Chapter 14 Isaac
FOURTEEN
ISAAC
Preseason is over and our first game is starting in a little over an hour. The locker room is buzzing with excitement, reporters and photographers have been in and out all morning, interviewing players and taking photos.
I’m suited up and ready to head to the field for warmups.
Nerves ate away at me last night and all morning.
That always happens before the first regular season game and again if we make the playoffs.
It’s been part of my routine since I was a kid, so I guess it’s my body’s way of preparing me for the game in some weird fashion.
Once I got to the stadium and into my uniform, I felt the anxiety start to melt away.
Running out onto the field changes everything.
As soon as my cleats hit the turf, I feel relaxed and confident.
I glance up toward the employee box, knowing I can’t see anything from here and knowing Evan is working and won’t be watching me play today.
I can’t get enough of that man. He’s becoming an important part of my daily life and I can’t imagine not being with him.
I also can’t understand how he embedded himself into my life so easily.
It feels like we’ve known each other for years even though it’s only been two weeks since our first date.
We see each other almost every night and I’m already dreading the away game next week.
It’s going to be hard to be away from him for two nights.
If we have a day game, we fly back after, but since next week is a night game, we’ll leave Miami Saturday evening and return Monday morning.
Then I have to wait until Evan gets off work to see him.
As I find my spot near the ten-yard line and begin to stretch, I shake away thoughts of Evan. It’s time to focus on today’s game instead of worrying about what will happen next week.
The Jaguars start warming up on the other end of the field as I finish my stretches and run from one end of the end zone to the other several times.
This should be an easy win, but I’m trying not to let my confidence go to my head.
Getting cocky before the game even starts is a recipe for disaster.
I’ve seen great teams lose to the worst team in the league.
Confidence is good, but cockiness can be detrimental.
When our warmup time is over, Tyson jogs beside me back to the locker room for a final word of encouragement from our head coach.
He doesn’t say anything to me, simply jogs beside me.
Tyson is in his own head by now, going over plays and giving himself a private pep talk.
This is his routine for every game. He’ll joke around and have fun at practice, but on game day, he is quiet and stoic.
He rarely speaks to anyone in the hour before the game starts.
We respect his need for calm and quiet before the games and give him the space he needs.
On the contrary, I’m usually joking around with some of the other guys on the team, cutting up, giving interviews, and encouraging anyone who’s struggling.
Today is different. I’m wrapped up in thoughts of Evan and can’t seem to focus on the conversations around me or the speech coach is finishing.
I have no idea what he said in the last five minutes. Hope it wasn’t anything important.
Running back onto the field this time is completely different. The stands are full now, and the cheers erupting around the stadium are deafening. Blocking out the noise, I walk onto the field with Tyson and Mark Sharkey. We’re the captains today and will be representing the team for the coin toss.
We win the toss and choose to kick, giving the Jaguars the ball first. It’s a smart plan that will allow us to have the ball first in the second half.
I find a place on the sidelines to watch the beginning of the game.
Carter walks up next to me. With Tyson at quarterback, Carter won’t get much play time unless we have a huge lead or Tyson gets hurt.
Carter’s good, but not many quarterbacks in the league are as good as Tyson.
“You ready?” he asks.
“More than you know.”
I only played in two preseason games for about a quarter of each game.
Coach didn’t want to chance the seasoned players getting hurt before game one, so we saw very little game time.
It gave Carter the chance to play while Tyson sat on the bench and he proved his worth, helping us win three of the four preseason games.
I’m impressed with him and feel confident in his ability if we lose Tyson for any reason.
Three minutes later our defense forces a punt and it’s time for me to take the field.
That was easy. Let’s see if our offense can score in the next three minutes.
I take my position on the O line. The ball is snapped and as Tyson steps back, I push a couple of Jaguars defensive lineman out of the way and run several yards down the field.
Tyson sees me open and sails the ball through the air into my waiting arms. No one is near me as I take off running toward the end zone.
Keeping my eye on the goalpost, I block out everything around me, passing the forty-yard line.
Thirty. Twenty. Ten. Touchdown! Mark is the first teammate to reach me.
“Fuck, yeah!” he yells with a high five. Others congratulate me as I jog back to the sidelines.
Tyson meets me there, slaps my ass, and says, “That’s the way to do it, boy. We’ve got a rhythm!”
He says it as if we haven’t had a rhythm for the past six years.
