“Um, well . . . I mean, you were really nice to me for a while, but then I had a rough night at state, so I figured . . .” I wondered if it was possible to set a record in awkwardness with the female of the species. If so, I surely had a good start at it.
“You thought I was being nice to you because of football?” She looked at me like I had two heads but no brains.
“Well—I mean—you called me Red Hot, like everybody else was doing, but then—”
I have perfected the art of the stammer. Truly I have.
Charise crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows. “But then you played like crap at state, so now I must not like you?”
“Wow. You don’t mince words, do you?”
“I call it like I see it.” She smiled, like she was up to something. And then she waited.
I had to take a chance. “Well, you know I’d love to ask you out, but—”
“But what?”
“But I’m a sophomore, I don’t have my license yet, and I don’t think having my mom drop us off at the movies sounds too romantic, know what I mean?”
She raised her eyebrows again. “You don’t have a driver’s license?”
“Nope.”
“Well, so what? I do.” And then she leaned in to whisper in my ear. “Maybe football gave me an excuse to talk to you, Darius, but it’s not the reason I wanted to talk to you. Get it?”
Her breath smelled like cinnamon. I nodded. “Yeah, I think I do.”
“All right then. I’d say the ball’s in your court, but that would be the wrong sport, wouldn’t it?” She gave me that mischievous little smile again.
“So how ’bout I call you tonight?” I said.
She recited her number, which I memorized like it was the meaning of life itself. Then she walked off the field, leaving me in quiet shock.
Curtis jogged up before I had a chance to recover my cool. “Is it just me, or is that girl into you?”
“It’s not just you.”
He gave me his usual punch in the shoulder. “Darius, my man! Makin’ time with the ladies!”
I just laughed. “Clock me for a few more?”
“Sure.”
Maybe, after the ups and downs of this messed-up season, I could make a new beginning. Maybe I could rise above the choices I regretted and earn that starting spot on next year’s team the old-fashioned way.
Or maybe I’d end up playing another year as backup. Devon would be back with his wrist healed, ready to fight for his position. But I’ve never been afraid to compete.
When Curtis yelled “Go!” I launched myself into a sprint.
When you run the forty, you can’t tell how fast you’re going. But I could tell one thing: My natural strength, my natural speed, were coming back to me. I ran with a lightness I hadn’t felt all season.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shannon Knudsen grew up watching St. Louis Cardinals football. These days, she lives in Arizona, so the Cardinals are still high on her list. But her real passion is the Minnesota Vikings. She says it’s not always easy being a Vikings fan, but she’s confident that someday her loyalty will pay off. When it’s not football season, she spends her free time watching college basketball, playing video games, and walking her two dogs.
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