The Playmaker (A Big Play Novel Book 1) (5 page)

I spin for the door and breeze out of the restaurant, feeling a million times lighter. The sparkle in her eyes stays with me the entire way home.

#7:

The First Play

Tori

An old friend.

Not exactly how I want Colt to see me, but I’ll take it.

I still can’t believe he agreed. After telling me I had no hope of ever winning a Raider over and basically saying it was pointless to even try, he did a complete turnaround. I’d love to know what changed his mind.

I lean my bike against a pine tree and gaze up at the crystal-clear sky. The meadow is only a ten-minute ride from my house and is filled with many happy memories. Gwen and I used to play here all the time, our imaginations soaring as we turned the surrounding woods into castles or dungeons, creating adventures out of nothing but thin air. We’d battle and fly through the grass, the sun beating down on us, and finally return home sweaty and smeared with dirt, big smiles dominating our faces. Being a kid was so fun and easy. I wish things didn’t have to change.

I’m excited to meet up with Colt this afternoon, but also nervous. It’s been a long time since we played in this meadow together, and so much has changed. I can’t even explain when or how it happened. I guess we started drifting apart in middle school. Then freshman year, Colt was swallowed into the Raiders’ world, and I met Amy, who had no interest in football. It’s like Colt and I started walking different paths and didn’t even realize it was happening until we turned back and saw a massive, un-crossable gulf between us.

I spotted him in the cafeteria at lunch today, but he didn’t notice me. He was caught up talking to Layla, Mack’s sister and one of the cheerleaders. She’s so gorgeous and Gucci. She doesn’t have to ask for help to score any guy in the school. And she certainly doesn’t have to fool someone into falling for her.

Doubt peppered with a sprinkling of guilt singes my insides. I lied to Colt last night, letting him assume I’m after Mack. But what else am I supposed to do? If I told him what I really wanted, he’d be avoiding me like the plague instead of meeting me in the grove after practice.

I adjust my headphones while I wait, enjoying the sweet music in my ears. I’m going through a Pentatonix phase, and “Cheerleader” is making my hips wiggle. I love their harmonies. And the fact they can make such a rich sound with only their voices blows my mind. I do a spin and start singing along as the song builds. A smile spreads across my face whenever I dance. I stretch my arms to the sky and jiggle around in the grass, throwing my head back and belting out the words.

I do another spin and jerk, my eyes bulging wide as I spot Colt emerging from the wood. He’s got that bemused smile on his face again, and it only grows wider as I lose my footing and flop to the ground. He runs over to me, laughing as I wipe dirt from my hands, then slips the headphones off my ears. They settle around my neck, the music touching the air between us as he stretches out his hand to help me up. His large fingers engulf mine and he pulls me to a stand.

Oh man, he smells good. I don’t know what his deodorant is called, but I want to buy a whole case of it.

“You good?” Colt lets go of my hand and stands back, still smirking at me like I’m this weird, helpless chick.

I clear my throat and fumble to turn off my iPod. The music cuts off and I pull the headphones off my neck before placing them in my bike basket.

“Hi.” I give him a tentative wave, feeling like a total dork. My fingers shake a little as I smooth down my knee-length dress. It’s a tie-dye number Mom made for me. She crocheted the top and everything. I think it’s amazing, but I’m suddenly wondering if I should have gone for my cut-off denim shorts and a skimpy camisole instead. It’s really hard to know how much
me
to retain. I guess ultimately I want Colt to like me just the way I am, but I need to get past the
Tori Lomax is weird
barrier first.

Colt’s gaze travels down my body—quick and subtle. I only notice it because I’m watching him with such a keen eye. His expression remains bland and unreadable. I’m suddenly regretting my clothing choice. I seriously need to go shopping.

“So.” I clear my throat again. “Thanks for meeting me.”

“No problem.” He runs a hand over his smile. “I felt kind of bad blowing you off, and after I thought about it, I didn’t see why I couldn’t help you out.”

“Well, I appreciate it.”

He nods. “I think it’d be best if we kept this between us though, you know? Our little secret.”

My head bobs like one of those bouncy balls. “Good idea.”

“Okay. Good.” Colt rubs his hands together then looks around him before heading to a patch of spongy grass on the edge of the meadow.

I trot after him and nestle down by his side. He stretches his legs out and lifts his face to the sun, letting the warm rays soak his face. His body is so long and lean, yet I can sense his power. I skim my eyes down his jeans, resisting the urge to reach forward and run my hand down his thigh. I bet the muscles underneath that denim are rock-hard, just like the bicep I can see peeking out beneath his shirtsleeve. I love how the different muscles combine to create these hot contours that give away his strength and athleticism. I want to run my fingers over each curve, drawing a path around his chiseled body.

Okay, seriously, Tori, you have to stop thinking about this or you’re going to start blushing big time!

