Romance: Young Adult Romance: The Perfect Game (A Highschool Football Romance) (Bad Boy Nerd New Adult Romance)

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Authors: Stella White


Copyright 2015 by Stella White - All rights reserved.

 

 

In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.

 

Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.

 

 

The Perfect Game

 

A Sports Romance

 

 

By: Stella White

 

 

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SPORTS Romance – The Perfect Game

 

Chapter One

 

Rachel squinted and pulled her jacket around her tighter to keep the wind from chilling her to the bone. She didn’t
really
want to be
there,
but if she hadn’t come, Bree would have been
disappointed,
and when Bree was disappointed, she could be a pain. Rachel looked at her best friend, whose eyes
were fixed
on the team playing on the field below with an intense focus. She couldn’t help being amused by it. Bree was there to support her cousin, not her boyfriend. But her focus was more on the game than on her cousin. She was one of the biggest football fanatics Rachel had ever known in her 19 years.

She and Bree had been friends since second grade. They were always together, even when they had boyfriends. Right now, both were single. They had agreed to go to college
together,
and that was just what they had done.

Bree stood up and screamed. Rachel jumped and then giggled. She looked out over the field and watched the players running and slamming into each other. She shook her head, amused.

“They’re gonna get concussions doing that.” She murmured. She felt two hands on her shoulders from behind and turned her head to see the smiling face of Andrew, one of her good friends. He was excited, like Bree.

“I heard that, chickie!” He
said loudly
, over the cheering crowd around them. “Don’t you know that’s why they’re out there? They already have brain injuries!”

Rachel laughed. “Like you wouldn’t be out there if you’d made the team, Andy!” She yelled to him.

He shook his head. “Not me, sweetheart! No way
would
I ever make that football team.
This is
college! I’ve got more chance of becoming a jockey!”

His face moved
away,
and his hands left her
shoulders,
but
he left
her with a jovial feeling. She stood up, too, and cheered for their team as they made the winning touchdown.

 

Rachel followed Bree through the crowd. The crush of people didn’t
really
bother her. They were in such good moods. The win had put their college in the running for the championship. She was pleased
for
them but had
truly
only shown up for Bree and Rico. She was a
first-year
student studying
basic
medicine and planned to go to Baylor in Houston when she finished with her first four years here. She had some studying to do but not enough to be stressed about it.

A lifelong student, Rachel had the reputation of being a book nerd. She enjoyed the title and readily admitted she was a big fan of books, medicine and all things brainy. Bree was the opposite. She liked to be out in public, talking, laughing and making herself a part of the spotlight.
She
was into dramatic arts and singing. She had one of the most beautiful operatic voices Rachel had ever heard. She was a member of the College Station Symphony and Choir and amazed people regularly with her talent.

Bree turned and grabbed Rachel’s hand.

“I don’t want to lose you, girl. This crowd is huge! Come on, follow me! We’re going to the locker room!”

“But
…
Bree, they are gonna be changing in there and stuff, I don’t think…”

“Your problem, my friend, is that you think too much! We’re not
gonna
see any naked butts, I promise! We’ll wait outside until Rico comes out. Okay?” Bree laughed. “You’re such a Christian, Rache!”

Rachel smiled at her. Bree knew her well.

They made their way through the shuffling bodies and broke out near the hallway to the locker rooms.
There were more people coming
and going but a lot less. Rachel breathed more freely and passed some of their friends, returning their nods and smiles. Most of them knew Bree and were only being polite to her. She didn’t mind.

They stopped in front of the men’s locker rooms. Bree, not one to be very patient, bounced up and down on her heels, looking like she was waiting for an elevator.

“This is so incredibly exciting, Rache.” Bree was saying. “I can’t wait to go to the championships! There are going to be a lot of cute guys there, you know. You really gotta get your nose out of those books.”

Rachel laughed. “First of all, I’m here with you now, aren’t I? What are you
complaining about
? And second, I would much rather find a man at one of your symphony shows than at a football game! I’m not gonna go for some dumb
jock; you
know that.”

Bree widened her eyes and pushed her index finger against her lips. “Sssshhh. Don’t say that here! We’ve got aspiring soldiers, surgeons and dentists on this team, you know.”

“I know. I was just
sayin
…”

Bree laughed. “It’s okay, girl. Don’t get all stressed out. I knew you were only kidding.”

She wasn’t
really,
but she chuckled along with Bree. Her friend always made her feel better about life in general. She was
a positive
, happy girl. Everyone loved her. Except the ones who envied her. They didn’t like her at all. But Bree was a magnet for people who looked at
life like
one of the best video games they had ever played. No Emo for her.

Bree would have laughed at Rachel’s thoughts.
Emo was old hat, so high school.

The door finally
opened,
and the guys started to file out, laughing, shoving each other, calling out to the girls in the hallway. Rico was among the first group of young
men,
and he was closely followed up by Dallas Reynolds, quarterback extraordinaire. The first thing Rico did was grab Bree, pick her up and swing her in a circle.

