Page 106 of Comeback
“It isn’t that.”
He doesn’t look like he believes me.
“She doesn’t make me nervous. She makes me calmer somehow. I can’t explain it. It’s like having family in the crowd. It feels right.”
He pauses his warmups to stare at me. I fear I might have said too much.
“Well, fuck. That’s some real romantic shit.”
A rough chuckle shakes my chest.
“Holland!” Graham steps into my line of sight, killing my good mood instantly.
“Graham.” I tip my head to him and hope he’ll keep right on going. But of course, I’m not that fucking lucky.
“Thinking about making some catches tonight?” He flashes a taunting grin.
“That’s the plan.”
“Well don’t worry about it if you can’t get it done. I’m feeling good tonight.” He bounces around on his toes, swinging his arms loose. “Jump in the backpack, Holland. I’ll carry us to a W.”
My glare finally sends him moving along.
“God, I fucking hate that guy,” I mutter when he’s out of earshot.
“Don’t let him get in your head. He knows you’re the better player.”
“Not lately.” I’m not getting open and when I do, I’m not performing like I should. Brogan’s right, I need to keep him out of my head, but it’s easier said than done.
As the game nears kickoff, we head to the sideline. During the pregame announcements I run through all my starts in my head, then visualize myself getting open and scoring touchdowns.
I glance over at where London and Sabrina should be sitting, but their seats are still empty. She’ll be here. I know she will, butI wish I could see her, just for a second, before stepping back out onto the field.
The noise during a game is deafening. At least that’s what other guys tell me. I’m used to the rumble of background noise. Sure, I can tell there’s more of it, but it’s easy to ignore it and focus on Cody and Coach as I listen and watch for signals.
They’re both good at making adjustments for me. Brogan does too, though I doubt he even realizes it anymore. Any time we’re on the field together, he glances at me as we head for the line of scrimmage to make sure I know the play.
He does that now as Cody claps his hands together and our offense breaks to take our spots. I nod at Brogan, and he returns the gesture. Such a small thing that means more than he could ever know.
Adrenaline pumps as I wait for the snap. Those seconds always feel like the longest. Despite the noise vying for my attention, the only thing I hear is my own heartbeat.
And then Cody has the ball and chaos erupts. My feet move almost of their own mind. Thinking takes too long when it comes to getting past the defensive line. I rely on the hours of practice running routes. I trust the play and myself as I sprint then look back for Cody. He goes to Tripp on the other side of the field with slightly less coverage and the defenders shift in that direction.
We move down the field slowly, fighting off Seattle’s defense. On third down, Cody finally finds me open. As soon as I catch the ball, I take off with two defenders hot on my heels. I feel one of the guys get a grip on my shoulder and I lean forward out of his grasp, and the ball slips loose.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
There are only two jobs in receiving. Catch the ball and hold the fuck onto it no matter what.
Seattle covers it quickly and the crowd groans their disgust at me.
“You alright?” Brogan asks as he helps me to my feet. Taking hard hits never really gets easier, but as long as I’m not injured, I know it’ll pass quickly.
I groan and sign back,Not dead yet.
Though I kind of wish I were right now. Fuck. I can’t believe I fumbled the ball. One fucking job.
“Shake it off,” he says as we head to the sideline.
