Chapter 1
Chase yanked his helmet off and took a deep breath. It had been one of those practices where everything went right and he was feeling pretty damn good. Someone smacked him on the back and he turned to see their quarterback, Logan Brantley, grinning at him. He returned the grin and the fist bump.
“You killed it out there today!” Logan said, passing him a bottle of water. “We’re headed to the playoffs for sure.”
“We’re only 4 games into the season,” Chase replied, tucking his helmet under his arm and opening the bottle. He downed half of it before he stopped for breath. It might be the beginning of October, but it sure as hell didn’t feel like it in Louisiana. He would have sworn it was still summertime by the heat shimmering in the air. “But I like the confidence.”
He and Logan didn’t talk much, at least nothing other than what needed to be said. Chase had expected it to take some time for everyone to get used to him when he transferred in at the beginning of the year, so he hadn’t taken it personally. He’d mostly been hanging out with the second string guys and making sure that he was playing at the top of his game. Today it had all come together perfectly and he’d made a difficult play on the first try. And apparently it had finally been enough to prove to the rest of the team that he deserved his place as the starting wide receiver.
“Why wouldn’t I be confident?” Logan demanded. “I’m already the best quarterback in the game. You transfer in from some nowhere college and now I’ve got the best wide receiver out there--”
“And I guess I don’t have anything to do with it?”
Both of them turned to find themselves facing their coach. His arms were crossed over his broad chest and one eyebrow was raised.
“Hey, everybody knows you’re the best,” Logan said smoothly. “I just hadn’t gotten to you yet.”
Rick Davis shook his head, clearly fighting a bit of a smile. “The only thing you boys need to be getting to is the showers,” he said. “There’s no need to stand around counting your chickens before they hatch.”
“Is that a southern thing?” Chase asked as he and Logan headed into the locker room. Logan wasn’t from Louisiana, but he was from Georgia, which Chase considered close enough.
“Is what a southern thing?”
“The constant use of idioms.” Chase pulled his shirt off and then dropped down to the bench to unlace his shoes. “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. You’re making a mountain out of a molehill. You’re barking up the wrong tree. I mean, what is that?”
“Well, if you don’t like it, don’t do it,” Logan said, grabbing a towel and heading for the shower.
“I’ve never barked at a tree in my life,” Chase protested.
“What?” Evan, the running back and one of the Louisiana natives, said.
“Just Chase losing his mind,” Logan called before Chase could explain himself. “His Montana brain can’t handle our colorful speech patterns.”
“Is it making you madder than a wet hen?” Evan asked. “Or does it just burn your biscuits?”
“Are those different?” Chase asked.
“Like night and day,” Ricky, the second string quarterback and Chase’s roommate, said with a grin.
“I don’t know what the problem is,” Mike, their kicker, added. “I thought cowboys talked like that too.”
“Who says I’m a cowboy?” Chase demanded.
“You’re from Montana,” Evan answered as if that settled it.
“Sure,” Chase said. “And both of my parents are lawyers. I didn’t exactly spend my time wrangling cattle back home.”
“Do you, or do you not, have a Stetson in your dorm room?” Mike demanded.
Chase cleared his throat and grabbed a towel. “That’s not the point.”
He could hear their laughter follow him as he ducked under the shower spray. The water was pretty cold, but he relished it after the long practice in the heat of the day. In Montana it would have been damn near freezing at night and pleasantly brisk during the daylight hours. Here, he was lucky if the low hit 70.
He did miss the fall weather back home, but he would have put up with a whole lot worse for a chance to play for Coach Davis. The man was an icon and the fact that he’d wanted Chase on his team had been an honest to God dream come true. He’d never been more confident that he could actually play for the NFL. Which was good because, despite his parents best efforts, he had absolutely no backup plan.
Chase realized he’d been standing under the cool spray for a while and hurried to finish his shower. The other guys were already heading out. He scrubbed his hands through his wet hair, pushing it back before turning the water off and stepping out. He wrapped a towel around his waist and headed to his locker. He pulled his jeans on and dug through hoping to find a relatively clean shirt somewhere in the depths of his locker.
“Glad I caught you.”
He turned in surprise and saw his Coach Davis standing just inside the doorway. He looked pretty serious.
“Come to my office when you’re done here.”
Chase hadn’t been on the team as long as most of the other guys, but he knew that the coach didn’t like to be questioned. “Sure, I’ll head right over.”
