Page 31 of Make the Play
Various students whistle and scream, earning them one of Jason’s famous smiles. He pulls his arm back, launching the football across the quad in an impressive throw directly towards Matty who catches it, setting off a fresh round of cheering. When Jason returns his attention to Emerson, his expression softens.
“That was a close one.” He lifts his hand, the same one that stopped a football from hitting him in the face, and smooths back Emerson’s hair. Jason’s hands are so unlike his own, so much larger with a wide palm and thick fingers. It’s all Emerson can do not to shudder, an ache deep in his chest as he imagines how it might feel if his hand kept going, if it cupped the back of Emerson’s head.
Jason tips his chin down to study Emerson’s face. Usually he balks at this level of attention, but somehow coming from Jason it doesn’t trigger his nervous system’s fight or flight mode. Jason’s gaze doesn’t make him feel judged or unsafe—the opposite really—and with every second he keeps his attention focused solely on Emerson, some of his earlier tension fades.
“You good, Emerson?”
“Mhmm,” Emerson hums, unsure if his body is capable of speech when all his brain is thinking about is how big Jason’s hands are. “You—how?”
“Played in high school. Wide receiver,” Jason answers with a shrug. Emerson is certain that’s some kind of football position, but which one he has no idea. “Come on, I’ll walk you to class.”
Emerson doesn’t hesitate to follow, body thrumming with adrenaline from the near miss. Beneath that, something else simmers, but Emerson doesn’t have time to try and figure out what it means.
8JASON
Tappinghis pen against his desk, Jason sighs heavily. He’s got a handful of game tapes he wants to go over before Friday’s game, but he’s feeling a little too restless to do that right now. Normally, the hour gap between the end of classes and the start of practice is when Jason finishes up work for his own classes or coaching stuff, but for some reason he can’t seem to focus today. He leans back in his office chair, staring at the ceiling when it occurs to him he hasn’t had an afternoon snack yet.
Vending machine calling his name, Jason rises from his desk and grabs his phone off the corner, jingling the quarters in his pocket as he makes his way towards the cafeteria. There’s a vending machine near the gym that’s a little closer, but he knows from personal experience that by Wednesday that one is in desperate need of restocking. That won’t happen until tomorrow, so he makes the longer trek across campus, hoping for a very specific snack. Specifically one that is flat and shaped like a Pop-Tart.
Fifteen minutes later, Jason rips open his Pop-Tart and eats the first one in three bites before he slows down on the second. When he finishes, his stomach feels better, but he’s still a little restless. He makes his way to the front office to see if Mabel needs help with anything, but stops when he spots Mr. Caldwell inside already talking to her.
Change of plans then. Turning, he walks back the way he came, plopping himself on one of the benches and withdrawing his phone. He swipes up, unlocking the home screen before opening his contact list. Theo is at work and never answers his phone while there, and Charlie never answers his phone period. Alec usually answers, but Jason’s pretty sure Wednesdays are his long day on campus, which leaves Andrew. Perfect.
Tapping his brother’s name he waits, listening to the rings. On the fifth, he’s sure he’s going to be sent to voicemail when the phone stops and a familiar voice drifts over the line.
“Jason? What’s wrong?”
“Why would you assume something is wrong?”
“You never call me.”
“What are you talking about? I talk to you all the time.”
Andrew pauses. “Yeah, in the group chat or when we hang out with everyone else. You almost never call me.”
“Sure I do.” Jason protests. He leans forward, frowning. “Wait, never?”
“Is something wrong, or was everyone else busy?” Andrew asks, avoiding the question.
“I can just wanna call my big brother,” Jason says, a little stab of guilt in his gut at Andrew’s assumptions.
“Oh.” Andrew sounds surprised, which only makes Jason feel even worse.
“You’re not busy, are you?” Jason asks, realizing he doesn’t know Andrew’s schedule as well as the rest of his brothers.
“Nothing that can’t wait. I was just running some numbers.” He listens to the sound of Andrew rapidly typing. “There, I saved my data, just in case. What’s up?”
“I just wanted to talk,” Jason tells him. “How are things with you?”
“Same as always. Well, except for Charlie being weird as shit.”
“Charlie’s always weird,” Jason points out.
“Yeah, but like weirder. He’s cranky as fuck.”
“Is he still upset about Theo and Alec getting engaged?”
“I don’t think so. You know it took him a long time to get over things right after the accident, but he and Theo are in a decent place now. It’s definitely something else, but he’s not telling me.”
