The Game Plan (Gridiron Warriors: Knoxville Kings #12)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Silence fell over Reedy River Stadium as the Greenville Generals Special Teams made their way onto the field, preparing to kick a field goal.

Reese Vaughn stood on the Knoxville Kings sideline, holding the neck of his jersey. His heart raced as he watched the players get into formation.

The Kings were down by three, and though the defense had done the best they could, the Greenville Generals were good; the Kings exhausted by their unimpeachable offensive line.

He turned to look at the bench, the Kings quarterback, Eli, seated with his hands clasped in front of him.

Reese glanced at the field, then turned and headed for Eli.

“Hey,” he said, dropping onto the bench. He nudged him with his elbow. “We did the best we could this season. Wasn’t the easiest, but we made it to the playoffs.”

Eli cracked a smile. “I know, but damn, we had a great team this year. I wanted to take us all the way.”

“There’s always next year,” Reese said.

Eli shook his head, the smile disappearing as they watched the holder call for the snap, the Greenville kicker’s effort sending the ball into the air.

The Kings bench exploded with cheers as the ball was tipped by a Kings tackle, landing firmly in the hands of their safety, Andre Green, who took off around the stunned Greenville players.

The field erupted with activity as the Greenville offense took off after Andre, trying to catch him as he ran down the field.

Andre ran the ball into the endzone, tossing it in the air as horns played through the stadium to announce the touchdown.

The entire Kings sideline flooded the field, Reese and Eli making their way through the throng to clap Andre on the back.

“Fuck yeah!” Reese cried, dragging Eli into a hug.

“Can you believe it?” Reese and Eli turned to look at the voice.

Preston Brookes, their kicker, stood there with his hands on his head in disbelief.

“No way,” Reese replied. “If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it.”

The referees came and ushered all the players off the field for the extra point attempt, and Reese watched Preston tug his helmet on and trotted onto the field.

Reese glanced at the clock.

Three seconds. Come on, Brookes.

The holder called for the snap, and Preston kicked it hard, sailing it through the uprights with ease.

The bench flooded the field again, the announcers proclaiming the Kings the winners.

Reese made his way through the group of players, saying hi to everyone he could. He watched Eli shake hands with the Greenville starting quarterback, the two of them speaking for a moment before moving on.

Elliot, one of the social media assistants, came up to him and asked him to record a quick video, so he did. “Thank you to the fans who kept us going to the last play! We couldn’t do this without you!”

She played it back one time and gave him the thumbs up, releasing him to go to the locker room with the rest of the team for showers and the press time.

He caught up with Preston as they walked back to the locker room and clapped him on the shoulder.

“Great kick, man,” he said, tossing a towel over his shoulder.

“Thanks, Reese. I was worried I wouldn’t make it when it started to angle a little, but it got there in the end,” he replied.

Reese tapped his gold helmet against Preston’s. “You had it. None of us were worried.”

He caught a glimpse of another member of the offensive line from the corner of his eye. “Isn’t that right, Donovan?”

Spenser Donovan, the Kings starting tight end, looked over at them. “Isn’t what right?”

“None of us were worried about Preston’s kick,” Reese replied.

Spenser shook his head. “Nah. Brookes has this kickin’ thing down.”

Preston shook his head and laughed.

“Hey, everyone,” Carter Davis, one of the Kings wide receivers, said as he joined their group. “Everyone is still down to come to the party on Tuesday, right?”

Oh shit, I forgot about that.

“Of course,” Spenser said. “Wouldn’t want to piss off the coach.”

Carter had married the coach’s daughter Amelia less than a month ago. As a wedding gift, Magnus had insisted on paying for the down payment for their new home and made his only stipulation that Carter and Amelia throw a housewarming party so the team could celebrate with them.

Like the wedding wasn’t insane enough.

The whole team was at the wedding, and they partied hard that night. Reese barely remembered the next day or two afterwards.

“I’ll be there, for sure,” Reese replied, taking a swig of water from the bottle in his hands.

“Great,” Carter said, dabbing his face with a towel, sweat dripping down. “Don’t forget about weights that morning, too.”

“How can I forget when you always remind me?” Reese quipped, the group laughing as they followed Reese into the locker room.

Their coach, Magnus Fisher, stood in the middle of the room, waiting for everyone to file in.

Once everyone was in, Magnus said, “Hell of a job out there today, guys.”

Cheers filled the locker room, along with some yells and other sounds of celebration.

“All right, settle down,” he said, holding up a hand.

“This one was tough, but we pulled it together to get the win.” He looked around the room, taking in the entire team.

“Next week is a big one. Goin’ to need everyone’s head in the game so we can take down the Fortune and win the division. One game at a time. Who’s ready?”

The locker room exploded with cheers and yells, the energy in the room sending an adrenaline rush through Reese.

“Knoxville Kings on three!” Magnus shouted, putting his hand out. The entire room condensed on the coach, putting their hands out.

“One, two, three!”

“Knoxville Kings!”

Six a.m. on Tuesday morning, Reese walked into the weight room at Neyland Stadium. Even on their day off, a majority of the players were already there to work out.

“Mornin’, Vaughn.”

Reese turned to the voice.

“DJ,” he said, shaking his hand.

DJ Reed, the quarterback for the Tennessee Volunteers, stood in front of him. The teams often worked out together before the college teams left for class, the professionals doing their best to mentor the young players.

“Working out early on your day off?” DJ asked, going back to the bench press.

“Yeah, can’t slack this close to the big game. Have one left to win before we get there.”

He dropped his water jug and towel down next to the bench and moved behind the bar.

“How much you benching nowadays?” he asked.

DJ laughed and lay down on the bench. “I’ve been working toward 225. Getting closer, but so far still hitting 210.”

Reese clapped him on the shoulder before he grabbed the bar. “You’ll get there. Take your time and work your way up. Can’t have you getting hurt.”

DJ laughed and grabbed the bar firmly in his hands.

Reese wrapped his hands around it and lifted it, DJ lowering the bar to start his reps.

Once he was finished, Reese helped him set the bar back onto the rack.

A couple more Vols players walked into the locker room, and DJ said goodbye to Reese, heading over to chat with his teammates.

Carter walked into the weight room and looked around, waving at Reese when he saw him.

“Davis,” Reese said, giving him a clap handshake. “Good morning.”

Carter gave him a look and yawned. “Stayed up too late last night.”

“You knew we were working out today,” Reese said. “You even reminded me.”

“I know, but Amy wanted to watch a few episodes of our show, and that turned into binging almost an entire season before I told her I had to go to bed.” Carter rubbed a hand over his face. “Thank God she has a football dad, so she understands.”

“That’s what you get for marrying a professional football player,” Reese said. “It’s all fun and games until you have to go to bed early like an old man.”

Carter rolled his eyes. “I’ve seen you stagger in here a few times after a late night out.”

“Sometimes the ladies are too good to resist,” Reese replied, rewarded with another Carter eyeroll.

“I’m glad those days are over,” Carter replied. “I actually like being married. It’s fun.”

Reese made a face. “Marriage is fun? I’ll have to take your word for it.”

Carter laughed. “It is, I promise. The best part is that Amy is there when I get home, and the first thing she does is hug me. It’s nice.”

He had a kind of dreamy smile on his face as he talked about her, looking down at the silicon wedding ring on his left hand.

“Damn, dude,” Reese said, “I didn’t know you were that much in love.” He tapped Carter on his arm. “I’m happy for you, truly.”

And he was.

Marriage wasn’t for him, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be happy for other people who chose that life.

“Thanks, man,” Carter replied. “Ready to start?”

Reese nodded, and they headed over to the mats to start their warmup.