Line of Scrimmage: A Secret Baby Sports Romance (Pass To Win Book 2) (2 page)

I
was running
in full speed; sweat dripping all over my face. The helmet was weighing me down, but I was used to it by now. Every professional football player became accustomed to it. And not to mention the best player on the university’s campus. Me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Michael passing me the ball. I didn’t know if I could continue much further. It was almost the end of the game and the result of the whole game lay in my hands. My future was lying in my hands, as a matter of fact. If I won this game, I would earn my spot in the NFL. So, yeah, I was playing for my life and my future. The stakes were big.

Even before the game, I had felt a huge amount of pressure weighing me down. These things were never easy. I knew that how I preformed in the game would chart my whole future and I had hundreds of butterflies flying all around my stomach. Just as many as when I had first met my girlfriend, Kayla. My sexy babe.

And now, still running and strong, my whole life flashed before my eyes. As if in slow motion my eyes captured all the people in the stands, some cheering and others jeering. I noticed the colors of my team swaying in the wind and our loyal fans standing with painted faces screaming from the top of their lungs. “Go! Go! Sean!”
I had to do this for them and for myself.

My coach was panicking. Like seriously panicking. Waving his hands and all. One would think that the apocalypse had come. His face was contorted into expressions of anger and terror and wonder. What I had done was against every direction he had given us. I was taking a huge risk here that I hadn’t even fully thought through. Many times I had simply acted on the adrenaline rushing through me, not listening to my brain. Perhaps that was what had gotten me to the here and now. Bad boy Sean was finally taking some action, baby!

I closed my eyes and heard the piercing siren that signaled the end of the game. I took a deep breath in and held my breath, still not daring to open my eyes.

Then I heard the booming noise of the crowd and above it all I could hear the speaker’s shrill voice loud and clear. “And there he is! Sean Coleman scoring the final points! The home team wins!”

I couldn’t believe his shouts. Was it possible? Had we really won? I peeled open my eyes and all I all around me were teammates hugging me and jumping up and down in excitement.

“Coleman! Coleman! Coleman!” The crowd started chanting. My ego was sky high. I thought I was gonna burst. Boom! But, I liked having all of the eyes and attention on me. I was a man born to be in the spotlight.

The coach came up to me and he, too, was chanting with the crowd. The whole stadium was. “Pick him up!” He yelled and all of the guys did. They carried me high in their arms as I pulled off my helmet. The euphoria rose to an unbelievable level when they all saw my face. I was their hero and I had proven my worth. No one could resist my charm. That wasn’t just my opinion either, it was a fact based off my own experiences.

Yes, I was extremely happy because we had won. It was a collective win for the whole team. We worked great together as a team and had known each other for so long. We knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses. But I was even happier for myself because I had made my dreams come true and written my name in the stars. I wouldn’t be just a one-hit wonder who played football marvelously as an amateur. I was swimming in different waters now.

As they carried me to the locker room, I let that sink in. I was the brightest star and the one they all wanted to see; I was the best of them all. Hooray!

“Wait, you need to give a statement!” Coach tried his best to yell over the crowd. They put me down on the ground and I headed for the cameras.

I fixed my hair and wiped the sweat from above my lips before standing bold and tall before the cameras. They were all filming me and taking pictures of me.

“How do you feel now, Sean?” One reporter asked me and I gave her my best smile. My pearly white teeth caught the flashes of the cameras.

“It’s amazing really,” I replied, “I feel ecstatic. This is what all of us wanted. We worked insanely hard to get this and now we are all proud of ourselves. To the victor go the spoils, right?”

They all laughed. “Have any teams contacted you yet? A professional career or perhaps modeling?” Another reporter asked. I recognized the logo from a famous sports magazine I liked to read from time to time.

They were, of course, referring to my looks. I was what most people considered attractive. “Hmm … I can’t speak on that actually. But if something comes up, I’ll surely let you know. Do you think that anyone wants a contract more than me?” I smiled.

