Page 23 of Strong Side
She leans over and takes my hand in hers, smiling. “Hello, Casey King.”
I laugh. “Hello, Noelle James. Nice jersey.”
“Thank you. Red looks good on me,” she teases. “You gonna get a touchdown today?”
“You know it. I just need Callaway to give me the ball.”
“Definitely, but seriously, you feel okay?” she asks.
“I feel fired up. I’m ready to go.” I smile at her.
“Okay, well … good luck.” She’s looking at me, brows raised.
“Hey, come here. Lean over as far as you can.” I get as close to the wall as I can and lean up to meet her.
When her face is in front of mine, I place my hand on her cheek. “Thank you for coming today.”
She smiles and nods. “I mean, of course. That’s what girlfriends do, right?”
“Yeah, I guess they do. But no one looks as good in my number as my girlfriend does.” I turn my head to graze her cheek with my lips. “I’ll see you later, pretty girl.”
As I pull back, I bring her hand up and kiss it. Then I turn and get ready to win.
We’re up by one touchdown, and there is four minutes, thirty-two seconds left on the clock. We have the field, and Beck just ran for a first down. In the huddle, Bo makes the next call.
“Okay, boys, let’s wrap this up. I’m getting sick of smelling Thorton every time he comes at me. He fucking stinks.” I’m standing next to him, and he puts a hand on my shoulder. “Here we go. Trip right, eighty-two. All go. Break.”
We all clap.
This call brings three receivers to the right of the field, running deep, with me as the intended target. We line up and wait for Bo’s call. My hands are loose at my sides. I look to my left, then my right, watching the defense to see if they can read our play.
“Red fourteen. Red fourteen. Hut!”
The ball snaps, my feet dig in, and then I take off. There are three of us running down the right side of the field, trying to keep the defense off of us. I turn my body to see where Bo is, just as he launches the ball in my direction. There’s a cornerback on my heels so I hold out my arm to try to keep him off of me. The ball is within my reach, but with this guy on my tail, I only have one hand free. Reaching up, I grab the ball from the air and grip it as tight as I can, tucking it tightly into my side. And then I run.
I’ve already passed the first down marker, so I’m going all the way into the end zone. In my peripheral vision, I see two of their players coming at me from the side, so I pivot, dig my foot in the grass, and run it in.
In the end zone, I hold the ball out with one hand and nod. I’m not usually one to showboat much, but this one feels good. My teammates jump on me and smack my helmet.
I toss the ball to the ref, then run back to the sideline.
Coach grabs my arm and leans in. “That’s what I want to see, King! That’s what I want to see in every game. Quick feet, smart thinking. Good job, kid!”
“Thanks, Coach.” I nod and walk off.
When I get to the bench, I look up to the stands and see Noelle on her feet, next to my sister, clapping. I point to her and wink, which makes her smile.
She might be my fake girlfriend, but that girl in the stands cheering me on … looks like mine.
CHAPTER
TEN
NOELLE
The third-grade classI get to teach this year at Arrow Cross Elementary is so much fun already. There’s a great teacher in the classroom with me, but she’s allowing me to get as much hands-on experience as I can.
I’ve been home for a few hours, knee deep in lesson plans. Once I submit them to the teacher I’m working with and she approves them, I’ll add them to my portfolio that will count toward my final grade at the end of the semester.
