He nodded curtly, and Jett sat next to us as we watched the defense line up. “If he imagines every player’s you today,” Jett said with a sly smile, “we may just get the Woods we see in practice.”
“I have no idea what I apparently did to him,” I confessed as we watched the snap.
“Who cares,” Gray said as he watched the quarterback of the other team make the pass, and then their running back was taking off down the field. “Who the hell is this guy?” Gray asked as his eyes narrowed on the other team’s running back.
Ben, our backup quarterback, was sitting close to us. “Freshman, their regular player broke his ankle. This is their backup. Apparently, he’s good.”
“Of course he’s good,” I snapped. “This isn’t pretend, this is college football. Good is the default setting.”
“Did we know the RB broke his ankle?” Gray asked Jett as one of our defense finally stopped the run.
“No.”
“Happened last night,” Ben supplied. “Rumor has it that this guy was going to be replacing him anyway.”
“Gray,” Jett asked quietly. “What’s our brother doing?”
My attention snapped to them both, and my eyes widened. “He wouldn’t.”
“His brand of Mayhem leaves more things broken than ours does,” Gray said grimly.
“Bones?” I protested. I watched the offense on the field. “He wouldn’t.”
“He’s entirely ruthless,” Jett argued. “But why would he make it so the team we’re playing has a better offense?”
Gray started to chuckle. “To test us. Fuck, he’s a prick.” His smile was pleased. “I’m playing,” he said as he turned to Jett. “You pass that ball to me, or I’ll shove it up your ass, understand?”
“Are you serious?” I asked as I tore my eyes away from third down. “You’re here to motivate, and if we get the championship game, you play then.”
“I play now,” Gray said with a manic laugh. “We’re getting to the championship, and when we do, I’ll play then too.” He turned to go talk to Coach, and although I hoped our Coach had some sanity, I doubted it. It was very hard to say no to a Santo, especially one who would make a massive difference in our game.
“I’ll move to cover him,” I told Jett as the kicker came out to make a field goal.
“I need you on the left,” Jett said grimly as the opposing team took the three-point lead. “He wants to play? Let him play, and when he fucks his hand more, then we can remind himandOnyx that it was their choice to fuck it up.”
Picking up my helmet and shaking my hair out of the way, I considered my cousin with barely concealed mockery. “Tough love? Fantastic.”
In the huddle, Jett barked out the instructions for the play. I saw Gray test his hand against the glove, and I said nothing.
Lining up, I waited for the snap. I was on the left, a brick shithouse of a guy across from me.Jesus, if he lands on me, I’m feeling that for weeks, I thought. The snap happened, and Jett danced backward, his offensive linemen forming his pocket. I was already heading down the field. Looking up and over my shoulder, I saw the ball arcing its way to me. I caught it, tucking it in tight when I got caught, and I came crashing down onto the turf, but I knew I had made first down.
The defense player helped me up, and I said thanks before we formed the line of scrimmage again. I saw more defense coming forward. They were stacking the line to stop the run. Which meant Jett would pass. Gray was behind him, poised and ready. When the snap happened, Jett dummied the pass to me, and Gray took the ball, and then he was dust.
The speed of my cousin when he was in full offense was impressive. As Gray ran, I saw the two defenders running toward him. He’d made first down.Drop down, Gray, take it down. Don’t let them make contact, I urged.
Gray must have heard me somehow and dropped just before the defense collided with him.
“And today we play baseball,” Jett laughed as he passed me to the point where play stopped.
“Only if the crazy bastard remembers not to play for a home run every time,” I called out as we reached the others.
Just like the last play, the opposition stacked the defensive line, and I knew I would need to either be fast or switch sides and protect my cousin. Our wide receivers weren’t going to be able to make the run through them. Only Gray would make it through them. He had the speed, the skill, and the ability to see a gap where no one else could.
I saw the defense look at me and shift. Jett wouldn’t dummy again, but did they know that? Our wide receivers were locked down, the pocket was going to protect our QB, and Gray was at the back, poised to rip a hole in the defense.
The defensive lineman was no longer fully focused on me. His eyes kept moving past me to the line. To the QB. To the danger behind the QB.
They were waiting for Gray to run.
