, knocking helmets with me again before he goes to where his defensive line is having a huddle.

“Zander,” our head coach, Trevor McMillan, says, walking over to me. “Your girl is outside and she won’t leave. She’s fucking up the mojo in here. Get rid of her before she jinxes this win!”

Coach McMillan is superstitious about football. More so than any person I’ve ever met. No interruptions or no technology before a game, gotta wear the same socks throughout the entire season until we lose, then repeat the cycle with a new pair. He’s the best coach on this side of the Mississippi, no doubt about it, but fuck, his rules are annoying.

“Got it, Coach,” I say, hustling to the door. I have to turn to the side to avoid other players since we’re all dressed in our pads, ready to hit the field.

Megan, my girlfriend, is standing across from the locker room entrance, clad in her cheerleader outfit. Fuck, she’s hot. Long, limber legs, thick thighs, and a pert ass. Her full blonde hair is up in some kind of curly ponytail all the cheerleaders have to wear, and her face is made up, her cheeks glittering under the shitty fluorescent lights.

It’s cliché for the head cheerleader and the quarterback to be a couple, but we fell for each other close to two years ago and we’re still going strong.

“Hey, babe,” I say, grinning as I walk over to her. I cup her ass and pull her into me, planting a greedy kiss on her lips that taste like strawberries. “You look good enough to eat.”

She rolls her eyes and pushes me away. “You ready for today?”

“Fuck yeah. I saw Slade earlier when his team pulled up. Bitch shot me a stupid fucking smug smile. I can’t wait to wipe it off. You know he had the nerve to…”

I dump on Megan about Kerian all the time, but he just gets under my skin with his bullshit. I’m a better quarterback and we both know it. He needs to get it through his head.

I mean, he’s good. That’s a given since he was accepted to Meridian, a top Division 1 school in Virginia. His arm is crazy, his ability to throw bullets almost mind-boggling. He’s also good in the pocket. That’s the only undeniable way he’s better than me. He’s more bulky than I am, and he uses his weight to shake off all kinds of sacks. While I’m sitting at an average of three sacks a game, I’m lucky if Kerian goes down even once. His feet are fast and so is his mind when he’s searching for a receiver.

But he’s still not a better quarterback than me.

Megan throws her hands up, stopping my ranting. “Okay, that’s it. Dammit, I’ve fucking had it, Zander. You’ve had a hard-on for Slade since your coach had you starting. I’m fucking done. I can’t hear another word about him.”

I clamp my mouth shut. Does it seem like I have a hard-on for Kerian? I mean, he pisses me off, but I don’t think I’ve been that bad.

She’s not done with her rant. “This? Me and you?” She waves her hand back and forth between us. “We’re done. We’re over. I was going to wait until after this game, because I know how Slade gets under your skin and McMillan’s stupid rules, but fuck that. I’ve been fucking Justin for months and your head is so far up Slade’s ass that you haven’t even noticed.”

“Justin?” It takes a second for my brain to click, then it does. “You mean Justin Echer, our fucking kicker?”

I’m not sure why I expected Megan to look sorry about dropping this bomb, but she looks like she couldn’t give a fuck less. “Yeah, Echer. And let me tell you, he’ll be the one eating me tonight. I would say good luck in this game, but I hope Slade wipes the fucking floor with you. Find another stupid bitch to vent to about him.” She storms away, her blonde ponytail swishing behind her.

Justin has been fucking my girl? For months? That motherfucker has been smiling in my face knowing he’s been inside Megan? That’s probablywhyhe’s been grinning in my fucking face.

My breathing comes out choppy as I think back to the times I hung out with Justin while Megan was around. They always shared those stupid secret smiles, but I didn’t think anything of it. My mind was always on football and making sure I win as many games as possible before I enter the draft.

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