Page 49 of Fair Catch
I snagged it out of the air, cradling it to my chest as I somersaulted down to the ground.
There was a breath of silence.
And then everyone went ape shit.
I opened my eyes from where I’d squeezed them shut just in time to see Kyle beat his fist on the ground, cursing, while the guys behind him jumped up and down and sprinted down the field toward us.
Clay scooped me up so fast I dropped the ball, and then I was on his shoulders, laughing and throwing my fists up in victory as everyone chanted my name.
Novo! Novo! Novo!
Holden, bless him, was the only one to approach Kyle. He extended a hand and helped him up, clapping him on the shoulder with encouraging words. But Kyle shook him off, clearly pissed.
Zeke helped me down off Clay’s shoulders, and then I was in his arms, a crushing hug cutting off my oxygen as I laughed and held him just as tight.
“I told you I had it,” I teased when he released me. His hands stayed on my hips, though — palms warm where they wrapped fully around me.
He just shook his head. “If you didn’t, I would have gone to jail tonight.”
I frowned, unsure of what he meant, but before I could ask, Holden held up the ball and grabbed my wrist, hiking it up in the air, too.
“We have our champion!”
The guys all roared their approval — well, everyone except Kyle, who crossed his arms hard over his chest and fumed.
“So,” Leo asked, throwing his arm around my shoulder. “What will his Instagram Live punishment be? Streaking down the field? Scrubbing our cleats with his toothbrush?”
Chuckles rang out, all the while Kyle gritted his teeth, his eyes on the ground before they skirted up to meet mine.
I just shrugged. “You guys figure it out. I think my job here is done.”
I tossed the ball to a gaping wide receiver who just barely caught it.
“Wait! But… you won.”
“Exactly,” I said, and my eyes pinned Kyle then. “That’s reward enough for me.”
An understanding and appreciative smile washed over Holden’s face. “You heard her. We get the honors, boys. So… what will our punishment be?”
The guys all started hollering over each other, throwing out crazy ideas that ranged from shaving my name into Kyle’s head, to making him wear lipstick at the next game. I just laughed, turning to head for the locker room, but Zeke was right there beside me when I did.
“You’re really not going to make him pay for that shit?”
I laughed. “I think him losing was payment enough for me.” I shrugged. “Besides… it wasn’t about some dare for me. It was about respect.”
Zeke nodded, his shoulders relaxing only marginally.
“I… I think I need a beer after that,” I added with a shaky laugh.
Zeke smiled, throwing his arm around me and steering me toward the locker room. “Now that I can help with.”
Zeke
Riley wanted to earn respect… and damn, did she.
The next few days of practice, I watched the team embrace her like never before, arguing about who would get to sit with her in the cafeteria, and clamoring over the chance to hang out with her after practice. We had more guys in our dorm than we had all season — until the night before the Homecoming game, when Riley kicked them all out so we could study and get a good night’s sleep.
As if kicking Kyle’s ass wasn’t enough, she then went out and had a monster game against one of our biggest rivals, kicking not one, not two, but three field goals when our offense got close but not close enough to convert the touchdown. It was because of those three kicks that we won, and she was carried inside the locker room on the shoulders of players who acted like she didn’t exist just a week before.
I was proud of her — though on the night of the competition it was more rage than pride scorching through my chest. I’d never come so close to murdering someone in my entire life than when I saw Kyle shove Riley to the ground.
The image haunted me for a few nights after, how she went sideways, her body angling in an unnatural way until it slammed against the turf. I saw her hair splayed out around her, her body limp and lifeless as I sprinted toward her with the commotion of all the other players dulled in the background.
I’d never felt my heart beat like that before, never felt that… possessive.
It scared the shit out of me for more reasons than one, most of them too deep for me to face or try to untangle. But every night when I woke with that recurring nightmare, I’d be covered in sweat, panting, and I’d have to fight the urge to run next door to her room and crawl into bed behind her, hugging her to my chest.
