Page 44 of The Second Kiss
As soon as we get to the park, I look for Jacob, or at least his car, but he's not here. I’m still looking for him when I take the field.
“Guess we’re on the same team again.”
I turn to face Brad. Matt winks at me like he’s doing me a big favor. Matt thinks I have a thing for Brad, or maybe he thinks that being with Brad will give me a boost in the social department. Maybe Mom told him I was having a hard time at school. Whatever his intentions, the idea of my ex-hotshot jock big brother meddling in my life really annoys me.
The irritation gets worse as the game progresses. When Matt jumps up to make a spectacular catch just a few feet from me, I plow into him. The grass is slick, so we both go down. The ballslips from his grasp, and I pounce on it. I come up muddy but triumphant; the football raised above my head.
“Unnecessary roughness!” Matt sputters through a mouthful of grass and mud. “We’re playing touch, not tackle.”
“Really dude? Just because you got owned by your little sister.” Brad stands over Matt and shakes his head. He reaches for my hand. I'm so pumped by my unexpected success that I let Brad pull me up and then give him an enthusiastic high five.
“I believe it's our ball," I announce.
“You’re going down, little sis,” Matt growls.
“Bring it,” I shout back.
The next hour is a blur of rain, mud, pain, and unabashed sibling rivalry. At one point our baby brother Tyler actually gets between me and Matt and tells us we need to chill out before someone gets hurt. He’s right, and the person who is going to get hurt will probably be me, but the game has brought out a wild competitive streak that I forgot I had. Matt and I have always been competitive, even if we’ve always had each other’s backs. He was the only one in the family I dared call after the party. I didn’t tell him what really happened. I let him think I was drunk. He gave me a hard time on the way home about drinking, but he covered for me with Mom and Dad. I forgot how much I missed our relationship. He's barely noticed me since Kendra came into his life.
That's probably why a pang of jealousy hits me when she yells at him across the field. "Matt! What the heck! We're supposed to be at my grandma's in twenty minutes!"
"Sorry." He's covered in mud and grass stains, and nowhere near ready for a Thanksgiving dinner with Kendra's family. He looks at her with downcast eyes, like the whipped dog he is. "Gotta bail," he says to the rest of us. He's splitting Thanksgiving between our family and Kendra’s family this year.
"That makes the teams uneven," Tyler grumbles. He’s obviously annoyed that Matt is deserting us too.
"I can take his spot." The voice from somewhere down the field makes my heart leap.
I spin around to face him. "Jacob!" I have to stop myself from running into his arms. I'm at least as muddy as Matt, we have an audience, and I'm not sure how Jacob would react to me throwing myself at him.
"You're too late, Soulja Boy. We're done here." Brad glowers at Jacob. Testosterone-laden tension floods the air between them.
Tyler steps up. "We have time for at least one more play. It's all tied up. We can’t quit now. You aren't afraid of losing, are you?"
Brad takes the bait. "Not likely, kid.” He huffs. “Whatever. One more play."
"You're back," I say, moving closer to Jacob. The game is forgotten in the wake of his lazy grin and big brown eyes.
"Yeah. We flew in this morning. Your mom said if I got back in time I could come to dinner, so I came straight from base. I ran into Kendra at your house, and she asked me to help her find you guys." He glances at his watch. "Wasn't dinner supposed to start fifteen minutes ago?"
I shrug. "I guess we got a little caught up in the game."
He brushes a piece of grass out of my hair. "I can see that."
"Jess, stop consorting with the enemy. We have some strategizing to do," Brad barks at me.
I roll my eyes to show Jacob how I feel about Brad. Then I move into the huddle with the rest of our team. Brad turns to me. “It’s all up to you, Jess.”
“I've got this.” Pride wells up inside my chest. Brad is uber competitive. It makes me feel good that he’s leaving the last play up to me.
He wraps his arm around my shoulders and leans in close. “I need you to pretend to get hurt.”
“What?” I stare at him as the wind goes out of my sails.
“It’s the perfect distraction. GI Joe over there won't keep going if he thinks you’re hurt. You fall to the ground and start crying. I’ll run the ball in.”
I look around at the circle of Brad’s friends surrounding us. They’re all nodding like it’s a brilliant idea.
I shake my head. “I don’t think I can convince Jacob I’m–”
