That night, I sat at the back of the bleachers as our school dominated the field. I rose to my feet with the other spectators as our team took the ball into the end zone. A noise of "Oh" left my mouth with the crowd each time one of the opponents took down one of our men.
In all reality though, I couldn't tell you what was going on in the game. My eyes were locked on number 17 as he played the game like it was as easy as breathing.
The stands were filled with red and black in school spirit. Holden University was a large campus, and we were all bound together like a large family ready to take on an intruder at a moment's notice. Our mascot, a cartoon-like demon, was wildly protested by the churches that surrounded the campus as well as quite a few parents. They would never take us down though. We were unstoppable, and the harder that they protested our mascot, the stronger we grew as an impenetrable united front.
Every now and then, my eyes would drift from th
My lecture went by quickly, too quickly. Much to my neighbor's dismay, my leg shook the entire time and was partnered with the clicking of my pen. As everyone gathered their belongings, I sat stiffly in my seat. It wasn't until students started coming in for the next lecture, that I made my way from the hall. If anything should be called the walk of shame, it should be this. Having sex is not a shameful act. Leaving the next morning after a satisfying night of sex is not a shameful act. However, walking to my dad's office to get yelled at and judged for my latest one-night stand; I could practically feel the shame radiating off of me with every step I took. My lower lip sat pinched tightly between my teeth as I got closer to my destination. The further from the main campus I got, the emptier the halls were until it was just me and the chilled winter air to keep me company. The feeling of my heart as it thumped in my chest made breathing quicken as I k
The loud voices of the team reverberated throughout the locker room as the team changed for practice. It wasn't long before the room quieted at the sight of Coach Anthony. He looked uneasy and uncomfortable as he stood before us. It wasn't lost to me that he had come in through the main entrance instead of from the coach's offices like he normally would have. As I laced my cleats, he cleared his throat, causing me to look up at him from my bent position. "Let's go, gents. Coach is not going to tolerate tardiness today. He is already on the field." He said before he promptly turned and made his way out of the room. His chubby fingers scratched at the back of his neck as he did so, indicating his discomfort. "What's going on with him? Think he's in trouble, or that we're in trouble?" Jones asked as I stood upright and pulled my pads on. "Not sure, but I have the feeling practice is going to be hell today." The room started to get louder again
I could feel his eyes on me with every step that I took. It didn't help my confidence at all that I was a dripping, red mess. I'm sure the sight of me panting and perspiring like a pig was enough to make him lose interest. After him seeing me like this, there would be no way that he would want anything to do with me. The sound of a whistle had me sigh in relief. I had been out there for half an hour longer than the team had been, but while they were running drills, I was doing conditioning. My muscles were loose like limp noodles from the excessive cardio. It felt horrible to my body but amazing on my lungs. It had been proven that workouts caused a release of endorphins. That was something I only partially understood. I never enjoyed the way my body would ache, tense, and knot after. But man, did it feel good mentally. Taking a deep breath after a hard cardiovascular workout felt different. It reminded me of the feeling you would get when taking that first full inha
The entire practice, it was like there was a silent alarm on her. Every time I looked her way, it would trip, and security guard Tyler would be on me like a hound of hell. I couldn't say how many times he slammed into my shoulder, pushed me, or tackled me down (a few illegal plays, might I add). By the end of practice, I was fuming with anger only to see him wrap his arm around her as she leaned into him. Did she choose him over me? The hurt that swam through my chest was a new feeling to me, and I didn't like it one bit. "Man, you look like you're ready to kill," Jones said with a laugh as he slapped his hand down on my shoulder pad and turned me so that I wasn't staring at my girl…correction, his girl anymore. Any man would be stupid to not fight for her. I could see why he would be so protective. If she had given me a chance, I wouldn't have let her go either. "It's whatever, man. I just want this day to end." It was obvious to me
It was a long week. Longer than any that I had ever lived through before. Monday, I woke up feeling like I had been hit by a train from my intense cardio session on Sunday. Each day after, it progressively got worse until I decided to just skip my Thursday classes and take a recovery day. Instead of school, I spent the day standing in the dorm showers, under the hot water, until my muscles felt like they had melted. They tightened back up after I cooled off again. For a couple of hours though, it didn't feel like they were made of concrete. For a while, I debated telling my dad who it was. Then I watched the team scrimmage, and I saw how much Caleb loved the game. It was a reminder of how good he was at it, and my mouth snapped shut. The worst part about the past four days was Diana. During the scrimmage the afternoon before, the cheerleaders were out to cheer them on. Her smug face, as she watched me run suicides along the sidelines, had me ready to gear up and tack
The walk took longer than I had hoped. Even though I was trying to move quickly to warm my body up (and get out of the cold), my muscles were still protesting the movement, which slowed me down. When I saw that his office was empty, I felt my guts twist inside me with anxiety. It was like there was a voice in the back of my head telling me that it was time to put my big girl panties on and make my way to the practice field. Trust me when I say that the sight before me was as horrible as I had thought it would be. My dad was setting up the speed sled with several weight plates on it to increase the resistance. I knew it was there for me to pull it, but I secretly hoped that he had set it up for someone else. "If you are busy, I can come back later," I said with sarcasm as he dropped the final plate onto the stack of weights. The glare I received in return made me bite my tongue and push down another sarcastic remark. "Dad, we need to talk about this." "If you
The sun was brutal for early winter as it beat down on the field. My shoulder's toasted under the intense rays of hell, and I was positive I would leave with a darker sunburn than I already had from earlier in the week. I could taste the salt of my sweat as it poured down my face. My eyes burned from it, and I found myself squinting as my blurred vision worsened from the additional and unwelcomed liquid. My thighs ached as I pulled the weighted object behind me up and down the field. I wasn't sure if it had been ten minutes or an hour as my legs shook. Each labored breath got harder and harder to suck in until I felt like there wasn't enough air left in the world for me to fill my lungs. I was determined to win, and prove my father wrong. Prove to him that I could take it. I was not a quitter. The way he watched me instead of focusing on his team reaffirmed his concern for my well-being. As a father, it was only natural for him to be concerned even if he was the one
According to my phone, I had only been pulling the sled for about 40 minutes. The terrifying thought was that meant Caleb had about 50 minutes left to go before practice would be over. That, of course, was assuming that Coach would let him leave on time when the team got done. When I ended my call, I found that my eyes had remained glued to the graceful man who continued to pull the sled up and down the grass with ease. He was no longer running but maintained an impressively steady pull. Every movement made his muscles flex and ripple beneath his skin. It was mesmerizing. Every lap, I found myself standing in his path with the bottle of water I had refilled. He would meet my gaze as he took a few sips before he looked over the rest of my body and then continued pulling the sled. Not a single word was shared between us after he had taken over my punishment, but I could see all I needed to hear in his expressions. From the determination on his face, I knew that