“Let’s go,” Zane calls out. “We’ll let you start with the ball since you have one less.”
“Aw, you’re too kind, Brother.”
Zane throws the ball to Quint. “All right. You two ready?” Quint asks us. He gives Reid the ball. “You throw; I’ll catch.”
I frown. “What about me?”
Quint grins. “You keep the boys away from me.”
I look over at Slate and Zane. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen.”
“Okay. Then Reid throws, and you catch. I’ll keep all the—”
“You and I will split, and Riley can throw to whoever’s open,” Reid says and moves to the middle.
Quint shrugs. “Or we can do that.”
We line up, and Reid squats down. He looks back at me. “Ready?” I nod. “You guys ready?” he asks the other team.
Slate pulls Tessa to her feet. “We’re ready,” he calls out.
“Do we have to be, though?” Tessa asks.
“Go,” Zane says, and Reid snaps the ball to me. I catch it and take a moment to watch Reid and Quint run down the field. Suddenly, Evie’s coming right at me. She surprises me so much, it takes an extra second for me to move. But I spin around her by instinct and look downfield. Reid cuts away from Slate and moves towards the middle of the field. I throw it before I have a chance to overthink it. It’s not a perfect throw, but it gets to him. He catches it and runs it in for a touchdown.
“And that’s how it’s done!” Quint yells as he and Reid both jog back towards the middle of the field. We gather in the middle to celebrate. “Nice throw, Riley.” He gives me a high five. “And pretty decent catch and run,” he says to Reid.
Reid just shakes his head. “Thanks.” But he gives me a full smile. “Good throw.” And just like that, I feel like a superhero.
“All right. We’re on defense next. How are we going to do this?” I ask.
“I’ll take Zane since I know his moves,” Quint says.
“I’ve got Slate,” Reid offers.
I nod. “I’ll watch the girls.”
We line up in the middle, and Slate snaps it to Zane. Quint takes off towards Zane, but Reid and I both linger a moment watching to see where things are going to go.I’ve got Slate; you get Evie, Reid sends to me. But Zane gets away from Quint and runs right up the middle. I move to intercept him, and he sees me coming a mile away. He just grins and goes right around me. “Ugh.” I turn to run after him, but it’s too late. They score.
“Way to go, Team!” Tessa calls out.
We line up in the middle. “What happened to you knowing Zane’s moves?” I ask Quint.
He just waves me off. “Yeah, well he got past you too, Little Sister.”
I scowl at that, and we move to center field once again. “All right, what’s the plan?” I ask Quint since he’s the football guy.
“You hand it off to me this time, and I’ll run it. Just hold it behind your back after Reid snaps it.”
I nod. “Got it.” Reid gets into position, and I stand behind him and wait for Zane’s team to come up with a plan. While I’m waiting, I reach down and run my fingers through the back of Reid’s head.
What are you doing?He sends through the pack link.
I stare down at my fingers in his hair.Your hair is so soft. I didn’t know it was this soft.
Riley, we’re on the same team.
My fingers stop moving.What?I ask in confusion.
