Page 118 of Touchdown, Tennessee

I hadmore.

I had something soreal, finally, for the first time in my life, with Gray.

Remember when that’s how football felt, too? How it really was just a game?

A game I loved so much?

Something that made me feel purely good?

The tension that had been in my body all night suddenly relaxed into that fluid state for Luke’s next pass.

I wasn’t rigid.

Because I’d fucking let myselfbreathefor the first time in so long.

When I took off for the pass, Valen followed, like usual.

But this time I knew how to be sneakier. He expected me to do what I’d been doing all night, juking like a motherfucker.

Instead, I just stayed the course.

I ran right from where I began, straight out.

As fast as I fucking could.

I could tell that Valen was looking for me to move. To surprise him at the last second like I’d been trying to do all game.

I didn’t.

I watched that ball as it sailed in, and got just enough distance from Valen that it hit me dead-on. The moment the ballthwackedinto my hand, I made a break for it. I didn’t have that many yards between me and the touchdown, but as far as I was concerned, I could have run it forever.

Make it another hundred yards.

Make it a thousand.

I would bring that ball, and I wouldearnmy fucking touchdown.

When my cleat crossed the line and I hadn’t been brought down to the ground, I knew that something had changed.

I was here.

We were 17 to 13 now.

Then 17 to 14, soon after.

And I was ready to bring us the win.

On Luke’s next pass, something more had clicked. Not only did Valen seem thrown off his game, but it somehow felt like my legs werefasternow. I juked a little this time, never letting him know where I’d end up. For a moment I thought I was caught, but that moment sailed on by.

The crowd went fuckingapeshitwhen I brought the score up again.

And by the time the game ended, we all knew the win was already ours.

I roared as the rest of my team surrounded me, covering me in the biggest mob I’d ever seen.

“Our boy!”

“That’s how we do it, Peachel.”