I pick at the grass by my feet and clear my throat. “So, um, how was practice?”

“Great.” A smile takes over his face, lifting his cheeks and showing off a tiny dimple on the right side of his mouth. I love that thing. I want to run my finger over it.

Curling my fingers in the grass, I look away from him—anything to resist the urges pulsing through my body.

“Coach is working us hard, but our first game is coming up soon and we need to be prepared. The team seems to be gelling. The new guys are fitting in all right and plugging the holes the previous seniors left behind. I’m hoping for a good season.”

My lips rise as I watch his animated face. “You know, you always look so happy when you talk about football.”

He snickers and scans the meadow, his cheeks tingeing pink before turning back to me.

“It’s important to us. All the guys feel like this. It’s the reason we show up to school each day.”

My smile grows even wider. “I can see how much you love it.”

“You know one of the best ways to win Mack over will be to understand the game. If you can talk football with him, that’s an automatic in. Do you ever come to games?”

My nose wrinkles. “I came to one last year, but…” I shrug.

“Well, you should come. We all go to this bonfire afterward, and it’d be a great way for you to bump into Mack and start a little conversation.” His eyebrows wiggle.

His innuendo makes my stomach twist. I don’t actually want to
start a conversation
with Mack, but it’s not like I can admit that.

Instead, I grin and do this breathy little giggle, which sounds totally lame.

Colt doesn’t seem to notice. He’s watching my fingers tear up grass and nodding. “Yeah, I think that’s the best way for you to start. Show him you’ve got a common interest and get his attention that way.” His face wrinkles with an uncertain frown. “You know this is no guarantee, right? I mean, I’m no genie; I’m just here to give you a few ideas.”

“Yeah, I know.” I smile.

His lips purse to the side. “I just want to make sure you understand what you’re getting into.”

“I do.” I nod. “I really do.”

He studies my expression with narrowed eyes, then gives me a short nod before grinning and making my heart do this funny little flip-flop inside my chest.

“Okay, well, tell me what you know about the game.”

“Football?” I squeak.

Colt’s eyebrows rise and he gives me a dubious stare. I nibble the edge of my lip and shrug, then let out a sheepish chuckle.

“Um, okay. Um…” I brush the grass from my hands and sit up a little straighter. “I know that there’s an offensive and defensive team. And I know that when the offensive team is playing, they’re trying to get the ball down to the other end of the field, and when the defensive team is playing, they’re trying to stop that from happening.” I bob my head with a wide grin.

Colt dips his head, waiting for more. All I can do is flick my hands to the sky and shrug.

“That’s it?” His eyes bulge for a second, like he can’t quite believe how useless I am.

I flash him a pitiful frown. “My family isn’t really sporty.”

“Yeah, I know. I mean…” He runs a hand through his hair and mumbles, “I got my work cut out for me.”

I nearly pull my standard
if it’s too much trouble, don’t worry about it
line, but I bite my tongue before I can. Not knowing anything is perfect. Yes, it may make me useless, but it will also force Colt to spend even more time with me. I’m not going to be the inept student and draw it out unnecessarily, but the less I know, the more he’ll have to explain. And the more I can sit here listening to his luscious voice and watching his eyes dance as he dives into the intricacies of a game he loves.

By the time he’s done, I’m hoping to know more about the game than any girl in the school. By the time he’s done, I’m hoping he’ll be talking to me at the football table the way he talks to Layla Mahoney.

#8:

How It Works

Colt

Tori has the biggest, grayest eyes I’ve ever seen. I didn’t think it was possible for such a dull color to sparkle so much, but they’re like fairy lights. My gaze keeps shifting to them. I don’t even hear the words coming out of my mouth as I explain the basics of my favorite game.

I grab a stick and start drawing in the dirt path leading back to the wood, showing her basic plays and using arrows, circles and squares, just like the coaches do. The stick scrapes through the earth and I glance across to make sure she’s paying attention. She is. She’s absorbing every word as if what I’m saying is the most interesting thing she’s ever heard.

Man, she must have it bad for Mack.

The idea of helping her feels right. We used to be good buddies, and being on the outskirts of every fun thing at school must sting a little. My gaze skims over her dress again as I launch into my specific role on the field. I don’t really have to think as I talk, so my mind can wander to other things, like the soft point of her chin and the way her messy tendrils of hair float in the breeze. She keeps pulling strands off her face, her large rings clinking together. The dress she’s wearing is totally hippie, but it does show off the rich tan on her shapely legs. She’s definitely not the stick figure she used to be. The Roman sandals twisting around her ankles draw my eye to her calf muscles, and the way they move when she adjusts her position so she can lean in close to study my dirt diagrams.

Her cheek is nearly resting on my shoulder.

“So, uh… yeah, uh…” I stutter, distracted by her vanilla scent.

