7 - Ethan
Ethan
It was the worst practice session I’d ever had. I was distracted, and my mind was going places it had no business going. And being on the field didn’t help with that problem at all. The cheer squad was on the opposite end, and as always, Elizabeth was breathtaking.
Those strong leg muscles contracted as she ran. Her firm calves released to send her into the perfect jump. Her incredibly short skirt spun through the air along with her tight frame. And her breasts bounced in the most incredible way as she landed in the waiting arms of her team.
I stifled a groan. There were so many things I could do to that gorgeous body of hers.
So many ways I could make her beg for mercy.
And I was sure she could do the same to me.
That mouth, those eyes… The worlds we could experience together.
The thought alone had hardened my erection, and it wasn’t the first time either.
Since we shared that awkward moment when she fell into my arms at the carwash on the weekend, I hadn’t been able to get her out of my mind.
The feel of her skin against mine, of her hot breath caressing my chest. I was a wreck from wanting her, even though I’d been doing a good job of lying to myself about it.
“Did you have a stroke?” Lucas said, waving a hand in front of my face. “Do you plan on asking the cheer squad to lead today’s play?”
“What?” I asked, annoyed by the interruption.
“You’ve overthrown three balls, man. We’re running ten-yard outs, not making dinner plans.”
The rest of the team laughed, making me feel like a total idiot.
This was where my attention should have been.
I was here for the game, not the girls. I couldn’t afford the distractions that came with relationships.
I needed to get that into my head, and stop focusing on things that weren’t football. There was too much on the line.
I took a deep breath and adjusted my chin strap. “Run the route at ten then.”
“I did,” Lucas said.
We stared at each other, my brows raised and his jaw clenched.
“Set!” someone yelled.
A ball hit my hand. I dropped back, and glanced up. The girls were watching us, and Elizabeth was on the front line. Oh, what I would have given to know what was going on in that pretty little head of hers. To know if she was having the same kind of thoughts that had been plaguing me.
The pass sailed two feet high, but Lucas didn’t even jump for it.
“Oh, my God,” I muttered. “Lock it in!”
“I am locked,” Lucas shot back. “You’re the one doing the sightseeing.”
“I’m not doing any sightseeing,” I said through gritted teeth. “My head is where it’s supposed to be. In the game. How about yours? Because all I see you trying to do is pick a fight.”
Tempers were high. Lucas clenched his fists, and his face turned red with rage.
It was a matter of time before things escalated, but maybe that was exactly what I needed.
A good old punch to the skull to get my head back where it needed to be.
Unfortunately, Coach blew the whistle before that could happen.
“Guys! Bring it in! I have an idea,” Harris said, separating Lucas and I.
The team jogged in to find Coach pacing the sideline while looking like he was arguing with himself. For a moment, I really thought he had lost his mind.
“Okay,” Harris said, giving a clap. “We’re installing something special for Friday. I watched this movie, and it gave me the perfect play for us to get a leg up. Their defense over-commits, so we’re going to run a motion-heavy misdirection package.”
I perked up slightly at the sound of actual football terminology that made sense. His idea sounded promising, and I was genuinely interested to hear more.
“Get this. We’re going to run… a give and go,” Harris continued, looking super proud of himself.
The team was completely silent. None of us had any idea of what he was talking about, and my assumption of him having watched an actual football movie shattered.
“Uh… What?” The tight end blinked.
“It’s really simple,” Harris said. “Ethan snaps it, hands it off, and keeps moving. Then he pitches it back, like a fast break. That’s how we’re going to create numbers.”
I opened my mouth to question his line of thought, but got lost in my own questions, so I closed it again. Lucas gave me a look, and all I could picture was him silently asking me if I was actually hearing this madness.
“Dylan takes it right back,” Harris continued, drawing his idea out in the air. “The defense collapses. Then Dylan laterals back to Ethan, who’s trailing. Then we attack the opposite edge. It’s beautiful and fluid.”
“It’s illegal,” someone muttered.
“It’s not illegal,” I whispered. “It’s just… risky.”
Harris clapped. “Risk is where growth happens.”
“Let’s try it and see,” I said, hoping he’d get the point once we failed.
We lined up for the first rep. There was a snap. I handed it off to Dylan, sweeping right. The defense flowed that way immediately, but Dylan hesitated.
“When?” he shouted.
“Now!” Harris responded.
Dylan panicked, and threw the ball backward instead of across. I wasn’t in position yet, so the ball hit empty turf. After that, it was just chaotic. Malik scooped it up and rumbled fifteen yards before anyone touched him. The whistle blew, and we retreated.
“Okay! Okay! That was okay. The only problem we had was timing,” Harris said.
I rubbed my temples hoping it would ease the killer headache that had been spreading since he’d started talking.
We went out for the second rep, and landed the snap then the hand-off. I sprinted behind Dylan this time, staying closer to him than before.
He pitched it back, and the move was cleaner. For half a second, it actually looked like a workable play. But then things took a turn. The defensive end hadn’t over-committed. In fact, he stayed home and met me the instant the ball touched my hands.
With a helmet to the shoulder, I went down hard. The ball shot out of my grip yet again, and groans could be heard all over the field.
Lucas jogged over. “We’re not the Warriors. This isn’t poetry.”
Harris clapped like we missed a shot at the buzzer.
