Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Nico’s first instinct was to run, but he steadied his sights to the left of the field. First, second, and third reads all fell apart—Reyes was double covered, Lox and Sanders weren’t open, and the tight-end was helping keep the defense from shattering the pocket.
And so Nico did what he did best.
He ran for about six yards and slid to his feet just before making contact with the defender. Wasn’t quite enough for a first down, but six yards and a yard short was better than seven yards and a visit to the blue tent.
As Nico gathered the offense into a huddle on third and one, he snuck a peek at his coach patrolling the sidelines with a laminated paper covering his mouth as he talked into a microphone. Nico met his coach’s gaze and the two shared a knowing smirk.
Coach seemed pleased.
The ball was snapped to Nico, and he handed the ball off to Razer, who tore through the center of the defense, broke a tackle, and led a high-speed chase all the way to the endzone.
Razer spiked the ball into the ground and celebrated by throwing himself backwards onto the ledge of the red zone.
There were only a few Cobra fans in the section, but they made sure to embrace him anyway.
Nico ran to the end zone and celebrated with his star running back and fellow rookie, headbutting him helmet-to-helmet, which by the look on Cooper’s face was a huge no-no.
After the team jet landed, after Nico had gone home alone, Cooper knocked on Nico’s door.
Nico opened it with a smile, but Cooper didn’t smile back.
He pushed the rookie inside, closing the door behind him .
And the two of them tore each other’s clothes off until Nico was sitting on the edge of the kitchen island, bare-assed, his legs spread, and Cooper’s mouth full of winning cock. Cooper had a thing for winners and a disdain for losers.
Cooper swore the cum tasted different, like the euphoria of winning made it taste sweeter or something. But the truth was he was just never in the mood for sucking and fucking losers, especially when he was the one losing.
Cooper was never allowed to lose, raised by two parents who centered their entire lives on the art of winning, either in politics or sports. But Jesus Christ, he didn’t want to think about his parents.
Wanted to think about one thing only—the shaking and quaking rookie on the couch.
Cooper loved having Fallon this way. Loved that he was in control of every grunt, every moan. Every time the rookie’s fingers curled into his hair, Cooper understood it was him doing it with his mouth, with his tongue, and with his hand.
“Fuck, Callahan,” Nico moaned. “I’m going to come.”
The words always came out as a warning, as if to beg Cooper to stop sucking lest he end up swallowing a load. Little did Nico know that that was the goal. Those words only made Cooper hungrier.
Cooper pumped out his own load, shooting it onto the hardwood floor as the rookie came in the back of his throat.
six days later - miami
practice field
Cooper held his hands on his hips as he watched the players exit the locker room in their practice gear—red and white outfits with black numbers on the back.
“Fallon,” Cooper called out, stealing the rookie’s attention. “I need you to stay back. Need to run some plays over with you. Bring your tablet.”
Nico rolled out his eyes and let out a noticeable groan. Was it a public display of acting? Or was he really annoyed to spend some quality time with his favorite coach? Nico went over to his bench to grab his tablet, and when he turned around, Cooper stood right in front of him.
“Shower, now,” Cooper demanded.
The rookie’s eyes searched sideways. “I thought we were running plays.”
Cooper leaned in to whisper, “Oh, we are.”
The shower was a private stall, unlike the Cobras practice facility back home in Columbus. It was the driest shower Nico had ever had, mostly because the water wasn’t on.
Nico jerked his coach, while his coach jerked him.
A door slammed somewhere in the locker room.
Nico’s heart jumped.
Cooper grabbed Nico by the legs and hoisted his body into the air, an attempt at hiding his feet? Nico wasn’t sure, but he rather liked the position he found himself in.
Cooper’s eyes remained fixed on the small crack at the edge of the shower stall. Watching. Waiting.
But Nico was bored, and so he reached down between them and smacked his cock against his coach’s stomach.
Cooper turned back to him, fire in his eyes, and gently lowered Nico back to his feet. He shook his head quietly, to which Nico rolled his eyes.
