I shot him an annoyed look, then motioned for everyone to get in position. When the ref blew the whistle, I called the play again and clapped briskly to signal we were ready to begin. I caught the football; then I stepped back into the pocket and scanned the field, looking everywhere at once. My plan was to wait for Gonzalez to run twenty yards before launching it to him. The backup was to hand it off, but I figured we go with that play next and run some time off the clock. The score was twenty-eight to zero. With six minutes left in the game, I wasn’t concerned with adding more points. I just wanted to stay on the field for as long as possible and hopefully win in a shutout. But the second I cocked my right arm back, I sensed trouble. I secured the ball and glanced sideways just as a ginormous defender breached the line and made a mad dash for me. I made a narrow escape and slid out of reach only to get pulled down from behind. I fell hard on my right knee and the lineman who outweighed me by at least fifty pounds toppled like a tree on top of me.
Okay, here’s the thing…football is all about forward momentum. Not every play worked every time, and we all knew it. But this one should have worked. The only reason it didn’t was because a few of my guys were already celebrating this win. So yeah, even though the score didn’t change, I was pissed. And though I knew our head coach would yell at Moreno and whoever else messed up, it was my job to back him up. A quarterback led on and off the field. I was in charge of revving up the team before games and congratulating them for a job well done. If there were issues, I was expected to point them out. And the second we were back in the locker room, I did.
I called a quick powwow, congratulating the guys on our win. Then I showered, changed, and iced my knee before confronting Moreno on his faux pas.
“I’m sorry, man. I thought Jonesie had you.”
I removed the ice bandage wrapped around my knee and left it on the bench before glaring at Moreno. He looked like a sullen child who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. But there was an angry edge to his attitude too. I couldn’t tell if he was mad at me or himself, but it didn’t matter.
“Don’t blame anyone else. That was on you. If you can’t handle your position, have your grandma call me. Maybe she can do it better than you,” I scolded, hefting my bag over my shoulder.
My mind whirled as I headed for the parking lot. I picked apart the plays we’d run and thought about how we could have executed them better. I had a slate of Xs and Os in my mind with imaginary red arrows pointing in varying directions. I nodded and waved to a few familiar faces as I dug my keys out, but I didn’t slow down until I reached my car and noticed the large man leaning against the truck parked next to me in the nearly deserted lot.
I stopped in my tracks as Rory straightened to greet me. Warmth seeped through my body, and a huge smile I couldn’t seem to contain spread across my face.
“How’s the knee?” he asked.
“Fine. What are you doing here?”
“I told you I’d be here, remember?”
“Yeah, but…I’m surprised you stayed. It wasn’t a great game,” I said, opening the trunk and tossing my bag inside before sidling between our vehicles and leaning on my Prius.
There wasn’t much wiggle room. I could practically feel his body heat in the confined space. And damn, it felt nice. I crossed my arms and tried to maintain some semblance of cool. It felt strange to see him here…but good.
“At least the stands weren’t crowded. No screaming fans chanting your name in my row. It was mayhem in the next section, though. You’re a rock star here,” he commented with a laugh.
“Ha. I d-don’t know ab-bout that, but—”
“You’re freezing.” He reached out to rub my arms, then dropped his hands quickly and opened the passenger-side door of his truck. “Get in. Just for a second. I won’t keep you. I promise.”
I hesitated for half a second, then obeyed, closing the door just as he opened the driver’s side and climbed in. “Much better,” I sighed. “You aren’t here to quiz me on that test, are you? I haven’t studied at all.”
He turned on the engine and blasted the heat before shifting to look at me. “Nah. Believe it or not, I just wanted to say hi.”
“Hi.” I smiled shyly, marveling at my wild mood swing. I couldn’t remember what I’d been thinking about before I bumped into him.