Chasing Nikki

  Chapter Eighteen

  Brett snapped the ball, and I fell back into the pocket while I looked for a receiver. I found Chad as my line held the opposing team away and powered the ball through the air toward him. It was a perfect throw, dead on. He caught it easily, before turning to run the next thirty yards for a touchdown. The referee threw his arms into the air to signal the score, and I slapped the helmets of my lineman as I ran off the grass so the field goal team could come on.

  “And number twenty-three, quarterback, Chase Walker, connects on another long pass to number eighty-two, Chad Thompson, bringing the score to Timberwolves twenty, Mountain Lions, seven!”

  The crowd was going wild, eager to rub the play in the face of the opposing fans, one of our big rivals from Cooley.

  “Great job, Chase,” Coach Hardin said, punching my shoulder pads as I came off.

  “Thanks.” I removed my headgear and headed over to the water cooler on a folding table. I couldn’t help the quick glance to where my girl was currently being tossed into the air by the rest of the cheer squad in the middle of a routine.

  She was amazing. I had to give her that.

  Get your head in the game, Chase, I growled internally and returned my attention to the field.

  The extra point was good, and the kickoff team headed onto the field. I looked at the scoreboard. Three minutes left. This game was in the bag. We just needed the defense to hold them or force a turn over.

  “Put me in, Coach. I can play defense too.”

  “You’ve done your part, Chase. Let these guys have a chance at it. If I need you to go in, I’ll send you. Take a rest for a minute.” He looked away and began talking to one of the other coaches.

  I watched the defense line up against the Mountain Lions, and they snapped the ball. One of our guys barreled through the opposition and sacked their quarterback.

  “Yeah!” I yelled, pumping my fist into the air. I swaggered down the sideline, slapping the back of my teammates helmets, as the crowd roared in the stands. I knew this was going to be a huge win for us. Even though we were undefeated for the season, the first three games had been non-conference games against less-than-challenging teams. Going into conference with a win straight off the bat, and against Cooley too, was going to send our message to every other team out there. We were in it to win it.

  “Pass!” The guys on the sideline started yelling as Cooley set up to throw long and make up for their lost yards during the last play. Their quarterback threw the ball, and we all watched with baited breath, the crowd jumping to its feet as number sixty-four, Jace Davidson, vaulted himself into the air and intercepted the ball, turning to run toward our goal line.

  The whole team shifted as we ran down the sidelines cheering him on. “Go, go, go!” I shouted, joining the others, and he made it a good twenty yards before he was tackled.

  “Chase! Offense! You’re up!” Coach hollered. “You boys have got this game. Let’s wrap it up good now.”

  I was well aware of the time on the board. Two and a half minutes left. I was going to take my time calling the snaps, control the ball, and run the clock down. We needed to go twenty-five yards for a touchdown. We could do this.

  Coach called the play, and I knew I was passing up the middle to Wes this time. I took the snap and stepped back as I looked for my man. One of Cooley’s players broke through the line, headed right for me. I held my ground, waiting for an opportunity to throw the ball. He was getting closer, though, and I knew he was going to hit me.

  There was a sudden blur as my teammate, Glen Jackson, bulldozed past me and took the guy down with a hard thud before he could touch me. I saw Wes break away from his defender and turn. I threw the ball straight for him.

  He caught it easily, but was tackled immediately on the five-yard line. The ball was called down, and I turned to give Glen a hand up.

  “Great coverage, man.” I gave him a high five as we moved with the rest of team to set up again.

  “Nice pass,” he replied, with a grin. “I’m having fun. Let’s finish this.”

  I glanced over to the coach and watched for his next call. He shouted out the numbers. We were going to run this one right up the middle. We got in position, and I waited for the clock to click down a few seconds more. I called the snap and faked the handoff to Chad. He folded his arms as if he were protecting the ball and took off. The line shifted, opening a hole right up the middle, and I took off, heading straight into the end zone.

  “Chase Walker for six!” the announcer’s voice came loudly over the speakers as the fans rose and cheered.

  Chad ran over and the two of us jumped up for a celebratory chest bump against each other’s shoulder pads.

  “Nice fake,” I said, as we ran off the field together.

  “This game is ours.” He smiled widely.

  “Yes, it is.”

  We were greeted with a bunch of high fives as we took our places on the sidelines and watched the kicking team easily score.

  “The extra point is good, fans! Let’s hear it for our Silver Creek Timberwolves!” the announcer’s voice boomed, and the crowd roared its support.

  The kickoff line went out again, and Cooley managed to return the ball fifteen yards before they were brought down.

  “Come on D-line! Let’s hold ‘em!” I shouted. The clock still showed less than two minutes and Cooley worked the ball, pulling off a good play which got them another first down. It didn’t matter, though, because time was on our side tonight, and when the final buzzer blared, the defense had kept them from scoring again.

  “Timberwolves come off victorious in their first conference game, beating the Mountain Lions twenty-seven to seven! Let’s hear it for our Timberwolves!”

  The masses thundered their approval as we lined up on the fifty-yard line to slap hands with the other team.

  “Good game, good game,” I greeted the players as we passed by, before running to join our team on the field for the customary after game pushups. We gave a shout and quick huddle before returning to the edge of the grass to sing the school fight song to the waiting crowd, as was our tradition.