The door to the showers creaked to a close, and Cooper watched in that direction for a moment longer. As soon as he turned back to Nico, each of them took the other’s hardness back into their hands, their eyes unwavering as they brought each other towards quick release.
Nico broke first, letting out a loud gasp that Callahan muzzled with one hand clasped over his mouth. Nico shot his load onto the wall beside them, his legs quaking post release. When Callahan released his hand from his mouth, he made quick work, shoving his tongue into his coach’s ears.
Cooper turned from him and shot his load onto the floor, little dollops of white jizz circling the dry shower drain. When he was spent, he knelt his head against the shower wall, and stood there while Nico circled behind him.
Nico’s still-hard cock rested somewhere between Cooper’s crack, and Nico chuckled softly against his coach’s back.
Cooper raised his head and whispered back to Nico, “Go outside with the others and I’ll clean this mess up.”
one week later - columbus
The Cobras were up by one against the Atlantic City Sharks, and Nico could only watch as the other team’s quarterback led his offense down the field with seventeen seconds on the clock with no timeouts left on either team.
He calculated in his head that the Sharks only needed to get to the 50 yard line to have a realistic shot at winning the game and they were currently at the 60 yard line.
He held his breath as he watched Tywin Maylor throw the ball to his tight-end down the middle, not enough for a first down, but enough time to kick the field goal.
Nico exhaled and the next twelve seconds felt like hours.
Hours of waiting for the inevitable.
His winning streak was about to be over and his coach hated losers.
With bated breath, he watched the kicker for the Sharks kick the ball.
Watched in slow motion as the ball spun through the air.
To the left.
Wide left.
No good.
He jumped from the bench and hugged the nearest person to him; the aging backup quarterback, Jensen Fuller. He searched the sidelines for Cooper, but he was nowhere to be found.
december 2020 - green bay
Cooper waited in the tunnel with one foot kicked behind him, leaning on the wall for support.
He held his phone close enough to his face in case anyone passed by.
Didn’t want anybody seeing what he was texting the rookie while the rookie was in the locker room.
While the rookie was supposed to be prepping for the second half of the game.
Razer was out for the remainder of the game due to a concussion.
The Cobras were down by three at half and needed to readjust to the game script. Less throwing and more running. Something that should’ve been up the rookie’s alley, but Calllahan noticed lately the rookie had become too hesitant to run. It was a problem the exact opposite from when they started.
Cooper
I need you to run your ass off in the second half.
Nico
Interesting…..
Cooper
I’m being serious. Green Bay has caught on that you’re too afraid to run.
Nico
I’m not afraid of shit
Cooper
I have eyes.
Cooper
You’re afraid.
Nico
You’re trying to make me angry.
Nico
It’s working.
Cooper
Do you want to know what it feels like to fuck an ass?
Nico
Jesus christ
Cooper
Win this game and you’ll find out.
Cooper
Tonight, at your place.
Cooper
I’ll even let you hit it raw
Nico
Now im fucking horny
Cooper
Good. We play better when we’re horny.
Nico
White is giving me the side eye
Cooper
No shit. You’re not supposed to be on your phone. Get off of it.
Cooper
And go out there and run your ass off.
Cooper watched the game from the sidelines, spending half of the third quarter with his hand partially covering his mouth. He stood sandwiched between the offensive coordinator, Milo Bates, and Jensen Fuller.
Bates barked orders into his microphone, directing Nico into position for a throwing play, but the rookie looked to Cooper for approval to do something else.
Nico didn’t get it as Cooper shook his head.
The play-callers were in control of the game, but Nico had the prerogative as the quarterback to ultimately make the call.
The right call was to pretend to make a passing play and then run straight up the center with the oversized tight end, Blake Dawson, blocking for him.
Nico shouted orders to the team with secret codes from the playbook. It sounded like nonsense to most, but Cooper understood exactly what was happening. The offense lined up into formation for a pass play, but Nico pointed to Blake Dawson and wagged his finger.
