AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Caleb pretended to float to the ground when I pulled back. He held both of his hands over his heart and batted his eyelashes at me. “I can’t lose now, not after a kiss from such a fair maiden.”
Then he turned and skipped back to his team and even curtsied once he got there. I watched Andrew and Jack shove him back and forth a few times before they discreetly fist bumped. I swung my face around to Lydie and saw she was grinning with her eyebrows halfway up her head.
“They’re good.” She nodded and looked around us. “Show’s over, folks. However, if you’d like to help my foolish sister at any point of the game, feel free. I, too, am ashamed that she said the word homerun at a football game.”
Jesse put his palm to his head. “Even I know that’s not right, Mommy.”
I turned back to the field and my gaze crashed into Taylor’s. He was pulling his helmet on and before he opened his mouth to put his mouthguard in, he blew me a kiss. I looked away quickly and pretended he didn’t exist. I wasn’t there for him. He didn’t matter.
I didn’t know what was happening on the field as the other team kicked the ball down the field. I blinked and then Jack was running onto the field with a bunch of other guys and bending over on a line. I really had no clue what happened in football.
“Jack’s on the field, Mommy!” Jesse pressed himself to the railing and screamed for Jack. “Go, Jack!”
I eased him away from the edge and cheered with him. One player threw the ball down the field and I watched as Jack jumped up to catch it and was taken out by a player from the other team. I gasped and stood up, horrified to have seen Jack’s body tackled the way it was.
Lydie tugged me back down and laughed. “He’s fine. This is football, sis. It’s physical. Look at him.”
I found Jack jogging to bend over at another line like he hadn’t just been hit by a man the size of a train. My stomach stayed in knots as they threw the ball down the field. Sometimes the ball didn’t go to Jack and those times made me feel like I could breathe a little easier. Apparently, that was a bad thing, though.
“Taylor’s shutting him out. He threw him that first one but he’s avoiding him.” Lydie sat forward and glared at the field. “Jack’s the best guy out there. He can catch a ball covered by three giants like he’s playing catch with a baby and Taylor’s throwing to guys who keep dropping the damn ball.”
Jesse frowned and crossed his arms. “Daddy’s being mean.”
I shot a meaningful look at my sister to remind her to watch what she said in front of Jesse. “It’s just a game, bud. Okay? It’s fun. You just keep cheering for Jack.”
The crowd groaned and I heard someone a few rows up shouting at the coach. “Who’s calling these plays?! A monkey would make better calls! You didn’t even go for a field goal!”
Jesse looked up at me with wide eyes and giggled. “A monkey?”
On the field a guy I didn’t recognize from our team kicked the ball down the field. “Why isn’t Caleb kicking? He’s the kicker.”
Lydie leaned over. “That’s the punter. The kicker and the punter are different players typically. Different muscles and techniques used for both that could hurt a player if they tried to do both.”
“How do you know so much about football?”
She grinned and I knew I was going to regret asking. “Lost my virginity to a Razorback. He was a big football head and to spend more time with him, I got into it.”
“One of these days, we should tell Mom and Dad the real truth about our lives.” I laughed at the look of horror on her face. “What? You don’t want to be the black sheep?”
She pointed to the field. “Just watch the game.”
35
***Olive***
WegottowatchAndrew do something called sacking the other team’s quarterback. It was apparently a huge deal and the crowd lost their minds. Even Lydie cheered like I’ve never seen her cheer. And each time Caleb kicked a field goal, we all screamed for him. The game was still feeling strained, despite us winning, so in the third quarter the coach pulled Taylor out and put a different quarterback in.
Even though I didn’t like Taylor, I could tell the second guy wasn’t as good. Still, when he got the ball to Jack, Jack made it count. It became clear to me even that Taylor had been refusing to throw to Jack in the first half. After listening to the people around us, I couldn’t believe Taylor was that stupid. To hurt Jack, he’d chanced losing the game. I wanted to punch him again.
The game hadn’t started until after seven and by the time it ended, Jesse was passed out in his chair. Curled up in a ball, he hadn’t been able to handle the entire game. Not even the roar of the crowd after the clock ran out in the fourth quarter had stirred him.
I knew I was going to have to carry him up the stadium stairs and I didn’t want to try to do it with all the other people at the same time so I stayed still with Lydie. She was pumped after the win.
“What do you think about me going out to celebrate? When I went to the bathroom earlier, I met a girl who said her sorority is having a party.”
“What? When did you…?” I shook my head. “You’re such a social butterfly, it’s disgusting.”
She grinned. “I figured it’s late for you and Jesse, so y’all won’t miss me. I’ll be good. I promise.”