  The fans clapped along with us and cheered loudly when we were done. We headed to the locker room.

  “Chase Walker,” the announcer’s voice came over the loud speaker, and I turned toward the press box in surprise, wondering what was going on. “Nikki Wagner says, yes, she will go to Homecoming with you next week.”

  “It’s about time!” I hollered back, searching for her among the cheerleaders as laughter broke out through the dwindling onlookers.

  She was standing there with a pretty blush, waving at me.

  I pointed at her with a warning finger. “I’ll deal with you shortly.” I grinned and turned to go toward the locker room.

  “She’s just barely answering you for homecoming?” Brett said at my shoulder. “You asked her weeks ago.”

  “I know. I think she delights in torturing me for some reason. She thought it was funny I asked her so early, but I didn’t want some other guy trying to sneak in and snag her.”

  “Yeah, because guys in this school are dumb enough to steal the main squeeze of the star quarterback.” He rolled his eyes.

  “Don’t you be giving me any smack. You asked Tana a week later. It’s not that big of a difference.”

  “Except school had actually been going for a week when I did it. You asked Nikki on the first day.”

  “Hey. It’s my senior year. I want everything to be perfect. I got the girl I want—now I just need to get that state ring. Life is finally starting to work out, you know?”

  “I get it. It’s going to be amazing. I can feel it.”

  Nikki, my family, and Greg, were waiting for me by the gate to the field house when I came out. I walked over to them, giving the ladies hugs and shaking the guys’ hands as they congratulated me on a good game.

  “You’re doing awesome, kid,” Greg said.

  “Thanks,” I replied as my mom b
eamed. I knew she was glad Greg had kind of started growing on me during the summer. He really was as great as everyone said he was, and I was happy my mom had him in her life. It was nice to see her smiling again.

  “Enjoy your date tonight. Don’t stay out too late,” my mom said, embracing me one more time before they left me alone with Nikki.

  She stepped forward and kissed me softly on the lips. “Oh dear. You smell terrible.”

  I laughed. “Let’s go to your house so I can get showered then.” It was fortunate her mom let me do that, since it saved me a trip all the way to the ranch and back for our Friday night dates. I loosely draped my arm around her shoulders, and we made our way toward the team parking lot.

  “You were amazing tonight.”

  “The team was amazing,” I corrected her. “I can’t do it without the rest of them.”

  “You know what I mean. Take the compliment. You’re fabulous, and you know it.”

  “I have no problem listening to you tell me how fabulous I am.” I grinned, and she shoved at me as I fumbled for my keys in my pocket.

  “What the . . . ,” I trailed off as I looked to where I’d left my truck parked. It was still there, but completely covered from one end to the other in plastic wrap.

  There was a big sign on the driver’s side door that had the word ‘YES’ written on it.

  “You’re so dead,” I said, and she squealed and took off running.

  She was actually pretty quick as she ducked and ran between the few vehicles which were still scattered about, but I managed to catch her right next to my truck and pinned her there.

  “You’re gonna get me all sweaty,” she whined, squirming.

  “You deserve it.” I laughed, pressing against her harder. “You already had the announcer respond for you. You make me wait weeks for your answer, and then you do this too. Why?”

  “I wanted to make sure you got the message.” She smiled up at me innocently.

  “Which message is that? The one proving I’ll hang around for weeks waiting for you like a puppy on a string?”

  “No. The one that says you’re worth saying yes to twice.”

  I let my gaze run hungrily over her before returning to her face. “I wonder what else I could get you to say yes to?” I muttered, my voice low.

  “You’re not understanding.”

  “Understanding what?” I was confused.

  “The yes from the announcer was for homecoming. The yes on your truck is for you.”

  “For me?”

  “You told me—all those months ago by the creek—when I was ready I’d have to be the one to give you the go ahead. I’m telling you yes. I’m ready. I want you to be the one. I love you, and I want to share that part of me with you.”

  I was instantly on fire. “Are you serious? Like right now? Tonight?”

  She shook her head, laughing. “No. I want it to be special for us. I was thinking we could plan something for after the homecoming dance.”

  I kissed her. Hard, hot, and fast. One week. I’d held myself in check all these months, night after night of heated make outs which left me hanging in massive frustration, and suddenly the thought of waiting one more week seemed endless.

  I ran my hands up her body until they traveled into her hair, twisting and tangling as I angled her better against me. My tongue plunged into her mouth, and I moaned when she wrapped her arms around my waist, sliding them up my back.

  “Go get her, Chase,” someone called out, followed by a wolf whistle.

  Our lips broke apart, but we didn’t move, instead staring at each other. “I love you, Nikki.” I smoothed her ruffled hair and chuckled. “I’m not lying when I say this will be the longest week of my life.”

  She nodded. “For me too.” She looked to make sure we were completely alone before she spoke again. “My mom is taking the kids and going to see her sister, who just had a baby, in Texas next weekend. I’m supposed to stay at Tana’s. I thought you could make arrangements to stay at Brett’s, and then maybe we could meet at my house together.”

  At her house. I closed my eyes and let myself mentally picture it for a moment.

  “Is that okay?” she asked.

  “It’ll be perfect.” I kissed her again, before I pulled away. “Come on. Help me get this stuff off my truck so we can get cleaned up. I think there’s a lot more kissing on the menu for tonight.”