in front of to get out of the row. Some of them cursed me for not waiting until the next play stop, but I didn’t care.
He lied to me.
The words flickered at first, like a neon sign slowly blinking to life, but then they were there, hot and bright, front and center with nothing else to focus on.
He lied to me.
He LIED to me.
My phone buzzed in my hand, Gemma’s face on the screen, but I ignored the call. Then, I promptly turned the phone off completely, shoving it in my back pocket.
Question after question bombarded me as I rushed out of Soldier Field. Why did he lie? Why would he keep this from me?
What else is he keeping from me?
Is this just a game to him? Did he mean anything he said at all?
Who even is he?
Tears stung my eyes the more I shoved through the crowd, and it was all I could do to keep it together when I finally made it outside. I hailed the first cab I saw, climbing in and rattling off my address before my head hit the headrest and I closed my eyes, forcing as deep a breath as I could muster.
I thought he was different. I thought I could trust him. I thought, for the first time, there was a guy who could prove me wrong. I thought he meant what he said. I thought we had something real, something special, something unlike anything I’d ever had before. I thought maybe, just maybe, Gemma and Zach were right about him, about me not having to play the same role, about there being a chance to find something real.
I thought I was falling in love with him.
My chest ached so violently I surged forward, wincing against the pain. When my eyes blinked open, I saw his condo in the distance, and I shook my head as more tears blurred my vision.
I won’t hurt you.
It was a lie.
All of it.
And I was a fool to have ever believed otherwise.
Makoa
We won.
Sure, it was just a pre-season game. It wouldn’t mean shit for our record, and for most of the players on this team — especially the veterans — the win was nothing to celebrate.
But for me and for any of the other guys vying for a spot on the team, this was huge.
Gerald clapped me on the back after my shower, ruffling my hair with his massive hand. “Eleven receptions, one-hundred-and-eighty-nine yards, and a touchdown?” He shook his head, his wet curls bouncing with the effort. “I knew you came here to prove a point, Kumaka, but damn, save some for the rest of them out there, eh?”
I tried to fight the cheesy smile that spread over my face at his words, but I couldn’t help it. “What can I say? Just had a good game.”
“I’ll say.”
I knocked him on the arm. “Look who’s talking, Mr. QB of the game. You played three quarters and didn’t have a single interception. And what was your final CMP?”
He smirked. “Sixty-seven percent.”
I shook my head, holding up my fist for a bump.
“Get some good rest tonight,” Gerald said. “I have a feeling coach is going to have a lot for you to do in practice this week. Can’t have a game like that and go unnoticed.” He winked, clapping my shoulder again before he moved on to congratulate Sean Whacker, who was trying to secure his position as a running back and had a monster game, too.
Pride made my chest swell, and I dressed as quickly as I could with Belle on my mind, but took a moment to just sit and watch the locker room when I was putting on my shoes. At every locker, there were legendary men, giving legendary interviews or recapping a legendary game. It didn’t matter to me if they didn’t play at all tonight. In my eyes, these guys were the elite few, the ones millions of eyes watched every week, the ones who made me pick up a ball and devote my entire life to it.
And I was here with them.
Sometimes it didn’t feel real, but in moments like this, after games like this… I couldn’t imagine my life any other way.
I was born for this.
I was made to be here.
My goofy-ass smile was still plastered on when I dug into my duffle bag for my phone, eager to text Belle and tell her I was on my way. I was even more eager to tell her everything about what my