The Junior (College Years 3)

The announcer sounds like he’s having a coronary as he gives his play by play. I can hear the crowd screaming. One half wants me to catch it. The other half wants me to miss. I pick up the pace, the blood roaring in my ears as I put my hands out, ready to catch.

I’m going so damn fast, I trip over my own damn foot, my entire body leaning to the side. I right myself, turning so I can run backwards.

That’s why I don’t see it. I hear the warning of the crowd right before it happens.

Right before I plow into a Rebel who’s coming for me headfirst.

And I’m plunged into darkness.

Thirty-One

Gracie

Allegiant Stadium is huge. Gorgeous. Since the stadium is brand-new, everything is sleek and gleaming and beautiful. Black and white and silver everywhere, since this is also the Las Vegas Raiders’ stadium and UNLV gets to play here.

I’m in awe as we walk through the stadium, past the shops and the restaurants and the one bar that looks like a freaking nightclub on the strip. I’ve been to Levi Stadium—my family is Niner fans, which means we are definitely not Raider fans—and I can’t help but be impressed by how beautiful this place is.

The suite we’re watching the game in is, of course, beautiful. I don’t know how Jackson and Ellie managed to get us in here exactly, but I’m not asking any questions. Instead, I’m enjoying the food and drinks, talking with new people and staking out my seat to watch the game.

We’re up high, above everyone else, and there are big screen TVs everywhere, but I want my eyes on that field. For some reason, I’m nervous about the game, and I never am. More like I get all amped up and enjoy cheering on Caleb and the rest of the team. They haven’t had the best season, but they’ve

held their own and Caleb has played a lot.

It’s been fun to watch. Even more fun to know it’s my man out there playing.

My skin grows warm and my heart expands. Look at me. My man. I’m obnoxious. But just in my thoughts so that’s not so bad.

“Best seats in the house,” Hayden proclaims as she settles into the chair right next to mine, both of us in the front row of seats, right in front of the suite’s wall to ceiling window.

“They’ve got better seats down there on the fifty-yard line,” Jackson says as he settles in next to me, a grin on his handsome face.

“I beg to differ,” Hayden says, her tone faintly snotty, not that she means anything by it. “I’m content sitting up here in the air-conditioned comforts of this lovely suite.”

“It’s pretty damn fancy, huh?” Jackson looks around before returning his gaze to us. “Your boys have a lot on the line today. They need this win.”

“Do you miss playing?” I ask him.

He shakes his head. “A little. Sometimes. Mostly no. I play to different crowds now.”

“And you do it magnificently too,” Ellie says as she hands him a plate full of food. She settles into the empty seat next to his. “At least he can’t get hurt on stage.”

“Oh, I could get hurt,” he says, earning a dirty look from Ellie. “I could get electrocuted. I could trip and fall. Knock myself out.”

She rolls her eyes. “You know what I mean. It’s riskier on the football field. So many injuries.”

Her dire tone instills a fear in me I’ve never felt before. She’s right. Football is a dangerous sport, and considering Caleb plays defense, he puts himself more at risk than a lot of other players.

I don’t like that.

At all.

I forget all about potential injuries when the game starts and Caleb intercepts the Rebels’ ball, running it in for a touchdown. I leap to my feet the moment he’s barreling down the field, that ball tucked against his side as he speeds across the turf. Two Rebels trail after him but he’s so fast, no way they can catch him.

“Go, baby, go!” I’m screaming, hopping up and down, Hayden right next to me. We hug when he gets the touchdown, and I swear to God, it feels like I just did that myself. “Did you see him?”

“He’s amazing,” Hayden readily agrees.

I’m on a fluffy cloud for the first half of the game. Despite the fact that the teams are so evenly matched and they keep up with each other’s score, I’m not worried. I firmly believe our boys have got this.