Page 65 of Good at Being Bad (Rock Canyon, Idaho 8)

Mike didn’t need Travis to fight his battles for him, but Travis was the one person Forrest as genuinely afraid of. Maybe it was his size or the fact that Travis had the power of a multi-platinum super star behind him. Either way, Forrest avoided him and his bad side.

After the players filed out, Mike finished getting dressed. Before he put his head on, he gave Ryan a mock fierce look.

“You’re going down, cub.”

Ryan’s laugh came out like a donkey bray. “I’ll see you on the field, you old fart.”

Mike adjusted his head, cutting off his laugh and they walked out of the locker room towards the field. Crowds of people with foam fingers and stadium seats filed past, and Mike couldn’t help scanning the crowd for Ellie.

As he walked out onto the track and headed towards the visitor’s end, he slapped Ryan on the back and started jogging. His breath fogged up his bear head, enhancing the stale, musty smell inside. When he got to the end of the cheerleading line, which included Kirsten Winters, Katie Connors, and Hope Weathers, he started waving to the crowd.

He stopped when he saw Ellie, wearing a green RCHS baseball cap and gray T-shirt to go with it. She was smiling at something Jenny said, and just the sight of her joy made him hot, the sweat trickling down his back and forehead. He walked over to where they were sitting, and stood in front of them.

Jenny noticed him first. “What’s up, Clark?”

Mike grinned behind his mask. He was taking over for Clark, and apparently the coach had kept his word about not saying anything.

Ellie turned his way, her hazel eyes twinkling.

Mike covered his mascot mouth and blew her a kiss.

She caught it, like he knew she would, and held it over her heart, laughing. That was his fun-loving Ellie, with the great since of humor and playful nature. The Ellie he’d seen today, with her teary pain-filled eyes had made him want to tear apart everyone who had ever hurt her. He wanted to keep her safe.

The officials did the coin flip and the game began. Mike danced when the alums scored a touchdown, doing the moonwalk in a circle and drawing cheers from the crowd.

By the time halftime came around, the high schoolers were up by a touchdown, and Mike took the field across from Ryan. The theme from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly came on over the speakers and Mike pretended he was a gunfighter, bringing up his imaginary gun and Jake fell to the ground, writing around until the music to “Cotton Eye Joe” came on.

As the two mascots got into a dance off, the crowd went wild, especially when the cheerleaders joined them. Mike was a little surprised at how limber some of the older women were and when they finished with “Love Shack,” they ran off the field.

Just before the team took the field again, the announcer came over the speakers and said, “And the winner of the mascot war was…the alumni!”

The crowd cheered and booed from either side. Mike went back over to where Ellie was seated, noticing her worried expression as she talked to Jenny. Was she talking about him?

Chapter Twenty

The second half of the game went swiftly, ending with the high school varsity team beating the alumni 35 to 21. It had been neck-and-neck during the third quarter but due to an interception and a long yard pass, the kids had kicked the adults’ ass.

Ellie noticed the mascot seemed to be looking her way again, and she stuck her tongue out at him. He responded by turning his back on her, sticking his butt out, and wiggling his nubby tail at her.

Ellie laughed, the tension from earlier eased by the mascot’s antics and by Jenny’s excitement that her boyfriend was the alumni’s wide receiver. She would definitely have to thank Clark later for entertaining her.

“Well, I promised I’d take you home right after,” Jenny drawled. “No going out for a drink or grabbing some burgers.”

“You’re kind of pushy. Did anyone ever tell you that?” Ellie stood up and started climbing down the bleachers.

“All the time.”

They reached the track and headed towards the exit together. Jenny was rambling on about the importance of socialization, but Ellie was watching Forrest on the field. His helmet was off and he was screaming as he waved his arms violently around. As they drew closer, she could hear every word.

“You fucking idiot, who taught you how to block? Huh?”

“Dude, chill, it was just a game,” one of the other players said.

Forrest pushed him and one of the coaches ran over to break it up. “Why don’t you go home and chill out?”

He threw his helmet and headed for the gate just in front of them, exiting as they passed. When Forrest’s rage filled gaze met hers, he advanced on her. “You. If you hadn’t fucked Stevens and gotten into my head, we wouldn’t have lost.”

The people around them, including Jenny, stared at Ellie.

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