The Game You Play (Rixon Raiders 2)

“I’m glad you think so, Son, because after Friday’s game, you need to prove yourselves. I’m not going to rehash what happened because we drew a line under it Friday.” Yeah, after he’d chewed us out like we were kids caught with our hands in the cookie jar, before issuing Cameron a warning. “But you’d better hope to God you don’t pull that shit again. I don’t care if their players are talking smack about your dead grandmothers out there. Let. It. Go. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Good.” His eyes landed on me. “Warm them up, QB.”

“Let’s go,” I roared, leaping to my feet. After Friday’s game, I was itching to get back on the field; to prove to everyone—and myself—that we were the best.

But then I spotted two familiar faces in the bleachers. Jogging beside Cameron, I grumbled, “What are they doing here?”

“Hailee needs to work on her last couple of raw sketches for the Seniors Night thing.”

Pressing my lips together, I swallowed the reply on my tongue. Hailee I could deal with, but Felicity?

“I didn’t sign up for this shit.”

“Don’t be a dick,” Cam levelled with me with a hard look. “You know how important this project is to Hailee. Besides, she’s been out here almost every practice and you haven’t...” Realization sparked in his eyes. “But you’re not talking about Hailee are you?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

A slow smirk tugged at his mouth. “Sure you don’t.” Cameron clapped me on the back before joining the rest of the guys in formation for warm-ups. “I’m going to enjoy watching you fall”, he called, and I stared blankly at him.

Because what the actual fuck?

Practice was brutal. Coach made us run drills until my muscles burned and my bones ached. He was concerned about the game against Fenn Hill. It was right there in the way he pushed us harder. Demanded more. Insisted we give everything we had to give and then some. By the time we made it back to the locker room, I was ready to fall into bed and sleep for a week. Not that it was ever an option.

“Yo, QB, Thatcher is running his mouth again.”

My spine straightened as Grady came over, handing me his cell.

@ThatcherQB1: Better run, better hide, the Falcons are on the hunt #Falconsforthewin #Raiderscansuckit

“He’s really not giving this thing up, is he?”

“He’s all talk.” I flipped Grady’s cell back to him.

“And if he isn’t all talk?” Cameron dropped down on the bench next to me.

“I can handle Thatcher.”

“Like you handled him when he was at The Alley putting his hands on Hailee?”

“That’s not fair and you know it.”

“You’re right.” He let out a strained breath. “I’m sorry. I just can’t stand the id

ea that he was anywhere near her.”

“It won’t happen again,” I said, even though I knew it was a promise I couldn’t keep.

“You don’t really think he’ll show Friday, do you? Maybe we should talk to Coa—”

“Have you lost your fucking mind? The last thing we need to do is take this to Coach. If Finnigan finds out about this, it won’t end well for any of us. He’s already watching my every move.” Determined to ‘clean up’ the reputation of the football team, the new principal had made it his priority to make sure his football team behaved. Except, it wasn’t his team, not really. A fact he hated. But Coach Hasson and the school board could only protect us so much.

The need to get Thatcher back burned through me. But I had to be smart about getting payback. Because the team had worked too damn hard to risk everything.

I’d worked too damn hard.

“Thatcher will get what’s coming to him,” I said quietly, feeling vengeance boil my blood.