Page 15 of Reign of the Queen
"No idea. That creep made a rude comment about me to Mateo but before Mateo could get up or even make a comment back, Theo had laid his ass out." I shrug like it's no big deal. In the back of my mind, I'm questioning why Theo, of all people, would feel inclined to defend me against someone like that guy.
Casbury Prep wins thirty-two to nineteen. As our guys celebrate on the field. I see a few of the other team's football players just standing around, one of which is the loudmouth that made the earlier comment and got the beat down. He eyes Theo closely. That doesn’t look good.Fuck.
I don't question why I care as I'm moving quickly toward the field. I grab onto Mateo's hand and drag him down to the field with me. I'm hoping if we can get down to our guys, specifically Theo, we may avoid a full-on brawl breaking out on the field, or at least avoid Theo getting jumped. I make a huge mistake, though; the minute I step onto the field, I'm the match that lights the damn bomb that was just waiting to go off.
The other guy, Reid spies me and motions to his fellow players; they each take steps toward me on the field. Mateo and Raegan are a few steps behind me, and I'm heading straight for Theo to warn him. Reid takes a few more steps toward me and then stops, calling out to me. "Hey blonde bitch, come here to suck a little celebratory cock?" He lets out a loud laugh, and his teammates cackle like little bitches behind him, bolstering his confidence.
I watch as Theo turns his head, probably hearing the tail end of the comment; he stares at where I'm coming across the field toward him.
"Shut the fuck up, you stupid perv," I retort, not stopping in my stride to get to Theo, confident that Raegan and Mateo have my back. It's my second mistake; the first was stepping on the field, to begin with, they're farther behind me than I thought.
"What did you say, stupid skank?" One of the other team's players yells back.
"What the fuck did you call her?" Mateo calls back to the other guy, changing direction and heading his way.
"What's it to you, pussy?" Idiot football player shouts back.
Mateo doesn't respond; he just rushes the guy full-on, and for a guy that doesn't play football and doesn't carry a lot of body weight, he tackles and takes the football player straight down; his football gear is still on as Mateo lands on top of him.
All hell breaks loose as Theo starts running toward the fray. Then Casbury football players, led by Finn and Carter, also wade into the fight, and before you know it, the players from the other team that had already left the field come running back from the tunnel. It's an all-out brawl between the two groups and game spectators who have rushed the field.
Mateo and Carter are in the middle, getting punched, but also giving as good as they’re getting. Jessie's got one guy by the helmet, his other hand punches him repeatedly in the midsection. Theo is literally on the ground in some sort of MMA or wrestling move as he puts a guy into a submission hold, and Finn is fighting two at a time. I spy Evan heading in his direction to even the odds.
"Oh my heavens, sweet baby Jesus!" Raegan is screaming beside me. "What do we do?" She's looking around frantically.
A player from the opposing team looks like he's coming toward Raegan and me to grab us, but before he can, he's tackled by one of the Casbury Prep’s players. The noise on the field is deafening with screams, grunts and flesh hitting flesh.
The coaching staff, teachers, and parents rush onto the field to break up the fight. We can hear sirens in the background of either approaching ambulances or police cruisers, maybe both.
"Ladies, step back, please off the field!" One of the angry coaching staff yells at us to move out of the line of danger. Raegan and I back up until we are on the sidelines, clutching each other tightly and watching the madness. Police officers and ambulance attendants rush the field.
The coaching staff, assisted by the police, manage to get the brawl under control and separate the players, each being held back by their own coaching staff and parents. EMTs start checking the players on the ground while shaking their heads at the craziness of the situation.
"What in the ever-loving name of baby Jesus is going on here, boys?" Casbury's head coach, Coach Sims, yells at his players. "WELL! Which one of you numb nuts are going to tell me what started this fight?" He gives all of his players a once-over, mumbling to himself. Some of them are in complete disarray, missing pieces of their uniforms, pads, and helmets; one guy somehow lost his pants and one shoe; don't ask me how.
He nods his head as if he expected as much. No one’s talking; they are all just looking down at the ground. Lips pursed, scowls in place, anger, and adrenaline still running through them. "Was this to do with the game or the score?" He approaches Theo, who’s the captain of the team.
Theo doesn't look up and doesn't answer either. The coach shakes his gray, balding head and looks over at the other team's coach. "Well, Stetson, what you wanna do here?" The other team's coach just sighs and shakes his head. I guess he got nowhere questioning his players, either.
"Pray cooler heads prevail. I'm gonna put my guys on the bus back home without showering or changing. I thank you for your hospitality and the game."
He nods to our coach and the police officers standing around. "Get your useless asses on that bus, boys, or I'm gonna be kicking damn keisters all the way home."
The other team gets up, some of them groaning; one guy spits out a loose tooth, and they start heading toward the tunnel to grab their things and get out of Casbury’s stadium. I watch as our coach leans back on the soles of his feet, taking his ball cap off and then putting it back on. His large belly strains against his blue and red coaching shirt.
"I don't know what all of this was about, and honestly, I don't care either. You all stood together regardless of the dumb crap this was probably about. I'm gonna commend you on that." He sighs. "Regardless, get your butts on this field at five a.m. for laps and an additional practice tomorrow morning. Your rest day is canceled." He shakes his head and walks away toward the tunnel leading to the changing rooms, mumbling about dumb shits and how he has the patience of a saint.
The team starts to get to their feet, some of them groaning, others giving hands to ones that are struggling. A few of them smile, like this was some sort of fun ride or something. They all start to head in together to the tunnel. Mateo, Finn, and Carter are at the back of the group helping each other up and slapping each other's backs. Mateo looks like he's going to have a massive bruise on the side of his face come tomorrow. Carter's a little worse for wear, parts of his uniform are missing or ripped off, and he has a split lip—amongst other injuries. Finn doesn't look too bad for a guy taking on two at a time.
When they’re almost all into the tunnel, I look back toward the field and see that Theo is still standing there on his own. Nodding to Raegan, I slowly walk over to him. His head lifts as he hears me approach, his eyes following my movements with a brooding, assessing look until I am close enough to see bruising already sprouting on his handsome face.
"Theo…ummm…are, are you alright?" I ask with a sigh, not knowing what to do with my hands but itching to reach out and check that he's actually alright for myself. The desire to touch him annoys me, so I clench my hands tightly. At first, he doesn't say anything at all; he just stares at me as if he's trying to decipher all my secrets. As if he can see inside me to everything I'm holding back.
"No!" he angrily shouts and throws his helmet in the direction of the tunnel. He advances on me, until we are a breath away from each other, and I can smell the sweat coming off of him, mixed with his heady scent of cloves and sandalwood. He doesn't touch me, but he fists his hands like he's forcing himself not to do it. Grime is streaked across his flushed face, and his eyes are two dark blue blazing disks.
"No, Mia, I am not alright, and you know what? That’s been the case since you got here." Reaching out, he grabs onto my jersey and pulls my body hard into his. The impact of my body against his has me letting out a small cry. He crashes his warm, firm lips on mine, still holding my shirt firmly in his grip. His other hand slides into the back of my hair, fingers digging into the back of my scalp, holding me immobile so he can kiss me.
His tongue pushes against the seam of my closed lips. He grips my hair hard, and I open my lips in a small gasp. He takes advantage, and his tongue plunders into my mouth and tangles with mine.
