Chapter 28
Kai
Ialways got fired up on game days, whether it was rugby or football, and even more so in the playoffs. The air tasted like sweat, beer, and adrenaline. Kids waved foam fingers, and there were handmade banners painted on bedsheets and hung behind the student section.
We were halfway through warmups when Tāne elbowed me in the ribs.
“Oi, mate,” he stage-whispered. “Uh … don’t freak out, but … look at the third row, right side of the tunnel.”
“Why would I—”
My eyes scanned the stands and I froze.
There she was.
Tori.
Standing on the bleachers like she’d been carved straight out of my fantasies and dropped into real life. Wearing black leggings, her hair in one thick braid.
Her jacket was unzipped and I had a clear shot at the front of her shirt. Stitched in maroon across the chest of her white shirt was WHITAKER and below it the number six. My number.
My heart exploded in my chest and I shook my head in disbelief, a smile stretching my lips. Reece followed my line of vision. “Holy — Sunshine, you bagged that mean chick? You actually did it?”
“It’s not—” I swallowed. “She’s not mean, mate.”
“Sure,” Reece deadpanned. “Looks like she’s ride-or-die feral, though. You’re done for.”
Tāne grinned wickedly. “She spelled our name right, at least.”
My knees were already going soft, and the game hadn’t even started yet! Tori must have sensed me staring because she glanced down. As our gazes locked, her whole face lit up, as if I had done something heroic simply by existing.
My chest squeezed so hard I almost dropped my helmet and I had to take a couple of deep, calming breaths to regain my composure.
At that moment, the pressure of the night intensified, turning into something feeling like a promise.
I’m going to make her proud.
The whistle blew and everything narrowed down. Noises blurred, colors sharpened, and my heartbeat synced with the thudding rhythm of boots on turf.
The first defensive series began with their offense lining up in a tight ace formation. It looked like a standard run, the kind of thing a rookie would overcommit to.
But rugby habits never fully died in my blood. The way the guard set his feet told me he wasn’t pulling. He had too much weight on his heels, and I saw their quarterback’s eyes skim the far sideline.
Fake outside. Inside hit.
The ball was snapped and the runners scattered.
The crowd roared as I launched myself without thinking.
Angling my shoulder downwards, I pumped my legs, closing the gap before the block had even formed.
The brutal impact of the collision cracked through my pads as I tackled the runner and drove him back three steps.
He hit the turf with a grunt and the stadium exploded.
Reece leapt on my back. “Sunshine! That’s what I’m talking about, bro!”
“I knew you had it in you!” Tāne yelled.
I looked instinctively toward the stands, finding her colorful hair amidst the crowd. The bright red streaks in her hair glowed under the stadium lights, while her hands were cupped around her mouth as she cheered for me.
My lungs forgot how to work, and I felt as though I were hurtling down a rollercoaster. Best bloody ride of my life.
I had difficulty holding back the crazy laugh threatening to bubble up, because this tiny, handmade shirt meant more to me than any stat line ever could.
Tori was here.
She came for me.
Coach tapped my helmet. “Seam route. Hey, listen, listen. You got this. Let’s fucking go and show them how it’s done!”
We lined up and Reece mouthed, ‘Don’t embarrass yourself in front of your girl’.
I flipped him off and a blink later, the ball was snapped. Pushing off the line, I fought my way through the linebacker’s hands with an inside step and then burst vertical.
The safety bit on Reece, just as we’d hoped, and suddenly the field ahead of me was wide open. The quarterback released the ball, sending it high in a beautiful spiral. All I could hear was Tori yelling in my head: ‘Use your height, idiot! It’s literally the one thing you can’t mess up!’
Launching myself into the air with my arms outstretched, I went airborne. Everything lined up, and I caught it cleanly, the leather hitting my gloves with a satisfying smack.
My feet hit the turf, and the world crashed in as two defenders collided with me, trying to drag me backward.
But my legs kept driving.
One step.
Two.
Three.
The crowd got louder with every push, fueling my movements. It almost felt like I could single out Tori’s screams even though I knew logically it was impossible. I didn’t go down until five yards later, when the weight finally brought me down.
The stadium roared like I’d set myself on fire for their entertainment and when I jumped to my feet again, adrenaline pounding through my veins, Reece shook me like a ragdoll.
“Who are you and what have you done with my Sunshine?!”
