Chapter Seven
TRAIN
Coach Holmes yelledat us from the sidelines as the offensive line huddled together while our defense waited for us to break. “Get your heads out of your asses and move.”
I wished mine were up my ass. Then I wouldn’t be replaying how fucking pretty Montana had looked when she’d gotten all mad and stormed up to Salvatore to find another partner. I’d thought she was hot when she walked into class yesterday, setting the classroom on fire as if she owned the room, even more so after I watched in utter fascination how she’d thrown the football during our quick game on the beach yesterday. She hadn’t hurt my ego. If anything, her with a football affected my libido.
Sure, I was trying not to get involved with girls, but I was ornery because Nina was back. I’d thought my senior year would be smooth sailing.Fuck. Not in the least.On one hand, I had Nina to deal with.No, you don’t. You don’t owe her anything.On the other hand, I had a gorgeous blonde who was fire and ice, a combination that excited me. But the combination also gave me reason to pause.
Montana could shatter my heart into a million more pieces than Nina had. The key word wascould. If things did get serious with Montana and we broke up for some reason, my gut told me she would flay me in some way. I was still raw from Nina’s betrayal. Regardless, one kiss from Montana—and I mean a tongue-action, spit-swapping kiss—would fry me to a crisp. When I thought of her, I thought of a black widow. One bite, and I was hers.
Derek nudged me. “Are you here?”
I stepped out of the huddle for a second, took a breath, then focused back on the team. “Okay, replay.” We would practice the same play until we got it right. If we could get past our defense, which was as tough as the school we were playing on Friday night, then we had a chance to win.
When we broke from the huddle, Derek blocked me. “Whatever you do, don’t look at Coach.”
“Moron, why did you say that? Of course I’m going to look now.”
I glanced over at Coach Holmes, who was decked out in shorts, a Palmetto High T-shirt, a ball cap to match, and a whistle around his neck. My gaze went from him to the girl he was talking to. After a second, I realized Coach was deep in conversation with none other than Montana.
No fucking way.When she’d said she would talk to Coach about trying out for the team, I honestly hadn’t thought she was serious. The entire team turned to see what had grabbed my attention.
“You don’t think she wants on the team,” Derek said.
She certainly did if it meant fucking with me, and it wouldn’t be a good fuck. I wasn’t against girls playing sports, but football? A girl would disrupt the dynamic of the team. Plus, someone like Montana would get hurt. I’d had to hold my breath when Lou almost fell on top of her yesterday at the beach.
Austin, who was sitting out a play to massage his hamstring, was listening intently to Coach and Montana.
When he darted his gaze to me, I waved him over. “Please tell me she’s not asking to try out.” My voice sounded as if a pissed-off chick were gripping my balls.
“She gets on the team, I’m out,” Derek said.
I slapped him on the back of his helmet. “Montana was right. You are a chauvinist.”
Derek pushed me. “So the fuck what? Football is a man’s sport. Women don’t belong on the field with us. Think about it. Do you want to ram a female? We’ll hurt her. Our opponents would have a field day. So if not wanting to hurt a chick makes me a chauvinist, then I’ll wear that title proudly.”
Lou joined us, his chubby cheeks red and sweaty. “I agree. I’m all for women having equal rights, but I’m not breaking their bones. I almost creamed Montana yesterday, and if I had, I could’ve really hurt her.”
I was kind of jealous that Lou had gotten to touch Montana, as in having his body pressed to hers. “She’s not getting on the team.”
“Don’t be so sure,” Austin said. “Coach is listening to her. He wants to see what she can do.”
I didn’t know what the rules were for girls on the football team, but the teams we’d played didn’t have any girls on them. I removed my helmet. “Let’s break for water.”
Coach would be mad we weren’t practicing our plays, but I didn’t care. Hydrating was key; at least that was my excuse.
I jogged up to Coach as Montana was leaving. She swayed her sweet hips over to Elvira, who was waiting in the end zone.
“What’s going on, Coach?”
The team fought for cups and Gatorade from the cooler we had sitting on a chair.
He lifted off his cap, ran a hand through his sweat-soaked black hair, then returned the cap to his head. “The new girl in school wants to try out for the team,” he said in a pained voice.
“You’re not going to let her, are you?” I held my breath. I agreed with Lou about women’s rights and all, but I also agreed with the guys about not wanting to see some brute from another team pummel a girl into oblivion, Montana no less. That wasn’t happening while I was captain and quarterback of this team.
She could stomp her feet, pout, shout, and do anything else to get her way, but she was not stepping foot on this field as a Titan. No way. No how. Granted, I’d acted like a dick to her in computer class that morning, but she had no idea how much of a dick I could be.
