“Football is a huge deal here,” I went on. “The Raiders have a real shot at State so expect things to get a little crazy around here over the next few weeks.”
Mya grimaced. “Is there anything to do for fun in Rixon that doesn’t involve football?”
“There’s Ice T’s, the ice cream parlor; and The Alley.”
“Let me guess, bowling?”
I nodded. “It has a diner and arcade too. It’s probably one of the only places untouched by football around here.” Well, it had been until recently, but I didn’t tell Mya that. I didn’t want to scare her off for good.
“So we’ve got ice cream and bowling. Anything else?” She smirked.
“Hmm, in the summer we go down to the lake and swim, that’s pretty cool.”
“You’re really living your best life here, huh?”
“Like I said, small town.” Hailee smiled, forking some pasta into her mouth.
Mya’s gaze flicked back over to the football tables. “Guess I’d better readjust my expectations then.” There was something in her eyes, a sadness edged with lust. Mya talked a good game about hating football, just like the rest of us who tried to remain unaffected. But the truth was, when you lived in a place like Rixon, football infiltrated your life even if you didn’t want it to.
When her eyes landed on mine again and she said, “Should I even ask if you have a basketball team?” I realized maybe I’d misjudged her after all.
Chapter Ten
Jason
“Did you see the new girl?” Grady asked me as I got ready for practice.
I shrugged, pulling on my shoulder pads.
“I saw Bennet introducing himself.” Mackey winked over at him. “You thinking of slumming it?”
“Not cool, bro,” Asher’s jaw clenched. “Not cool.”
“What? I’m just saying she looks Straight Outta Compton.” He rapped the words.
“Mackey, do us all a favor and shut the fuck up, yeah?”
“Sorry, Cap, I was only messing around.”
“Fucking idiot,” Asher grumbled, shouldering him and heading out of the locker room.
“I think Bennet’s got a crush on the new girl,” Grady said, and snorts of laughter rang out around the room.
“Maybe you should all quit gossiping and focus on the game we have coming up?” I shot each one of them a harsh look before going after Asher.
I didn’t give a fuck about some new girl, but I’d seen her sitting with Hailee and Felicity at lunch. Of course my step-sister and her best friend would take in the stray.
Rolling my eyes, I made my way over to Asher and Cameron. “Hey, you okay?”
“Who, me?” His brows waggled. “I’m good.” Trust Asher to brush it under the rug.
“Who is she anyway?” I asked.
“I heard she transferred from Philly. Mia or Mya or something,” Cameron offered. “The principal asked Felicity to help her settle in.”
“Sounds about right.”
“Okay, ladies, bring it in,” Coach Hasson yelled. Once we were listening, he said, “Game seven and it’s going to be a tough one. Fenn Hill are the team to beat this season. Their offense have been unstoppable, not to mention, they have eleven division one picks. And we’re playing at their place. I’m not going to sugarcoat it; you’re going to need to bring everything you have to get the win. And we need that win.”
Because this win was our ticket to the play-offs.
“We’ve got this, Coach,” I said with confidence. The Falcons were good, but we were better.
“I’m glad you think so, Son, because after Friday’s game, you need to prove yourselves. I’m not going to rehash what happened because we drew a line under it Friday.” Yeah, after he’d chewed us out like we were kids caught with our hands in the cookie jar, before issuing Cameron a warning. “But you’d better hope to God you don’t pull that shit again. I don’t care if their players are talking smack about your dead grandmothers out there. Let. It. Go. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Good.” His eyes landed on me. “Warm them up, QB.”
“Let’s go,” I roared, leaping to my feet. After Friday’s game, I was itching to get back on the field; to prove to everyone—and myself—that we were the best.
But then I spotted two familiar faces in the bleachers. Jogging beside Cameron, I grumbled, “What are they doing here?”
“Hailee needs to work on her last couple of raw sketches for the Seniors Night thing.”
Pressing my lips together, I swallowed the reply on my tongue. Hailee I could deal with, but Felicity?
“I didn’t sign up for this shit.”
“Don’t be a dick,” Cam levelled with me with a hard look. “You know how important this project is to Hailee. Besides, she’s been out here almost every practice and you haven’t...” Realization sparked in his eyes. “But you’re not talking about Hailee are you?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
A slow smirk tugged at his mouth. “Sure you don’t.” Cameron clapped me on the back before joining the rest of the guys in formation for warm-ups. “I’m going to enjoy watching you fall”, he called, and I stared blankly at him.
Because what the actual fuck?
Practice was brutal. Coach made us run drills until my muscles burned and my bones ached. He was concerned about the game against Fenn Hill. It was right there in the way he pushed us harder. Demanded more. Insisted we give everything we had to give and then some. By the time we made it back to the locker room, I was ready to fall into bed and sleep for a week. Not that it was ever an option.
“Yo, QB, Thatcher is running his mouth again.”
My spine straightened as Grady came over, handing me his cell.
@ThatcherQB1: Better run, better hide, the Falcons are on the hunt #Falconsforthewin #Raiderscansuckit
“He’s really not giving this thing up, is he?”
“He’s all talk.” I flipped Grady’s cell back to him.
“And if he isn’t all talk?” Cameron dropped down on the bench next to me.
“I can handle Thatcher.”
“Like you handled him when he was at The Alley putting his hands on Hailee?”
“That’s not fair and you know it.”
“You’re right.” He let out a strained breath. “I’m sorry. I just can’t stand the idea that he was anywhere near her.”
“It won’t happen again,” I said, even though I knew it was a promise I couldn’t keep.
“You don’t really think he’ll show Friday, do you? Maybe we should talk to Coa—”
“Have you lost your fucking mind? The last thing we need to do is take this to Coach. If Finnigan finds out about this, it won’t end well for any of us. He’s already watching my every move.” Determined to ‘clean up’ the reputation of the football team, the new principal had made it his priority to make sure his football team behaved. Except, it wasn’t his team, not really. A fact he hated. But Coach Hasson and the school board could only protect us so much.