Page 135 of Comeback
Back on our side of the field, Brogan and I fall into our usual warmups. I’m aware of Graham nearby, but I do my best to ignore him. Things have been great the past couple of days, and I don’t want to get sucked back into his bullshit.
I manage to forget Graham exists until the start of the game. The Vikings win the coin toss and receive the ball.
Felix fires a couple bullets right out of the gate, and I whistle under my breath. Damn he’s good.
“Admiring the view from the sideline?” Graham asks with a snort.
I say nothing in return, and he steps into my space.
“I asked if you were enjoying the view?” he asks again.
“Not anymore.”
A snarl curls his lip as he steps back beside me. “Get used to it. This is where you’re going to be spending the rest of the season watching me run the ball into the end zone.”
My blood boils, but I don’t give him what he wants, which is a reaction.
“How’s Sabrina?” he asks next. “I heard her little dance studio opened. I can’t wait to stop by after I sign the papers. Maybe she and I can grab lunch.”
I step in front of him so close he has to take a step back. “You can talk shit about me all you want, but you’re not going to speak her name in front of me. Got that?”
His jaw tightens and his blue eyes bore into me.
“I’ll kick your ass and then hand you over to Brogan who will do it all over again.” I glance up to the skybox and find Sabrina’s eyes on me, taking in the scene with Graham. Even from this far away I can tell she’s wearing a worried expression. She makes a heart with one hand, and I realize that I can either spend the rest of this game riled up over Graham and his bullshit or I can put him out of my mind and play football. I choose the latter.
Fuck this dude.
I step away from him and walk over to Brogan.
He glances over at me. “Are you good?”
“Yeah. I’m fucking great.”
Vikings score a touchdown and make the extra point. It’s going to be a battle today with Felix at the top of his game.
As I take the field with the rest of the offense, I push away all the noise. Which is especially difficult considering Coach has me and Graham on the field at the same time.
Cody calls the play, and we break and head to the line of scrimmage. I meet Brogan’s stare and nod to let him know I’m ready.
When the ball is snapped, I run my route, sprinting down the field to get open. Cody hits me with a perfect pass. I catch the ball and then eye the defenders closing in on me. I slip by one with a fake and then run like hell. I’m taken down at the twenty for the first down.
“Fuck yeah.” Brogan finds me and knocks his helmet against mine. “Let’s fucking go.”
The next snap is a handoff that earns us another five yards. When we huddle up for the next play, I find myself standing next to Graham.
“This one is mine,” he says to Cody. “They’re leaving me wide open. I could have run that pass to Holland all the way in.”
Cody isn’t a confrontational guy so he ignores him and everyone else does too, which I can tell just makes Graham more annoyed. What an idiot. He’s all angry and pouting. I almost laugh as I picture a big giant baby head attached to his body.
On the next two snaps, the defense stops us, and the special teams are called in for the kick.
As I predicted, the game is tough. Felix and his offense are on fire and our defense struggles to shut them down. We stay in it by pushing past theirs in the same way. Every step onto the field, I’m ready and dialed in. Cody and I are having one of those special games where he finds me through the defense, and I rack up the yardage.
At halftime, Brogan jogs beside me to the locker room.
“What is happening?” he asks, grinning wide and proud. “You’re unstoppable.”
“Gotta impress a girl.” I wink at him, which has him cackling.
