We had three minutes to score.
Kings were down seventeen to twenty-one. Belves scored three touchdowns with the extra point scored for each, and Kings only had two with a field goal. They had possession, but were only at the fifty-yard line. It’d been mostly a running game. We needed something extra.
“We won’t get down there if they don’t throw the fucking ball!” Jared had been saying the same gripe for the last period. His hands were permanently attached to the top of his head. He kept looking from the game to the scoreboard and back again.
As for me, my heart was permanently stuck in my throat.
Stone kept getting tackled. Over and over again.
A few weeks ago, I would’ve cheered. Now I wanted to tackle those guys who kept taking him down.
It was our possession.
The ball was snapped back. Colby looked like he was going to hand it off. Their halfback was going past him, and it was a fake! A fake. Cortez, their halfback, tucked it in, but he didn’t. He didn’t at all. Wait. Where was Stone?
He was breaking through, running down the middle.
NO ONE WAS ON HIM!
He was running, head down.
I jerked my gaze back to Colby. He was looking.
The defensive line was going after Cortez.
It all happened in a split second.
They realized he didn’t have the ball. They were looking… Colby’s hand went back. He launched the ball.
It was a beautiful spiral and everyone was on their feet. I mean, we were already on our feet, but if we could all jump to our feet again, we were doing it.
The ball was soaring, going, going, going, then going down. And…
Finding his target!
Stone looked back, NO ONE WAS ON HIM. He jumped up, caught the ball, a perfect cradle to his chest, and he was back down and sprinting.
Wait.
A Belves player was zeroing in on him. Their safety saw the play and was coming in fast and hard.
I was screaming. Everyone was screaming.
Twenty.
Fifteen.
Ten.
The safety was right there, angling right at Stone.
He had his arms open. He was readying to tackle Stone, but Stone stopped, pivoted, rotated his hips, and he dove in just behind the safety.
TOUCHDOWN!
I was going nuts.
Everyone was going nuts.
Kings won. There was no time. God. Was there time?
Yes. They had time. Just over two minutes. Anything could happen.
They were lining up. The kick went in. Kings were up now twenty-four to twenty-one.
Jared was groaning, bending over. His hands still attached to his head. I did glance once to make sure he wasn’t pulling his hair out without realizing it, but no. His hair was still there. He was saying now, “If they get close enough for a field goal, we’re fucked.”
We wouldn’t be fucked. We’d just go into overtime.
I patted his back. “We’ll be okay. It’ll all work out.” Truth be told, I was as close to vomiting as he was.
They had to hold them, and spotting Jake running out, I was back to screaming.
They lined up. There was the snap, and they pushed it forward, only getting an inch. They repeated this each time, getting a first down, but they were running out of time. They needed to do something. Kings defense was holding them for the most part.
“They’re going to throw. They have to throw.” Jared now had his ballcap in his mouth. He was chewing on the back strap. “They can’t throw.” His hand suddenly grabbed my arm and he held tight. “Bolston’s been shut down most of the game.”
He stopped talking.
The Belves’ quarterback dropped back.
Bolston shotput forward, running right up the side. He looked alone… I was scanning the field. He was alone. No. He wasn’t. Sprinting to catch up was Bilson.
I tracked back to the quarterback, the ball was already in the air.
Bad déjà vu was filling my mouth full of bile.
No, no, no. Miss. Or interception. Either of the two.
Then it was going down. Just like Stone had done, Bolston turned, read the ball, and reached for it. It connected…bam! Jake slammed into him. The ball bounced off his hand, then fell to the turf.
The clock was winding down, and as it was nearing the end, Jared heaved a huge sigh of relief. They did a snap, but it was done. The clock ran out. The game was over.
The Kings had won.
Jared used his hat to mop the sweat off his face. “That was a good game.” His grin was sloppy, his eyes a bit dazed. “Stone ran in all three of their touchdowns. He’s gonna be MVP for this game.” His sloppy grin beamed a bit brighter. “He’s so fucking awesome.”
Yeah, but, “Don’t curse.”
He only grinned at me.
“WE GET TO GO DOWN TO THE FIELD!” Apollo launched himself onto Jared’s back.
Laughing, Jared caught him and they were bouncing up and down. Apollo’s fist was in the air.
A staff person came over, showing us to the field.
I felt the attention from people around us. They were assessing who I was, and recognition flared in one person’s eyes. He nudged his friend, but I was moving to the aisle. The back of my neck was already hot, and it was only getting hotter.
We were going down there to see Stone.
Cameras were down there. Journalists were down there.
He wanted to give Jared some attention, but there’d be some on me, too. Jared. I saw how excited he was as he moved past me with Apollo. Angie was half asleep, her dad was holding her. Georgia’s eyes were dilated from the excitement, too, and she gave me an impulsive hug before following the rest.
My heart fell out of my chest for my brother, and I was just following behind it, trying to catch it back up, but it was now Jared’s. Totally.
