Page 67 of Go Deep

I grit my teeth and jog toward Jase. His prick ass swagger is impossible to confuse with any other player in our uniform. My vision floods with red, the image of him flipping me off with a self-assured smile burning a hole in my brain. He shakes out his gelled hair and runs a hand through it. Forget the Washington Sentinels, our opponents for today’s game.

I want to tackle this asshole instead.

Now.

My leg muscles tense as I run toward him. I ignore all of the other people moving toward the tunnel, including team security. I can’t see anything but Jase and his cocky smirk. With a heartbeat that’s about to explode out of my chest, I launch myself at him with a loud grunt. He outweighs me by about thirty pounds, but I still manage to get him down to the ground.

“Goddammit, Kelly. What the hell is your problem?”

I swing my fist, connecting with his jaw and man, it feels good. After all the bullshit I’ve had to put up with from Jase Maxwell, it electrifies me to put him in his damn place for once.

Not only for me, but for anyone else he’s belittled. My thoughts trip back to Lucas and fury erupts out of my fists again.Jase tries to wiggle out of my grip, but I have my legs locked around him.

Suddenly, strong hands yank me backward until my feet hit the floor. One of the security guards glares at me and then at Jase.

“What the hell are you looking at me for?” Jase points at me. “It was Kelly who fucking attacked me for no reason.”

“Oh, there was a reason. Plenty of fucking reasons,” I snarl.

“Why? Because I gave you the finger? Stop being a bitch.”

“What the hell did you do to Lucas?”

Jase looks at me blankly before his expression tightens and his eyes turn murderous. “Mind your own damn business, Kelly. You’ve got enough of your own shit to handle without wading into anyone else’s.”

Coach Greaves storms over to us. “What in the fuck is going on here? We’re about to take the field and you choose now to settle beefs? You’re gonna be fined for this. Five-thousand dollars each.”

My shoulders slump. “Coach, this has nothing to do with Jase. It was me. You should only be fining me.”

“Fine,” he snaps. “That’s ten fucking thousand for you, Kelly. Now get your damn helmet on and your ass out on that field before I make it twenty.”

I grit my teeth and put on my helmet. The team waits in the tunnel until Jase and I show up. I jog with them onto the field, my mind twisted with anger and frustration. Ominous gray clouds hang low, matching my dark mood.

Playing the Cougars at home should have been an easy win for us.

It wasn’t.

When the ball is hiked to me, it’s officially the beginning of the end. The whole game is a blur of missed passes, fumbles,sacks, and bad fucking juju that I brought onto the field because of the knot of anger lodged in my chest and heart.

Vince rejected me, and I decided to take it out on the thorn in my side who’s been pushing me out ever since I opened myself up to the world.

It’s the same kind of rejection I’ve faced since coming out to my family, to my fans.

The kind of rejection that’s been messing with my head since my father kicked me out of my family home and left me on my own to figure out how to navigate life knowing people who were supposed to love me no matter what didn’t.

The Sentinels beat us twenty-four to seven and damn, it’s a harsh pill to swallow. I’m the starting quarterback. It’s up to me to lead this team, and all I did was drive us into the turf so the Sentinels could dance over our backs and into the end zone.

Coach Greaves has never looked so pissed off, and the flames shooting from his eyes are focused on me in the locker room when he storms in to scream at us. His face is beet red, his thick fists clenched tight. He takes off his hat and throws it across the room.

“Thisis how you finish a game?” He jerks his head around to make sure everyone’s eyes are on him. “First down, fumble. Second down, dropped for loss. Third down, interception. What the hell, boys? We went negative fifteen yards on the first play alone.” Coach stomps around in a circle, glaring at every player in his path.

“Lack of heart. Lack of hustle. The offensive line was a turnstile. The backs ran like they had a load of shit in their pants.” He spins around and points at me. “And who the hell were you throwing the ball to, Kelly? Pathetic. Every one of you. All around pathetic.”

I let out a deep sigh. “Coach, I failed the team. I didn’t lead, and I?—”

“No, I don’t want excuses, Kelly.” He walks over to me. “You’re damn right you’re supposed to be a leader. Today, I don’t know who the hell you were, but if you don’t find my starting quarterback for next Sunday’s game, your ass is gonna be riding the bench until further notice.” With one more look of disdain, he scoffs. “Fucking pathetic!”

He doesn’t even bother to pick up his hat from the floor.

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