My husband scowled at me, but not so mad anymore. “I know, babe.” He smacked the side of my helmet, then called the next play.
When the quarterback got in the shotgun, I knew this was my chance. Crouching down like a cougar, I kept my eyes on the quarterback. I watched where his eyes went when he called the play. He was going for the same receiver, hoping I’d screw the pooch one more time.
Sorry, buddy, not this time.
As soon as the ball was snapped, I hung back two steps and watched his eyes search for the same receiver. When he found him, he let the ball go. As it sailed through the air, I timed my leap like I did when I played rugby. I grabbed the ball out of the air, taking it away from the fuckers. Tucking in under myarm, I ran toward the end zone while the fans cheered so loud it hurt my ears. By the time they tackled me, we had to be close to midfield. Now it was up to Lennox and the boys.
“Baby! Baby! You did it!” Carson yelled, jerking me off the ground. By the look in his eyes, he’d have kissed the fuck out of me right there on the field if we weren’t wearing our helmets.
“You save all that admiration for later.” I waggled my brows, making him roll his eyes. He wouldn’t say it, but I knew what was going to happen. We were going to win this fucking game, and he was going to score with me. Over and over.
Jogging to the sideline, I handed the ball off to Lennox. “Here ya go, QB. Go win this thing.”
Lennox laughed as they took the field, and now, all we had to do was wait.
Lennox Sanders
The Last Possession
That fucking Aussie was going to give me a heart attack. When the whistle blew, my eyes flew to the JumboTron. Sure enough, Colin kept his hands on Jennings way too long. I felt bad for him, and poor Carson was losing his shit. But they’d be okay. They separated work and home really well.
Doubling over, I put my hands on my knees and mentally willed something good to happen. I would manifest the fuck out of us getting the ball back. When the ref marked off their first down, I looked up into the box to find Dane. He and Daniel were seated with all our friends in the big million-dollar box we shared. His handsome face gave nothing away, but the minute our eyes met, he smiled and gave me the thumbs up. You got this,he mouthed. His unbridled confidence in my ability never failed to take me metaphorically to my knees. I lived for his approval and his love. He was the best thing in my life, and I wanted to make him proud.
The roar of the crowd had me whipping my head to see what had happened. “Colin got the ball!” Mason yelled. “We got the ball!”
The Aussie held onto the ball, then stopped in front of me. His eyes said it all. “Here ya go, QB. Go win this thing.”
With a nod, I tapped his helmet, then tossed the ball to one of the assistant coaches. “Keep this for Kearney. He’s gonna want that for his trophy case when we win his first Super Bowl.”
The man smiled as Coach Henderson came over. We were close to the two-minute warning, so the TV broadcasters took their media timeout. “Okay, Lennox. This is your time to be the superstar you are. The ball is in your hands. You only have to get us to the thirty-five for Edwards to make the kick. They’re going to be all over you, so watch your back.”
Nodding, I took it all. My body was a live wire ready to spark. “What play do you want?”
Coach put his hand on my shoulder, and as calmly as if he’d been doing this all season, he smiled at me. “It’s your call. Go with your gut. Yours is as good as mine.”
I looked at him as my stomach roiled. “Coach, this isn’t any game. It’s the Super Bowl. You sure you want to put this inmyhands?”
He nodded with a self-assured smile that made me want to cry. “There’s no one better at reading defenses in the game than you. You’ve got it. I know you do.”
I took a deep breath and looked up at Dane again. I wanted this win so badly. He’d never seen me win a Super Bowl that I didn’t have to coerce him to attend. As kids, it was our dream to play football together and win the biggest game in sports. I needed him to be proud that he gave me a second chance. And I wanted to show Jack he could do this, too, someday. So I collected my thoughts, cleared my mind, and looked at Coach. When his eyes met mine, I put my team on my shoulders. “Yes, sir. I’ve got it.”
Jogging out onto the field, I looked in the packed stadium one more time before tuning it all out. Kneeling in the huddle, I looked at my teammates. “We’ve done this a million times, boys, and we’re gonna break some Denver hearts tonight. Blue 22 ontwo.” Holding my hand out, they put theirs in before we broke the huddle.
Stepping up to the line of scrimmage, I took my place under center to survey the defense. Mason was waiting for his cue. We were starting with a running play around the end. The defense would expect me to pass, but we weren’t going to do it. They, however, lined up to fucking blitz. Tapping the inside of Mason’s thigh to let him know I was changing the cadence, I called the play. The defense jumped offside, pissing them off, but it got us five yards closer without moving the clock.
“I got your fucking number, Sanders,” a lineman called.
I grinned at him, then went back in the huddle to call the same play. Ready again, I went with a regular count, where Mason was to put the ball in my hands. I shifted back into the pocket, pivoted, then handed the ball off to my running back. He only gained two yards before they brought him down, and the clock continued to run.
With twelve yards to go for field goal range, I called the next play. But the defense read it, and blitzed the fuck out of me. Down I went as my knee gave a twinge. “Fuck,” I gritted as Mason pulled me to my feet. My knee was beginning to ache after taking so many sacks today, but they were relentless in their pursuit of yours truly.
“Sorry. He held me, but the ref missed it,” Mason said. “That won’t happen again.”
I patted his shoulder. “It’s okay. I’ve got an idea.”
Back in the huddle, I looked up at the clock. We were under a minute with the clock counting down. I found my best friend. My ride or die and my go-to receiver. Evan had his eyes on me. “Hail Mary 84 from shotgun on three. They’ll be expecting a short sideline pass. But we’re gonna fucking win this game. Right, Ellis?”
Evan grinned. “Let’s do it, QB.”