My coach ushered me into the corridor that led to the locker room, leaving the reporters and journalists screaming my name and more questions. “You’re really famous now, Sean,” he said.

“Yeah, I know. I still can’t believe it. My heart is beating so fast I can hear it in my ears. I’ve always dreamed of this, you know,” I replied and put my hand on his shoulder.

“You deserve it, boy. Enjoy it while you can. At least you’ll have something to tell your kids and grandkids.” He smiled at me and I returned the smile. He was a good man, short but very kind looking. His green eyes were ones that always showed kindness and he always had encouraging words for his team.

When I entered the dressing room, my teammates all started cheering. They slapped me on the back and congratulated me on the deal and on saving the game.

“You were amazing, Sean,” Michael said. “Bro, like seriously, it was insane out there. You rocked! You slayed! You’re a god! I froze when I saw you with the ball in your hands. I was never expecting that. Well done, pal.”

I hugged him, patting his back. My boy, Mike, was always good with the words.

“Thank you, guys. We did this together. This is for all of us,” I said and all of them started clapping and making noises. The adrenaline kept them pumped up and it was still gripping me as well. I had secured my place in the NFL! It couldn’t get any better than this.

I went to get my clothes and shower when my phone rang. I didn’t have to look at who was calling me. I knew. As a matter of fact, I wanted to call her myself.

“Hey, Kayla, babe. What’s up?” I shouted in the phone, trying to hear her over the loud uproar my teammates were making.

“Congrats, sweetie. I saw every single minute of it. I was sitting on the edge of my seat by the time the game finished. I’m so happy, you can’t imagine! Woohoo!” she screamed from the other side.

I chuckled. She was a very ambitious person and was immensely proud of me and my accomplishments.

“Thanks, doll. Your support means so much to me, and you know that. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she breathed it out like a whisper. Goosebumps trickled down my skin.

“By the way, how was the interview? You killed it, right?” I said. She had had an interview for a scholarship at Princeton University and had been buzzing about it lately. It meant a lot to her and, honestly, I liked the idea of having a Princeton girlfriend. That was the new sexy.

“I got accepted! Yay!” She yelled from the other side and I laughed. “The interview went amazing. Remember all the stuff I memorized? Well, I forgot everything when I entered and told the dean all the shit that came to me. He was blown away.”

“Congrats, baby. I never doubted you,” I said, feeling satisfied and jubilant.

“Thank you for that,” she said.

Silence.

It was a nice thing that we were both succeeding in life. She was going to go to a different university, which would mean that she would have to move out. And I might be going to the opposite side of the country with whatever team picked me up in the draft. Everyone was supposed to go their own path and that resulted into one painful thing. The end of our relationship. It was imminent and we both knew that. We were terribly afraid of it. That was why we remained silent on the phone. The tension and nervousness was almost tangible.

“I’m so happy for the two of us, seriously,” I said to ease the situation.

“Yeah…” Kayla said from the other side. “I’m coming over now and once I get there we will celebrate, okay? We’ll party like crazy!”

“Okay,” I replied and hung up. We had some talking to do and that was what was frightening us. Our future was at stake for God’s sakes.

“Oh, who was that, Casanova?” The guys were teasing me.

“You know very well who that was,” I replied, chuckling.

“I love you, babe. I’ll die without you. Please come over, I don’t think I can live if you are not here with me,” they were imitating me and laughing at that. I joined in.

“You, guys, are not normal. Like really, really crazy,” I said, still smiling and headed for the showers.

“Kayla, please come to me! Let me love you!” They shouted behind my back still giggling like schoolgirls.

I turned on the shower, my lips curved into a smile. Hot water fell in torrents over my smooth, naked body. I was soaked in sweat and badly needed this. Soaping every single inch of myself, I stayed there for more than twenty minutes. Random thoughts passed through my mind, but eventually as I was drying myself off I decided that tonight I wasn’t going to think about anything besides pursuing my dreams.

