Chapter Thirty Cash
Chapter Thirty
Cash
Between studying for and taking finals and implementing the new playbook in practice, I’d almost forgotten I’d be walking across the stage at graduation on Friday night.
My parents flew my brother and my grandparents in for the ceremony, where I received my diploma summa cum laude in Kinesiology.
No matter what happened with football in the next few months, I’d taken care of my future career prospects at least.
Even though my family showed up to support me, it was knowing Saylor was somewhere in the gym watching me walk that made me stand taller and enjoy the moment more when the president of MSC handed me my diploma.
Afterward, I stood around and smiled for the cameras while my parents took a crap-ton of pics with everyone in the fam, as well as with my teammates who’d graduated with me.
Somewhere during the impromptu photo shoot, Saylor appeared at the edge of the group, giving me a secret smile that held all kinds of naughty promises for later.
I didn’t even bother to hold back when I grinned back at her.
“That’s the best one yet!” Mom gushed as she checked her phone.
“Nah. The next one will be better.” I beckoned Saylor over to me. “Hey, babe. Are you proud of me? I didn’t trip or anything.”
Laughter rang out of her. “Good thing, Slick. That might have tarnished your rep.”
“Hello, Saylor! You’re joining us for the celebratory dinner, aren’t you?” Mom asked.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” she said, but she was looking up at me.
Somewhere to my left a camera clicked, followed by Grammy Donovan’s distinctive cackling laugh. “Cash was right. The next picture is the best one.”
It was a good thing my parents had booked a private dining room at The Divide, since dinner was a rather raucous affair, with my family either trying to terrify Saylor away from me or initiate her into the family.
I wasn’t entirely sure which. My girl played along like the champ she was until she leaned in once to whisper in my ear.
“Your family is awesome. I have blackmail material for years.”
I groaned and shook my head, but it was all for show, since my thoughts had snagged on “years” and what that meant for us.
The next day we played our archrivals, the Golden Bears, for the second time in three weeks after we’d both made it to the semifinals on the same side of the bracket.
That was the reason for all the new plays Coach had insisted we learn while taking finals.
Every man in the locker room was primed and pumped for a repeat of the biggest game of the year.
The Bears had had to claw their way into the semifinals by playing two games to our one, but the Chanticleers hadn’t made last week’s win easy, which meant we were ready for another battle.
Though we’d kicked their asses 45-7 in the season finale, the Bears arrived to our home turf with a few new wrinkles of their own.
Somewhere in the intervening weeks since we’d last faced each other, they’d discovered a speedy returner—someone Dalton apparently hadn’t studied much on film because he kicked the opening ball right to the guy who lit up our bombers, racing by them like they were standing still.
By the time our guys had reacted, their returner only had Dalton to beat to score on the opening kickoff.
Fortunately for us, Sneed had some speed in him, so he managed to chase the runner out of bounds, but the Bears’ starting series was on our twelve-yard line.
It took them six tries, but they finally scored a touchdown, putting us behind the eight-ball right out of the break.
When it was his turn, our returner wasn’t quite as successful, but he gave us decent field position when we started on our own forty.
I was hoping Coach Wiley would call one of our new plays in our opening series, but instead we shocked them with one of our favorites: a fake to Danny on the crossing route and a long ball to Callahan streaking down the right hash—sixty-yard touchdown.
From there, both defenses stiffened up, and the game remained knotted at 7-7 until the end of the third quarter.
The Bears were on their own forty-five and driving.
Using one of Coach’s new plays, Bax showed blitz, then at the last second backed out, but it was too late for their quarterback, who’d committed to the pass over Bax’s head.
Bax batted the ball out of the air and right into his own hands, then he picked up seven yards before the Bears O-line tackled him at the thirty-eight.
Now it was Coach Wiley’s turn to dial up a play out of the new playbook.
Tarvi lined up in the Wildcat formation behind Dally, with Danny and me lining up wide right and wide left.
Biting on the run, the Bears loaded the box, so we caught them flat-footed when Tarvi tossed the ball to Danny.
Instead of the wild running around in the backfield that we’d done to them in the last game, this time I ran Danny’s usual crossing route.
He threw a perfect spiral, which I caught in stride.
Then I showed the sold-out stadium that Tarvi wasn’t the only one who could turn on the jets.
We ended the third quarter up a score, breaking the Golden Bears’ momentum. In the fourth, Taco and Finn got in on the turnover fun too, and the rout was on. We scored three more touchdowns in that quarter, winning the game 35-7. More importantly, we were headed to the National Championship.
Long after we’d met up with my family for another celebratory dinner, long after we’d celebrated in the big house on Jock Street, and shortly after the first of what I intended to be several private celebrations, Saylor and I lay quietly in her bed.
She was drawing lazy patterns through the hair on my chest, and I was reciprocating over the silky skin covering her ribs.
In the soft darkness in the deep hours of the morning, she whispered, “The pros are going to pick you up. Two touchdown passes—one of them half the length of the field—and a rushing touchdown that showed off your speed in the semifinal game guarantees it.”
My fingers stilled on her body. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, babe. We have one more game to play, followed by a load of preparation for pro days and a shit-ton of D-I players for teams to choose. Nothing is guaranteed.”
Saylor grinned into my chest. “It is if the scouts watched the same game I did.”
“Aw, fuck, babe.” I lifted myself up enough to look into her eyes. “Do you have any idea how much I love you?”
“Maybe,” she drawled in a tease. Then she pushed herself up to look me in the eyes, her expression as serious as I’d ever seen it. For a minute, my breath backed up in my chest. “I truly wasn’t ready for you, Cash Donovan. But you’re kind of relentless.”
I huffed out a laugh. “Only when I want something.”
A smile ghosted her lips. “You kept coming at me and coming at me. No matter how many roadblocks I tried to put up, you just kept coming. When you went against your instincts and stepped back to let me fight my own battles with Barry, that told me you believed in me.” Gazing up at me from beneath her brows, she planted a kiss over my heart.
“When you did that, you touched my heart all the way to the bone.” She climbed up to press her chest to mine, our lips a breath apart.
“I love you, Cash Donovan. No matter what happens, I’m all-in with you. ”