Page 35 of How to Prevent a Fumble
Zone blitzes are one of my favorite plays, and it helps that I’m good at them. The rush I feel coming around to tackle the quarterback is otherworldly, the screams of the crowd like a drug.
I’m not a small guy. At 240 pounds, I’m about the average weight for a linebacker. I have to be quick, yet big enough to go head-to-head with an offensive line.
Let’s just say I feel bad for the little quarterbacks who end up with my body on top of theirs.
It’s fourth down, and one of our corners brings their running back down right before the line to gain, allowing us to run off the field as the offense comes on. Leo runs by me as I make my way to the sidelines, smacking my ass as he goes.
Leo manages to escape one of their defensive linemen before discarding the ball into the sidelines, and on the next snap, he sends it spiraling down the middle where Cooper cuts over to grab it, completing the pass and nearly tripping into the end zone for a touchdown.
The rest of the game goes by fairly quickly. The screams of the crowd, the rush of adrenaline, the heat beating down on us, is all enough to make the minutes pass faster and faster.
In the end we win it by a field goal attempt. Not our best work, but a win is a win. We can work on our issues on Wednesday.
After the game I meet up with the girls, pleased to find Heidi waiting for me this time. She wasn’t sure if she would make it with Briar and Isla, since it’s an away game. Close to home, but still an hour drive. “How did you like the game?” I ask her, running my hand through my wet hair.
“It was good,” she smiles slightly, but it falters as she looks down at her tennis shoes.
I’m not so sure I believe her, but finding out the reason can wait for later.
“Are we still on for later?” I ask. The boys and I have a bus to catch back home and I’m not sure what the girls were planning on doing.
“Yeah. We’re leaving in a few and just going right home.”
“I’ll meet you at my place then, alright?” She nods shyly, still looking down as she tucks her hair behind her ear. “Hey,” I say.
She looks up, the shy look on her face melting the second she does. Her lips part, a slight crease forming between her eyes. “Yeah?”
“You look good today.”
I’m not sure what I was thinking when I said it. I must not have been. Because Heidi’s face immediately turns beat red, and I think mine does too, judging by how hot my ears feel.
Instead of stewing in what I just said, I look around, finding Leo and deciding he’s a perfect cop out. “I gotta go, but I’ll see you later.” I turn around without another glance, my pace quick as I catch up to Leo.
“You guys look cozy,” he says under his breath.
“Shut up or I’ll ball-tap you so hard you’ll feel it for a week,” I whisper back.
Leo chuckles. “That response is all I need to know.”
I’m not quite sure what I expected a sound bath to be, but a room with bowls is not it.
“What’s about to happen?” I whisper to Heidi as other people filter into the small space, yoga mats in hand.
We’re spread out, and Heidi was nice enough to pack me not only my own yoga mat, but a pillow and blanket too. For a second I really thought she had tricked me into going to a yoga class, but somehow I think this may be worse.
I look around, trying to understand what I’m in for. The event is hosted in a crystal shop just outside the city, the wallsstacked with some of the most beautiful crystals I’ve ever seen, which isn’t necessarily a shock. It’s not that I have anything against them, they’re just not something I’m around often.
Heidi rolls her eyes at me as she crosses her legs, her hands placed neatly on her knees.
In front of us sits a variety of metal bowls in a curve, and in the middle sits an older woman with long gray hair.
“It’s a sound bath. What are you expecting to happen?”
“I don’t knowHeidi,I’ve never been to one of these.”
It’s quiet as everyone else takes their places in the room, and once the woman up front seems satisfied that everyone is here, she claps her hands.
“Thank you all so much for being here,” she starts. She continues to explain her credentials—she’s a sound therapist, and I make a mental note to ask Heidi what that is—and what we’re about to experience—a meditative experience where we will lay down and be bathed in sound waves of different frequencies.
