Page 15 of Front Runner
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We didn’t come back togetheras a team until the very end of practice. Coach wanted us to run a couple of routes. Nothing too complicated, but it would be the first time Parker and I actively played together. A test to see if I could move past my body’s reactions and make it perform the way I knew it could.
I guzzled water and splashed some over my head. Most of my conditioning had taken place in humid southeastern Wisconsin, so the humidity wasn’t new to me. TU might have a fancy training facility, but the brutal outdoor practices felt the same as at my D3 school.
Coach motioned us over and explained what he wanted, then set up a rotation between the quarterbacks and the receivers. I took my place near the back of the line and watched the others execute.
We all wore the same shorts and cropped jerseys—I had a tank top under mine—but the difference in ability quickly became obvious. Parker was leagues above the other two quarterbacks in accuracy. They all had the arm strength to get the ball downfield, but time and again, Parker’s passes landed right into the receiver’s hands. As long as they could make the distance.
By the time my turn came, I knew what to expect. Parker took the pass before mine, and I lined up next to Aidan Williams, the one who’d been staring at me. His balls tended to drift left, so I prepped myself to adjust mid-route.
Coach blew the whistle, and I surged forward. I made it to the twenty-yard line before I zagged left. A prickle at the back of my neck made me turn early, and I had to leap for the ball, well above my head.
My fingers brushed leather, tipping the ball into a crazy spin. The football gods were with me, and it curved my direction. I snagged the football out of the air, tucking it against my chest as I hit the ground on my side.
“What the hell, Williams?”
Coach’s brusque question spurred me to move. My hip and shoulder ached from taking the brunt of the fall, but I uncurled from my position and hopped up.
Williams shrugged with his eyes on me as I trotted back. “Sorry, Coach.”
He sounded contrite, but I’d seen him make that throw four times now. The only reason I’d been able to catch it was because I’d expected to have to go left. If I’d run the route as assigned, I’d have missed by inches.
Parker frowned at Williams, then motioned for me to toss him the ball. “Go again. To the endzone this time.”
My brows shot up, and I looked to Coach for confirmation. After a considering glance between us, he nodded. Admittedly, I’d paid more attention to Parker’s passes than the others. I knew he could throw it to the endzone, and I knew he wanted to see how fast I could get there.
A tiny fissure of nerves wiggled in my stomach, but I squashed it down by tossing shade at Parker. “Let’s see if you throw as well as you think you do.”
A slow smile spread across his face at the challenge. “Try me, Blondie.”
From the group behind us, Mac shouted out a response. “Nuh uh. Her nickname is RJ. I called it already.”
Parker’s gaze met mine, full of lazy heat. “What doyouwant me to call you?”
I raised a brow and lined up next to him. “You heard the man. RJ, it is.”
He made a gravelly sound of ascent that shot heat straight to my core, and I crouched into position, digging my cleat into the dirt. Coach’s whistle blasted, and I ran for all I was worth.
7
Ishuffled back a few steps and couldn’t tear my eyes off Riley. If we’d been in a game, I’d have been tackled in an instant, but we weren’t. This was the end of our first grueling practice, and I’d wanted to see,reallysee, what Riley could do.
She streaked down the field to the endzone, and I almost messed up the timing. Something in me knew the exact moment to let go of the ball though. Riley made her corner and turned, plucking the ball out of the air as if she’d already known exactly where it would be.
Goosebumps raised on my arms at the smooth connection. D and Soren had developed a kind of telepathy with each other after playing together for a while, but I’d never experienced it myself. I certainly hadn’t expected to find it on the first pass with a brand-new receiver.
Coach blew his whistle and told everyone to hit the showers. Relieved grumbles joined the thumps of assistants breaking down the gear, but the sounds came from a distance as my world shifted.
Mac had been right. She was the piece missing from the team.
Riley spun the ball in her hand as she walked back to us with a smug smile. “Not bad, Shaw. I think you and I can play beautiful football together.”
I felt like I’d swallowed my tongue, so I nodded at her and belatedly caught the ball she tossed at me.
Before I could figure out how to speak again, Mac ambushed her from the side and threw her over his shoulder. Riley squealed as he spun in a circle.
“That’s my girl! You’re going to show me up, but it’ll be worth it.”