He just needed to hang on for a few more yards. The safety moved like lightning. We were out of time. As soon as he left his feet, I leapt forward with everything I had, stretching, trying to be as big and wide as Sato. My shoulder slammed into the safety's knee as I took him to the ground. He landed on top, driving my helmet into the turf. The world became white noise and agony. I rolled over and stared up at the sky.Maybe this is finally over.“Ella…”
Water drops pelted my face. My arm pulsed and burned from my wrist to my shoulder. I closed my eyes to shut out the pain.
"That was a hell of a block. But it wasn't good enough to keep lying there like it’s fucking kindergarten nap time." Seager towered over me. Helmet off, hair slicked down around his face, he pivoted and hooked a thumb at me. "Get this guy up already."
Players kneeled on either side of my shoulders. My left arm moved; I seethed at the pain.
"Eh, pick him up by his right arm, wouldya?"
"We won?" I accepted Sato's hand. He dragged me to my feet.
"Hell of a play, man." He gave me a nod.
Seager smirked at me. Maybe that was his version of a smile. "What gave it away?"
"If we'd lost, you'd have them pick me up by my left arm."
Seager barked out a laugh. "You may have killed Danny, but he made it." He slapped me a high five.
"We're heading to the championship baby!" Kurt bounded by. The team celebrated on the field, pickingDanny up and running with him on their shoulders. The white noise rose to a deafening roar. People in the stands stomped, cheered and sang the school fight song. The marching band played.
Kinda strange. All this for running and throwing a ball.In a sea of tens of thousands of people…not one of them knew I liked Thai food better than hamburgers. That I grew vegetables and spent time gardening.
That I never thought I had a thing for redheads until I met Ella.
I cradled my arm as Scott jogged over to check on me. He shined a light in my eyes. I focused on his name tag that read, “Scott Whitney, Football Trainer,” as the rest of the world slid in and out of focus. After the standard eval questions, he had me sit on the back of the injury cart. My arm settled into a sling.
Seager slapped a heavy hand on my right shoulder. "When your arm's less broken, I'm going to kick your ass for making me give you a pep talk."
A warmth settled into my chest, and I chuckled. “Is that what you call it? Sounded like a bunch of pointless hot air to me.”
Chapter Fourteen
ELLA
February 14
Charity Flag Football Game
"Rebound?" My body was numb; the cold must have started seeping into my brain. Did that make any sense? "I practicallythrewmyself at you. Like an idiot. How you could think?—"
"You’d just broken up with a guy who asked you to marry him. After cheating on you. Repeatedly. You said he never hit you before that night, but still, you needed time. That shit doesn't go away overnight." His brow furrowed. "And I wanted a real chance, not some 'right guy wrong time' thing with you."
My heart hammered as my stomach swooped and tumbled. "But I thought…I felt like I was a weak, helpless thing you took pity on."
"You've gotta be fucking kidding me."
My heart caught in my throat. He shook his head. "Sorry, too much time around Seager. You're a fucking All-American badass"—he pointed at me—“Not sorry for that one. I thought I was doing the right thing. Not that I'm any kind of saint, just probably out of my damned mind…"
I crossed my arms and shuddered within the circle of my own embrace.It was your loss.
He puffed a visible breath. "I convinced myself giving you time meant having space to deal with this other shit I let people tell me was important." He rubbed a hand over his face. "None of it was what they made it out to be. I was just being prideful—thinking I needed to live up to something."
"Live up to what? Ash?"
His jaw tight, he glanced away.
A raindrop splashed my face, the water dripping all the way down my cheek. I wanted to shake him. "Maddox, the whole quarterback's wife thing was alreadyso faroverfor me. The night you and I met, I’d been in the same building with Ash one time in like three months—the night he tried to give me a ring, and I caught him cheating." What could I say to get through to him?
