“Hi, Jake.” I craned my neck to see him without bothering the men who sat on either side of me. “Oh, I come to all the games. But I usually sit down lower, with Nate.”
“Ah, okay. Yeah.” Regret filled Jake’s eyes. “I heard about his accident. He’s okay, though?”
“Yeah, looks that way.” I smiled. “Thanks for asking.”
“You look like you’re pretty crowded there. Why don’t you come back here? We’ve got extra seats in the press box, and you’re press, after all.”
It took me about two seconds to make the decision. “I’d love to, thanks, Jake.” I stood up and stumbled past more knees and glares from people who felt that my nanosecond in front of them was impacting their ability to see the game that hadn’t even started yet.
Jake held the door open for me and pointed at a metal folding chair. “It’s not exactly luxury, but at least you’ve got leg room.” He gestured to the older man sitting at a mic, wearing headphones. “That’s Mr. Ranetti. He announces the games and broadcasts them, too. You know Ken—” He nodded to the skinny kid sitting by the window, who I knew helped to cover sports for the newspaper. “And this is Caren Hopkins. She’s the high school sports reporter for theLawrence County Journal. Everyone, this is Quinn Russell. She’s our columns and opinions editor at the paper.”
There was a low hum as everyone mumbled hellos, but their attention—and mine—snapped back to the field, as the game was about to begin. Mr. Ranetti read off both team rosters, and a kind of contrary pride swelled in my heart when the loudest cheers seemed to come for “Number ten, wide receiver Leo Tayyyyylor!” The cheerleaders launched into the chant they’d written expressly for Leo, and I managed not to roll my eyes. I called that a victory.
The Eatonboro Eagles won the toss and deferred to receive in the second half. Beau Dunton, our kicker, sent the ball flying end over end until it landed around Franklin Township’s thirty-yard line, where the kick returner scooped it up and attempted to run downfield. He only got about five yards before the Eagles laid him out.
In the next ten minutes, Township attempted to get past our defense, but the line was strong. Watching Brent plow through the blockers, I felt a twinge of empathy for Leo, realizing why it was so important to him that his linebackers were able to play today. I didn’t condone what they’d done, and I still thought Nate was wrong to cover it up, but I understood it just a little more.
Almost the entire first half of the game was essentially a stand-off. The Eagles managed to run for a few first downs, but they weren’t able to convert them into any real yardage or a score. Even from up in the press box, I could see the frustration on Leo’s face each time Matt was forced to throw the ball away or run with it, rather than pass it to him. Although I knew our blockers were working hard to protect their QB, Matt was finding it nearly impossible to get out of the pocket long enough to execute a decent pass.
“Damn!” I dropped back into my seat, clenching my jaw after Franklin Township actually succeeded in sacking Lampert. “Harris missed that block. He practically invited their DE to stroll in for the sack.”
“They’re all wearing down.” Jake leaned back in his chair, studying me. “You know a lot about the game, don’t you? I mean, I don’t want to sound sexist, because I’m not. But most girls I’ve known are proud when they can talk about touchdowns and field goals. They know the basics, but you seem to know what you’re doing.”
I lifted one shoulder. “Leo’s been my best friend since we were born. He started to be obsessed with football when we were about nine, and I had to listen to him jabber on about it all the time. After a while, I figured I might as well pay attention. You know, if you can’t beat them, join them. And yeah, I love the game. It’s got history, it’s got a certain elegance ...” I smiled and shook my head. “Sorry. Not many people ask me about football. Now you know why.”
One side of Jake’s mouth curled into a half-smile. “It’s just another piece in the mystery that is Quinn Russell. I like finding out about you, a little at a time.”
I flushed. “I’m really not that interesting, Jake. Sorry to disappoint you. I’m actually pretty boring.”
He laughed. “Q, the last thing I’d ever call you is boring. Matter of fact, I’d say you’ve brought more excitement to the paper in the time you’ve been on staff than I can remember us having before you joined.”
I smiled and turned away to pay attention to the game, but I could feel Jake’s gaze on my back. It made me a little uncomfortable; I liked Jake, and I loved working with him on the school newspaper. We’d developed an easy camaraderie right off the bat, and I relaxed more around him than I did anyone else outside of Leo and Nate. But I wasn’t interested in dating him. At least, I was pretty sure I wasn’t. If I’d toyed with the idea of going out with other boys before—and I never had, not seriously—the kiss I’d shared with Leo yesterday had cemented in my mind that he was the only one I wanted. If I couldn’t have him, there wasn’t any point in dating someone else.
My eyes rested on Leo’s back as he stood in the huddle just before they broke and lined up for the next play. I focused on him and him alone, sending him vibes of support. As though that made a difference, Matt managed to get free long enough to fire off a spiral. We all held our breath as it soared, arcing down into Leo’s waiting arms as though there’d never been any doubt that he was going to catch it.
Unfortunately, even though the completed pass gave the Eagles at first down, they couldn’t push forward into the end zone. We all had to settle for the unsatisfactory second-best of field goal, which Beau made with beautiful precision. The half ended just after the ball went through the uprights, and the Eagles ran into the locker room leading three to zip.
“Do you want anything from the concession?” Jake stood up, stretching. I watched him, trying to look at him through eyes that didn’t only see Leo. Yeah, Jake was cute, in a geeky, hipster sort of way. His reddish-brown hair was a little longer than I liked on a guy, but his eyes were bright blue and wide. Now they gazed down at me as his question lingered in the air.
“Concession? Oh, food? No, thanks. I’m good.” I knew a little something about the cheap brand of hotdogs our school sold at sporting events, and it made me want to gag. As a matter of fact, I’d written an article, exposing the poor quality of the food at games. Needless to say, that piece hadn’t gone over well, any more than my cheerleader expo had.
Jake was gone for most of half-time. I watched distractedly as the band marched onto the field and regaled us with their ability to march and play at the same time without running into each other or anything else. I sounded like Gia and her friends, I decided; they’d rather make fun of the game instead of joining in the excitement, and I was mocking people who were talented in areas I’d never even tried to conquer.
Kickoff for the second half was just underway when Jake came back inside, whistling. He dragged his chair over closer to mine and sat down.
“Did I miss anything?” He stretched out his legs and folded his arms over his chest.
“Gus Walker got some decent yardage on the kickoff return. Our rushing game is basically non-existent today, though. They’ve got to do better than three and done if we’re ever going to really score.”
“Huh.” Jake scanned the field, wincing along with me when Franklin made a tackle that resulted in a loss of yards for us. “Oh, hey, I almost forgot.” He twisted his body, digging into his pocket, and pulled out a chocolate bar, tossing it into my lap. “I brought you something.”
“Chocolate?” My mouth watered. “But I said I didn’t need anything.”
“Q, no oneneedschocolate. But you like it, right? You’re always scarfing up the chocolate kisses in the newspaper office. And leaving the foil all over the place.”
“I am not!” I defended myself, but I couldn’t help a little grin. I was totally guilty of just that. “Okay, well, maybe if I’m really deep in writing a story or working on layout with you, I might have left a wrapper or two.”
Jake shrugged. “So I figured you wouldn’t say no to—whoa!” He jumped to his feet as the entire stadium came to life. Down on the field, on third and long, Matt had somehow gotten free of the defenders and sent a gorgeous pass downfield where it landed neatly in Leo’s hands. And Leo was managing to elude the Franklin cornerback who was pursuing him. Watching him run down the field, neatly sidestepping the other team, was a thing of beauty.
