Crushing on the Enemy (13 page)

“For not telling me what you were doing, Alyssa,” Mattie sighed.

“You don't own me!” Alyssa snapped.

“I'm not trying to own you,” Mattie sighed, “I just worry about you.”

“So you turned on me and blabbed my personal business to everyone because you were worried about me?” Alyssa asked.

“I know it was a crappy thing to do, but I was mad,” Mattie said, “First you dump me for the hag squad, then you leave me out of the loop as soon as you get a boyfriend.”

“So you're jealous of me because I have a boyfriend?” she asked.

“No!” Mattie sighed, “I'm not jealous of you! I just don't want to lose you again!”

“I'm right here!” Alyssa sighed.

“You'll be in Georgia next year,” Mattie said.

“Maybe, but we'll still be friends,” Alyssa said.

“Really?” Mattie asked.

“Yes, really,” Alyssa said.

“Okay, so now what?” Mattie asked.

“Now you help me decide what to wear tomorrow when I hangout with Jake and his friends before the game,” Alyssa smiled.

“Awesome!” she grinned.

Together they decided that Alyssa would wear her sea foam green skirt and a white top. Mattie also let Alyssa borrow the chain she usually wore her locket on until she could pick up one of her own for Jake's ring.

Mattie slept over and the girls stayed up late catching up with one another. Mattie was worried that she was going to flunk out of English Lit. and her older sister would be visiting this summer. Alyssa remembered Samantha and understood why her friend was thrilled at the prospect of her visit.

Alyssa fell asleep wondering how she could help Mattie get out of seeing her sister. Unfortunately, if she was in Georgia she wouldn't be able to do anything, besides lend a sympathetic ear over the phone.

The next morning the girls slept in until nearly ten, which only left Alyssa two hours to get ready. She was starving, but would be eating out with Jake, so she only had toast for breakfast, while her mom and Mattie pigged out on sausage, bacon, and scrambled eggs.

She showered and dried her hair. Alyssa considered curling it, but that seemed a little over the top for a football game. She slipped into her outfit of choice and was ready with time to spare.

She sat on the porch with Mattie nervously fidgeting.

“What's wrong with you?” Mattie asked.

“I'm nervous!” Alyssa blurted out.

“Why?” Mattie asked.

“I've never hung out with Jake's friends before, and the last time I seen them they were destroying our football field,” Alyssa said, feeling like she was stating the obvious to the oblivious Mattie.

“Oh yea,” her friend said, “I had forgotten all about that.”

“I haven't,” Alyssa sighed as Jake's truck pulled into the driveway.

“Looks like he's here,” Mattie said patting her on the arm.

“Yep, off to face the firing squad,” Alyssa said.

“Good luck,” Mattie grinned.

“I'm going to need it,” Alyssa laughed.

Alyssa climbed into Jake's truck and gave him a quick kiss before fastening her seat belt.

“So you and Mattie made up?” Jake asked.

“Yep, she apologized,” Alyssa said.

“About time,” Jake laughed.

“Yea, tell me about it!” Alyssa agreed.

Alyssa's hands trembled as she climbed out of the truck. Craig's driveway was full of cars and his yard was covered with people. She hesitated a moment, but Jake gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and Alyssa managed not to turn tail and run.

She clung to Jake as he introduced her to his teammates and other friends. Alyssa recognized a few of them from the night she met them on the field. Craig, the brute who stomped her poor phone hung towards the back, which Alyssa thought was a strange thing to do at his own party.

He was the last person she was introduced to. She could tell that Jake was nervous about this particular introduction.

“Look about that night, it was a crappy thing to do,” Craig said, “I'm sorry about your phone.”

“So am I,” Alyssa giggled nervously, “I liked that one and had to buy a new one because the screen was never the same after that.”

“I was surprised the phone survived at all,” Jake laughed.

“It survived my foot?” Craig asked.

“Yep, it had a great case! The case is still amongst the living, so you just stay away from it,” Alyssa teased.

Once the tension about the past was out of the way, Alyssa felt her shoulders relax. She devoured Craig's dad's delicious barbeque chicken wings and his mother's potato salad.

There was an air of excitement over the whole party, but as time for the game inched ever closer Alyssa could see that Jake and the other guys were nervous. She ran her fingers playfully through Jake's blonde hair trying to distract him from the upcoming game, but soon the guys were gathering into their cars and trucks to leave for the game. They had to be their early to get ready.

Alyssa had been invited to ride with Craig's girlfriend and she gladly accepted. She had to admit she was much nicer than she thought any girl who would date the brute would be.

One hour drive to the next town over she called Mattie to tell her she would be arriving with a different group of people and described Julie's little blue car so that Mattie would be able to find her.

“See I knew you'd be fine,” Mattie laughed into the phone.

“Yep, see you there,” she said ending the conversation before Julie could pick up on how nervous she had been about the party.

Jake's stomach felt like it was hiding a flock of birds that were ready to take off. He had to force himself to concentrate on the road as he made his way to the stadium.

He tried to think of anything, but the game. For a moment he focused on how relieved he felt when Craig apologized to Alyssa and how much she had enjoyed herself at the party. She smiled every time he looked at her and it made his heart flutter.

