I glanced at Tex, watching us, and Malik, grabbing a Gatorade from the refrigerator. “Can you put in a good word with your agent or see who he might recommend I contact? It’s about that time.” Tightness wove through my gut.
With his brows sweeping up, he said, “No one’s contacted you yet?”
“Y-yes, but it was a while back, and I want to make sure I sign with the right guy. I figured with your connections, you could help me.” I hated the sales pitch the other agents had given me, and since I’d probably sounded uninterested, they’d blown me off.
With his gaze searching my face, he said, “Sure, buddy. I’ll talk to Dennis and get back to you. He’s a good guy, and I’m sure he can send some recommendations my way.” He patted my shoulder. “With how well you’ve played the last four years, you’ll have no problem signing with someone.”
“Thanks, Casey.” I gave him my best smile. He was a good friend, and I knew I could count on him.
“While you’re at it.” Malik cleared his throat.
“Dude, you still have another year.” With a scoff, Casey hopped off the couch and waved Malik off.
EIGHTEEN
WREN
“Ignite the defense!” I shouted, waving my pom-poms in time with my cheering squad while Eli and the defense ran onto the field. There were almost three minutes left in the game, and ASU led by seventeen points. They’d been on fire tonight.
As I turned and quieted to watch the play, I snuck a glance at Grace.
With a wide smile and tucking her pom-poms at her hips, she said, “Eli’s played so well tonight. What, three sacks?”
“Yeah.” My chest swelled as my gaze found him, listening to whatever Nick Penny was telling him. I’d decided not to care what my father did anymore. It wasn’t my business, and I’d been better off staying away from him. Though my therapist might not agree.
The teams lined up to start the play, and U of A snapped the ball, their quarterback stepping backward.
A hole opened in front of him, and Eli tossed an offensive man off him, then rushed the quarterback.
Casey shouted from the bench, cupping his mouth, “Go, Dawson, you’ve got this.”
Eli sped through the men, his enormous frame seeming tobowl them over. As he stretched for the quarterback, the quarterback skipped left, tucked the ball and ran for a gain of three yards, exiting out of bounds and stopping the clock.
“Damn it.” I scoffed and turned to Grace. “What’s next?”
“The defense shuffle.” She chuckled, and we got into formation.
Eli hung his head and lumbered toward Nick.
This routine ended with a series of backflips from me. My ankle had been solid at practice, but I’d taped it just in case. As we went through the motions, I danced into position, dropped my pom-poms and flipped through the air, landing in a split with my arms over my head.
The crowd cheered and chanted,de-fense, over and over.
I glanced at Eli, taking his spot behind the defensive line. Would Nick have Eli pursue the quarterback again? What did they call that—a blitz? I was still learning their plays.
Eli glanced my way, and a wide grin broke out on his face. He gave me a quick salute and crouched, one fist in the grass.
Warmth showered down on my heart. Good God, I loved this man with every fiber of my being. Why was it difficult to tell him? I’d almost said it last night, but it had stuck in my throat. The damn mistrust I still had snuck up on me.
The play started, and the U of A quarterback handed the ball to their running back. As the running back found a hole through ASU’s defense, Eli swooped in, tossing the guy in a circle like a sack of potatoes.
“Woo-hoo! You got ‘em, babe!” I shook my pom-poms over my head.
“Wren, that is not an official ASU cheer.” Grace slapped my ass and smirked. “Go, Eli!”
Our captain gave us a dirty look.
As my gaze met Grace’s, we erupted in a fit of giggles. Who gave a fuck? It was the last game of the regular season.
