Page 43 of Undeniable
Coach’s face turned red as he slapped a hand on his desk. “It doesn’t matter if you gambled or not. The fact you were in a casino says you could’ve gambled. Need I remind you both about school policy? Or are you trying to ruin your potential NFL careers?”
I didn’t know about Ryker, but I was shaking where I stood.
Coach regarded Ryker. “I expect more out of my captain.”
That was a shot to the heart, but Ryker stayed quiet, taking his licks.
Coach sat back, resting his hands on his belly, and studied us intently.
Nothing terrified me more about Coach than the equal measure of disappointment and expectation he could pack in a single look.
He popped forward. “You’re lucky that I have contacts in security who will erase that part of the video of you, Lucas. But I have a good mind to punish both of you by telling the two NFL scouts attending the game tomorrow to overlook you both.”
Ryker and I whipped our heads at each other, our jaws hanging open.
“Please, Coach. I promise I won’t go anywhere near a casino,” I begged. Hell, I would plead until the cows came home.
“We still have many games to play,” Coach said. “I’ll give you this one chance. But if I find out either one of you is anywhere in the vicinity of a casino again, I will not recommend you to any scout interested in you. Are we clear?”
“Yes, sir,” Ryker and I said in unison.
“Good. Now that’s out of the way, we need this win tomorrow. That means the team needs to be in sync. Every player on that field needs to play like their lives depend on it. I’m not losing another damn game. You can go now.”
Ryker and I didn’t move. I knew my legs felt heavy and glued to the floor. I seriously had whiplash from getting my ass handed to me on a platter to hearing that scouts would be at the game tomorrow.
“What teams, Coach?” Ryker asked as though Coach hadn’t yelled at him.
“Portland Pioneers and San Antonio Stallions,” he said. “Now, get out of here, and enjoy the Wolf Howl.”
As soon as Ryker and I were halfway down the hall toward the locker room, we pumped our fists in the air then hugged each other, the casino incident all but forgotten.
“NFL scouts, man,” he said excitedly. “This is what you and I have been dreaming about since we were in elementary school. I don’t know about you, but my stomach is having a wild party.”
I blinked away tears of joy. Everything that had happened up until this very minute—the good, the bad, the ugly—was worth it. Sure, being scouted didn’t mean we had NFL contracts signed, sealed, and delivered, but it was a step in the right direction.
“I’m going to play the best damn game of my life.” I was feeling like I’d won the lottery. “I wouldn’t mind playing for either of those teams.”
He gripped me on the shoulder. “I would love to play for the Portland Pioneers.”
We’d always dreamed of playing on the same NFL team together. The odds weren’t great that we would, but they weren’t impossible either.
In the meantime, I had to play the best football game tomorrow that I could.
“We got this,” he said. “It’s time to kiss a random girl for good luck then win a football game.”
I wanted Mazzie as my good luck charm, but she wasn’t attending the Wolf Howl, according to Erik’s inside source, and even if she was, odds were I wouldn’t find her among the hordes of women on the field. Still, the idea of kissing anyone else felt wrong. But I had a game to win and maybe a future to earn.
15
Mazzie
The stadium was packed, not a seat in the house empty. For the last forty minutes, the yell leaders had us on our feet, pumping us up with cheers and songs. Homecoming weekend was always electric. But tonight felt different—like the very air was alive with possibility. After the brief intermission, the fans had settled into a hushed anticipation, like the calm before the storm.
The last midnight pep rally that I’d attended was during freshman year, and despite how fun that was, I was only here because Bails had dragged me out of my room. I had been planning on hanging with Kaylee until her bestie called yesterday and invited her to a sleepover. I’d been looking forward to eating popcorn while watching a movie marathon of the John Wick series, which was Kaylee’s favorite.
Sitting with my bestie in coveted seats on the fifty-yard line, I rested my feet on the railing before me. “I’ve been a shitty friend.”
She swept a hand across her strawberry-blond hair to tame the errant strands fluttering in the breeze. “Where did that come from?”