The run was set.
Nico took the ball, took three steps back and went over his read options.
As Cooper predicted, Green Bay did a perfect job locking down receivers.
Nico nodded towards Dawson, and the two of them tore through the center with Dawson blocking.
Nico ran his ass off.
Ran straight into the end zone, scoring a touchdown and taking the lead for the team.
With a little less than two minutes left in the game, the Cobras led Green Bay by five points.
Cooper had played enough games to know that inevitably the impossible would happen.
Nothing in football was guaranteed until the last second on the clock.
On one hand, he prayed Nico could finish the game with an upset.
On the other hand, it had been two years since Cooper had bottomed and he was slightly regretting the bet he made in the heat of the moment.
But Cooper understood bets were sacred.
The center snapped the ball to Nico.
Nico shifted backwards, looked to his right, looked to his left.
Cooper saw it coming before the rookie did.
The defensive end for Green Bay tore through the pocket, sacking Nico.
The rookie didn’t stand up fast enough.
Instead, he rolled on the ground and punched his fist into the turf.
The medical team took to the field, running to meet the injured rookie.
Cooper had seen enough injuries and had enough of his own. His heart sank, realizing the most likely scenario playing out before him was a torn ACL. By the time Nico was carted off the field, Cooper knew this to be true.
The cart stopped at the end of the tunnel, allowing a brief moment for Cooper to catch up to Nico.
Nico was roughed up with grass and dirt stains all over his white jersey. He had bumps, scrapes and bruises from the notorious defense of Green Bay, and his face was stained with tears. Cooper wished to wipe the tears away, but it’d be too suspect.
Sometimes, he fucking hated that he devoted his life to a sport that’d never let him out of that cage of masculinity.
Cooper placed a hand on Nico’s shoulder. “You’re going to be okay.”
““I’m sorry for letting you down, Coach,” he said, grimacing in pain.
Once Nico got to the locker room, he’d be administered pain medications.
“This wasn’t your fault.” Cooper gripped Nico’s shoulder.
It wasn’t. Accidents happened in football.
The players were commodities and the pain and suffering of injuries was baked into the exorbitant salaries.
Still, he hated seeing Nico like this because he had enough experience to know the rookie’s season was officially over.
The earliest he could come back would be a week or two prior to the Super Bowl, assuming the team even had a shot at that point.
Jensen Fuller had made it there once and won, almost a decade prior. He wasn’t in condition to win the necessary next three games to have a shot at the wild card. They were hard matchups.
The medical staff drove Nico away on the cart, leaving Cooper in the tunnel.
He returned to the game just as Jensen Fuller took to the field, suited up and ready to finish the two minute drill.
later that night - columbus
It was a somber night at Cooper’s house.
Coach White had called to make it official; Nico Fallon was out for the season with a torn ACL. All the work he had put into helping the rookie adjust to the playing style of professional football seemed for naught.
Cooper lay in bed beside Stassi.
Sometimes, they shared a bed.
Sometimes, they slept in different rooms.
Most times, they were in cities on opposite ends of the country.
She slept well that night, resting her head over her hand, completely unaware of the battle in Cooper’s mind. Sure, she had an indication but it wasn’t something either of them wanted to discuss.
Cooper’s phone lit up with a text from Nico.
Nico
tey gayve me ah goOd sht
Cooper read between the lines and laughed quietly to himself.
Cooper
You shouldn’t be awake. You should be resting.
Nico
SHUld b n yur boody
Cooper started typing: Nah, we lost…
But he deleted the text and wrote a new one.
Cooper
Maybe next time.
Nico
boringggg
Cooper placed his phone face down on the nightstand and curled up next to Stassi, facing her.
He knew he’d wake up the next morning to a barrage of texts from Coach White and Tommy.
He’d been around enough to know that players were replaceable and the Cobras weren’t going to wait around on their asses when they still had a shot at making the playoffs.
In the morning, he’d have to make a decision.
Was he ready to return?
Not to coach, but to play.