Page 6 of Home Field Advantage

“I don’t know anything,” I say honestly. “I’m just thinking about how much this whole situation sucks.”

She seems to accept that, and then there’s no more conversation because I switch on the radio and let Drake take over.As soon as the light turns green, I shoot through it, and in another couple of minutes, we’re safely at the Bean Counter. “You coming in?” she asks, a foot already out the door.

It’s a reasonable question—I join her often, for the free cast-off drinks and to gossip or get help with my homework (you wouldn’t guess it, but Cara’s an evil math genius) when there’s a lull. But right now, there’s someone else I need to talk to, so I just say, “Can’t, promised Mom I’d give her a full rundown on the first day,” and let her blow me a kiss and dash inside without further questioning.

It’s only a partial lie; Ididpromise that to my mom. Her nursing shift at the hospital just happens to end at eight o’clock, which means I’ve got a solid three hours to kill before I see her.

I open my texts and tap out a chicken emoji—shorthand for Miguel’s favorite code phrase, “The hen is in the rooster house”—followed by a coffee cup and a water droplet. He’ll be at practice for another half an hour, so I slip my phone into my bag and pull out of the lot, singing at the top of my lungs until the rest of the day disappears.

The Bean Counter is the only coffee shop in Atherton, but just over the city line in Barkley there’s a much less trendy one called Drip that’s not nearly as popular. Which is exactly why it’s Miguel’s and my favorite hangout.

The worn velvet armchairs at the back are both empty,and Rick’s behind the counter, which means no one will be bugging me for sitting here without a new drink in my hands. He knows exactly who I’m waiting for, and he’s probably just as eager to talk to Miguel as I am, though for much flirtier reasons.

There’s blessedly little homework the first day of school, so I finish quickly and switch over to the videos of the routines our assistant coach, Josie, sent out that we’re supposed to know backward and forward. I’m so engrossed in mouthing along with the chants that I don’t notice Miguel has arrived until a sweating cup of iced caramel mocha blocks out the view of my phone screen.

“Thank you, my love,” I say, clutching it in grateful hands. “I owe you one.”

“You actually owe—”

“I was talking to the coffee.” It’s sweet and cold and delicious and exactly what I’ve been craving. “God, I needed that.”

“Guessing your day went about as well as mine did,” he mutters as he settles his long limbs into the chair opposite me with his own iced mocha I know is full of extra sugar.

“The cheerleaders are going bananas over the whole Jack thing. I’m guessing the football players are too, huh? I can’tbelieveyou didn’t tell me they replaced Robbie with a girl.”

He snorts. “You think they toldusa second before they had to? They knew how that was gonna go over. She didn’t practice with the team until Saturday, and we all thought itwas a joke when she showed up, some sort of grand statement by Sundstrom telling us to shape up because we were playing like girls.”

“Lovely.”

“Yeah, well, Sundstrom isn’t exactly known for his human decency.” He swipes his fingers against his palm, spreading around the condensation from his cup. “When he said he found a dual-threat at football camp who conveniently happened to be moving to Atherton—and we all know that second part is a bullshit cover for recruitment—he made it sound like he’d found the next Tebow. She was… not what any of us were picturing, though it makes sense that the only way he’d be able to get someone that good to move is if it were someone who’d never be able to play at their own school. Anyway, no one thought she’d last the day, let alone come back.”

Well, that all tracks. So much for my righteous anger at being left in the dark. “But she did.Andy’all think she moved here specifically to play. And even with all that…”

“Yep, team’s still acting like she’s stomping on the flowers of Saint Robbie’s grave,” he says as he finally unwraps his straw and jams it into his cup. I don’t think he realizes he’s stabbing it in repeatedly as if it were human flesh until I put a Gator-green-nailed hand over his and hold it in place.

“He’s gone, Mig.” I keep my voice as soft as possible in the crowded space.

Miguel takes a sharp breath, and then his shoulders slump and his hand relaxes. “Sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize to me. I know who Robbie was. You’re not talking to a member of his fan club.”

“I know.” He turns his hand upside down and clasps mine, just for a second. “Thank you.”

We sit quietly, thinking, remembering, neither of us daring to say another word out loud. Finally, my curiosity gets the better of me and I break the silence.

“So, is she better than he was?”

“Oh, hell yeah. It’s a pretty low bar, but she’s got him beat in every way. Honestly, the Tebow comparison isn’t that far off, and Robbie wasnota scrambling QB. She outran everyone but me and Devlin, and her arm is incredible. She also knows all our plays stone-cold, which Duggan sure as fuck didn’t. If she were a guy, they’d all get the fuck over it. Instead, the prick who went through my shit looking for deodorant and used my personal property to threaten me for months gets to remain the team hero.”

It truly is extremely fucking unfair, and nobody at school knows about it—how Robbie blackmailed Miguel right up until the crash by demanding everything from homework assignments to voting his way on team matters to cash Miguel didn’t have in order to keep him in the closet. I certainly can’t blame Miguel for being royally pissed that even having a great new quarterback won’t make the Sainthood of Robbie Oakes disappear, because the only thing more useless to the team than a dead quarterback is a female one. But still, my heart sinks.

Without Miguel’s support, there’s no one on my side, which means thiscan’tbe my side. And yeah, Jack hasn’t exactly given the sweetest first impression, but she still deserves a chance, and theteamdeserves the chance she’d be giving them.

That she’s hot is definitely not a factor here.

Especially with that attitude.

Even with those arms.

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