With a nod, Coach Davis was gone again, leaving Chase to worry about what the sudden request for a meeting meant. He went over everything that had happened during practice. He’d missed one or two passes, but no one was perfect. And he’d made some great catches and runs too. Plus, he’d nailed one of the new plays on the very first try.
He pulled his cleanest tee shirt over his head and yanked on his sneakers. Then he took a deep breath and walked down to the coach’s office. There was no sense in waiting around. If it was bad news, he’d rather get it over with.
There was a grunt of acknowledgment in response to his knock. Davis was a man of few words.
Chase pushed the door open. “Hey, Coach.”
“Have a seat, Franklin.”
The coach never called anyone on the team by their first name. Chase did as he asked, trying to look much more calm than he felt. Coach Davis took a second to finish signing the paper in front of him and then looked up, studying Chase for a moment before he spoke.
“Good job on that play earlier. I’ve never seen anyone get it right on the first try before today.”
“Thanks.” Was that what he’d wanted to talk about? Chase felt himself begin to relax.
“I talked to Meg Porter earlier today.”
Chase blinked, utterly thrown by the change in subject. “What? Who--”
“She’s your math teacher.” Rick Davis’s tone was not amused. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re bombing the class if you can’t even remember the woman’s name.”
Chase felt the back of his neck heat up. “I...I do know her name. It’s just not what I was expecting. I like Professor Porter a lot.”
“You just hate math?”
“No. Math hates me,” he said miserably. “You can see it on my high school transcript. I barely squeaked by admissions to get into college.”
The coach looked at him for a moment, rubbing his chin. “How’d you get your grades up enough to get in here?”
“My sister, Sydney. She’s great at all of this stuff. She always helped me with my math.”
“Do you think that would help now? Getting a tutor, I mean. I’m not about to fly your sister in.”
Chase gave a quick smile. “I doubt she’d have time. She just had twins this summer. And...I mean...we could try.”
Honestly, he had no idea if a tutor would help at this point. He hadn’t understood anything his math teacher had said since the first day, and he’d never had a tutor. At least, not one that wasn’t related to him.
“I’d suggest you give it a shot. I’d hate to lose a player like you over a math grade.” The coach pushed a student center card across his desk. “Give them a call, okay, son?”
Chase smiled. “Sure thing. I’ll call them now.”
“That’s a good idea.”
Chase stepped out of the building, pulling his phone out of his pocket and looking down at the card. There was something humiliating about having to do this, but he didn’t have a choice. His grade must be dipping pretty low for his coach to have a meeting with him about it. He hadn’t had the guts to check it in a few weeks, so he couldn’t be sure how bad it was, and honestly, he didn’t want to know.
“What’s that?”
Chase jumped, nearly dropping both his phone and the card. “What’s up with people sneaking up on me today?” he demanded, turning to face Logan.
Logan only shrugged. “Sorry.”
Chase glanced at the quarterback once more. Logan didn’t look nearly as happy as he’d looked after practice. In fact, he looked pretty pissed off.
“Are you okay?”
“Sure, yeah. Just...stuff with the ex.”
“Is she still bugging you?” Chase had heard rumors of Logan’s crazy ex, but he’d never mentioned it.
“When is she not?” Logan asked, his shoulders slumping as he leaned against the wall. “She’s going to do her best to punish me for breaking up with her.”
“It’s been a while, right?”
“Nearly 2 months.” Logan shoved his phone into his pocket. “We were together for over a year though.”
“That’s rough.”
“Yeah. Hey, listen, I waited around to tell you that Evan’s having a party tonight. The whole team is invited. It should be pretty good.”
Chase glanced at the card in his hand and then back at Logan. He did look pretty miserable. And Chase missed feeling like a real part of a team. Back in Montana, he’d been close with everyone.
“We should probably go,” he said. “Get your mind off the ex for a while.”
Logan grinned and smacked him on the back. “Sounds good to me.”
****
At the party, Chase couldn’t help but feel that Logan was doing pretty well at forgetting the girl. He was drinking enthusiastically, talking with everyone who came in, and dancing with every girl that flirted with him. And there were plenty of those. It didn’t really surprise Chase that Logan was the most popular guy at the party. It was usually that way with the quarterback.
Unless they followed the game, most people didn’t even know what he did. He didn’t mind, though. He liked parties, but not for the interaction. Chase was a confirmed people watcher and parties were the best place on campus for his hobby. He was glad he’d finally gotten invited to one.
