01. Chasing Nikki (20 page)

He put the
bag away.  “Whatever.  You know where to find me if you change your mind.” 

“Still
trying to stick to your grandpa’s rules?” Brett asked.

I nodded. 
“It helps to make life a little easier that way.  Plus Nikki worries about me. 
She works for a substance abuse therapist.” I chuckled wryly.  “That’s where I
do my community service hours.”

Chad
groaned.  “That sucks.  You sound like one of those infomercials, “I’m not only
the president, I’m a client too.”

I rolled my
eyes. “You’re a dork.”

“Yes, I am. 
But I’m a dork who can get high.”

“And sell
too, apparently.  You’re crazy to do that.  If you get caught, you’re gonna
kill your college scholarship chances.”

“Guess I
better not get caught then,” he replied, giving me a warning glance.

I laughed. 
“You don’t have to worry about me.  I’m on your side.  Consider me the poster
child for substance abuse.”

“Good.  Glad
we’re cool.”

I shook my
head.  “It’s your life.  Who am I to tell you how to live it?” 

If only I
were so lucky.

PART TWO

Chapter
Eighteen

Brett
snapped the ball to me, and I fell back into the pocket while I looked for a
receiver.  I found Chad as my line held the opposing team away, and I powered
the ball through the air toward him.

It was a
perfect throw, dead on.  He caught it easily, before turning to run the next
thirty yards for a touchdown.  The referee threw his arms into the air to
signal the score, and I slapped the helmets of my lineman as I ran off the
grass so the field goal team could come on.

“And number
twenty-three, quarterback, Chase Walker, connects on another long pass to
number eighty-two, Chad Thompson, bringing the score to Timberwolves twenty,
Mountain Lions, seven!”

The crowd
was going wild, eager to rub the play in the face of the opposing fans, one of
our big rivals from Cooley.

“Great job,
Chase,” Coach Hardin said, punching my shoulder pads as I came off.

“Thanks,” I
replied while I removed my headgear and headed over to where the water cooler
was set up on a folding table. 

I couldn’t
help the quick glance to where my girl was currently being tossed into the air
by the rest of the cheer squad, who were in the middle of a routine.

She was
amazing.  I had to give her that.

Get your
head in the game, Chase,
I growled internally, and I returned my attention
to the field. 

The extra
point was good, and the kickoff team headed onto the field.  I looked at the
scoreboard.  Three minutes left.  This game was in the bag.  We just needed the
defense to hold them or force a turn over.

“Put me in,
Coach.  I can play defense too.”

“You’ve done
your part, Chase.  Let these guys have a chance at it.  If I need you to go in,
I’ll send you.  Take a rest for a minute.”  He looked away to start talking to
one of the other coaches.

I watched
the defense line up against the Mountain Lions, and they snapped the ball.  One
of our guys barreled through the opposition and sacked their quarterback.

“Yeah!” I
yelled, pumping my fist into the air and. I swaggered down the sideline,
slapping my teammates on the backs of their helmets, as the crowd roared in the
stands.  I knew this was going to be a huge win for us.  Even though we were
undefeated for the season so far, the first three games had been non-conference
games against less than challenging teams.  Going into conference with a win
straight off the bat, and against Cooley too, was going to send our message to
every other team out there.  We were in it to win it.

“Pass!” The
guys on the sideline started to yell as Cooley set up to throw long to try to
make up for their loss of yards during the last play.  Their quarterback threw
the ball, and we all watched with baited breath, the crowd jumping to its feet
as number sixty-four, Jace Davidson, vaulted himself into the air and
intercepted the ball, turning to run toward our goal line.

The whole
team shifted as we ran down the sidelines cheering him on.  “Go, go, go!” I
shouted, joining the others as he ran a good twenty yards before he was
tackled.

“Chase!
Offense! You’re up!” Coach hollered.  “You boys have got this game.  Let’s wrap
it up good now.”

I was well
aware of the time on the board.  Two and a half minutes left.  I was going to
take my time calling the snaps, control the ball, and run the clock down.  We
needed to go twenty-five yards to make a touchdown.  We could do this.