Tyson and I click and have one of the strongest quarterback/receiver relationships in the league.
It’s like we’re one mind on the field. He can sense where I’m going to be and always finds me even when I’m not completely open.
We can read each other well enough for him to know when he should throw it to me and when he needs to find someone else.
By the middle of the second quarter, we’re up 17-0. The offense is on the field again, hoping to increase our lead to 24 before the half.
The Jaguars’ defense has stepped up their game this quarter and after the snap, I find myself in a shit-ton of Jaguar traffic. Tyson is backing away from two of their players. He bounces left then right before being sacked. Shit.
We line up, second and eighteen. The ball is snapped, and I find myself in the same position as the last play.
Tyson is faring better and finds an open receiver.
Mason misses the catch to bring up third and eighteen.
Not a good place to be. We need a first down.
This time, I fake left then rush right and get around the mass of bodies trying to block me.
Tyson throws the ball, and it lands in my hands.
I’m tackled a few yards later, but it’s enough for a first down.
We still have a ways to go to get to the end zone, but we’re in a much better position and we have four more downs.
Tyson gets sacked on the next two plays then Coach calls a timeout. He pulls a very frustrated Tyson from the game and puts Carter in.
“Bring it home, Masters,” Coach calls as we jog back onto the field.
“You’ve got this,” I encourage as I pass Carter to take my position.
The Jaguars are lined up evenly along the line, probably hoping to block as many of us as possible since we’ve faked them out a few times.
It might not matter. Our guys are frustrated with the lack of progression with this latest drive.
Carter catches the ball when it’s snapped, takes three steps back, and gets sacked hard.
He doesn’t get up. Damn. Fourth and fifteen, five seconds in the half, and an injured quarterback.
Not the way we wanted to end the second quarter.
I jog over to Carter before the medical staff gets there.
His eyes are open, but he looks a little dazed.
“You okay?” I ask as he pushes himself into a sitting position.
“I think so. A little dizzy.”
That’s not good. I step aside while the medical staff takes over and checks him out. He walks off the field on his own, but it’s pretty obvious he has a concussion. We punt the ball and the Jaguars run it out to the thirty-yard line before the clock hits zero.
The second half was a little more difficult than we thought it would be.
The Jags definitely came to win. They scored three times in the third quarter.
By the middle of the fourth, we were tied at 27.
A little luck in the last few minutes of the game put us up by a touchdown and we won the game.
The other team didn’t make it easy. By the time I shower, check on Carter, and make it to my car, I’m exhausted.
It’s almost nine and the only thing I want to do is crawl in bed.
I drive to Evan’s apartment and knock on the door, hoping he’s already home.
I’m not sure how long he has to stay after the game to make sure everything is done for the night.
There’s no answer, so I walk back to my car to call him, but he’s pulling into the lot when I get downstairs.
“Hey, I didn’t think you were coming by tonight,” he says, climbing out of the car, locking it behind him.
“I thought about going straight home, but I wanted to see you.” I follow him up the three flights of stairs and into his apartment.
“I’m glad you’re here.” Evan pulls me close to him and kisses me quickly. “Congratulations on the win.” He steps out of my arms and walks to the kitchen, taking two bottles of water from the refrigerator and handing one to me.
“Thanks.”
“Are you hungry?” he asks.
“No. I stopped at a drive thru after the game and ate on the drive here.
“Well, I’m starving. I haven’t eaten since breakfast.” Evan pulls out bread, meat, cheese, and mayonnaise and starts making a sandwich. “How’s Carter? I heard he got hit hard. I texted Hope, but she hasn’t responded.”
“He has a concussion. No loss of consciousness, so that’s good. He’ll be okay in a couple of weeks.”
“I’m glad he’s going to be okay. I can’t imagine how scary that must be for his family and teammates to watch.”
“Yeah, it’s the one part of the job I hate. I don’t like to see anyone get hurt, whether they’re on my team or the other.”
Evan finishes his sandwich and cleans up the kitchen. Then he takes my hand, “Will you stay with me tonight? I have to get up early for work, but you can stay and sleep in if you want.”
“I was hoping you’d ask me to stay,” I say with a wink, taking his hand. “I’ll take you up on the offer to sleep in. I have a team meeting at ten and then I’ll work out for a few hours, but I have no desire to get up at six with you.”
Evan smiles as he pulls me into the bedroom then we get undressed. He snuggles up against me and I relax into him. Home is the last thought I have as I doze off for the night.