Page 81 of Game Changer
Mark throws the clipboard in disbelief and I take off running along the sidelines to watch it play out. “Yes, yes,yes! Sack him, Jake!”
Adrenaline rushes through my bloodstream as I watch Jake take the quarterback to the ground.
The crowd on the bleachers and sidelines goes wild. The ref signals the end of the game, declaring us the winners, and I run onto the field to tackle my little superstars. We’re a mess of a huddle when the sky opens up and rain streams down to coat their sweaty, sticky skin, but the thing they don’t tell you about coaching? You feel so much pride and love for one group of kids that it fills all the empty spaces inside you until they’re numb. I haven’t felt this good in weeks.
“Do we get pizza tonight?” Devonte shouts.
“Oh, most definitely. Pizza is on me tonight, guys. You made me proud.”
Mark races over with a few umbrellas, Leo sidling up beside him with his own. I’m happy he came out to the game to show his support, but I roll my eyes the second he opens his mouth.
“Congrats on the win!” he shouts over the downpour. “Bummer about the rain, though. I was going to try and score one of the football moms.” He scans the almost deserted bleachers, spotting Tabi on the sideline with her dad and Annie before he gets that mischievous grin. “Well,actually. . . ”
“No.”
A single word from Mark makes Leo’s spine straighten. Mark’s tone leaves no room for debate. Leo flicks his eyes from Tabi to Mark before realization dawns on him. “Oh, I get it. Off-limits, huh? I’ll respect that.”
Mark doesn’t reply; he only clenches his jaw before fixing his attention on the kids celebrating in the rain. Even with the umbrella, water pelts my skin like an ice-cold shower, and in seconds I’m shivering and craving the warmth of my car.
“I’ll meet you guys for pizza?” I shout over the storm.
They nod in unison, opting to celebrate with the team for a few more minutes.
I’m walking off the field when a flash of neon orange catches my attention in the stands.
I squint through the rain at the person sitting on the bleachers in the middle of a fucking downpour with no umbrella, only to still at the sight of eyes I’d remember anywhere. Eyes that I’ve tried to forget with no luck. Eyes that appear in my dreams each night like a hauntingly beautiful fairy tale.
Why is she here?
Fuck, that’s not important.
She’shere.
Without wasting another second, I jog over to the bleachers and dart up the risers to reach her at the top. She’s drenched, droplets of water trailing down her face and dripping onto the gaudy jersey below. Mascara stains her cheeks from the rain, or maybe she’s been crying. I honestly can’t tell. Whatever the case, she’s the prettiest fucking girl alive, and perhaps the craziest.
“Are you insane?” I shout. “It’s freezing out here!”
She shakes her head when I offer her the umbrella. “Take it,” I insist.
“I don’t want it, Ethan. This isn’t a blizzard, but it might as well be.”
What the hell is she talking about?
Christ, she’s probably already sick from the weather.
I grab her wrist to pull her closer, sheltering us from the rain under the tiny umbrella. She trembles beside me, shivering from head to toe. “What the hell are you doing here?” I ask. “You’re going to catch pneumonia. Youhatethe rain. And didn’t you say you’d never wear orange because it isn’t your color?” I’m rambling, but truthfully, it’s only to distract myself from my nerves regarding the real reason she decided to watch the game.
“I’m here for you.”
Her words knock me off kilter.
“Maya.” Damn my sky-rocketing pulse. This can’t mean what I think it means. I refuse to get my hopes up only to have them shot down again. “I meant what I said. I would never ask you to choose—”
“I came here to ask if you’re free for a cookout next weekend.” A tiny grin tugging at her lips gives her excitement away, and my mouth dries out in seconds. My heart pounds as hard as a drum in my chest, and I’m unsure if she means what I’m assuming is a formal invitation from her parents to give me a shot.
“I’m here to fight for you,” she continues. “Because you deserve someone who gives you the same effort you put into them. You taught me to believe in myself, which is why I’m going to finish this business degree to open up my own salon after I graduate. Because not only did I fight for us, but I fought for myself, and I couldn’t have gained the courage to do that without you by my side every step of the way. I’d doanythingfor you, Ethan, including taking a bus back home in the wee hours of the morning to change my parents’ minds. I’ll sit in the rain for you even though I despise it. I’ll wear orange because it’s your team’s color. I’ll—” She laughs when I wrap an arm around her waist. “You’ve done whatever you can to surpass my high standards, but it’s time I do the same for you.”
“Maya.”