Coach called
the play, and I knew I was passing up the middle to Wes this time.  I took the
snap and stepped back as I looked for my man.  One of Cooley’s players broke
through the line, headed right for me.  I held my ground, waiting for my
opportunity to throw the ball.  He was getting closer, though, and I knew he
was going to hit me. 

There was a
sudden blur as my teammate, Glen Jackson, bulldozed past me and took the guy
down with a hard thud before he could touch me.  I saw Wes break away from his
defender and turn.  I threw the ball straight for him.

He caught it
easily, but was tackled immediately on the five-yard line.  The ball was called
down, and I turned to give Glen a hand up. 

“Great
coverage, man.” I gave him a high five as we moved with the rest of team to set
up again.

“Nice pass,”
he replied, with a grin.  “I’m having fun.  Let’s finish this.”

I glanced
over to the coach, and watched for his next call.  He shouted out the numbers. 
We were going to run this one right up the middle.

We got in
position, and I waited for the clock to click down a few seconds more.  I called
the snap and faked the handoff to Chad.  He folded his arms as if he were
protecting the ball and took off.  The line shifted, opening a hole right up
the middle, and I took off, heading straight into the end zone.

“Chase
Walker for six!” the announcer’s voice came loudly over the speakers as the
fans rose and cheered.

Chad ran
over and the two of us jumped up for a celebratory chest bump against each
other’s shoulder pads.

“Nice fake,”
I said, as we ran off the field together.

“This game
is ours.” He smiled widely.

“Yes, it
is.”

We were
greeted with a bunch of high fives as we took our places on the sidelines and
watched the kicking team easily score the extra point.

“The extra
point is good, fans! Let’s hear it for our Silver Creek Timberwolves!” the announcer’s
voice boomed, and the crowd roared its support.

The kickoff
line went out again, and Cooley managed to return the ball fifteen yards before
they were brought down.

“Come on
D-line! Let’s hold them!” I shouted.  The clock still showed less than two
minutes and Cooley worked the ball the best they could, pulling off a good play
that got them another first down.  It didn’t matter though, because time was on
our side tonight and when the final buzzer blared, the defense had held them to
no score.

“Timberwolves
come off victorious in their first conference game, beating the Mountain Lions
twenty-seven to seven! Let’s hear it for our Timberwolves!”

The masses
thundered their approval as we lined up on the fifty-yard line to slap hands
with the other team.

“Good game,
good game,” I greeted the players as we passed by, before running to join our
team on the field for the customary after game pushups.  We gave a shout and
quick huddle before returning to the edge of the grass to sing the school fight
song to the waiting crowd, as was our tradition.

The fans
clapped along with us and cheered loudly when we were done.  We headed to the
locker room.

“Chase
Walker,” the announcer’s voice came over the loud speaker, and I turned toward
the press box in surprise, wondering what was going on. “Nikki Wagner says,
yes, she will go to Homecoming with you next week.”

“It’s about
time!” I hollered back, my eyes searching for her among the cheerleaders as
laugher broke out through the dwindling onlookers.

She was
standing there with a pretty blush, waving at me slightly.

I pointed at
her with a warning finger. “I’ll deal with you shortly.” I grinned and turned
to go toward the locker room.

“She’s just
barely answering you for homecoming?” Brett said at my shoulder.  “You asked
her weeks ago.”

“I know.  I
think she delights in torturing me for some reason.  She thought it was funny I
asked her so early, but I didn’t want some other guy trying to sneak in and
snag her.”

“Yeah,
because guys in this school are that dumb to try to steal the main squeeze of
the star quarterback.” He rolled his eyes.

“Don’t you
be giving me any smack.  You asked Tana a week later.  It’s not that big of a
difference.”

“Except
school had actually been going for a week when I did it.  You asked Nikki on
the first day.”

“Hey.  It’s
my senior year.  I want everything to be perfect.  I got the girl I want—now I
just need to get that state ring.  Life is finally starting to work out, you
know?”

