“Really?” I snapped, glaring up at him. “Get away from me.”
Still laughing, he stepped away, but he was still too close. Coach Joel was just a few feet away, and I could hear him bitching through his headset about fifty-two being right on Evan’s ass each play. Luckily, the clock ran out for halftime. The players rushed off the field to head to the locker room, but Evan walked with me.
“Are you okay? You’ve taken some hard hits,” I said to him.
Taking off his helmet, he gave me a smile. “I take hits with each game, sunshine. I’m kind of used to it.”
Instead of going into the locker room, I stopped him by the door. “Yeah, but I’ve never seen anyone go after you like that. Did you piss the guy off?”
He chuckled and shook his head. “No, I’ve never talked to the fucker before. It’s just part of the game.” Moving closer, he pressed me against the wall and kissed me, long and hard. “You need to stop worrying. I’ll be fine.”
I nodded and bit my lip. Hearing my irrational fears would only drive him insane. Maybe I was worrying for nothing, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going on. “Okay,” I mumbled. “I’ll stop stressing.”
“Good, because tonight we’re going to celebrate…just you and me.”
I smiled. “I can’t wait.”
He kissed me quickly and rushed off into the locker room. I wished I could shake the uneasiness, but I couldn’t. Once the break was over, the guys emerged with more energy than before. Andrew came out and walked with me back onto the field while the players rushed past us. He was a nice man in his midforties with ash brown hair and amber-colored eyes. Since Kate wasn’t there, he’d asked me if I could help him out if any of the guys got injured. Of course I agreed.
As the game continued, I stood there with Andrew as, play after play, Evan had to dodge the same mammoth. There were only two minutes left in the game and I jumped up and down in excitement, mainly because I was ready for it to be over. Cameras flashed from all directions, and it took me a while to realize they were taking pictures of me. It was never like that when I was with Austin at his MMA fights.
“Get used to it, sweetheart,” Brianna cheered. She waved her pom-poms in the air and shouted for the team.
“Used to what?” I asked.
She looked at me and winked. “The attention. I’ve been watching you, though. I think somebody got lucky last night.”
“And that is my cue to go,” Andrew added, quickly retreating.
Brianna sheepishly watched him leave. “Oops, sorry about that.”
Laughing, I shook my head. “It’s too late now. How can you tell, anyway?”
She circled around me, giggling. “Because you, my friend, are positively glowing. You look radiant. Who would’ve thought that having sex would brighten you up?”
Unfortunately, my smile didn’t last long because she said it so damn loud that everyone around me heard, including Jaxon. “Shit, Bri, people can hear you.”
“Oh, who cares? There’s nothing to hide, is there? The only person sore about it is Dickwad, since he didn’t get to you first,” she said, nodding toward Jaxon, who had a scowl on his face. “And, of course, skank-ass Lindsey.”
“I just worry about them scheming again. I feel like I’m back in high school.”
She snorted. “Tell me about it. But I don’t think you have to worry about that. After what they did, they’re probably afraid of Evan turning them in. You should be safe.” With only a minute left to go, she said goodbye so she could get back to the other cheerleaders. Everyone expected Cooper to throw the ball to Evan, which was what I thought he would do, but instead he threw it to Gavin. So many things happened at once that I didn’t know what I should focus on. Gavin caught the ball and ran it down the field while our team shouted in joy, but then number fifty-two barreled toward Evan from behind.
“Evan, watch out!” I screamed. Though I didn’t know if he’d heard me, he turned around just in time to duck out of the way, but the other player still lunged and tackled him to the ground. We scored a touchdown, but that wasn’t what the audience was cheering about. All hell had broken loose. Evan and the other player grappled around on the grass before a helmet flew across the field and a fist lifted in the air. Evan got in one good punch before Derek and some of the players from the other team broke the fight apart. At first, seeing how everyone was pushing on one another, I thought it was going to be World War III on the field. I wanted to rush out to make sure Evan was okay, but then I saw the team being herded through the crowd and off the field.
The game was over.
—
We had won, but everyone was on edge. Luckily, Evan didn’t face any penalties for punching the other player, since number fifty-two was the one who had provoked it all. It was clear Evan was being targeted. However, it left us all wondering what he might have done to cause such strife.