Page 20 of Fair Catch
She was still throwing fireballs at me with those hazel eyes when it dawned on her, what I’d said, and all the heat left in a whoosh, her skin paling as she blinked.
“Wait… what did you just say?”
I smiled, leaning in closer and lowering my voice. “Stop being a bitch.”
She went to smack me, but I caught her hand on a laugh.
“You made chart.”
Her hand stilled, mine wrapped around her wrist where it hovered over me. Slowly, she dropped it, and I reluctantly released my grip on her, smiling as I watched it sink in.
“I made chart,” she breathed.
“Not only that,” I added. “But you’re number one.”
“Starting?!”
I nodded.
She let out another shaky breath, and then, she clamped her hand over her mouth, squeezed her eyes shut, and let out a tiny squeal as she stomped her little feet like a kid.
It was like a home video playing right before my eyes, like I was thrown back in time to her tenth birthday party, or the day her parents surprised all of us with a trip to Disney World. In that moment, she wasn’t the tough football player with the stone-cold exterior and resting bitch face she’d tried so hard to become in the past couple years.
She was just… Riley.
I laughed, but the sound died in the next instant.
Because she launched herself into my arms.
I caught her in surprise, but that surprise was replaced by an unfamiliar wave of heat once I realized she was pressed against me. Her arms were still slick from practice where they wrapped around my neck, and mine slipped around her waist like they belonged there. She buried her head in my neck, squeezing tight, and the scent of her shampoo rushed over me.
“I made it!” she whispered, still holding tight.
I squeezed her in return, savoring how it felt to be the one she had all that excitement pointed at. It reminded me of when she made the varsity soccer team, how she’d tackled me and her brother both in a squeal of delight before we were hoisting her up and carrying her around the backyard like a queen.
“You made it,” I echoed.
As if my voice woke her up to the present moment, Riley stiffened, shoving me off in the next instant and standing as she sniffed and pretended to look through her bag for something. And that cold exterior I was used to from her now was back, the old her buried beneath the steel.
“Sorry about that. Just got excited.”
I chuckled. “Nothing to be sorry about.”
“You didn’t have to tell me, you know? I would have found out on my own.”
“After you chewed your nails down to the bone, maybe.”
She leveled me with a look, then asked nonchalantly, “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“You make it?”
I sucked my teeth. “Come on, now. You know the answer to that already.”
She rolled her eyes. “Like you weren’t just as nervous as the rest of us.”
“Stars don’t get nervous.”
She made a noise that sounded like a cross between a pig-snort and a groan, which only made me smile wider.
“Well, congratulations,” she said, hiking her bag up on her shoulder. “And good luck.”
“Good luck?”
“Yeah. Unlike high school, you’ll actually have to pass a class to stay on the team here.”
She smiled with the challenge, likely thinking it just a light tease, but she had to know how much those words hit me like a fist to the gut.
My bravado slipped as I recalled how difficult it had been in high school to keep my grades up — especially during the season. And if the summer term had been any indication of what was ahead in college, I was more than a little worried about keeping my GPA up high enough to stay eligible to play.
Once again, she reiterated what I already knew everyone around me felt.
I’m good at one thing and one thing only — football.
I stood, cracking my neck. “Well, I guess now is as good as any time to tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
“There’s a video of you in your bra and underwear in the team shower going viral on TikTok.”
Her eyes shot wide, little mouth falling open before she slung her bag back onto the bench and started tearing through it for her phone.
“Kyle! I swear to God, I’ll murder him!”
I got up and made my way to my locker, stripping down and heading for the shower while she frantically scrolled through social media. She didn’t notice I was naked until I walked right up next to her, lowering my lips to whisper in her ear.
“Just kidding.”
She stopped mid-search, her thumbs hovering over the screen, and I watched with an amused smile as her eyes trailed the length of me.
But she squeezed them shut before they made it all the way down.
“Ugh, Zeke!”
She tried to shove me, but with her eyes closed, it was easy to swerve out of the way and leave her pushing at air.