“I get it. 
It’s going to be amazing.  I can feel it.”

Nikki, my
family, and Greg, were waiting for me by the gate to the field house when I
came out.  I walked over to them, giving the ladies hugs, and shaking the guys’
hands as they congratulated me on a good game.

“You’re
doing awesome, kid,” Greg said. 

“Thanks,” I
replied as my mom beamed at me.  I knew she was glad Greg had kind of started
growing on me during the summer.  He really was as great as everyone said he
was, and I was happy my mom had him in her life.  It was nice to see her
smiling again all the time.

“Enjoy your
date tonight.  Don’t stay out too late,” my mom said, embracing me one more
time before they left me alone with Nikki.

She stepped
forward and kissed me softly on the lips.  “Oh dear.  You smell terrible.”

I laughed. 
“Let’s go to your house so I can get showered then.”  It was fortunate her mom
agreed to let me start doing that since it saved me a trip all the way to the
ranch and back again for our Friday night dates.

I loosely
draped my arm around her shoulders, and we made our way toward the team parking
lot.

“You were
amazing tonight.”

“The team
was amazing,” I corrected her.  “I can’t do it without the rest of them.”

“You know
what I mean.  Take the compliment.  You’re fabulous, and you know it.”

“I have no
problem listening to you tell me how fabulous I am.” I grinned, and she shoved
at me as I fumbled for my keys in my pocket.

“What the
…,” I trailed off as I looked to where I’d left my truck parked.  It was still
there, but covered completely from one end to the other in plastic wrap.

There was a
big sign on the driver’s side door that spelled out the word yes.

“You’re so
dead,” I said, and she squealed and took off running.

She was
actually pretty quick as she ducked and ran between the few vehicles that were
still there, but I managed to catch her right next to my truck, and I pinned
her there with my body.

“You’re
gonna get me all sweaty,” she whined, squirming against me.

“You deserve
it.” I laughed, pressing my body against her harder.  “You already had the
announcer respond for you.  You make me wait weeks for your answer, and then
you do this too.  Why?”

“I just
wanted to make sure you got the message.” She smiled up at me innocently.

“Which
message is that?  The one that proves I’ll hang around for weeks waiting for
you like a puppy on a string?”

“No.  The
one that says you’re worth saying yes to twice.”

I let my
gaze run hungrily over her before returning to her face.  “I wonder what else I
could get you to say yes to?” I muttered, my voice low.

“You’re not
understanding.”

“Understanding
what?” I was confused.

“The yes
from the announcer was for homecoming.  The yes on your truck is for you.”

“For me?”

“You told
me, all those months ago by the creek, that when I was ready I’d have to be the
one to give you the go ahead.  I’m telling you yes.  I’m ready.  I want you to
be the one.  I love you, and I want to share that part of me with you.”

I was
instantly on fire.  “Are you serious? Like right now? Tonight?”

She shook
her head, laughing.  “No.  I want it to be special for us.  I was thinking we
could plan something for after the homecoming dance.”

I kissed
her.  Hard, hot, and fast.  One week.  I’d held myself in check all these
months, night after night of heated make outs that left me hanging in massive
frustration, and suddenly the thought of waiting one more week seemed endless.

I ran my
hands up her body until they traveled into her hair, twisting and tangling as I
angled her better against me.  My tongue plunged into her mouth, and I moaned
when she wrapped her arms around my waist, sliding them up my back.

“Go get her,
Chase,” someone called out, followed by a wolf whistle.

Our lips
broke apart, but we didn’t move, instead staring at each other.  “I love you,
Nikki.”  I reached up to smooth her ruffled hair and chuckled.  “I’m not lying
when I say this will be the longest week of my life.”

She nodded. 
“For me too.” She looked to make sure we were completely alone before she spoke
again.  “My mom is taking the kids and going to see her sister, who just had a
baby, in Texas next weekend.  I’m supposed to stay at Tana’s.  I thought you
could make arrangements to stay at Brett’s and then maybe we could meet at my
house together.”

At her
house. I closed my eyes and let myself mentally picture it for a moment.