Chapter 31
MATEO
“We may be down by four points, but there’s still plenty of time on the clock,” Coach said from within the huddle after calling a timeout. He was practically shouting to be heard over the screaming of fans in the stadium.
Held out in front of him was the playbook for all of us to see. One by one, he pointed to each player on the offense, telling them what to do for the next play. Jake and Perry stood on either side of me, breathing heavily but listening intently.
When Coach turned to me, I already knew what he was going to say. “Hook and ladder?” I asked.
“Hook and ladder.” He nodded in agreement. “Listen and execute.”
Which basically meant go out there and run the damn play. Not one to argue with Coach, I nodded.
“Ready!” Through my helmet, I looked at every player in the huddle, earning a grunt from them. We broke from the huddle on the sidelines. Coach slapped my shoulder pads as I followed my team out onto the field.
We were in the fourth quarter, two minutes left on the clock, plenty of time to make something happen. I took my spot behind my center, shaking my hands out. We had only four tries to get a touchdown and take the lead.
Down here on the field, the screaming of fans felt almost deafening. It echoed all around us, making it hard to communicate at times, which was obviously a design flaw of football stadiums.
With Jake and Perry on opposite sides of me, my offensive line was in front ready to protect me from the other team. I squatted down, hands out to receive the ball. Sweat dripped down my back, my hair sticking to my forehead under my helmet. A ball of anticipation lodged in my throat.
The feeling I got when I was on the field, seconds away from getting the ball, was one I couldn’t describe. Not even after all these years playing. It was a mix of anxiety, anticipation, excitement, and adrenaline all wrapped into one. It lit my blood on fire.
If no one ever played a sport they loved, they didn’t understand this feeling. But those that had, they did. That feeling was addictive. Addictive enough to keep coming out onto the field and play like it was the last game of the season.
Channeling all those emotions, I took a steady breath before yelling, “Hike!” The ball landed perfectly in my hands. Balancing on the balls of my feet, I darted back, taking in the field before me.
The opposing defense slammed against my offensive line, but not a single player got through. The Titans were the number one team for a reason. My eyes darted around, trying to find Perry.
There. In just a matter of seconds, he was already down the field, fending off an opposing player. Out of my peripheral, a hulking body barreled toward me, giving me no choice but to run and tuck the ball under my arm.
Not wanting to get tackled, I ran out of bounds into the opposing sideline a few feet before the first down. Ignoring the players around me, I tossed the ball back to the ref, jogging back to the field as the clock ticked down.
The team got back into position, not missing a beat and knowing we had very little time left. The defensive struggled to line up as I stomped my foot on the ground, the ball landing in my hands within seconds.
The sound of grunts filled the air as players slammed into each other. It only took me half a second to spot the small opening in the line and another to dart through it. As I ran forward, I kept my eyes open for Perry or Jake, ready to throw if needed.
I ran ten yards before I felt a presence behind me. Once again to avoid getting hit, I stepped out of bounds, stopping the play.
Above the scoreboard, the timer ticked down to fifty seconds. Now it truly was make or break. And to hell I was going to let us lose.
“POSITION!” I yelled, running to the line, signaling for my teammates. My offensive line barely had time to squat down. Jake and Perry all but ran to their spots before I was yelling hike.
It was a flurry of motion as both sides scrambled to hold each other off. I jogged back on my toes, arm cocked back, eyes down the field at Perry as he ran, arms pumping at his sides with his head turned over his shoulder to keep his own eyes on me.
Thanks to the scrambling of the other team, Perry was wide open—a huge mistake. I brought my arm back and threw the ball all the way down field. It soared in a perfect spiral and right into Perry’s waiting hand.
He didn’t even pause as he continued running, no one else in sight and crossing into the end zone. I let out a whop, yanking my helmet off as a few players met Perry to do a celebration dance.
With not enough time for the other team to even try and do anything, the clock ran down as both teams stepped onto the field to congratulate each other. Cameras were shoved in my face, snapping away, zero regard for any personal space.
Now that the same was over, I had something else important I needed to do.