“Hello, cuz!” He said in a
loud,
excited voice. “It’s so good to see you!”

“Rico! What a great job you did! Wow! So proud of you! Awesome!”

He released her and pretended to go for Rachel in the same
way,
but she took a step back, smiling at him, shaking her head. He held out his arms wide and tilted his head to one side. “Aww come on now, Rache! One hug? I won’t pick you up, I promise!”

Rachel couldn’t help laughing and went in for her hug. Rico was a big boy, playing defensive tackle. He
was covered
in large
muscles,
and whether she wanted to admit it or not, she felt safe when he hugged her. If she was ever in trouble, she wanted Rico by her side.

Dallas bent low at the waist in a dramatic bow. “Greetings, ladies. Did you enjoy the game?”

“It was fantastic, Dallas! You
really
know how to throw a ball.” Bree threw herself at the
boy,
and he hugged her.

“Thanks.” He smiled at Rachel. “Rachel.” He said
simply
.

“Dallas.”

Rachel and Dallas were in the same anatomy and physiology class. He never answered any
questions,
and she never saw him with a book. She was not impressed. He was good-looking, tall and looked
strong
. From the way he played football, he was obviously talented. But she didn’t believe he took medicine seriously and the thought of him being in medicine and
actually
working on living people gave her misgivings. She doubted he would pass the class. She didn’t know his
grades,
but she didn’t need to see that he was more interested in the pigskin than he was human skin.

“Did you enjoy the game?” He asked.

“I did, thank you.”

“Okay, enough of the formal small talk!” Bree said, leaning forward, one arm around Rico’s waist. He had his long arm around her shoulders, his
wide
smile contagious.

“Let’s
go get
some chicken wings and Coke!”

 

Foster’s Grille
was packed
with students who had been at the game. As soon as they entered, half a dozen people screamed for Rico and Dallas. They
cheered,
and both young men were swallowed up by the crowd, slapping them on the back and shaking their hands.

“Come on!” Bree grabbed her arm and steered her to the only table left, a booth that looked like it needed to be wiped down with a washcloth. Rachel grimaced but tried not to show her displeasure. They slid into the bench seats, across from each other and Bree got the attention of a smiling server nearby. She cupped her hands around her mouth and called out, “We need this table wiped down when you can, please! My friend doesn’t like germs and messes!”

The server knew both Bree and Rachel well and nodded, her smile never leaving her face. Bree looked at Rachel and leaned over the table. “I don’t see how you are going to be a doctor if you can’t stand messes, Rache! That’s all you’re
gonna
see! What about all the blood and guts!”

Rachel leaned forward and called back to make herself heard. “Totally different, Bree, trust me!”

Bree shook her head. “If you say so, sweetie!”

Two more friends came over and began a high volume conversation with Bree. Rachel looked around. She spotted Rico and Dallas at the ordering counter and wondered if they knew what she wanted.
She
hoped they didn’t get the hottest wings they could. She loved chicken wings but couldn’t take more than the mild and had to have some ranch just to eat those. Her stomach was sensitive.

They were talking to each other, their smiles as wide as ever. She moved her eyes around her, taking in the college scene and thinking she better enjoy it because it probably wasn’t going to last. It wouldn’t always be that
way,
and she knew it.
She wouldn’t always be surrounded by friends
. Her step-mother had warned her about life and getting older. And if there was anyone who knew about devastating life changes, it was her step-mother. Rachel decided not to think about negative things and just enjoy where she was at that moment. She lifted her hands up when the server came over with a cloth. As the young woman wiped the table down, she moved her mind to happy thoughts.

Rico and Dallas delivered four large baskets of wings to the table ten minutes later.

“These are the best wings on the planet, man. The absolute best.” Rico said as he slid into the booth next to his cousin.

“Oh?” Rachel attempted a joke. “And you’ve tasted all the
wings
on the planet?” She smiled at him and was grateful when he smiled back.

“I have. Didn’t you know I’m a globe trotter? Started when I was five, made my way all the way around the world.”

“Sorry, buddy,” Dallas said. “That’s basketball, not football.”

The four friends laughed.

Rachel looked down at the basket of wings Dallas slid in front of her. She wondered what kind they were. She was afraid to ask and looked up at Bree to see if she could send a telepathic message of inquiry.

Bree wasn’t looking at
her,
but Dallas was. He was scanning the side of her skeptical face. He leaned close to her and said into her ear, “They’re mild, Rachel. Bree
said you
only eat
mild
.”

Rachel’s face lit
up,
and she gave Dallas a big smile. “That’s awesome!” She said.

He grinned back at her. “Hey, you
really
pretty up when you smile.”

She raised her eyebrows and stuck her tongue out at him, hiding the fact that the words had made her feel a bit insecure. Did that mean he thought she was ugly otherwise? She moved her eyes down to the wings. She was going to devour them.

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