Rushed (The Rushed Series) (31 page)

Zach acted scandalized that I didn't know. "Come on, pledge. We've watched some episodes together. That's only the move that Coach teaches Julie that wins her and Matt's team the big powder puff game over Riggins' team. We made our own version."

"That's what I'm saying. 'Cause you can never lose with a TV show move." Dak put his arm around my shoulders.

"Got that right," Zach said.

"We can watch the game film at the house tonight," Dakota said.

"Which house?" I asked.

"Your house," he said. "Let's include everyone. They'll all need to know how to run the play. We'll call the girls together and have a movie night. Popcorn and everything." He turned to Zach. "The way we're playing, we have a real shot at the title." He sounded pleasantly surprised, like a minor miracle was occurring. "The Zeta Nus are almost certain to be in the finals. Dan Bates is coaching them and drilling them like it's the NFL." He sneered like Dan's name was anathema.
 

Zach explained the situation to me. "Dan was the opposing quarterback against us in the finals the year we took state. He knows a lot of our plays and how we think from studying our game films and playing us. The good news is we know his."

"He's itching for revenge. I'm half serious about that
Friday Night Lights
Special." Dakota grinned. "We might need it."
 

"I wouldn't mind besting Dan a second time." Zach grinned, evilly, making it clear he was the king of understatement.

All the way to the SUB, I was Dakota's girl. But when we settled into a booth, the dynamic changed. I sat next to Dakota. But beneath the table, I slid my foot between Zach's and brushed my leg against his in a way meant to turn him on. Zach gave me that quick, intimate grin of his.

Dakota ordered a large basket of fries with his coffee, and doused them with ketchup.

"Damn, Dak," Zach said to him. "You really going to eat those with the beauty pageant a week away? Think about it, man. You're risking your girlish figure for a momentary indulgence."

Dakota scowled at him. "Shut the fuck up."

Zach was undeterred. "Pledge, I hope you're keeping him off the beer, too. A beer gut hanging over swim trunks will not win us the competition. If we lose the tourney, Dak is our last hope to take the trophy."

"I have absolutely no control over him," I said.

"Only over my heart." Dakota winked at me, looking like that was so much BS.

"Speaking of hearts…" I told him about Morgan.

"Shit," Dakota said. "You were bouncing the bed with someone else? I'm damn jealous."

I rolled my eyes. "Be serious."

"I am serious," he said. "Sounds like we need to up our game. Guess I'll have to casually start shopping for promise rings."

I grimaced. "Don't buy me a ring."

"I didn't say I was going to
buy
one." He grinned. "I said I could be seen
looking
for one. You know how fast that will get the rumors going."

Zach's expression was masked. "What will Jordan think of that?"

I didn't understand it, but it seemed to me that Zach almost hesitated at her name. As if he didn't like mentioning her.

Dakota shrugged. "She understands the situation."

That was all he said. No one pushed. But his body language said she wasn't thrilled, either. The happy mood was killed. It was like a shadow had passed over it. I wondered how long we could keep this up.

It was like Dakota read my mind. "Don't worry. We're fine," he said. "We can keep this up all school year if we have to."

"And do what?" I asked. "Keep upping the lies? At that rate, you'll have to pin me at some point."

"If I have to, I will." Dakota's face was dead serious.

Zach looked away. Pinning was tantamount to getting engaged. I couldn't read what he was thinking.

Chapter Nineteen

Alexis

On Wednesday of Homecoming Week, we went as a house to the all-campus bonfire with the Tau Psis. The university's football coach gave a pep talk and introduced the players. The cheerleaders led a spirit rally. We had two girls on the squad. If there had been a competition for spirit, we would have won.

I stood sandwiched between Dakota and Zach. The Tau Psis seemed to accept Zach's presence, since Dakota had named him assistant coach. I watched Zach and Dakota's expressions in the glow of the firelight, wondering if they missed the excitement of being the center of attention on the field.

The ASB officers tossed rolled bonfire T-shirts into the crowd.
 

"Make eyes at the guys throwing the shirts so he'll toss one this way," Zach whispered to me.

"Pimping me out, are you?"
 

"Haven't I been all semester? What's changed?" His tone was neutral, not teasing like it should have been.

I showed him and stuck out my chest, batted my eyes, and got the attention of one of the T-shirt throwers. Sure enough, he tossed one our direction. Zach, Dakota, and I all lunged for it. The guys had the height advantage, but I refused to let that stop me.

I jumped for it. Zach, the natural quarterback, stretched for it and caught it just out of reach of my fingertips. Dakota and I both tried to pry it out of his hands before he had a firm grip. The three of us fell, grabbing for the shirt and laughing, into a pig pile with me at the bottom. Zach right on top of me, bracing himself to keep his full weight off me.

I looked into his eyes, wanting him so badly.
 

I love you
, he mouthed.

Caught up in the moment, I lifted my face to his instinctively for a kiss, closing my eyes so I could feel the full force of it.

Dakota hissed at him. "Cut that shit out. Give me the damn shirt so I can make a show of giving it to Alexis."

Zach swore beneath his breath and slid the shirt to Dakota before rolling off me. Dakota batted Zach away when he tried to give me a hand up, offering his own instead. I thought,
This has to stop.
I only wanted Zach.

When I was on my feet, the Tau Psis and Double Deltsies cheered when Dakota handed me the shirt and brushed my lips with a kiss that did nothing for me. It was like kissing a good friend. No zing. Almost too late, I remembered to fake it.

