Page 108 of Forever Relentless

I looked at the play. “I’m not Superman.”

“But you’re fast,” Dustin countered. “And you’re off your line quick. I’ve seen Gray do this,” he indicated back to the play. “No one’s ever stopped his run because the set pieces are the set pieces. But you, you could do it.”

I glanced over at Dante, who had glanced at it and said nothing. “QB?”

“As long as it keeps you away from my pocket, I don’t care who you flatten.”

Dustin and I both laughed. “Show it to Coach Merriman,” I told him.

“You show it to Coach Holt.” He pushed the notebook back at me.

I took it. “Fine, we’ll show it to him together.”

We walked to the next building, and then Dante went to his class, which no one understood why he was taking. Dustin went to something for advanced something-or-other, and I went to Understanding Financial Statistics.

This class I didn’t need help with. I understood stats and money. I could practically nap through this one.

I met up with the guys again on the training ground. They both looked the same as me. Glad class was over, and eager to train.

I watched my teammates. Some of their faces showed the same eagerness to play. Others looked almost lethargic as they complained about different aches. I recognized that most of them were second-team players or benchwarmers.

“Just seeing it?” Dante asked me as he stretched out his left leg.

“Seems to be clearer today.”

His nose wrinkled as he looked over to the sidelines. “He doesn’t miss it.”

I looked toward Coach Sutherland, who was watching us all with a clipboard in hand.

“He’s a good coach.” The words tasted like ash in my mouth.

“Yeah.” Dante bounced on his feet a few times. “Pity he’s a lying sack of shit.” Dante walked over to where Coach Hembry and the backup QB stood.

I jogged over to the defense, noticing the flash of the sun over the dark hair of Briar as she sat four rows back in the stands. She was looking the other way, her camera pointed at the other side of the field, and I followed her line of sight.

Dustin had the center by the throat, and I watched as if in slow motion as my roommate punched him. I was already moving toward him.

“Shit.”

Chapter 22

Briar

He had been waiting just around the corner from my building.

I got into the car, and he simply nodded when I said, “Hi.”

“Tell me again how you have the bust eye, and Dustin still looks like a movie star when he was the one who swung the first punch?”

I’d watched Dustin grab the center this afternoon, got a great shot of it too. He’d punched him, the center had swung for Dustin, missed, and then got laid out flat by Noah.

Noah had turned to check on Dustin, missed the center getting to his feet, and hadn’t blocked the punch in time. Noah didn’t hold back, and it took Dustin and Dante to pull him off.

“He threw a coward’s punch,” Noah grumbled.

“Yeah, well, you got benched, and he didn’t.”

He said nothing, his fingers drumming off the steering wheel angrily.