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Page 14 of Running Play (Gods of Campus #1)

Christian

I reverse my truck into my reserved spot at the stadium.

The crowds are thin, still a few hours til kickoff, but soon this place will be packed with the whole town gathering to watch the game.

Haven’t even played our first game, yet the locals can already taste the victory.

Nothing like the endless conversations anytime you go into town about being the greatest, playing your best, and bringing the trophy home.

Drop a ball, throw an interception, or miss a tackle, and best you don’t go into town for a few days.

Not that they aren’t going to still love you, but you’re going to hear about it and get served a lecture from the old guys sitting outside the grocery store.

We walk through the players’ door and down the wide corridor, my duffle bag thrown over my shoulder and Jasmine’s bag in the other hand.

I follow my friends down to the cheerleaders’ dressing room.

Jasmine, always the perfectionist, likes to get here early before anyone else so she can get organized.

I drop her bag on the ground as she wraps her arms around my neck, gazing up at me with those stunning baby blues.

“Good luck tonight.”

“You too,” I say, pulling her in for one more kiss, her body falling against mine, and I savor every moment of it before I let her go.

I release her and step back as Randy yells from down the hall. He points toward the cheerleaders’ double doors. “You sure you don’t need help sorting Spankies ? I’m happy to offer my assistance, babe.”

She looks down the hallway toward him, her arms across her chest. “There’s probably more Spankies in the backseat of your car than in this locker room,” she says, thumbing the door with a pop of her hip. “But thanks, Randy, I have this covered.”

He laughs at her remark, but his ego doesn’t falter, it never does .

“I’m just a few doors away if you change your mind.

” He uses his thumb to gesture down the corridor to our locker room.

She shakes her head at him, picking up her bag and pushing through the double doors.

“I’ll call Christian if I need any help that involves Spankies.

” Jasmine shoots me a wink and disappears as I laugh out loud at his sad face.

Entering the blue and silver locker room and seeing all my teammates, I realize that it’s this camaraderie that I love as much as the game—being with my brothers and making memories.

I feel the need to savor every moment of this, this high before the game, a game I know we are going to win.

People get injured, seniors move on and disperse in different directions, but this time right here, right now is ours.

With high fives and slaps on the back we are kicking off the season in just a few hours.

We are pumped and ready to take this all the way.

“Victory party at my place!” Jason shouts.

“Premature—again,” someone fires back.

“Can we at least play the game first?” another groans.

Jason waves them off. “Fine, fine, let’s get it done. Then—victory party at my place!”

Fuck yeah, this should be a good night.

***

During the fourth quarter we are up 31 to 20.

With the clock counting down, we have this in the bag.

Guess Jason was right. We are currently running defense at our end goal, so I take a look in the stands at my family.

Turning toward them, I find Mom, Dad, and Dani sitting there looking proud…

a noticeable exception in our family dynamic.

“Where the fuck is he?” I murmur to myself.

“What?” Randy questions as he stands beside me as we pace near the sideline.

“Tyler…he should be here.”

He turns his head to look at my family, his mother sitting beside mine, chatting away like they have done for years. “It’s Saturday night, he’s probably fucked up.”

“Yep, same as any other day that ends in Y,” I say back, my eyes continuing to scan the crowd.

“Don’t stress about it, man. A few more minutes and we will be hitting the showers, then we can go track him down,” he says with a slap to the shoulder.

“Nah, man, I’ll look for him and will meet you at the party after.”

“You sure?”

This isn’t Randy’s problem. As much as he is like a brother to me and my siblings, I don’t want him missing our first afterparty. “I’m sure.”

Glancing around the crowd one last time in case Tyler is sitting somewhere else, I spot her gorgeous blonde hair.

Once again, my body has found her like a fucking heat-seeking missile.

Making eye contact, I flash her my best smile and shoot her a wave.

She sees me and her face twists in bewilderment, her head turning side to side, trying to figure out if the wave was for her.

Turning back toward the game, I grin because there’s just something about Shelby, and I’ll be damned if I can pinpoint what it is.

What I do know is that she is so fucking captivating, and I haven’t been this enamored with a girl before .

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