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“Run. RUN!” Jase was coiled as tight as a spring watching his player duck and dodge their defensive line.
“He’s got it… he’s—”
“Touchdoooown!” The announcer’s voice was drowned out by our spectators as they celebrated the third touchdown of the game.
“Yes. YES!” Jase thrust his clenched fist in the air, shooting me a shit-eating grin. “We’ve got this, we’ve got it.”
He wasn’t wrong. The team was dominating the game, executing play after play. Kaiden and his offensive line were an unstoppable force against Bridderton’s defense. By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the championship was so close we could taste it.
“You good?” I asked Kaiden, and he nodded. His face was flushed, his body vibrating with adrenaline. It was hard not to be unaffected. The roar of the crowd, the buzz in the air, the lingering scent of sweat and wet grass.
“You’ve got this, it’s yours,” I said, clasping him on the shoulder. “All you’ve got to do is reach out and take it.”
He nodded again, inhaling a bottle of water like it was air.
“Okay, gather round,” Jase yelled, beckoning his team in for one last pep talk. “At the beginning of the season, the championship was ours to lose. Ours to defend. And by God, did we defend it. You’ve put in the work, showed up, and given your all… and we’re this close.” He pinched his fingers together. “This fucking close. People say it’s not winning that matters; but standing here, so close I can almost taste it, I say to hell with that. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to go home a loser today. What do you say?”
“We want to win, Coach,” Kaiden said, the voice of his team.
“Damn right, we do. We go out there and keep pushing. Keep applying the pressure. And we show everyone in this stadium today why the Rixon Raiders are the best. Why we’re the ones to beat.” He ran his eyes over every single player, pride radiating in his eyes. “Raiders on three.”
Hands piled in as the huddle tightened, shoulder to shoulder, teammate to teammate.
“One… two… three.”
The crowd seemed to echo the word with us.
“Raiders!”
* * *
“Jase, we need to talk,”I said over the noise.
“Later,” he grinned, holding his hand around my neck and touching his head to mine. “We did it, we fucking did it, Xan. You and me, there’s no stopping us.”
Guilt coiled through me. Fuck. I need to talk to him. I needed to tell him I couldn’t accept the permanent position. But he was so happy, everyone was so fucking happy.
Some of the guys appeared. Crowding us, bouncing up and down, chanting, ‘Raiders, Raiders, Raiders.’
“We did it, Coach,” Kaiden grinned. “We fucking did it.”
“Damn right, we did, son. You deserve this, kid. You deserve it so much.” The two of them hugged while Lily, and Kaiden’s mom watched from the sidelines. The second the whistle had blown, our supporters, friends and family had spilled onto the field to celebrate with us. It was chaos. News crews waited in the wings to interview key players. They’d want to talk to Kaiden no doubt. He’d commanded the field with maturity and precision. Playing far beyond his eighteen years. Bridderton’s defense couldn’t stop him. He’d thrown pass after pass, letting the ball fly down the field and find his players. He’d even pulled a couple of touchdowns out of the bag. Kaiden had it. He had what it took to go all the way.
“Congratulations,” a voice said over my shoulder and I turned to find my brother.
“Thanks,” I said. “But it was all of them.” Flicking my head over to the team, I smiled.
They deserved it, and I couldn’t deny part of me was sorry that I was probably going to have to walk away.
Maybe I could have made it work here, under Jase’s direction. Part of me wanted it, but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t lie to him anymore than I had already. It was already gnawing away at me. Even if this thing with Peyton didn’t go anywhere, I had to walk away from the team. It was the right thing to do—the only thing.
My head was a fucking mess. It wasn’t like I could come clean to Jase or my brother—definitely not my brother. Not yet, while I didn’t really understand whatever it was growing between us. But if it got out… She’d already survived too much; she wouldn’t survive the shitshow that would come with that.
I searched for her in the crowd. She wasn’t standing with Lily, Felicity, and Kaiden’s mom; or Mya and Sofia as they hugged Aaron, beaming with pride. She wasn’t with Hailee and Ashleigh either who lingered behind Cameron, probably giving the two of us some privacy.
“I’m proud of you, Xander.”
My brother might as well have reached into my chest and ripped out my heart.
