Page 71 of For the Fans
My teeth grind together, and I ignore it, even though I canfeelhim getting closer, coming right the fuck up to me while Duke’s wide receiver catches the punt on their twenty-yard line. They set up into formation with fifty seconds on the clock, and it’s the moment of truth.
There’s the snap. Lancaster has the ball, but our guys are fuckingeverywhere. He ends up handing it off and they barely gain a half-yard.
“Fuck yea,” I growl, my eyes darting right. “Get away from me, please.”
“Hell of a throw,” Avi’s muffled voice comes from inside the eagle.
“Oh, was it?” I mutter, trying my best to disregard him and watch the game. Nerves are thrumming my stomach so hard, I feel like I could puke.
Come on, come on. We’ve got this.
“I’m guessing it was…” Avi sits down next to me, and I scoot away. “Since we scored points and all.”
My face tilts in his direction and I give him a look that’s part baffled and part mortified, to which he laughs. I mean, laughing asBaldwin the Eagle, slapping his mitts down on his knees and everything.
“I’m just kidding, Jesus…” he grumbles at the look on my face. “I understand football. I’m not a complete idiot.”
“Whatever.” I shake my head. “Just shut up. This is the most stressful moment of my life. I don’t want to listen to you blathering like a moron.”
“Rawr…Sassy,” he hums, and my fingers dig into the bench while I fight to ignore him, gaping from the sidelines at Duke’s third down, four yards to gain for the first.
“Come on, come on…” I’m whispering to myself over and over, reciting my prayers to the gods of football.
The play clock counts down, and I peek over to find Avi’s knee bouncing the same way mine is. I narrow my gaze at him, but his attention seems to be on the field now, too. As if maybe hedoescare just a little bit about the game…
A whistle blows, and my face snaps back to the field. The ball is in the air.
I jump to my feet. Lancaster just threw a deep one to his running back, number eighteen, down at our twenty-five-yard line.
The dude’s arms stretch out, and my stomach sinks.
The ball dances on his fingertips. My heart stops.
But then our cornerback, Matt Naruto, flies out of fucking nowhere, tackling the legs out from under Eighteen before he has a full grip.
And the ball is loose on the field.
A collective gasp rings out all around me, Eagles fans immediately bellowing in the stands. Of course flags are thrown, and now I can’t see shit. Everyone is diving all over the ball. It’s a mess.
When the ref finally stops the play, the ball is in our hands. And he calls it.
“Fumble! Recovery, Eagles.”
“Yes!” My arms fly into the air.
Avi jumps up and does the same,everyonearound us fist pumping and cheering, celebrating getting the ball back with twenty-eight seconds left in the game.
We fucking won!
“We fuckingwon.” I let out a breath as Avi grabs my shoulders and shakes me around.
“Yea, bitch!” he shouts, and I can’t help but laugh.
“Harbor! Let’s fucking win this thing.” Coach shoves me out onto the field, all of us whooping and wailing and chuckling out of relief.That was insane!
I take the field, too far away to try for anything and risk it. So instead, we take a knee, and the game is over.
We fucking won. We beat Duke!