Hands clapped my back as I tried to get through the mass of people. I needed to find Coach and then get to the locker room as quickly as I could. I offered praise to the other team's quarterback, ignoring the cameras and reporters trying to get my attention.
“Excuse me. Sorry,” I called out as I weaved through players and reporters until I caught sight of Coach. I pushed a bit more forcefully until I reached him.
“Emmie,” was all I needed to say.
“Go. I’ll take care of reporters here.” Coach patted my shoulder as I gave him a thankful nod. Things were a bit awkward between us since he found out about Emmie and me three weeks ago, but he knew where I was needed right then.
Didn’t have to tell me twice. I whipped around, nearly catching a camera to the face, and shoved through the crowd. I smacked Perry’s shoulder in passing, not even slowing before I broke free.
With my helmet in hand, I took off toward the guest locker room. I felt the stares, heard the fans calling my name, but none of it mattered. Running off the field immediately after a game was bound to be talked about, but I didn’t give a damn.
I burst through the tunnel, cleats clicking on the concrete. Workers whipped their heads to stare as I jogged past. I paid them no heed as I stumbled through the locker room doors, going straight to the cubby I claimed earlier.
I placed my helmet on the bench and reached for my phone, my breath still uneven. Sweat slid down my neck, my fingers twitching with leftover adrenaline as I tapped the link I’d queued up before the game.
As the live video took a second to come up, I plopped down on the fold out chair, bracing my forearms on my padded thighs while I held the phone out. Please tell me I didn’t miss Emmie skating.
The feed finally came up, showing Keira’s face as her score appeared. I let out a sigh of relief at the sight. I was right on time. My heart spluttered in my chest at the sight of her. Even through the phone, she took my breath away.
I snatched a water bottle from my cubby, downing half of it before Emmie skated onto the ice. My grip tightened on the bottle, the plastic crinkling under my fingers as she settled into position, ready to start her routine.
My eyes were glued to the screen as the music started.
“Mateo, you looked locked in tonight. What was your mindset coming into this game?” a reporter asked, his recorder held out to get my answer, along with the other reporters in the room for the post-game interview.
I leaned toward the microphone in front of me. “We came into this game knowing it would be a hard one. Both offenses are strong and have played well so far this season, so we knew defense needed to put the pressure on, and I think we did a good job of that today.”
Beside me, Coach nodded his head in agreement. These post-game interviews were always time consuming and a bit repetitive having to replay the game over. Thankfully, we won or else this interview would be even more annoying.
“Coach, do you feel the team is strong enough to make it back to The Legacy Championship this year?” another reporter asked.
“I do. We have been playing well and the team is in sync both on and off the field,” he answered.
As soon as Coach responded, another pipped up. “What impressed you the most about the team's execution in that final quarter? Things got close in the last two minutes.”
“Our team is great at adapting and listening to each other.”
While Coach continued answering questions, I glanced down at my phone on the table. It was on silent but notifications kept popping up. It was a mix of sports news headlines about the team, texts from my family, and one from Emmie.
I swiped them all away to answer later and stared at my screensaver. It was a picture of Emmie and me kissing in front of Niagara Falls from two weeks ago. I set it as my background the second I got home so I could stare at it anytime I wanted. Like now, in the middle of post-game interviews.
“Mateo.” The sound of my name made my gaze jerk up to land on the man directing a question at me. “You left the field pretty quickly after the final whistle. You skipped most of the on-field celebrations. Was there somewhere you needed to be?”
I knew that would be brought up here. The team's quarterback leaving the field immediately after winning the game was something that didn’t go unnoticed.
“There was,” I answered.
“There’s been a lot of buzz about your personal life lately,” the same guy continued. “Has that affected your focus on the field at all?”
The way he phrased it made my eyes narrow. “It hasn’t affected my focus at all. In fact, I feel more motivated than ever.”
The man opened his mouth to ask another question, but a different reporter interrupted him. I had a feeling now that someone asked the question about my personal life, others would take the chance to chime in as well.
“Coach, how do you feel about your star player dating your daughter?”
Yep. There it was.