He’d whiled away the night talking with other guys on the team and watching the crowd contentedly. Now he sipped his soda and leaned against the staircase watching Logan talk with a group of girls that he’d seen around at practice lately. The blonde was pretty, and everyone seemed to know her. The other girl seemed content to follow in her shadow. He raised an eyebrow when Logan draped an arm over the girls shoulders and steered them his way.
“What are you doing all the way over here?” He asked, practically having to yell over the music.
Chase raised his cup as if that was a good excuse. Then he nodded to the girls. They had clearly had more than a few, but he didn’t think that they were drunk enough to need to cling quite so close. He hid his smile behind a sip of his drink.
“Hey, you’re on the team, right?” the brunette asked.
“He catches the ball,” the blonde said with a giggle.
“And I run with it,” Chase said dryly. “But I’m no quarterback.”
“Definitely not,” the first girl said, looking up at Logan with a smile.
“Come dance or something,” Logan said abruptly. “You look bored standing over here. Ellie would dance with you.”
Ellie, the blonde, looked disappointed, but willing to do whatever Logan asked.
“I’m good,” Chase said, taking both of them off the hook.
“Cowboys don’t dance?” Logan asked.
Chase snorted. “Fuck off. I’ve gotta get going soon anyway.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I’ve got a paper due tomorrow and I should probably get to sleep before the sun comes up.”
Logan let the girls go. “I’ll head out with you.”
“Aw, Logan, don’t go!” Ellie said, clinging a little more tightly to his arm.
He ruffled her hair, tugging himself free. “I’ll see you in class, sweetheart.”
He and Chase walked out into the muggy night air together, leaving the party behind them.
“Man, when does it get cold here?” Chase asked as they walked back to the dorm.
Logan laughed. “Pretty much around...never. How come you didn’t dance with anyone?”
Chase shrugged. “Just not in the mood.”
“You don’t seem like you ever are. I never see you out anywhere. Need me to introduce you to some guys instead?”
“Thanks, but no. I’m not gay, I’m just...single.”
“Crazy ex?” Logan asked. “Because I know all about that.”
“I wouldn’t say she was crazy,” Chase said, looking up at the stars. “She just didn’t want to do the long distance thing.”
Logan stopped, leaning against the low wall near the dorm. “Oh yeah? So she’s still in Montana?”
Chase nodded. “She’s a med student.”
“How long were you together?”
“Since eighth grade.”
“Holy shit! That long?”
Chase gave a shrug that he hoped looked casual. He still missed her like crazy, though the ache had lessened in his month. She wasn’t quite the first thing he thought of anymore when he woke up. It didn’t make it any easier to talk about her though.
“Yeah. We broke up last summer, when I got accepted here and decided to transfer.”
“Cold.”
“I thought so,” Chase agreed. “But she had her reasons and she had her future planned out. We didn’t fit together the way we used to.”
“Is that what she told you?” Logan asked, narrowing his eyes.
Chase half laughed. “Is it that obvious? But she was right in the end, I guess.” He couldn’t see Maria here. And he knew that here was where he belonged. It was the right coach, the right team, and the right time. He’d never felt closer to his goal of playing for the NFL. “What happened with you and Claire?” he asked in order to steer his mind away from her. He was suddenly picturing his pretty ex in too much detail. “Obviously it wasn’t distance.”
“No,” Logan agreed. “It was her lack of distance with other guys that was the main problem.”
“She cheated on you?” That actually surprised Chase. Football teams were usually a pretty tight knit crowd. News like that always got back around.
“A few times. And she lied. And she stole. And she partied all the time and she got high and then she did it all over again. One time she called me the night before midterms swearing that she was going to kill herself. I went running over and she was sitting there doing her damn nails. She laughed at me when I told her that she’d scared the hell out of me.”
Chase stared at his friend. Maria had been distant in the end, but she’d been sane at least. “Damn.”
“That time, she was just mad that I wouldn’t study with her. But she did it a few more times too, about other things. It was a hell of a ride. Cost me a couple thousand bucks and a lot of sleepless nights. When it started affecting the game I couldn’t do it anymore.”
“Damn right,” Chase agreed. “The best wide receiver in the game needs at least a passable quarterback.”
He was relieved when Logan laughed, and they talked about lighter things on their way back to the dorm. When they parted ways, Chase felt like he’d finally cemented his place on the team. He finally felt like he belonged.