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“Hey, Dallas. Can we not take this game to another last second touchdown like a couple years ago?” Maggie calls out. “It would be great if my blood pressure didn’t go up.”
“I’ll do my best. Just for y’all.” I give June a kiss and snuggle her to my chest before handing her back to Maven. “I should go before Shawn starts yelling at me about fraternization.”
“The audacity.” Maven grins. “We’ll be cheering loud for you.”
“I know you will be. Oh. I have this for you.” I pull out the postcard I wrote to her on the drive over from the hotel and hand it to her. “For the pile.”
“What does this one say?”
“Probably something stupid about how much I love you and how I can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives together.”
“Yuck.” Maven sticks out her tongue. “Disgusting.”
“Seriously. It makes me sick,” I agree.
She lifts her chin toward the field. “Go on. You know where we’ll be.”
“I’m so glad you’re here,” I say. “Eighty thousand people are going to be cheering tonight, but I only care about the two in front of me.”
“Well.” She makes a heart with her hands and I smile like a maniac. “Be careful, please. We want to take you home in one piece.”
“But what about the nurse costume idea?”
“Go away,” she laughs, and I blow her a kiss. “I love you,” she adds as I jog away.
We could lose by thirty, and I know I’d walk out of this stadium the happiest motherfucker in the world.
“What the fuckis going on with this field?” Shawn yells, and he throws his headset on the ground. “How do we have another player injured? Is this fucking grass cursed? Does someone have a goddamn voodoo doll?”
“I can’t see. Who is it?” I hop off the bench and stand next to him. “It’s not Jett, is it?”
“Another running back, which makes four down tonight. This is impossible to watch.”
I check the scoreboard. We’re losing by five with just under ninety seconds to go, and it’s so similar to the position we found ourselves in a few years ago.
Our backs are against the wall. The clock is not on our side and guys are dropping like flies. Hope is slowly slipping out of our fingers, and everyone knows it. We have to score a touchdown, or the game is over.
Kansas City has been brutal to our offense, and points have been nearly impossible to come by. The only reason we’re still in this is because our defense has been just as tough, limiting their offense to fourteen points against our nine.
“What’s the plan?” I ask, and I put my hands on my hips.
“There is no plan,” Shawn says. “I’m out of options. We’re already on our back up’s back up.”
I stare at my teammates. They look battered and bruised, and I’ve been sitting here doing jack shit when I could be helping. I can’t stay on the sidelines while they give their heart and soul. It’s not fair.
“I have an idea,” I say slowly, and Shawn looks at me. “I’ll go in.”
“What do you mean you’ll go in? We’re seventy yards away. Not even your foot is that good, Lansfield, and it won’t win us the game.”
“I’ll go in at RB. I’ll take Kenny’s spot.”
He stares at me. “You’re fucking joking.”
“Dead fucking serious. You know I used to play that position, and I wasgood. I’ve seen the routes. I’ve studied them a hundred times. Jett and I have been through them after practice when he feels like he hasn’t been throwing well.”
“Do I need to remind you what happened earlier this season when you got tackled?” Shawn asks. “You lost consciousness. Got taken to the hospital in an ambulance and entered concussion protocol.”
“Yeah, because of a cheap shot,” I say fiercely. “I was caught off guard. That’s not going to happen today.”
