Page 53 of Undeniable
Ryker regarded me quickly. “Coach, we do the Alpha Strike with a twist.”
I grinned at my best friend. He was always thinking of trick plays.
“I’m listening,” Coach said. “What’s the twist?”
Ryker took Coach’s clipboard and mapped out the play. “On the snap, I’ll fake left. They will think I’m running. Lucas takes off into the far-right corner of the end zone. Their cornerback might be quick, but he’s undersized. Lucas has the height.”
“The throw has to be high,” Coach said, sounding skeptical.
Ryker half smiled. “One of my favorite throws.”
The team got fired up.
“That means the offensive linemen need to protect you at all costs,” Coach replied as he chewed on his lip.
“We got this,” I added with confidence. “You know we can do this.” He’d been wary of my performance this season thus far, so I said, “I got this, Coach. Once that ball is in my hands, it will be glued to me until my feet land on the ground.”
Coach lifted his ball cap and scratched his head. “Lose, and you’ll be running ten miles after practice until the end of the season.”
Everyone agreed, bobbing their heads. Erik and Ajax chimed in with, “Hell, yeah.”
The ref blew the whistle.
The fifty seconds on the clock would be the longest seconds of our lives. Sure, we had several more games to play this season. But we hadn’t lost a homecoming game in years, and we weren’t about to today.
The stadium fell silent as we got into formation on the three-yard line. Two teams hungry for a win. Two teams playing their best. Two teams ready to celebrate.
I crouched down, digging my cleats into grass. Nine feet to victory.
The cornerback across from me had that same determination on his face that I knew I had on mine.
“Gold 80! Gold 80!” Ryker shouted. “Set. Hut!”
I exploded off the line, feigning left then right. I spun around and tore into the right corner of the end zone as I looked over my shoulder. The ball spiraled from Ryker’s hands.
Time slowed. The cornerback leapt in the air as I jumped, stretching to my full height, arms up and extended toward the late-afternoon sky. The ball landed in my hands as if I’d willed it so. I pulled it tight against my chest as I came down on both feet and landed firmly in bounds. No replay necessary. And in that breathless second, before the crowd exploded, I thought of her—Midnight. The reason I hadn’t spiraled, fumbled, or played like shit.
The next several minutes were a blur, the noise level in the stadium breaking the sound barrier.
My teammates threw themselves at me, shouting “We won” over and over again.
“You did it, Lucas,” Erik said as he helped me up.
“No, man. We did it. There’s no I in team.”
He chuckled as Ryker emerged through the wall of crimson-and-gold jerseys with a grin the size of the United States.
We both hugged.
It didn’t matter to me if we didn’t win any other game this season. I had my football feet under me again. I had my confidence back. And I owed the win to my lucky charm, Mazzie Meyers, and I was about to show her how grateful I was that she’d blown into my life like a wild midnight storm.
18
Mazzie
It had taken us thirty minutes to leave the stadium and find our way to the back entrance where the football players would emerge. The area was filling up with fans, family, and media. Cameramen were posed to snap pictures. Reporters had their mics ready.
Bailey, Kaylee, and I hung outside the guarded gate, waiting anxiously to see our guys.