I put on new underwear, socks, pants and a T-shirt and went out. The boys were now dancing and hopping around as someone brought in the trophy we had won. They were throwing their uniforms and equipment into the air, getting themselves naked as they had the time of their lives. Loud music was playing from some speakers and all of them were singing in deep voices. Some were calling their dear ones to inform them of the victory and to accept their congratulations. It was a very touching and wonderful moment that would be forever written in the history of the club and in our memories.

Having nothing to do, I joined them in their celebration. Like how could I not! I was the victor or what? I got my hands on the golden cup and stared at my reflection. It was the reward for all the labor and all the hard work.

“Come on! A picture, Sean!” Someone shouted from behind me and I smiled for the camera. All the other guys flooded the picture and we were all looking like a dream team who could win every game and would not stop until it conquered the whole world. Napoleon, who?

The guy snapped several pictures of us and he was smiling as well. He joined us in a selfie that would be surely posted on every social media profile. I could see the likes and shares piling up even now.

“Cheers, guys!” He said and we all applauded. The party continued in full force.

I
was driving
in my red Honda, my eyes fixed on the road. I had been driving the whole night to get back home and I was absolutely, totally, utterly tired and weary. Destroyed. I mean really bone tired.

During the night I had thought I was about to pass out, so I had found some metal/hard rock radio and had increased the volume until it was maxed. And now with my windows rolled down I was weaving through the nearly-empty highway with rock blaring from my stereo. No wonder I was getting strange looks from passing cars. A crazy girl hitting her head back and forth was not a normal sight for sure. But what else could I do?

The surroundings around me were boring—yellow fields and small houses, some desolate and very poor, cute farms with the occasional animal and other typical signs of country life. Yeah, right. Just what I needed in my hurry. And to top it all off, the skies were blue with not a single cloud disturbing the peaceful blueness, making space for the sun to shine with its brightest light. If it weren’t for the air conditioner, I would’ve ended up dead in some field that a family of farmers would work on and no one would ever find me.

I had read somewhere that singing, apparently, was a great way to chase away sleep, so I finally switched the station and found one that played only pop songs. I immediately recognized the tune and started signing from the top of lungs. It wasn’t like there was anyone better than me at singing in the shower and in cars. I had been accepted into an Ivy League university and that was a good enough reason for some loud singing. Screeching, to be more precise. But singing nonetheless.

Driving idly along, my eyes spied a gas station. It wasn’t long before I turned on my blinker and turned right to park in the station’s lot. I rubbed my eyes and climbed out of my car. My back was sore and my legs ached from sitting for so long. I stretched nice and slow and felt my back pop. It felt nice. Oh, so, so liberating indeed.

I headed for the gas station where I went shopping for some snacks, for I had plenty of fuel left. I bought some chocolate chip cookies, chips, soda and a chocolate bar. I needed that refreshment. I returned to my car, happy and with half of the chips already in my stomach. Starting the engine again, I was off on the road to home.

Maybe two hours later I found myself approaching my neighborhood. Everything was still and very quiet. I checked the clock. Seven o’clock on a Sunday morning. I understood why everyone was still sleeping and not a living soul could be seen in the streets. They weren’t as crazy as me to drive such a distance for such a short period of time. I truly didn’t know what had gotten into me.

Eventually I arrived at my apartment. It was a pretty clean one and one of the newest in town. That had been the main reason why Sean and I decided to move in there. Of course I had to convince him to take it. I climbed up the stairs and knocked on the door. No one answered. Sean was always up at this time of the day, exercising, drinking coffee or watching TV. I checked the apartment number again and confirmed that I had come to the right place. What the heck was going on? The last thing I needed right then were problems.

I rang the doorbell and knocked three more times on the door. Nothing.

