When I’d been working out, the pain and resistance had demanded my full attention, but now I was done my muscles slowly began to contract and relax, letting in the torrent of thoughts I’d rather keep out.
“So you and Mya?”
“There is no me and Mya,” I grumbled.
She’d run.
For all I knew she was headed straight back into her ex’s arms.
My fist clenched against my thigh.
Fuck.
“But something did happen?”
I glanced over at them. “I thought so, but I got it wrong.”
“She’ll come around,” Jason said it as if it was a given, but I wasn’t so sure. Mya had spent the night in my bed, in my arms, and then literally ran home from me. It didn’t get much suckier than that.
“We have places to be anyway.”
“Yeah?” My brow rose.
“Yeah.” He smirked. “If you’d have bothered to check your phone, you’d know. Get ready and meet us out front in five.”
They turned and walked away but I called after them, “Where are we going?”
“To initiate the next generation.”
That got my attention. We’d dominated the team for so long, there hadn’t been any need to initiate the players coming up through the ranks. Sure, we gave the younger players shit but everyone knew the deal. You either made the cut or didn’t, and if you did, you were as good as family. But this year was different; this year we were handing the reins to them. Aside from the exhibition game next month, our time as Raiders was officially over.
I should have known Jason wouldn’t walk away without putting the rookies through their paces.
And bad mood or not, this was one show I didn’t want to miss.
An hour later, Cam, me, and the rest of the senior players stood behind Jason with the junior and freshman players huddled in front of us. The line had been drawn but we all had two things in common: we were Raiders, and we were freezing our balls off.
“Listen up and listen good. Just because our time at Rixon is almost done doesn’t mean I’m going to walk away without knowing we’re leaving the team in good hands.”
A couple of guys grumbled at Jase’s stern words. I rose a brow at Mackey, one of the youngest players on the team. He pressed his lips together and dropped his eyes to the ground. Little fucker.
“It’s time to prove yourselves. To show me and the rest of the senior players that you’ve got what it takes to lead the team into next season and defend the championship. We have the game with the Eagles coming up and although some of you might think it’s just a friendly scrimmage, it isn’t. It’s a chance to put this bullshit rivalry behind us. It’s time to show them and everyone else who we really are.” He glanced at me. “Ash, if you’ll do the honors.”
I stepped forward, bouncing on my toes, clutching my helmet by my side. “Who are we?”
“Raiders.” It was a guttural roar that almost put me on my ass. A grin tugged at my lips. Jason didn’t need to worry about leaving the younger players in charge of the team. They were fighters. Hungry for it. They were more than ready to fill our shoes.
Throwing my head back, beating my fist on my chest, I yelled, “I said who are we?”
“RAIDERS.”
“And what are we?”
“Family.”
“Damn right we are,” I added, going off script. Hooking my arm around Jase and Cam’s necks, I crushed them into me. “And what are we gonna do?”
“Win.” The words reverberated through me, igniting the familiar fire in my chest.
“I said what are we gonna do?”
“WIN!”
Fuck, I was going to miss this. Miss them. I didn’t allow myself to go there often. To a place where I no longer had my guys—my brothers—at my side. Football, playing with Cam and Jason for the last four seasons, had been everything to me. A gift. One I both appreciated and resented.
“Hey, you okay?” Cam whispered as the rest of the guys got ready to prove themselves to Jason.
“Yeah, it’s just everything’s changing.” The two of us watched our best friend bark orders at his successors, while Grady and Merrick, a couple of the other seniors, helped him whip them in shape ready for the first drill.
“Change isn’t always a bad thing.”
“Isn’t it?” I threw him an uncertain glance.
“The Panthers isn’t the only team interested in you. If you’re having doubts, you can always go somewhere else.” Cam meant well but he didn’t know all the facts. He didn’t know that despite the Pittsburgh Panthers wanting me, I’d already turned down their offer.
Now was not the time to tell him.
Clapping him on the back, I forced an Asher Bennet kilowatt smile. “Come on, we have some rookies to terrorize.”
For as bittersweet as it was, running drills with my team again was exactly what I needed. The initial burn of frigid air filling my lungs, the ping of my muscles as I sprinted up and down the field, the thrill of rushing our offense players to the ground. Football might not have been my destiny, but it would forever be a part of me. One day in the future, when I was stuck in some boring computer class, or shadowing my old man in a meeting with some stuck-up celebrity type, I’d remember this time.
When football was religion and people worshipped the ground we walked on.
“Yo, Cap,” I called out to Jason. “I’m thinking we need to put the offense through their paces, they’re looking a bit sloppy.”
“I like your style, Bennet,” Grady said, jogging up beside me. “What you thinking?”
“Bull in the ring.”
He howled with laughter while a couple of the younger players paled. Bull in the ring was an age-old drill that was mostly considered too aggressive for practice these days.
“Ste, you’re up first.”
“Me?” He blanched. “Why am I up first?”
“Because you’ve got some big shoes to fill next year, QB1,” I teased. Ste was a good kid; showed real leadership potential, but he was no Jason Ford.
I doubted Rixon High would see another Jason Ford for a very long time.
“Shit,” Ste cussed beneath his breath.
“Yo, Cap, you ever shit yourself before a little game of bull in the ring?”
Jason sauntered over to me, arms folded across his number one jersey, and cut his glare to Ste. “You want to take this team all the way, Kinnicky?”
“Y- yeah, you know I do, man.”
“So man up and get in the fucking ring,” Jason growled the words, shooting me and the rest of the seniors an amused smirk.
“Get it, Kinnicky,” Mackey yelled. “You’ve got this.” The rest of the freshman and junior players started cheering their future quarterback on while we moved into position, ready to rush the shit out of him. Nine seniors versus one junior. It was typically the defense players who formed the ring, but this wasn’t about physical strength as much as it was about mental strength. And Ste Kinnicky, future quarterback and leader of the Rixon Raiders was about to show us all just how big his balls were.
“You ready, Kinnicky?” Jason asked and the junior pulled down his face guard and nodded sharply.