She looks up at me with her wide, sparkling eyes.

I clear my throat and lean away from her, tapping my stick on the ground and trying to re-gather my explanation.

“Okay, so you look for the gaps or the holes or whatever while Finn and his boys block for you.”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s what I was saying.” I launch into a technical explanation, forcing my eyes to remain on the dirt.

This is insane!

I am
not
attracted to Tori Lomax. For one, she’s after Mack and secondly, she’s Tori Lomax!

Doubts scorch my insides as I wonder if bringing her into my world is such a good idea. Is teaching her the rules of football really going to make her fit?

Maybe Tyler’s right.You are who you ar
e—
no one can change that.

But he’s wrong.

I changed. In Seattle, I was the bullied dumb kid. I may still be dumb, but no one bullies me anymore. If anything, I’m slightly revered. They don’t call me
the playmaker
for nothing. As long as I can keep my stupidity under lock and key then I should fly through my senior year and straight into a college scholarship.

A sharp acid burns my throat as I wonder how the hell I’m going to fly through senior year with the C average Principal Matthis is expecting. The worries I’d managed to forget during practice and for most of my time with Tori rear their ugly heads and start pecking at my shoulders.

Oh shit, oh shit. I’m going to get benched, and then I’ll be back to being a nobody.

I’m trying to teach Tori how to join our group and win over the quarterback. Meanwhile, I’ll be left behind as I continue to fail and end up sitting on the sidelines.

“So if you make a break and get tackled here”—Tori points to the diagram—“is that far enough for you to get the next play?”

“Yeah, that’s called a down.”

“And how many of those do you get?”

“Enough.” I smirk, then wink at her.

She smiles and dips her head. “But ultimately, you’re trying to make it into this area.”

“Well, that’s the red zone. Ultimately, you want to get into the end zone.” I point with my stick.

She nods. “Touchdown.”

“That’s right.”

Her eyes are sparkling again. They look like diamonds now. The dappled sunlight plays on her face, masking her freckles and giving her this aura that makes her look angelic.

What the hell am I doing?

I can’t bring a girl like this into my world. She’s too…

“Are you okay?” Her soft question makes me flinch.

I force a smile. “You sure you want to do this?”

Her expression falters for a second, the light in her eyes dimming. “Like I said before, I’m sure. Are you changing your mind?”

“No.” I cringe. “Maybe?”

“I don’t understand.” Her voice is tiny again. “Do you not think I’m good enough for Mack?”

“Of course not. If anything, I don’t think he’s good enough for you.”

She gives me a closed-mouth smile and nudges me with her shoulder. “Come on, we both know that’s a lie.”

Wow. She actually believes that.

I stare at her resigned smile, her open honesty nudging my doubts out of the way. If I back out now, she’ll lose her nerve and never make a play for Mack. If she never makes that play, she’ll spend the rest of her life believing she’s worth nothing more than a seat on the sidelines.

Pulling in a breath, I flash her my best smile. “We’re going to make him see you. We’re going make you the only girl he
can
see. You just wait. Mack Mahoney will be drooling over you before this season is over.”

A soft, breathy laugh escapes her lips and she dips her head. Her messy curls block the side of her face from me, and it takes all my willpower not to reach forward and tuck the hair behind her ear. Curling my fingers into a fist, I shift away from her and clear my throat.

“When you come to the game next Friday, make sure you’re sitting front and center. I’ll keep drawing Mack’s attention your way.” My gaze travels over her body. “And wear something, you know, like you did yesterday. The tight jeans. He liked those.”

Her head pops up, her pink lips parting in surprise. “He noticed?”

“We all did.”

Her cheeks turn a hot red as she skims her lower lip with her teeth.

I swallow and stand before I’m tempted to touch her.

She jumps up and brushes the dirt off her dress, pulling the fabric straight before smiling up at me. “Thank you for doing this.”

“It’s cool.” I shrug, digging my hands into my jean pockets. “I like that you want to make the most of your senior year.”

“I’m glad you get it.” She tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. The smile lighting her face is beautiful.

I frown and look away from it, reminding myself that Tori Lomax is cute, not beautiful. There’s a difference.

“Okay, well, I’ll catch you later.” I raise my hand and head for my truck, which I parked on the main road. I glance over my shoulder as I walk away and notice Tori watching me.

She gives me a final wave before jumping on her bike and cycling away. The wind catches her dress, flashing me a decent view of her smooth thigh. The air catches in my throat and I spin for my truck, a deep scowl creasing my face.

I don’t know why the hell I’m all of a sudden noticing this stuff about Tori. Maybe it’s because this is the first time I’ve actually spent time with her in a few years. I don’t know. Whatever it is, it’s totally weirding me out, and I’m glad she’s after Mack and not me.

Falling for Pixie Girl is the last thing I need.