He shifted in my arms, rolling over to face me. “Are you nervous?”
“I’m always a little nervous before a playoff game,” I confided.
I caught the glint of Milo’s eyes in the city lights coming through the windows. “I’ve never been. What if we lose and it’s because I did something stupid?”
I reached up to stroke his soft blond hair. I felt his body relax against mine with the first stroke. “Then the rest of the teamdidn’t pull their weight,” I told him softly. “A loss is never down to one player. If something happens and you, I don’t know, trip in the last few seconds of the game and we lose, then it was still a team effort. We might have lost anyway if we’re that close.”
“And if the reason we lose is because you slipped a tackle at the end zone?”
“Then I’ll be beating myself up until next sea—” My voice trailed off. The logic of what I was saying didn’t matter. Not against the feelings of everything. It was the same thing with us. Being married after only a few months of knowing each other wasn’tlogical, but it didn’t matter. Not against the depth of what I felt for him. “I see your point.”
“I’m more than just a pretty face.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, kissing him softly on the top of his head. “You’re also a great ass.” Milo laughed and playfully pushed my chest. “You’re also an amazing football player, an amazing person, and stressing out a lot more than you need to. If we lose on Sunday, then we lose. We enjoy our off-season,together, and then we come back stronger next season.”
“What if you’re not with us next season?” It was the one last thing hanging over us. We should be at our happily ever after, or as close to it as anyone ever came, but there was still the question of next year. Until there was ink on a new contract, it would still be there. We would still be worrying that next year, we’d have to figure out how to have a long-distance marriage.
We hadn’t talked about the reality of that yet. I was happy putting it off until the very last possible minute.
“We will figure that outafterthe game. Everything can wait until after the game,” I assured him. “But we have to get to the game first, and we’re not going to be any use to the team if we’re not well rested. Close your eyes, Milo.” Milo opened his mouth like he had something else to say, but I silenced him with a gentle kiss. “Good night.”
I kept stroking Milo’s hair until his breathing finally grew even. Only then did I close my own eyes and fall asleep.
The Syracuse stadium was packed. Tucson burgundy contrasted with the Syracuse royal blue. I knew they were a mix of fans local to the east coast who took advantage of the playoff location to see their favorite team and fans who’d flown across the country to witness the Scorpions in the playoffs for the first time in five years. I had seen the cost of the package put together by the team to bring fans to Syracuse, and I only hoped we made it worth the money.
Not to mention I just wanted to move onto the next round of playoffs. I wanted a deep playoff run, maybe a championship ring. If I played a role in getting those, then Troy would have more leverage to work with to keep me in Tucson.
The crowd got louder when our captains were called to the middle of the field for the coin toss. Liam and Milo represented the Scorpions. The Knights were represented by their quarterback and another member of their team I didn’t recognize. He was probably an offensive player. I watched from the sidelines as the captains shook hands. The referee overseeing the coin toss flipped the coin, and I saw Liam’s lips move as he called the toss. The other team must have won because the referee turned toward the Knights quarterback.
A minute later, Liam and Milo were running back to our bench to grab their helmets. Our special teams unit filed onto the field, and the game began.
We had the first possession. The Knights had a great defense, but we already knew that. We’d watched the footage, and we hadcome prepared for them. Liam led a good charge down the field, throwing deep to Jonesy or handing the ball off to Milo to eat a few yards on the ground. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, their defense was too strong. We were stopped less than twenty yards from the end zone, and we had no choice but to punt the ball away.
I took the field with the rest of the defense. My time on the field was a blur. Their offense was fast and skilled, and while we tried our best to stop their scoring attempts, we couldn’t. The Knights scored the first touchdown, and their kicker made the extra point.
Luckily, our offense scored on the next possession.
The first half stayed close. The Knights were up by three, and I was starting to think that maybe, just maybe, we stood a chance. It was biting cold. The gray clouds hung heavy over the stadium, but the snow remained nothing more than a threat as we entered the tunnel. Coach Cal went over the first half of the game with us. He’d found a few points where we could have scored and a few spots where we could’ve stopped them from scoring. He clapped his hands twice when he was done with his spiel, and we dispersed around the locker room.
Most of the team went over to the snack table set up against one of the walls to grab sandwiches, fruit, and whatever else my teammates needed to make it through the second half of the game. I pulled Milo away from the crowd. I needed a stolen moment with my husband. “How are you feeling?” I asked him quietly as I leaned back against the wall of one of the locker dividers.
Milo gave me the sweetest smile I’d ever seen in my life, one that lit up his gorgeous gray eyes. “Nerves are gone. It’s just a football game, right?”
“Right,” I confirmed, squeezing his arm. I wanted to kiss him, but we were at work. We were in the locker room. Thereweren’t cameras or anything like that, but I wanted to maintain a modicum of professionalism. “But I was asking about your knee. You got tackled pretty hard last quarter.”
If I’d thought Milo’s smile was sweet before, it had nothing on the softness on his face now. He linked his fingers together with mine. “You worry too much. My knee’s fine.”
“Promise?”
“Coach already checked after the tackle. I’m good. You’re just worrying too much.”
A few minutes later, Coach Cal called for us to hit the field again. Milo and I joined the rest of our team, and the game resumed.
Snow started falling halfway through the third quarter. It was light at first, small snowflakes doing just enough work to make the ground slippery. It impacted the game. My teammates weren’t used to playing in the snow, but the Syracuse Knights had snow games every year. They knew how to run on the wet turf, and they took advantage. Their first possession after the snow started was an embarrassment, but we quickly started to adjust our play style.
A lot of that was on our offense. Nico Wright, our second wide receiver, had grown up in Minnesota. He’d played a few seasons for the Timberwolves before being drafted to the Scorpions the season prior. He took one of Coach Cal’s time outs to give tips once the snow started falling heavier and sticking, and the team started making easily correctable mistakes.
We managed to tie up the game by the end of the fourth quarter. The entire team braced for overtime, and I couldn’t believe it. We’d gone from seventh seed underdogs to potentially winning a playoff game. My heart pounded as I took the field with the defense. We just had to stop their progression, just a few more plays, and the game went into overtime.