His mind turned to Georgia. He imagined how they would listen to the radio and talk on the long drive down. Jake couldn't help, but to think about how pretty Alyssa looked with her hair flying around her head in the breeze.

Somehow most of the other guys had beat him to the stadium, but he was still early. They sat around the parking lot talking about how important this game was. It would be their last game as a team. After tonight, their lives would float in different directions and at the end of the school year they risked never seeing one another again.

“Nah,” Craig said, “We'll see one another at the reunions,”

“That is unless some of us make it to the pros and forget about the Rattlesnakes,” one of the other guys teased.

Jake could feel all of his teammates looking at him.

“You think we don't know?” Craig laughed, “Why else would you be in the coach's office while we were all practicing?”

“I didn't want..” Jake began to explain.

“Don't worry about it, man,” Craig said, “We're happy for you, aren't we guys?”

There was a murmur of agreement throughout the team. Jake was just about to tell the guys about Alyssa applying to go to Georgia with him when the coach pulled in.

“I hope you guys aren't too full of chicken wings to play tonight,” he teased and motioned for them to follow him.

Once inside the locker room Jake quickly donned his uniform and sat quietly waiting for the coach's pregame pep talk.

“You guys have played hard this year,” the coach said, signaling for the guys to gather closer, “This has been the best seasoned I've ever coached. Hell, maybe the best team I've ever coached. Before I get to the normal pregame talk I just want to thank you guys for that! It's been a rough year, but I've enjoyed it! You kids have more spirit than any team I've ever coached, and that's a fact!”

“Don't get too sentimental on us, Coach,” Craig laughed.

“Shut up, Craig,” the coach laughed and continued the pregame talk, “I think by now you boys have heard everything I have to say about football. Go out there tonight and play your hardest, but enjoy yourselves too! Because no matter what happens out there on the field tonight, this has been our season!”

Jake and the other guys didn't have too much time to dwell on the upcoming game, because soon the coach was telling them to lineup for the call out. As the team took to the field the crowd cheers exploded from the crowd. More of the student body had turned out for this game, than they had for most of the seasons home games!

Jake quickly spotted Alyssa sitting next to Mattie and Julie and waved. She blew him a kiss and he couldn't help but to laugh. It wasn't until they were taking their starting positions that Jake realized that his mom had came along with his dad. The coach had been right, this was their season.

The game went by more quickly than Jake would have liked. He felt like they had barely gotten started when the halftime buzzer sounded.

Alyssa organized the girls into a mini cheering squad for the Rattlesnakes and even made Mattie join in.

“I don't know how to cheer,” Mattie whined.

“Everyone can cheer, just show your spirit!” Alyssa shouted over the roar of the crowd.

The buzzer sounded and the game resumed. Alyssa abandoned cheering for the Rattlesnakes and just yelled encouragements to Jake. She knew he most likely couldn't hear her over the crowd, but she yelled anyway.

They were so close to winning and Alyssa couldn't contain her excitement. Mattie covered her ears every time Jake scored, because Alyssa couldn't help but to squeal.

Alyssa relaxed when the final quarter was nearly over, because the Rattlesnakes had such a broad lead on the other team. She still cheered Jake on, but she knew they had this one in the bag! They were going to Georgia! At least, if she got accepted, but with her GPA that shouldn't be a problem either.

“We're going to be free from this place, Jake!” she yelled even though he couldn't hear her, “Free!”

Even the announcers were cheering for the Rattlesnakes when the buzzer sounded. Alyssa jumped over the railing separating the crowd from the field and was one of the first onlookers to meet the team.

Jake throw aside his helmet and pulled her into his arms. Their lips met and Alyssa allowed herself to enjoy the moment, without worrying who was watching.

“We're looking forward to seeing you in Georgia this summer, son,” a man said as he walked by.

“Was that one of the scouts?” Alyssa asked.

“Yep!” Jake laughed.

When the team was finally able to get off the field Jake and Alyssa joined the other guys and their girlfriends for pizza. Alyssa was thankful that no one teased her about how boring her cheese only pizza was.

Alyssa and Mattie didn't get back to her house until well after midnight. Her mother was already asleep and the girls were too tired to talk. Alyssa had planned to drag herself into the shower, but in the end she just washed her face and fell into bed.

The next morning the girls woke up to her mother stomping into Alyssa's room.

“What is this?” she shouted shaking a stack of papers at her daughter.

“Paper, Mrs. H., paper,” Mattie said turning over and putting her pillow over her head.

“Yea, what she said,” Alyssa laughed.

“No, it's a letter from the University of Georgia, your acceptance letter!” her mother said.

Alyssa's heart skipped a beat and she sat up and snatched the paper from her mother.

“MATTIE! MATTIE, WAKE UP! I'M GOING TO GEORGIA WITH JAKE! OH MY GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!” Alyssa squealed.

“Yay! Go you! You celebrate, I'll sleep,” Mattie said not coming out from under her pillow.

“So that's why you're trying to go to Georgia? For that boy? I'm not paying for you to go to Georgia!” her mother shouted.

“You won't have to, Mom,” she said, “what my scholarships won't cover I'll get student loans for.”