“That’s the look! That’s the look! We just need cleaner spacing,” he said.
“It’s football,” the center said. “There is no spacing.”
I rolled onto my back, and stared up at the bleachers. Elizabeth was the first thing that came into my view, and I realized that the cheerleaders had been watching us the whole time. As if I weren’t embarrassed enough. Of all the things I wanted her to see, our failure was bottom of the list.
“You good?” Lucas asked as he offered me a hand.
“Yeah,” I groaned.
He gave me a concerned look. “You sure?”
I nodded, not knowing what else to say.
Lucas leaned in. “We’re not built for this.”
He looked across the field and turned pale. Harris was already resetting the formation, but I couldn’t take any more of his eccentric calls. I didn’t think anyone could. So I got up, dusted the grass from my palms, and headed over to him.
“Coach, I’m going to call it. We can’t keep going like this. You’re not motivating the guys. You’re making it worse,” I said as I reached him.
“Yeah, I honestly don’t know if I want to be on this team anymore,” Lucas said, running up behind me to add his two cents.
“Do you know how embarrassed we were during the last game?” Dylan muttered. “Obviously none of us are cut out for this. If we were, we’d have some kind of idea about what we’re doing.”
The other players joined the discussion, sharing their embarrassment, discomfort, and doubts. The problem was that they were all talking over each other. Only certain words stood out, and they weren’t the words Coach wanted to hear.
Thing is, they were all telling the truth.
We were a laughingstock at the last match.
Even the players on the Cardinals team felt bad for us.
We’d made fools of ourselves, and allowed them to wipe the floor with us.
A grip was what we needed. Direction. Not an intricate strategy none of us could pull off.
Most of the guys didn’t have much knowledge about football, so they relied on the coach. But he knew even less than they did, and that made matters so much worse. Someone needed to step up and get an idea of what we were doing, otherwise we were going to drown.
“Guys!” Coach shouted, getting everyone’s attention.
“I understand why you’re feeling down. You’re overwhelmed.
We’re just starting out, yet we’re competing against established teams. We don’t have proper uniforms. Hell, we don’t even have a bus to get to our games.
Of course we don’t have fans, and it’s obvious that we’re not going to win right away.
It’s a process. I need you to keep believing in the process. ”
“The process isn’t making us look good, Coach.” Lucas said. “You’re not out there with us. You get to watch from the sidelines. We’re the ones getting insulted and laughed at.”
“Do you think I don’t know how that feels?” Harris asked. “I’ve been where you are, and it taught me a tough lesson. If you quit now, you’ll never get to where you want to be. If you keep fighting, you’ll get there, eventually.”
“Or we’ll get more people making fun of us,” Malik said.
“The secret to getting everyone else to believe in you is for you to start believing in yourself,” Harris said, which turned out to be the last straw for Dylan.
With his helmet in hand, he waved Harris off and walked back to the locker room. Malik shrugged and followed, and Lucas wasn’t far behind.
“Hey, practice isn’t over yet,” Harris called after them, but they didn’t so much as slow down.
“You sound like one of those dumb motivational posters,” Cam said with a shrug before running off too.
“Have I really been that bad?” Harris asked as he watched the entire team walk away.
“You’re not a bad coach. You just don’t know what you’re doing. Maybe you should try watching some real football movies instead?” I said, trying not to sound like a dick. “Maybe footage of actual games too.”
“I think I need more help than that,” he muttered to himself.
With a shrug, I ran off as well. I was happy that we’d stood up for ourselves and left practice early.
But at the same time, I hoped this day would help certain people get on the right track.
Coach couldn’t stay on his basketball path if he wanted to succeed, but he wasn’t the only one who needed to work on improving.
“Hey, Ethan,” Malik called out as I walked into the locker room. “We’ve been talking, and this was a really hard practice for all of us. So we decided to have some fun tonight, and we were wondering if you’d join us for once.”
I gave him the look I usually gave when I was going to refuse but before I could answer, he grabbed my arm and pulled me out into the hallway.
“I know you’re the type who only has one thing in mind—the game—but you gotta give some to get some, man,” he said in earnest. “Believe it or not, these guys look up to you, and they want to hang out with you. So you’ve gotta find a balance.
Give them something every now and then. You don’t have a girl, and none of us are buying the study excuse anymore. ”
“I know, and you’re right,” I said, feeling bad about my past behavior. “I’m just not used to having friends on my team, so it’s hard for me to break out of my bubble. But I’ll make you a deal: if you keep reminding me, I’ll keep agreeing to come.”
“That’s what I like to hear,” Malik said as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder, and led me back to the locker room. “Did you know there’s a bar on campus? But even more than that, the bar has a bunch of pool tables.”
“I didn’t know that. So what does that mean? Since we suck at team sports, we’re going to try our hand at singles games? Will we be taking bets? Because I’ve gotta warn you. I play a mean game of pool.”
Malik laughed so loud it echoed through the tunnel, and for just a moment I could see why Elizabeth liked him so much.
Everyone expected the big play from him, the flash, but he liked to do his most important work in the background.
Just like he had done with me on that day.
Also, he was just a really cool guy overall.
“Guys,” Malik announced as we stepped back into the locker room, “tonight is our night. Ethan has agreed to join us on our little adventure. And just so you know, I’ll be taking bets, because he claims to be the best pool player in the world.”