The small crowd on the bleachers was bigger than I expected for Fan Day. It was mostly local families and a few diehard fans, whose chatter blended with the distant hum of cars on the nearby road.
The air smelled faintly of freshly cut grass, mixed with the tang of sweat and rubber from the cleats pounding the turf.
After some pass-focused plays without any of the linemen involved, we moved on to a full-team scrimmage.
I had a couple of good moments in a goal-line stand, where I was able to force my way inside just five yards from the end zone, split a double team, and stuff their play right at the line. With every burst of effort, the sun glinted off my helmet, sweat dripping down my neck.
“Better kick it, boys. You ain’t getting in on me.” I taunted, grinning madly at the O-line.
A couple of them looked offended, but most just laughed or shook their heads. I’d been known for my huge fucking mouth my whole career.
The scrimmage continued, and I was having the time of my life. These guys were good, but I still came out on top more often than not. My pulse was pounding in my ears. It was a rush like no other every single time I stepped foot on the field.
The pounding of cleats, the thud of bodies crashing, the roar of coaches yelling from the sidelines — it was fucking electric. I couldn’t wait for our season to kick off.
The whistle blew, and Coach raised his hand, his index finger making a circular motion in the air. “Sudden change! Defense up! Ball on the 35!”
I was out first, helmet already strapped on, while the rest of the defense was scrambling onto the field behind me, the turfcool and slightly damp under my cleats. The offense was lining up quickly, trying to catch us off guard.
“Eyes up!” I barked. “Tight split! Watch the draw!”
With narrowed eyes, I took note of their heavy set with a motioning tight end. Something smelled off.
Setting in a low stance, my eyes locked on our QB’s cadence. I waited, my fingers twitching in anticipation.
The ball was snapped, and through the flurry of movement around me, my eyes zeroed in on our QB. It was a fucking play-action pass, and the QB faked the handoff to the running back, then rolled slightly to the right.
I didn’t take the bait, instead planting before exploding off the line with a speed rip move and burning the tackle inside. I was in the backfield before the QB even had a chance to set.
Got you, motherfucker.
Since it was just a scrimmage, I didn’t really go for the sack, but just coming at him was enough to make him throw the ball away. The whistle blew before we made contact, but that was fine with me.
I wasn’t crazy enough to want to hurt my own fucking QB — but I still couldn’t stop myself from talking a little trash.
“That whistle saved your life, bro.”
“You’re crazy, man.”
“Yeah, I know.” I grinned as he shook his head.
As the scrimmage wound down, there were a couple of showcase moments. The quarterbacks flaunted their throwing skills with some big passes, and the kickers got their turn with a bunch of field goals.
After a short team huddle in the center of the field, it was a wrap, and we waved at the crowd, drenched in sweat. While this had been fun, I couldn’t wait to actually throw my weight around.
Shoving up my helmet so it sat on top of my head, I walked back over to the section where Ella had been, only to almost stumble over my own damn feet. Next to the familiar dark red hair, a blonde head gleamed in the sunlight.
Could it be …?
As I started walking again, the blonde turned her head, and my heart stopped for a beat.
With quick steps, I collapsed the distance between us, my body more alive than it had been all fucking day. The restless energy inside of me reached its peak, only to fade completely into a kind of static noise.
The blood rushing through my veins was pounding in my ears, my heart beating a mile a minute. Every nerve in my body sparked to life. Restless energy buzzed like electricity, then settled into a quiet hum.
She was back, finally back, and even more important, she washere.
Pure joy bubbled up inside me, a grin spreading wide and uncontrollably across my face.
