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Yannick worked on his white cap, then grabbed the door as she opened it. He followed her out onto the field.
Yes, a glorious day. The afternoon sky arched blue, no signs of rain in the wispy, high clouds. A slight chill bullied the air, but it smelled of loam and cut grass and raked up memories of Friday night games in Minnesota, back in her high-school days.
Indeed, Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark resembled a high-school field, with a track that ran around the outside, and seating circling the track. Fans had already jammed into the covered stands on either side of the fifty-yard line and now spilled out into the open-air seating. Quite a few for an exhibition game, but then again, it was a charity event.
The teams had already warmed up, their gear on the sidelines.
She’d done some stretching in the locker room before dressing, but now set her water bottle on the officials’ bench, then did a few stretches as she watched the stands fill. Gold-red attire for the Thunder, purple and white for the Vikings. With the countries so close together, it wasn’t unheard of to see fans travel to away games.
Bly wants to talk to you before the game.
The thought pulsed in her head. If he wanted to talk to her, he could have done it at the dinner. Besides, what was he trying to do—get them both fired?
She shook the thought away, grabbed her whistle, and joined Milos and Jakub on the sidelines. The Vienna Vikings were taking the field, some running, others meandering on. In a real game, the hype would have them congregating in the tunnel, bursting out in triumph.
Hudson wasn’t hard to spot. Sure, all the guys were big, but he carried himself with an energy that usually had him stretching or high-stepping before a game. He’d probably been out on the field with Jackson running routes earlier.
She pulled her cap down, deliberately looked away from him in case he did something stupid and waved at her or something.
Or maybe to keep herself from wishing.
Oh brother.Focus!
The Berlin Thunder took the field, to a warm greeting from their fans. Both teams lined up on the sidelines, then a pregame chat before sending their captains out to meet with Yannick and toss the coin.
Vikings won and elected to defer, giving the Thunder the ball.
She jogged onto the field while the teams were in their final huddle, then lined up with the Vikings defense to ensure they were lined up correctly.
Yannick’s whistle signaled play, and they were off.
The kick sailed high, deep inside the twenty, but because it was a practice game, the receiver signaled for fair catch, and the Thunder lined up on the thirteen-yard line.
The sun was to her right side, just barely in her eyes, but the cap helped, and she stood a few feet back from the quarterback, her eyes on the center and guards for false starts.
The first play was daring—a long pass, a sunrising blitz by the D-end, and no holds. Pass incomplete, and no flags on the play.
One play down, about one hundred and fifty to go.
Yannick placed the ball and she set up again. She met Yannick’s eyes just as the guys came out of the huddle. He nodded at her, smiled.
Zero mistakes. Stay safe.
The thought hung in her brain as she widened her periphery, dodging the Thunder running back a couple times, and once, nearly getting tangled in a pitchout play that went south, the running back being chased down by the outside linebacker.
Loss of ten yards—and her hat as she tripped and went down.
No harm, no fowl. She got up, brushed off some grass stains.
Five holding calls in the first quarter, and only two possessions by the Vikings, both of which she managed not to catch eyes with Hudson. Seemed his focus was also on the game.
The Thunder scored once, and the Vikings came back with a vengeance in three plays when Bly grabbed an impossibly high catch with one hand and scampered into the end zone. Seven catches out of ten tries—if the NFL scouts were here for players, Bly was having a stellar day.
At the quarter break, she grabbed a drink of water, then jogged back out into the field. The first handoff, Thunder’s ball, ended up in a fumble, chaos behind the line of scrimmage, and she had to wade into the pile to determine possession. She got an elbow to the thigh but ignored it, as the player had been pushing himself up.
“Vikings’ ball!” She held up the ball and indicated their direction on the field. Yannick made it official, and she tossed him the ball.
The Vikings ran onto the field. Hudson slowed his jog onto the field near her, fixing his glove strap. “Iris. I need to talk to you.”
