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Yasmin is already seated and chatting with a couple of girls sitting next to her when we arrive.
“This is insanity,” I say as I slide into a seat next to her, the cool chair making me wish I have my blanket with me.
“Tell me about it. It’s the only thing everybody’s been talking about these days.” Yasmin gives me a long look, the worry clear in her gaze. “Are you sure you should be here?”
“This game is make or break. Where the hell would I be?” I ask, my eyes trained on the football field and full stands.
“You look pale. And after everything that’s been going on lately…”
Great, so much for the freaking foundation, and the time I spent putting on makeup just to avoid these kinds of questions.
“I’m fine. I’m not missing their last few college games.”
Nixon’s sophomore year, when the team had made it this far, Mom wanted to go so badly to support him, but she’d already been too sick at that point. We watched it online, but I could see the longing on her face. Hear it in her voice when we talked. I wasn’t about to put him through that again. No matter how annoying he might occasionally be.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Don’t even try. She’sfine,” Grace says, her tone mocking as she says the last word.
“That’s because I am fine. Can we just watch the game?”
Just then, the music changes, and our opponents are announced. There’s some cheering as they run out on the field, but it’s nothing compared to the roar of the crowd as the Ravens come out of the tunnel.
“It’s game time, baby.”
* * *
PRESCOTT
“Listen up, boys!” Coach Davies bellows loud enough to be heard over the roaring crowd. “I know you’re all tired by now, but we’re tied with less than five minutes on the clock.Fiveminutes, that’s all you have. Three hundred seconds are standing between you and glory.” His serious gaze takes us in one by one, making sure to meet everybody’s eyes. “This is it. The final push. Our last stand to show them what we’re made of. No matter what happens in these last three hundred seconds, I’m proud of the men you’ve become, and it’s been my honor to train you.”
“It’s been our honor, too, Coach, but can we all agree to give our best to win?” Scotty asks, cracking his fingers. “I don’t know about you, but I really want this W.”
He isn’t the only one. Guys nod their heads, faces serious as they wait for the game plan.
“Okay then, let’s do this.”
Coach pulls out his little whiteboard and draws the play. The silence falls over us as we listen to him explain what he wants us to do.
The referee blows a whistle, signaling the timeout is over.
“Ravens on three,” Nixon calls out, placing his hand in the middle of our little circle. More hands join in. “One, two, three...”
“Ravens!” everybody chants as we break apart.
My gaze darts to the clock as we run back on the field.
Nixon slaps me on the shoulder as he jogs next to me. “Run like the wind. The team’s counting on you.”
A knot forms in my throat as the expectations of all my teammates, and all we’ve worked for falls on my shoulders, making my stomach roll.
No pressure at all.
No fucking pressure at all.
I look up at the stands, thousands of fans all standing up and waiting anxiously for the last play to be made. Ignoring them all, I let my gaze slide past them to the only person that matters.
Jade.