I cracked my helmet against his, but my gaze was inevitably drawn to the stands. Tori was clapping and screaming, with the most gorgeous smile on her face. When our eyes met, even if only for a moment, my heart swelled almost painfully.
It was as though her presence had finally put the final piece in place and I started playing like never before.
By the fourth quarter, the game was down to a single possession. The score was far too close for comfort, so Coach threw me in on a crucial third down — we needed a block to spring the run.
My knuckles brushed the turf as I crouched down. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears like a war drum as I tugged on the strap of my helmet, trying to ease its uncomfortable restrictiveness.
The ball was snapped and their defensive end lunged like he’d been shot out of a cannon. I met him head-on, driving my shoulder under his chest and digging my boots in deep.
Every muscle in my body screamed and I grunted with the effort, but somehow he buckled. I shoved him back two steps — just enough to allow our running back to cut behind me, break free, and haul ass down the open field to the end zone.
Touchdown!
The stadium went feral, but I didn’t celebrate. Once again, I found myself turning towards the stands, drawn like a magnet to Tori, scanning the sea of faces until I found her.
She was laughing with an unusually wild and bright expression on her face; her cheeks were rosy from the cold winter air. I decided then and there I needed to see her laughing like this every single day for the rest of my fucking life.
In the end, we won the game by ten points. A bunch of the guys were slapping my helmet and back and yelling my name, like I’d finally become part of their story.
The second Coach released us, I went to find my girl. She was waiting by the section near the tunnel, clinging to the banister, and my number and name were still clearly visible on her shirt.
When I stopped right below her, she wrinkled her nose but the smile never left her lips. “You know, I’m kinda digging the whole sweaty and dirty look on you. Doesn’t look half bad.”
“Thanks,” I breathed. “You, uh … came.”
The flush on her cheeks deepened. “Don’t read too much into it.”
“Too late.”
My voice dipped. “And the jersey?”
She looked down and tugged at the hem of the shirt in question. “I rushed it, okay? I just wanted to show up for you.”
My throat constricted and I cleared it, consumed with love for this girl who had fought so hard to shut me out, only to end up pulling me in deeper every single day.
The sweat on my skin was cooling rapidly and my breath puffed out in little clouds, but I felt warm all over. “You wearing my name is probably the best bloody thing I’ve ever seen. Well, second best. Next time, I’m putting you in an actual jersey, though.”
She sucked in a sharp breath, her mouth opening and closing, then opening again but no sound escaped her lips.
“You going to wait for me?” I sounded pleading and needy, but I didn’t give a fuck.
Her knuckles around the banister whitened. “If you want me to.”
“I do.”
Tori gave a slow nod, the corner of her mouth ticking up. “Better hurry then, so you can take me home, Pretty Boy.”
I could feel the primal need Tori had seemed to evoke in me, thrumming just below the surface. Still riding the post-game high, I considered our options for tonight.
Gran and Tāne would both be in our respective homes, which wouldn't necessarily hinder a normal night, but it wouldn't do for what I had in mind. For what I craved.
When I stepped out of the locker room wearing my joggers and hoodie and with my hair still damp from the shower, I instantly spotted my girl.
Tori stood with her ankles crossed, arms folded, pretending to read one of the laminated evacuation maps taped to the cinderblock wall. The fluorescent hallway lights cast a golden glow over her cheekbones and caught in her braid. For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
And suddenly … an idea popped into my head. A mad idea, perhaps, but as I cast a furtive look around, I found the area almost empty.
The muffled rumble of fans could still be heard distantly above us — celebration, chatter and feet on concrete — but down here in the underbelly of the stadium, it was quiet. Barely any players left. No staff in sight.
Perfect.
Tori’s eyes flicked up when I stepped out, trailing over me. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
“Good game,” she praised softly.
Those two little words shouldn’t have sent a rush of excitement through me.
But I’d just spent three and a half hours crashing into grown men at full speed, chasing the high of being useful and wanted on the field. Now, every instinct I had shifted and locked straight onto her.
The way I wanted — needed — her was dangerous and delicious in equal measure.
This girl was mine. I felt it down to my fucking bones — we were meant to be.
I took a slow step toward her, and she … stepped back. Just one small step, a teasing movement paired with a grin taking on a wicked edge.
My pulse went into overdrive, like it had never settled down after the game.
Could she read my fucking mind?