The frustration from driving for so long was finally taking its toll on me as I furiously opened the zipper of my bag and started looking for my keys. Damn everything. I was so on edge that I felt like I was about to explode. I managed to find them and fished them out.
I unlocked the door and what met me on the other side was beyond any description.

“Oh my God,” I whispered, horror-stricken. Oh my freaking God.

The whole apartment was a complete mess. Chaos. There were empty glass bottles everywhere and dirty food wrappers littered the entire floor. The furniture was all out of place and some of the chairs were even turned upside down. It was as if a hurricane had blown in and was out in five seconds, leaving only desolation behind. I had left it clean and polished and I returned only to find our apartment turned into stables, for God’s sakes. I knew Sean was behind this the moment I stepped on the welcome mat.

“Sean!” I yelled, anger welling up inside me. It oozed from every pore of my body. I was ready to kill someone right then and there.

No one answered.

“Sean!” I screamed again and saw him lying on the couch in his T-shirt and pants. His hand was placed on his face, obscuring the daylight from his eyes. He was dead drunk. The whole place stank like alcohol. “Get up! Sean! Get up! Move your ass this instant!”

He only growled and continued sleeping. Ugh, that man was driving me crazy.

“Sean, get up now! Look at what you’ve done. You’ve ruined yourself! Look at you!” I screamed and screamed, my voice reaching an octave I didn’t know I could reach.

“Oh, come on, I had some fun.” His voice was low and husky. He was either drunk or suffered a terrible hangover.

Anger overwhelmed me and I placed my bag on the dirty floor. I put my hands under his armpits and hauled him up. I slapped him softly once or twice and his eyes popped open.

“What’re you doing?” Sean said, looking frantically around the room. “Are you nuts or what?”

“I am taking you to the bathroom!” I said with clenched teeth. “Help me out now. Stand on your feet!”

He obeyed me and with one hand supporting him, we headed for the bathroom. I kicked several obstacles that stood in our way in the form of a divan and three bottles of beer. Gross. Simply unbelievable. I opened the door and pushed him inside. With my help he climbed into the tub and I turned on the shower. Cold water poured over him and he was starting to regain consciousness.

“Oh my God!” Sean said, running his hands across his face. He rubbed his eyes and cleared some hair that covered them. “What happened? Oh … I don’t remember anything!”

“That’s the question I asked you in the first place, Sean. This is terrible. I … I’m really disappointed. Yes! That’s what I am right now!” I was angry to the core. Angry at him, at my tiredness. At everything.

He remained silent, letting the drops flow through his whole body. Damn, despite it all he was so sexy.

“I will wait for you outside,” I said and banged the door shut when I left. It was too much. All of it was too much. And he might as well know that. I’d had enough of everything.

I sat on the couch and put my head in my hands. I was beaten down and had absolutely no life left in me. All of the stress I had felt before the interview, the current state of the apartment, Sean, our relationship, our future as a couple, my future, my dreams … all of it was coming down on me and I felt tears coming to my eyes. I tried hard to swallow them, but it was in vain. I gave in and let them spill down my cheeks. My emotions were tied in a knot and I couldn’t exactly pinpoint what I was feeling. I was feeling everything and nothing at the same time. A whirlwind of emotions roamed across my body. I was a wreck. Stupid, Kayla. I did it again. I destroyed myself because of that man.

In that moment Sean came out of the bathroom, all wet. He had changed into another black T-shirt and white pants. Crunches of paper and wrappers could be heard from under his bare feet. It was satisfying to see that I wasn’t the only wreck in the room. Sean sat in an armchair, his face disheveled. He looked like a mental patient to me.

“What happened, Sean? Tell me.” I had had enough of everything. I wanted answers. However, there was a secret question gnawing at me from the inside. Was there another girl?

Sean was silent before he opened his mouth and closed it shortly after. He breathed in. “I-I-I don’t know. I was with the guys and that was it. Had some fun, drank a little bit too much and that was it, Kayla. Nothing to fuss about and nothing to shout about. I feel bad enough without you babbling over my head!” he said, increasing his voice.

