A whistle shot through the air, shrill and loud. “Water break!” Coach Em called. “Two minutes.”
The team dispersed. A few players jogged off to the sideline, but most dropped in a heap where they were. Lola collapsed dramatically onto the ground beside Evie. “Okay,” she announced, “I’ll need a year to recover from this.”
Evie snorted, glancing over at her as she stretched her hamstrings. “It’s been forty minutes.”
“And? My body has endured enough.”
Delany wandered over, nudging Lola’s boot with hers. “You’re being dramatic.”
“You do know Lola, right?” Evie grunted as she pulled her leg in closer.
Ramirez passed behind them at that moment, shaking out his legs. “You’re all soft,” he said, wiping his brow. “Try running inside lines on Nate’s call. Man nearly sent me into retirement in my rookie year.”
Nate scoffed, wiping his face with a towel. “If you can’t handle one acceleration drill, that’s on you, not me.”
“It wasn’t one,” Ramirez fired back. “It was five.”
“Exaggerate again,” Nate said, “and I’ll make it ten.”
Lola pointed at them, laughter rippling across the group. “See? Abuse. I’m delicate.”
“Delicate?” Ramirez echoed. “You flattened Jake earlier. His ego will never recover.”
“He got in my way.” Lola shrugged.
Unfortunately for all of us, Coach Knox walked by to deliver more news. “We’re going to do something that requires trust. Partner crawl for the length of the pitch.”
There was a chorus of groans and protests.
“Partner crawl?” Teddy asked.
“Think of it like an adjusted sled push, one partner is in crawl position,” Knox explained, pointing to the green, “and the other wraps around them underneath, using body weight for resistance. Knights on top first.”
Jesus, would I survive this? My pulse was already on the fritz, as was my body around Teddy, and now there was a chance I’d have to touch her again, have her draped all over me in a very different way than Friday. I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling the heat spiking there.
Then Jake raised both hands. “I just want it noted that I’m more of a woman-on-top kind of guy.”
Ramirez groaned. “Jesus Christ.”
“Are you telling us you’re a bottom?” Nate heckled.
Jake’s jaw dropped. “I never said that.”
Lola snorted. “Oh honey, baby, sweetheart.”
“He’s cute when he’s flustered.” Evie grinned.
Jake spun around. “I’ll get on top right now and show all of you just how much I enjoy it.”
Coach massaged his brow while everyone else tried to keep it together. “Just for that, you can carry Nate across the pitch.”
Jake’s mouth fell open. “Coach, I’m defending myself!”
“Keep it up, and I’ll make you do double,” Knox warned, pointing at him.
Teddy’s mouth twitched. Not even she could stop the tiniest smile from slipping out at Jake’s expense.
Nate patted Jake’s back with a wicked grin. “Relax, baby. I’ll make sure to use lube.”
