Home Run Baby: A Sports Romance (77 page)

Then I twist around and slam myself into the first defensive lineman I see.

Ouch.

My team pats me on the back as I stand back up. It was just one mistake; one quick misstep at the start of a stressful game. I take the failure in stride and set myself up for another one.

“Hike!”

I can’t make it too obvious. If I do, they’ll take me out of the game and replace me with a benched player. This won’t work unless Rose can see it.

Junior tosses me the ball again and I take off, traveling less than a yard before I let the cornerback slog me right down to my knees.

Another bad play. Another chance at unattainable redemption.

“Hike!”

Junior’s giving me another shot at this play but I see the hesitation in his eyes as he watches me cradle the ball in my elbow. I fire to the left, playing up the enthusiasm before spinning directly into the outstretched arms of the linebacker. He drags me down to the turf with him and the other team celebrates his wonderful play while I cough the air out of my lungs.

“John!”

Junior calls a time-out and extends his hand to me to pull me off my back. That last hit almost took the wind out of me but I take a few deep breaths to prepare for my next willing tackle.

“John…” Junior steps closer, close enough for our helmets to touch, and I hear him over the crowd completely turning on us. “What’s going on? You okay?”

“I’m fine,” I wheeze.

“No, you’re not. You’re taking this beat down on purpose.
What’s going on?
” he asks again.

I inhale until I can’t anymore. “We have to lose.”

His eyes grow wide. “We
what now
?”

“We have to lose.”

“Why?”

I look to the crowd, once again searching for her in a sea of painted and angry faces. “She’s here…” I nod. “I can feel it. She’s out there.”

“Who?”

“Rose.”

“The girl from the wedding?”

“Yes, her.”

“
Wait a second
… I know what this is!” He points a finger at me. “You’re
gesturing
right now, aren’t you? This is a love gesture.”

“Rose lost everything because of me and that stupid challenge, man,” I say. “It’s only fair that I lose everything, too.”

“John…” He slaps a hand onto my shoulder pad. “I get it. I do. I don’t like it. But I get it.”

“Thank you.”

“But for the love of god… can you
please
advance a few yards for me?”

I dig my cleats into the turf. “Nope.”

“John.”

“No! We have to lose.” I stand a little taller. “It’s the only way I can prove that I really love her. She’s my
obsession
. I have to go out of my way to show her that she’s the only woman in the whole world for me. It’s just like Eliza said.”

Junior blinks.
“Eliza
made you do this?
My
Eliza?”

“No,
I’m
making me do this. It’s for the greater good.”

He sighs. “You realize this is
our last shot
, right, John?”

I nod. “I do.”

“This is our
final
game,” he reiterates. “Senior year. Scouts watching. Championship qualifier.
The night that makes or breaks our chances at playing pro.
”

“I know… but it’s worth it.”

“Holy shit… you really love her.”

“Yeah,” I say. “She’s my Eliza Pierce, Junior.”

“Dammit.”
His head drops for a moment. “Okay.”

I tilt my head as he walks away, confused by his reaction as he huddles us up and tells the wide receivers to get ready.

The clock resumes and we take position on the line.

“Hike!”

The center snaps the ball to Junior and he pulls back, readying his arm for a hard throw down the field towards Ty. He launches it but it veers embarrassingly off course and Ty can’t catch up to it before it hits the ground.

The crowd boos and their stomping feet shake the earth beneath us.

Junior turns back to me and nods with understanding.

Chapter 26

Rose

It’s a damn train wreck.

Three minutes into the second quarter and we’re sitting at zero points. I can’t even bring myself to look at the scoreboard to see badly the visiting team is dominating us.

I’m too busy watching John
accidentally
fumble the ball. Luckily, our tight end falls fast to the ground to take it back before the defense can get their hands on it.

“Man, he’s playing like
shit,”
Daisy laughs. “At least you know he didn’t rebound with a little natural performance enhancer last night.”

I glare at her.

“What?” she asks. “Does that not help?”

John darts forward on the field, knocking shoulder pads with his own offensive line straight into the other team and I shake my head as the boos around me cry out even louder.

“This isn’t your normal
off day
playing, Daisy.”

“Then, what is it?”

“He’s doing it on purpose.”

She furrows her brow. “Why?”

“Even Junior is making bad plays…”

“The hunky quarterback?” she asks, her interest piqued.

“Yeah.” I launch onto the tips of my toes to see better. “What
the hell
is he doing?”

“Uh-oh.”

I look at Daisy. “What?”

She winces. “I
kinda
might know what he’s doing…”

I stand still, waiting for her say more but she just squeezes her eyes closed. “What is he doing?”

“He’s…” She bites her lip.

“What,
Daisy?”

“He’s getting your attention.”

“What?”

“You weren’t returning his calls or texts,” she says, the words tumbling out fast, “so I told him to find some other way of getting your attention. I guess he figured sabotaging the game would be the best way—”

“You told him?”
I repeat. “What do you mean
you told him
? When did you even talk to him?”

“Last night.”

My jaw drops.
“When?”

She hesitates. “Like… the second time you were passed out from crying. It’s not important.”