“I get it, Sean. I get it. You wanted a night out and you had it. So now what? You cannot go on like this. Being irresponsible and all. Oh, no, mister. You have this apartment to worry about, your life, me. We’ll be a family one day, maybe. You can’t let this happen. You want to be a professional football player and you’re here behaving like a toddler. A three-year-old breaking vases and drawing on the wall,” I screamed. I completely lost it. The words were spilling from my tongue all on their own. I didn’t care about anything at all. Kayla was out!

“Stop it, Kayla. I’m not your child, okay? I’m responsible for my own life and what I do is my decision. Not yours. Full stop! Don’t drive me nuts and for once don’t put your nose in everything. We won, understand? It was the most important game of the year for us and we decided to celebrate it. Unlike you, we know how to party!” Sean was yelling at me as well.

I laughed sarcastically. “Oh, you definitely know how to party. Who knows, maybe you brought some girls home to keep you company, drink with you and have a wild sex all night long! Damn you all! I got my scholarship, in case you forgot. And I didn’t take my gang to clubs and parties until the morning. Instead I was driving the whole night. Do you know why? To get home! To you! To my boyfriend!”

“Wait a minute,” Sean said and stood up. “Here’s the core of the problem. You’re dead tired and above it all, you don’t trust me. You think that I have been with someone else? You’re wrong. But you won’t believe me! You don’t believe me when you were just hours from me. What would happen if you moved for a year to another city? What would you think then, when we could only chat online to keep in touch, hmm? No, Kayla. Damn you for not trusting me even a little bit! I … no, I can’t believe I’m hearing this. I simply can’t!”

I stood up, red in the face. Fury was dictating my thoughts and my mouth was saying them. “Yes! We are not built for long-distance relationships, Sean. Already we feel distant towards each other. We don’t need miles to separate us. You do that perfectly fine by yourself!”

“Me? Huh, I knew you’d blame it all on me! We grew cold, yes. I’m terribly sorry for that,” he said, still shouting. Why was he doing that? Was he displaying his manhood and boldness in that way? Speaking to me in a high voice?

“We changed,” I sighed and flopped back on the couch like a sack of potatoes.

“You changed a lot, Kayla!” He shouted again and I felt my head starting to ache. I didn’t know if I could put up with it for much longer. “You are so ambition-driven. Our university is not enough for you. You want to go to the stars, reach higher, and go away from me! Go on then!”

“I don’t know. Who wishes to play for the NFL?” I yelled in his face and picked up my bag. I was leaving.

Sean was still shouting his poisonous words at me. His voice shook the walls. “That wasn’t my priority. You were the first to—”

I shut the door with a loud bang. Our argument was far from over, but I had no energy left to listen to him. The alcohol was still running through his veins and I was exhausted to the bone. We were going to accuse each other of everything for hours and I had to put an end to it. I just hoped that he wasn’t thinking straight and that his words were a product of his hangover.

I climbed down the stairs in utter silence while I sensed slow thrums in my ears. When I sat back down in my beloved red Honda I felt my head heavier than usual. Poor thing. It had had enough for the day. A severe headache was piercing through my skull. I needed a bed and a couple of hours to rest so, so badly. Starting the engine, I still stayed in front of the building. I didn’t know why. Did I expect him to come down begging for my forgiveness, kissing and hugging me and offering me to come upstairs and have a nap with him? Silly, me!

I chortled without any mirth and drove down the road. Besides, I wanted to see my parents and spend some time with them before I moved out. They were sure to be immensely happy that their daughter was going to become someone in the world. Perhaps they were would see their daughter making her dreams come true and that was to open her own law firm. I needed their positive energy right now.

The familiar rhythm of a pop anthem greeted me and I was again on the road. However, this time the journey was going to last only a couple of minutes.

A tear trickled down my face and I wiped it away with the tip of my forefinger.