Firsts & Lasts

Last Struggle.

Christian

"Fuck!" I slam my helmet hard against the medal bench. Some of my teammates flinch at this. I sit down. "Pass me the fucking tablet, DJ," I tell my teammate. He hands me the tablet we use to see and plan out plays.

Todays game is not going smooth. That week off did something to me I guess. This whole season so far has been shit for me and it's aggravating. I don't know what's different this year but our schedule is the same as last years and we're still struggling. We've only lost one game but it seems like we barely win every game we play. My stats aren't that great either. I only have one pick six this year. One. Last year, I had four by this time.

I scroll aggressively as I watch the replay on the tablet. The wide receiver I was covering just caught a touchdown pass on me. I've been letting this happen way too many times this season and it's starting to get to me. I replay the film about thirty times before tossing the tablet to the side. At least offense is doing a good job and putting points on the board.

Unlike me, Rhys is having a good year. Him and Cgc have good quarterback/running back chemistry. He's Cgc's favorite target because he knows Rhys will get the job done. He's a damn good player. Overlooked in my opinion.

The offense always stays on the field for a good amount of time so I distance myself from the team until I go back onto the field. I'm kind of an asshole, but I hate when I have bad games. I know my fathers watching this right now, pissed. For hating him so much, I sure as hell seem to think about him whenever I'm doing shitty in games. I don't care what he thinks but I just know he's shaking his head at me and that pisses me off.

He's always hated the fact that I didn't end up playing the same position as him. He played on the opposite side of the ball, offense, so he hated that I ended up on defense. He tried so many times to get my coach to switch my position, but my coach knew I was amazing at safety. I don't think I could ever play offense anyway. I'm glad I don't.

My defense coach, Coach Smith, comes up to me. He slaps my shoulder pad. "You're good, don't let it get to you," He says about the previous play. I just nod my head because for some reason talking when I'm mad is hard for me to do. I notice the boys are on the 25 yard line again. Two minutes later, the crowd and sideline cheers as Cgc throws a touchdown pass to Xander.

Well, at least some of us are having a good game.

+

Novalee

Maddy and I walk towards my car in the parking lot as we wait for Christian. I'm giving her a ride across campus and Christian wanted to hang out after the game. "Was it just me or was this game more crowded than usual?" I give her look, "The games are always packed." She rolls her eyes as I unlock my car and she gets in. I turn on the air since California heat is still very inevitable in November. "Yes, but it was full in there," she clarifies "I saw stories of people who said they couldn't find a seat, so they didn't stay for the game," She finishes.

I raise my eyebrows in surprise. "Oh, then I guess, yeah. Maybe it's because we're doing good this year," I suggest. She shrugs, "Maybe, but we do good every year." True. I glance out the windshield to see Christian walking towards my car. Even though the team won tonight, he didn't play well. I know he's not the happiest. He gets into the back seat for now, throwing in his duffel bag on the seat.

I turn my head when he leans forward to peck my lips. "Hey Maddy," He says, shutting the car door. "Hey," She replies. "You coming out with us?" Chris asks as I pull out of the parking lot. She shakes her head, "Can't, I have plans. Nov's just taking me to the dorms." She says. "Damn, maybe next time then," He adds. She nods.

I like that they get along. Usually Maddy's iffy on befriending people as quickly as she did me, but she likes Chris. They're not super close, but they get along well enough for the three of us to hang out together. Once we get to the dorms, we say our goodbyes to Maddy and Chris climbs into the front seat.

He grabs one of my hands immediately, intertwining our fingers. "Hey," I say, already starting to drive. We're going out to dinner tonight. He throws his head back against the seat. "I'm aggravated," He tells me. I knew this already and even when he's mad, he's nice to me. I worry about everyone else who has to be around him though. "Don't be mean to the waiter again," I say. It's happened before. He actually chuckles, "Okay."

The ride to the restaurant is a bit long since the traffic on Saturday nights is always insane. Chris ranted to me the whole time about the game. Football terms and I aren't best friends but even if I couldn't understand much, I still listened. He's very passionate about this sport which I appreciate. He always listens when I complain about my job.

The waiter leads us to our booth, the place is packed tonight. "So nothing good came out of tonight?" I frown, as we slide into either side of our table. Christian is about to reply, but our waiter interrupts him. "Can I get you guys started with some drinks?" The pretty, blonde says. She's about our age, probably from our school. She looks at Chris first, "I'll have a water," He says. She writes it down quickly and then looks at me. "I'll have lemonade," I say with a smile. She nods, "I'll be right back with that." And then she leaves.

"I was almost mean because like why did she interrupt me?" Christian questions. I shake my head and laugh. "She was just doing her job, C." He rolls his eyes and extends his arms over the table to find my hands. "To answer your question, yes. Dinner with you was the only good thing that came out of tonight." He says with a small smirk. I roll my eyes playfully, "I was talking about the game." He rubs his thumb over my palm which sends shivers throughout my body.

I hate it when he does this. He knows it makes me feel something.

I turn my hand over so that he can't do it anymore. "Well then, no. I played like shit," He says. "I'm sure you didn't do that bad," I try to comfort him but then again, I don't know anything about football so maybe he did do terrible. He scoffs. "No offense babe, but you don't know anything about football. Ask Maddy how I did, I'm sure she'll let you know," He rolls his eyes. Maddy has never been one to lie so, yeah, maybe. She did comment on how he wasn't doing well now that I remember.

She wasn't mean about it though. Maybe it's because he's my boyfriend. She doesn't have a problem talking bad about any of the other guys. "You'll do better next game," I assure him. The waiter returns with our drinks and takes our orders. "Thanks," I smile at her. She nods, looking at Christian quickly before leaving. I frown. He doesn't notice since he's staring at me. "What's wrong?" He asks. I shake my head quickly. "Nothing."

His eyes narrow, but he brushes it off quickly. He shrugs lightly, "I hope I start doing better. It's already November, the National Championship game is in January," He tells me. I cross my arms and place them on the table. "Why do you want to win that so bad?" I ask. His eyes almost bug out of his head. "Are you serious, babe?" He says. I nod.

"Well for starters, which college football team doesn't want to win a National Championship? Second, I don't know if I'm gonna play college football after this year and I'm captain, so yeah, I want to lead to my team to win a National Championship. One last big win before I go to the NFL," He takes a long sip of his water from the black straw. I forgot he was thinking about the NFL.

"Well just remember that I'm proud of you no matter what. I think you're the best player on that field," I say truthfully. He comes out of the booth and I eye his movements, confused. He comes into my side and grabs my cheeks with his large hands. He kisses me passionately, sliding his tongue into my mouth without hesitation. I almost pull away since there's people all around us, but I don't.

I love every second of this.

He pulls away and we both catch our breaths. "You are the best thing that's happened to me since football, Novalee Johänson." The smile on his face is genuine, just like everything else about him. Ugh. I cannot believe I ever doubted Christian. He is everything I've ever asked for and more. Who wouldn't love him?