I shook the shirt out. "It's a small!"

"Of course it is, babe," Dakota said. "That's why he threw it to you."

The single-elimination powder puff tourney started on Thursday. Our uniforms were cute, and tiny. Sports bras and boy shorts. Cold, but effective in distracting opposing frat coaches. We handily won our first two games, surprising everyone with our blowout. As a coaching unit, Zach and Dakota were unbeatable. It was like they thought with one mind, even finishing each other's sentences. Watching them in action was pure joy for me.

Winning the first two games put us into the finals against the Zeta Nu team and their old archenemy Dan Bates. The guys had their vendetta. I had mine against those animals for kidnapping me. Our drive was strong, but they wouldn't be easy to beat.

We girls dressed for the game in full makeup and pushup cups, ready to flirt with the refs, a couple of frat guys from neutral houses, those who didn't have a team in the tourney. The other team's girls may have had us beat in athletic ability, but we were man killers.

The Zetu Nus had coached their girls well in the art of dirty play. Throwing elbows, late blocks, "accidental" tackles, all when the refs weren't looking. Add in that their girls were athletes and fearless. And their line was stocky and solid. Unlike our girls, they weren't afraid to block. We were in deep trouble.

In the first half, they plowed over our defense. Superior coaching on offense kept us on the boards and in the game. We went to the locker room at the half tied at fourteen apiece.

Dakota gave us a rousing speech. "Keep it up, girls. Keep. It. Up. Hold our heads and we can win this one. I do not want to parade around the Mr. University stage in my swim trunks. And I sure as hell don't want to win Mr. Congeniality.
 

"It's all riding on this half of the game. I see a W, a big W in our future! The other team isn't used to playing against girls who know what they're doing. We'll wear them down, outsmart and outrun them. If we win this, we win the homecoming trophy!"

If we won the game, we had enough points to win the overall competition even if Dakota didn't show up to the Mr. University finals. If Zeta Nu won, things got dicey. Dakota would have to place in the top three of the Mr. University contest for us to take home the trophy.

He and Zach went off to confer about strategy for the second half, whispering to each other and laughing like the old friends they were. We came into the second half fired up. But it didn't seem to matter. Dan and his girls had figured out our limited playbook and shut down my offense. Fortunately, Dakota and Zach were able to out coach him on defense to keep the game even.

The game was still tied with less than twenty seconds left to play. We had possession on their fifteen-yard line. It was third down and twelve. We'd lost yards in each of the first two downs. We couldn't break through their defense. Dakota called a timeout. He and Zach had a brief discussion about which play to run.

"You're the head coach, Dak," Zach said. "I bow to your decision. But if you want my two cents, I say we have to surprise them. Dan is guessing our offense every play and running a perfect defensive game. We have to do something that wasn't in our high school playbook."

"All or nothing?" Dakota held Zach's gaze and grinned. "Know what I'm saying?"

Zach grinned back. "It worked on TV."

Oh, crap
, I thought as Dakota grinned full out and called me over.

"
Friday Night Lights
Special, QB." Dak slapped me on the back. "You can do it, girl."

I was shaking when I returned to the huddle, called the play, and led the cheer. On the line, waiting for the snap, I was so nervous I felt like I was about to throw up. Sarah would be the receiver for this play. She was fast, but inexperienced, and had a habit of messing up plays under pressure. Dan wouldn't be expecting me to throw to her. The element of surprise was the only thing we had going for us.

Our center snapped the ball. I caught it and looked for Sarah. She ran straight out and cut toward post. I passed the ball off to where she should be just before the other team grabbed my flag. As I let loose, I strained to see whether Sarah ran the play right and cut the right direction. It was like a slow-motion scene in a sports movie when Sarah caught the ball completely in the open and sprinted across the goal line.

The next thing I knew, I was being hugged by all the girls. We screamed and bounced and chanted.
 

Zach worked his way through the mass of girls surrounding me and hugged me, picking me up off the ground and swinging me around. "Great job, QB1!"

With all the heat I felt in the moment, it took every ounce of restraint I had not to kiss him, fiercely. I craved the freedom to share my joy openly with him. I craved him.

Sarah beamed ear to ear. She was going to be impossible to live with after this. At that moment, I felt glad, like really glad to be a Double Deltsie. Happy and proud. I had real friends and a place to belong.

Dakota was suddenly beside us. "Hey, offensive coach, give the head coach a chance to congratulate his girl."

Zach and I exchanged an intimate glance full of our reluctance to let go of each other. He wanted to kiss me as badly as I wanted to kiss him.
 

"Catch!" Without warning, he tossed me to Dakota.

I screamed, playfully, flirtatiously, as Dakota caught me. He kissed me, full out, full tongue, before I could protest. I cupped his cheeks in my hands, pretending to be in love with him. Did he have to kiss me so authentically, with real tongue?

The girls cheered. And I thought again,
This is all wrong.

Zach pulled Sarah into a hug, laughing as he congratulated her. Appearances mattered. I wondered if anyone but me noticed the difference in the way he held us. Hoping they did and hoping they didn't at the same time. Jealousy is an irrational bitch. The ugly green monster climbed on my back. I wanted the world to know Zach was my guy.
Mine
.

Dakota set me down. "Party at the Tau Psis!" he yelled as the Tau Psis streamed onto the field.