“Get it together, ladies,” Coach boomed across the field as I fumbled the ball for the third time that morning. “Fourteen,” he yelled. “Do we have a problem, Son?”
“No, Sir,” I replied, cussing under my breath.
“And what about you, QB? Something you want to tell me?”
“No, Sir,” Jase echoed my words, glaring at me across the field.
I hadn’t seen him since he stormed off yesterday. But it was fine by me; I had bigger things to deal with.
“Okay, run it again.” Coach Hasson sounded pissed, and I didn’t blame him. We were unfocused, the tension between me and Jase rippling around the field like a storm on the horizon.
“How about you try to catch it this time?” Someone chuckled but I let it roll off my shoulders, moving into position for the play.
“Hut,” Jas
e’s voice echoed around us as Grady snapped him the ball, and I took off, looping behind him and down the right-hand side of the field. He let the ball fly and I tracked its projection, but something caught my eye.
Hailee.
She was sat in the bleachers, glasses framing her face, sketch pad balanced on her knees.
“Mother of God,” Coach yelled, as my fingers grazed the leather and the ball rolled out of my reach. “Bring it in offense. Now.”
I let out a heavy sigh as I jogged over to the sideline, but Jase stepped in front of me. “What the fuck is wrong with you today?” he said through gritted teeth and I shot him a hard glare. “You really want to go there?” I snapped.
“Maybe we should. Maybe if we aired all this crap between us, you’d actually manage to catch a fucking pass or two.” He was toe-to-toe with me now, our shoulders squared, eyes locked on one another.
The entire field was quiet, tension crackling in the air as everyone waited to see what would happen.
“Walk away, Chase,” he said coolly.
“You walk the fuck away.”
“If the two of you don’t get over here in the next two seconds,” Coach boomed. “I’m going to knock your goddamn heads together.”
Jase expelled a heavy sigh and shook his head as if he couldn’t believe what had just gone down between us and then he did something I never expected.
He walked away.
Forcing myself to take a breath and calm down, I trailed after him, joining the huddle.
“Did I wake up in some alternate universe where my wide receiver can’t catch the damn ball and my quarterback is growling at his teammates instead of talking to them with the goddamn respect they deserve?” His eyes drilled into me and Jase as we stood shoulder to shoulder, despite the vast fucking ocean between us.
“Sorry, Coach,” Jase grumbled. “It’s been a rough couple of days.” His eyes slid to mine.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Coach Hasson cupped his ear. “Because it sounded like you grew a pussy overnight, Ford. It’s week five. We’re at the halfway mark, ladies. You think we can afford to drop the ball now, no pun intended, Chase? The play-offs are almost within our reach, but we need to keep our heads. Do you hear me?”
“Yes, Sir,” a few of us mumbled.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you.”
“Yes, Sir.” Our voices melded into one.
“Good, now get out there and play like the team I know you can. Chase, Son, a word.”
Jase’s eyes followed me as I stayed behind while everyone else moved into position. “Do I need to be worried?” Coach didn’t beat around the bush. “You’re fumbling the ball, messing up plays, and I know you were late to conditioning this morning. Something you want to tell me, Son?” His eyes softened as he waited for answers.
Answers I didn’t have.