Page 259 of His Hungry Wolf

But, maybe that was no longer true. That motivated me even more to have the game of my life. I had to win him over. The only thing anyone ever liked about me was what I did on that field. I was going to get Kendall to like me.

Thinking I would be distracted entering the stadium for the game, I was wrong. I had never been more focused in my life. Titus, who was a bench warmer on the team, tried to talk to me. When I ignored him, he got the message and made sure I had my space.

Staring as our defensive team started the game, everything slowed down. I could see where everyone would move before they got there. So, when I took the field with the offense, I looked into the quarterback’s eyes. Immediately he understood.

Chapter 5

Kendall

Entering the stadium had to be the most out-of-body experience of my life. I was walking into the lion’s den willingly. I couldn’t tell you if I was doing it for professional purposes. Or if I was doing it because I would get to see the guy I was crushing on again.

Neither changed how shaky I felt crossing the halls looking for my seat. Everything about the place triggered me. I seriously didn’t want to be here. I would have turned around and walked out, if it wasn’t for the hot guy I had come to see.

Did I say “hot”? I meant the “troubled” guy who needed my help. I needed to remember what I was to him. I might not be his official therapist, but he needed to know that he could trust me. I couldn’t cross that line.

Remembering that, I pushed aside my hesitation and pulled myself together. Finding my section, I waded into the sea of seats. This was not like my high school stadium. It was huge. It had to seat 20,000 people. It was overwhelming. All I wanted to do was find my seat and pretend I was someplace else.

“Are you Kendall?” a friendly guy said in an east coast accent as I sat down.

I looked at him and then the hulking guy beside him. The big guy had to be Nero’s brother. They didn’t look that much alike, but they were both the hottest guys I could imagine.

The guy who had greeted me was good-looking too, but he would better be described as cute. He was about my size with the same hairless face. I wouldn’t exactly describe him as nerdy. But, he was definitely someone I wouldn’t expect to be at a football game.

“I’m him. And you’re…” I pointed at him and blanked on his name.

“Quin. This is my boyfriend, Cage.”

“Nero’s brother?”

“That’s me,” he said with a charming smile that disappeared as quickly as it came.

Suddenly he was staring at me blankly. I wasn’t sure what had happened. I turned to Quin hoping for an explanation.

“Oh!” he responded startled.

I was about to ask what was going on when Quin caught himself and continued.

“Yes. Nero told us to make sure you have a good time.”

“Did he?” I asked wondering if their unusual reactions were caused by what else he had told them.

“He definitely did. So, have you ever been to an East Tennessee game before?”

“I’ve never been to any type of game before,” I said hesitantly.

“Oh. Neither had I until I met Cage. They’re fun,” he said as if their weird moment hadn’t happened. “You just have to get into the spirit of it.”

“It helps to have someone to cheer for,” he said peeling his eyes off of me and turning to the field. “Okay. We’re East Tennessee so we’re in blue. That’s us over there. And, Nero is…” Quin searched the field for him. When he mentioned Nero’s name, my heart skipped a beat. I swallowed. “There he is,” he said with a smile.

I turned and found him. He was one of the guys going to the center of the field.

“Do you know the premise of the game?”

“I know nothing,” I told Quin.

“Simply put, they’re trying to get the ball through the end zone which is past that line there. So, here you go, they are setting up a play and…”

Quin stopped talking when someone handed the ball to Nero. With it, a guy from the other team dove towards him. Nero spun shaking the guy off of him and then sprinted towards the end zone.