Page 87 of Hard Count
“Definitely. Let me take it for a spin.” I reach for the board but she jerks her arm away.
“I don’t think so,” she says. “He wants to try and skateboard,” she tells her dad where he’s standing next to my parents.
“Excuse my language,” Gavin says to my mom. “But absolutely the fuck not. She broke her arm on one of those things. No skateboarding for you…ever.” He gives me a pointed look.
“You’re no fun,” I grumble. Not that anyone but Drew heard me. They’re already headed inside for cookies and pie.
Drew unclips her helmet and straightens her hair. “We can have our own kind of fun when we get home.” She kisses my cheek then walks ahead of me and tosses a saucy look over her shoulder.
“Mom, we’re going to take our dessert to go,” I yell, rushing past Drew while she laughs.
27
DREW
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
The Texas marching band plays their fight song as their team celebrates another touchdown on the field and the crowd on the other side of the stadium sings and dances along. I can’t stomach looking at the jumbotron and watching all of their happy faces.
Frankie and I are sitting in the front row on the away side of the stadium directly behind the team bench. They’re the perfect seats to catch all the action on the field but it comes with a price. You have to bear witness to the defeat on our guys’ faces every time Texas scores.
It takes everything I have in me to keep smiling and not slump down in my seat like everyone else. I don't want Nash to see me look anything but happy and excited while the game clock is still running. We’re only down by two touchdowns and haven’t even made it to the two minute timeoutto end the second quarter. I know we're capable of making a run and coming back.
The only problem is the Texas defense. They’ve either been on top of Nash or one step ahead of him for every play.
“That was bad, right?” Frankie asks when the Texas defense cuts off Adrian’s run causing us to lose two yards.
“It wasn’t great,” I grumble. How do they know? What are they seeing that I don’t? I step out into the aisle and walk up several rows to watch the next few plays. Nash gets the ball into Lucas’s hands a few times and moves the ball within field goal range but I don’t notice anything unusual.
Since we’re out of downs we have no choice but to kick. Getting a field goal gets us points, but it’s the frustration on Nash’s face that hits me the hardest. He can’t let them get into his head. Every play is a new opportunity to make something happen. He needs to remember that.
I glance a few rows behind me where the rest of his family’s sitting. They look as worried as I feel. Evelyn tries to smile at me but we both know what this game means to Nash. He wanted to leave Newhouse a champion and be a part of the legacy here. The last few playoff rounds weren’t easy either. We had to fight for every point but Nash was able to read the defense a lot easier. For some reason, it’s not happening tonight.
There’s only five minutes left in the half. If our defense can hold them and leave us with enough time on the clock to make something happen, that would be ideal.
“Maybe we should do something to take our mind off the game,” Frankie suggests when I come back to my seat.
“Like what? We’ve already eaten everything they sell here in the first quarter. I don’t think my stomach could handle anything more than a breath mint at this point.” I turn my bracelet around my wrist and cover my thumb over my newly upgraded tattoo. I got it done a few weeks ago as a late birthday present to myself.
Frankie digs into her purse and fishes out a pack of mints. “Here, take a few. We’ll want to be fresh for our victory kiss. How’s that for a positive attitude?”
“I’m sure Eli will appreciate your thoughtfulness to not taste like a bottle of Tabasco sauce,” I snark.
“For your information, he doesn’t care.” She bumps her hip against mine. She breathes into her hand before popping another mint. I chuckle silently and turn my attention back to the game.
We’re down to the last two minutes. Not great but not terrible. Texas is third and seven on their forty-five yard line. I hope the guys remember what I told them. Texas is going to either run a slant route down the right side or throw deep near the sideline in case they want to stop the clock.
“Come on, Trey. Follow the ball and make the play.”
“I don’t like that guy very much. Eli told me what he said about you.” Frankie turns her nose up in disgust.
“He doesn’t think before he speaks but he’s a good cornerback. If he can control his mouth the way he can control the ball, he might make it in the pros one day.” There haven’tbeen any more altercations with him since the last incident at practice and Nash said what he needed to. It’s possible my dad said something, too, but I doubt he even found out.
The Texas quarterback steps back in the pocket and fakes a handoff to his running back. I place a hand over my chest. I can’t breathe. He has a receiver on both sides of the field. Does he see Trey trailing the one on the right? He’s more comfortable and accurate on this side of the field so I’ve told Trey to head there first unless his instincts tell him otherwise.
The ball flies through the air and just as it’s about to land in the hands of their receiver, Trey cuts in front and snags the ball. “Get out of bounds! Get out of bounds!” I yell. Not that it matters. He can’t hear me but we need to stop the clock.
“Okay fine. He can stay but it’s his funeral if he says something about me in front of Eli.”