“Why would you talk to him?!”

“Because you were passed out from crying
maybe?” she fires back. “Because you’re madly in love with him? Because he’s madly in love with
you
? Because I got bored waiting on you to wake up again? Take your pick.”

“He is
not
in love with me,” I argue. “He’s in love with himself.”

“I’m pretty sure he’s
both
, actually. Also…” She gestures to the field. “I’d like to submit Exhibit A as evidence for his affection towards you. He sure as hell isn’t getting slammed repeatedly for his own funsies.
He knows you’ll notice.
”

I stare down at the gridiron, letting the argument sink in as the game resumes. The teams take their positions across the forty-yard line. Instead of passing the ball back to John or another running back, Junior launches himself straight into the linebackers in front of him.

The crowd heaves with frustration.

“Is this really my fault?” I ask.

Daisy shrugs. “Probably.”

I wince. “Ah, crap.”

John is sabotaging his chances of winning on purpose and he’s doing it because of me. Because I wouldn’t listen to him. I couldn’t bring myself to give him a second chance because my damn safety bubble felt just a little more secure than his arms.

I stand up from my seat.

“Where are you going?” Daisy asks.

“Uh…” I feel a burst of panic in my chest. “I’m answering the door.”

She squints. “Huh?”

I sidle down the row, constantly knocking knees with others sitting down on my way. They glare hatefully at me and I do my best to mumble off apologies as Daisy shouts after me.

I ignore it. I ignore all of it. It’s what John would do, isn’t it? He’d just keep taking every sack and every tackle that gets shoved at him because getting through to me is more important than winning a damn football game.

“John!”

I jump off the bleachers, nearly slipping to my knees as I stumble towards the sidelines.

“John!”

He can’t hear me. I can hardly even hear myself over the hellish screams surrounding the stadium.

I have to get his attention but I’m not crazy enough to rush the field during a damn game.

I take off around the field, keeping on the sidelines all the way to the end zone. Adrenaline rattles my veins, pumping through me faster than I can run but I keep moving past anyone that would try and stop me.

I halt behind the end zone facing the offensive line, my chest heaving as I wave my arms in the air.

“Johnny!”

I jump. I scream. I say his name over and over again until my throat burns.

And then, I hear it. The slow-growing chant behind me.

“Johnny! Johnny! Johnny!”

I turn around and there’s Daisy, riling up the sports fans, coaching them to shout together and they start stomping their feet in unison. The chant spreads, pitching louder until it’s all I can hear over the pounding in my chest.

I spin back and instantly focus on John down the field.

He’s looking right at me.

As the teams get into position along the line of scrimmage, he nudges Junior’s shoulder and points to the end zone.

“Hike!”

Junior hands the ball off to John and he takes off like a damn bullet in my direction.

He slips through the defensive line without even stumbling. They dive at him but John dodges them easily, pumping his feet and arms to take him faster down the field.

He goes all the way, charging right into the end zone in front of me to score a touchdown.

The stadium explodes from all sides but John doesn’t care. He doesn’t stop to dance and show off like he usually does. The ball slips from his fingers and he tears his helmet off his head as he finishes his run towards me.

I throw my arms around his neck and he picks me up as our lips lock. We kiss hard and fast, fighting through the lack of air in our lungs as the ground buzzes beneath us.

“What the hell are you doing?”
I ask, tears forming in my eyes.

He lowers me down to my feet. “You were right,” he says. “This isn’t fair. None of this is fair.”

“Is that why you’re
losing
?”

“If you lose everything, then I lose everything. That’s the way it should be.”

I catch my breath. “John—”

“I love you, Rose. I met you and I saw a future beyond tomorrow or even next year. I saw you and me.” He cups my face, smiling. “You make me
better
. A better student, a better athlete.
A better man.
I’ll do whatever it takes to prove that to you — starting with this.”

I kiss him and he holds me against him. “I love you, John.”

He laughs and looks around. “And I’m sorry…”

“I know,” I nod. “I should have listened to—”

“No, I mean… there are
a lot
of cameras on us at the moment.”

Blood rushes to my cheeks as I scan the stadium. “Oh, god…”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure every college football fan in the country knows about us now.”

I cover my face.
“Shit.”

He reaches for my hands and grins. “Don’t do that,” he says. “Don’t ever do that.”

My heart throbs, firing heat throughout and I can’t stop smiling. I put my hands down and I stare up at him. “Johnny…”

“Yeah?”

“Go kick some ass for me.”

He retrieves his helmet. “But that wouldn’t be fair…”

“I got my job back. You should get your championship, too.”

“Did you?” he smirks.

I study his sinister eyes. “What did you do?”

He shrugs his thick shoulders as he slides his helmet on. “Oh, I didn’t do anything…” he says. “But I
may
have heard about a professor receiving an anonymous email… with photos…”

“What did you do?”

John flashes a wink at me and jogs off to rejoin the team for the field goal kick.

“Wow…”

I look over my shoulder to find Daisy lingering behind me. “What?”

She crosses her arms. “And here I thought this game was going to be
boring
.”