We were taken to the field. It was how I knew it’d be. Chaos.
Interviews were happening in almost every corner.
A large crowd had formed, and Stone was in the middle. A woman’s microphone in his face, the ESPN logo attached. He was nodding, talking, then he looked up, and seeing us, he began grinning.
“Hey!”
That wasn’t from Stone. I was turning.
“HOLY FUCK!” Jared couldn’t breathe.
It was Colby coming over with his helmet on his side. He nodded to me, smiling, and gestured to Jared beside me. “This the brother?”
Yeah.
I couldn’t talk.
I was starstruck again. Just like the kitchen, but on steroids.
“Hmmm-mmm.” That squeaked out of me.
Laughing, Colby held his hand out. “Met your sister yesterday. You’re Jared?”
Jared couldn’t talk either. His hand went out as if he were a robot, and he was shaking Colby’s hand, looking at the two hands, to Colby’s face, back again. A gargled sound came from him. “Oh, my fuck. You’re Colby Doubard. I’m Jared.”
“I know. Hi. Nice to meet you.” He nodded to me. “Your sister can cook.” He said to me, “I’d give you a hug, but I think Reeves would rip my arm off.”
A whole burst of flutters kick-started in my chest.
I heard Georgia sighing behind me.
Colby was shaking hands with Apollo and the rest of their family. They took pictures with him. Jake came over and it was almost the same exact response, except Georgia got all flustered, or even more flustered. Her husband leaned down to say in my ear, “She’s had a crush on him since last year.” He was grinning, and that was another testament to their marriage. There was no jealousy, no insecurity. In fact, he was almost as flustered as his wife when Jake came over to shake his hand. Angie had woken up by then and she was blinking, confused as she turned and was face to face with Jake Bilson.
She started crying.
Everyone laughed.
Then I felt a hand sliding around my waist and I was being pulled into a sweaty and smelly chest, but damn, it was a delicious sweaty and smelly chest. Stone bent down, burying his face into my neck. “Fuck. You feel good.”
My heart dipped. It skipped a beat, and those flutters suddenly exploded all over in me.
I pulled back, giving him a glazed-over look. I was trying to smile, but I wasn’t sure if it was coming out the right way. “You were amazing.”
He looked at me, his eyes darkening. He bent down, saying to my ear, “Can’t wait till we get back to the house.” Then he was pulling away, but his hand dropped, grazing just slightly over my ass and I knew it’d been intentional. I stepped back, a private smile on my face, so I looked down.
Jared and Apollo were going crazy over Stone. It was the same as with Colby and Jake. Pictures were taken. They got his autograph on everything they had, their clothes, too.
Georgia sidled up next to me. “He’s delicious.” She was now holding Angie and was patting her back, her head lying over her shoulder. Georgia was taking in Stone. “Wow. You know, we’ve always heard about him back home. I’ve met his parents, but we don’t run in the same social circles, and I didn’t know what to expect. I knew Jared looked up to him, but I was worried. Thought he’d be arrogant, or I don’t know. I heard he wasn’t the nicest person when he went to school there. Now, seeing him, I’m happy I was wrong.” She nodded at me. “I’m happy I was wrong for you, too. I saw how he looked at you. Whatever you two are doing, he’s all in. You know that, right?”
I stepped back.
I didn’t mean to. The response was instinctual, but seeing that Georgia registered it, hurt flashed in her gaze.
Before I could say something, try to rectify that, a hand came around my waist again. I was being pulled back to Stone’s chest.
He kept me anchored to him, my face in his chest, as he continued talking to someone beside me.
I could feel his other arm signaling for someone or something. His hand came to the back of my head and he looked down at me. “Just a bit longer. I’ll have someone show you to a room to wait in.”
I sagged into him, knowing there were probably a hundred images being taken of this moment. Or just one. One was all that was needed. But I couldn’t pull away, not even for the life of me, and there’d been no getting around this moment because this was all for Jared.
Georgia touched my arm, leaning into me. “We’re going to go. This little one really needs to get to bed and we have to be up by four. It’s going to be a short night for us.”
I stepped away from Stone’s shelter to hug her goodbye. Even Apollo hugged me. Angie wound her arms tight around my neck and said, “Your boyfriend is cute.” Then she was back cuddling against her mom.
Jared was last.
His face was a mix of adrenaline, excitement, and now a somberness was edging its way in.
I shook my head and grabbed him for a firm hug. “Nope. Don’t look like that. It’s my turn to come see you. Okay?” I pulled back, my forehead to his again. “Got it? No sadness. Nothing. Text me later.”
He nodded, but he flicked a tear away, then he hugged me back. “Love you, sis.”
Oh.
Those words.
I clasped my eyes shut, knowing I would have a cascade of tears falling if I didn’t keep them shut. I groped for his hand, squeezing it as he moved back. “Love you back.”
With a last wave, Georgia herded her family through the crowd. Then the two of us were left, and Stone bent down. “You okay?”
“I will be.”
And I meant it.
