Threaded throughout the sea of spectators were pockets of vibrant colours. The school stadium lights highlighted assorted banners and flags, gold wigs and the excited faces of the fans, some painted with stripes. It was almost overwhelming, and it felt so good to be part of something so huge. That sense of school community was rife and extremely humbling. You didn’t get that type of hype at my last school. Stiffupper lip and all that shit. Americans wore their hearts on their sleeves when it came to football camaraderie.
The opposition had their fair share of fans in the crowds, but they were nowhere near as vocal or as giddy as us. You could almost taste the victory.
“Oh my God, what did Hudson say to you?” Storm squealed from beside me, before spinning towards the crowd at my back. I followed her lead as we both jumped up and down, spurring our supporters on to shout and cheer at the tops of their lungs.
“He asked me to wish him luck,” I said, in between breaths.
“Wow. Hudsonneverapproaches the cheer squad during a game,” she confessed.
I dropped my pom poms to my side, “Really?”
“Yeah. Never. Not before, during or after. He’s got it bad,” she said with a grin, still waving her hands in the air. Storm was clearly better at multitasking than me.
“Shut up,” I said with an eye roll and turned back to the field. I couldn’t get my hopes up. Hudson was so up and down all the time that it would be stupid to get too comfortable. Yes, we’d spent the night together, but that didn’t mean it meant anything. To him anyway. To me, it waseverything. And if nothing came out of my relationship with Hudson, I was glad he was my first. I would remember and cherish it always.
The boys were getting into position as I looked for Hudson. I found him easily from the white number twenty-seven and GAGE printed on his grey jersey.
And then, everything seemed to quieten, just like someone had twisted a dimmer switch. I held my breath as we all anticipated the snap.
The whistle went off, and so did the crowd. A huge whoop, and it was game on.
I still wasn’t a pro, but since becoming a temporary squad member, I had learned more about the game.
It was a fraught first quarter. Around five minutes into the first down, Reed, after a strong pass from Hudson, took the ball to the end zone and scored our first touchdown. The noise of the crowd soared into the air, as did the sound of feet drumming their elation against the bleachers.
I watched Reed doing his victory run thing, acknowledging the cheers from his fans, and bumping chests with his teammates. It was a sight to see.
At one point, I couldn’t take my eyes off Hudson; he was fast and had guys all over him, but he easily avoided each attempted interception. The way his muscles flexed as he threw the ball highlighted how strong he was, and I remembered how those arms had felt wrapped around my body.
We had dominated the first half of the game—the referee's whistle went, and the players jogged off the field at halftime.
I had been watching some of the game on the large screen in the centre of the field. I found each play so fast that I couldn’t always follow who had the ball and so watching the stream was easier.
“OK, let’s take a break, girls,” Tate shouted. “Ten minutes.” The crowd were still rowdy, showing their support of a strong first half. I lowered my pom poms as the players started to jog towards the benches. Apart from one, large solitary player.
He was jogging towards me. I saw his broad back on the large screen as the camera followed his movements. GAGE sat just above his number.
I dropped my pom poms as the girls surrounding me parted, clearing a perfect path towards me.
It felt like everything went into slow motion as Hudson’s strong thighs flexed as he jogged closer. All eyes were on us, excited faces, cheers echoing in my ears.
And then he was there, standing before me, his fingers fiddling with the catch to remove his helmet. He spat his mouth guard out, and I smiled as Hudson yanked off his helmet and shook his head, sweat matting his hair, his face red from exertion. He was breathing heavily, it reminded me of tangled limbs as his body had thrust against mine.
And at that split second, there was only us. His nearness and the look on his face swept away everything else. All the bullshit that came with high school vanished and we were just two people.
My mouth opened as he stepped closer, his gloved hands lifting to cup my face. My hands automatically slid up his arms. And then, he angled my head, and his mouth crashed down against mine.
Like a tinder match, I went up in flames. And so did everyone else.
Wolf whistles, yells of encouragement, and screams filled the space. I saw a flicker of both Hudson and me on the large screen before my eyes fluttered closed as I sank into the moment.
Hudson kissed me like his life depended on it, his tongue sweeping boldly into my mouth. I pushed myself onto my tiptoes, my arms encircling his neck, anything to get closer to that sinful heat he was creating. Kissing him back, our mouths moved in unison like two hungry peopledevouringeach other. His grip tightened on my jaw as he deepened the kiss further, and I moaned into his mouth. My breasts were pushedagainst his chest, and my nipples had hardened in my sports bra. God, I was turned on.
After pulling back slightly, Hudson feathered several kisses across my face before stroking my cheeks with his thumbs and dropping his hands to sit gently against my throat.
“You taste so sweet,” he whispered against my lips.
“So do you,” I panted, giving him a dreamy look.
