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Hell, I respected him.
And I knew he was only trying to help, offering me something more permanent than one season with the team. But was I really looking to make a career out of this? It wasn’t exactly what I had planned for myself.
But neither was living in a studio apartment, driving a beat-up Chevy, with less than a couple hundred bucks in my bank account.
Fuck. Maybe I needed to consider this. I could turn things around. Shed my status as the down-and-out of the family and really make something of myself.
Nah. Who was I kidding? I’d only mess it up eventually. And then Jase would regret the day he ever invited me onto the team, and Cam would only resent me more than he did already.
One season, that’s all I was good for. I’d help the team reach the finals, hopefully witness them bring home the championship, put some money in the bank, and then go on my way.
After all, I’d accepted a long time ago that there was no happy ending for my story.
* * *
“Run, RUN!”Jase bellowed, watching as Cole Kandon, one of the team’s wide receivers, took off down the field. He was Aaron’s best friend and also a junior. Fast and strong, his legs ate up the yard markers. Forty… thirty… twenty…
“Go, GO!” Jase’s fists curled ready to punch the air. The bleachers roared behind us, the visiting crowd cheering on their team.
“Yes, yes… fuck, yes,” he bellowed just as Cole slammed the ball into the end zone, the announcer’s declaration of ‘touchdowwwwnnn’ echoing over the speakers.
The boom of the crowd slammed into me, taking my breath away so much that I sucked in a sharp breath. Everyone was already celebrating. Even with a few minutes left on the clock, the Panthers couldn’t beat us now. The Rixon Raiders were headed to the semi-finals next week.
One step closer to the championship.
Kaiden jogged over to us, Aaron and Cole hot on his heels.
“Get over here, Kandon,” Jase hooked his arm around Cole’s neck and smashed their heads together, not caring that Cole still had his helmet on. “That’s how it’s done, son. You just put us in the final four. Congratulations.”
“Thanks, Coach,” Cole said, but I caught a hint of hesitation there.
“Okay, get back out there and finish it,” Jase clapped him on the shoulder, and they jogged back onto the field, getting ready for the field goal.
A few seconds later, the ball sailed through the goalposts. Defeat was etched on the other team’s coaching staff, but when the final whistle blew, they were good sports, congratulating us on a well-deserved win.
Friends and family of the team rushed on the field to celebrate, swarming the players. Lily made a beeline for Kaiden and he picked her up, twirling her around as they laughed and kissed. Jeez, he had it bad. Completely and utterly under her spell. But Lily was a good girl, and fuck knows, she’d been through enough. She deserved happiness. She deserved someone like Kaiden. I saw a lot of my brother and Hailee in them. The unwavering love and faith in one another, and although they were only young, although they had their whole lives ahead of them, something told me they’d go the distance.
My eyes flickered past Lily, landing on Peyton. She stood on the edge of the field, arms wrapped around her waist, watching as her friends celebrated with the team. A guy approached her. I didn’t recognize him. He wasn’t wearing the telltale Rixon blue and white, but he wasn’t wearing Panthers’ green and black either.
“Xander,” Cameron stepped into my line of sight, demanding my attention. “Good game.”
“It was all them.” I flicked my eyes to the guys, a heavy weight settling on my chest as I watched them laugh and joke and soak it all up.
That could have been you.I shut the voice down, pushing the unwanted memories down.
“Don’t do that,” Cam said, raking a hand down his face. “Don’t sell yourself short. Jase says your input has been invaluable.”
“I’m not sure about that.”
“He told me he asked you to stay on after the season ends.” Cam eyed me carefully.
Of course he had.
“I told him I’d think about it.” The lie rolled off my tongue. A flash of blonde caught my eye, and my spine went ramrod straight when I saw the guy follow Peyton along the edge of the field.
“Xander?” Irritation hung in Cam’s voice.
“Yeah?”
