Second Chance At Love

Repeat.

Cgc

The days leading up to the Orange Bowl were tough. I tried to put my body through as little as possible, but I couldn't. I had to prepare myself and God, did I beat myself the fuck up. My roommates looked at me like I was going insane but didn't do anything about it since they know what this game meant to me. Rhys was the only one who said something but I shut him down quickly and he never opened his mouth again. Another thing that stung was the fact that I knew Brynn wouldn't be here. She never gave me a clear reason as to why, but I respect her privacy so I didn't push for an answer. I'd kill to have her here, though. I might have taken out my frustration on her two days before flying out here.

Our conversations since then have been short. She apologized again for not being able to come and I said it was fine. She told me good luck today before the game to which I didn't reply to. I was going to but for some reason, I thought it'd ruin my chances of focusing on the game. Maybe she was somewhere in Oak Hill watching me, supporting me. I guess that's more than nothing, but still, it's not the same as having her here. I tried not to think about the negatives much during pre-game when I was getting the team hype. We played some good music before going mute and keeping to each other to do our pre-game rituals — if we had one. And then it was game time and now, here we are.

"C'mon Valdez, get that moth- guy!" I almost let the curse word slip my lips. I can't be shouting profanities towards the other guys unless I want to get flagged. Again. They make it hard, though, being cocky as fuck. Their defense has been shit-talking all night. Especially, the safety who keeps trying to rile me up. It hasn't worked yet but I'll try to slip in a word like "pussy" and the ref hears me quickly. I'm surprised I haven't been ejected yet for the number of nasty words I've used. It's the third quarter and so far we're winning 23-7. It's going a lot better than last year's game, but I try my absolute fucking best to not think about that game. I have to live in the present. This game is happening now and it's going well. Fuck what anyone has to say.

Coming into tonight, we were the underdogs against Oregon. We played them earlier in the season and we lost to them. They're the only loss on our 11-1 record. It's just like last year, where we played a tough team. We're playing a whole lot better this time around. Both defense and offense are doing their parts and I couldn't be any prouder. This is my fucking team and we made it this far. Valdez points at DJ to run to the left. "Red, D. Red," Valdez yells out. Red is the name the defense created for the running back who Oregon's quarterback targets the most tonight. DJ runs more inside as Valdez steps out to his position.

The tackle snaps the ball and the quarterback hands the ball off to none other than the running back. DJ is right there to tackle him causing Oregon to lose two yards. Valdez called that right play, he saw that coming. The crowd erupts in cheers as does the sideline. We stopped them on third and long. The punt team goes on and I high-five the defense that comes out. I bang my helmet again DJ's. "Fuck yeah, baby!" I shout. I let him go before jumping up to meet Valdez's body. He's my co-captain, just like I was his last year. "All you, baby," I tell him.

He shakes his head, tired, and points to DJ. I give credit to both of them since one called the play and the other made it. I stick by the sideline as the defense disappears to talk with their coach. "Let's score afuckingain," Rhys slurs the words together, appearing next to me. I nod quickly. "I'm looking for you or Xan," I say. I may be a little biased when it comes to giving my best friends the ball. At the same time, they've been my number one target for a reason. Rhys has had his best season this year and I want to give him another touchdown.

Once the punt team starts running off the field, we run on. I call out a simple running play and hand it off to Rhys who gets us a couple of yards. After a couple of running plays, Oregon's defense catches on and keeps stopping Rhys. "Alright, fuck it. Xan, Max, Ashton, get fucking open. We need the first down here. Rhys help Carter get the block on number 25 so that he won't double team on Xan" I say in the huddle. We all clap and then set up the formation. I stand a couple of feet behind the center, watching the defense move around. Shit. I motion for Rhys to move to my right behind my back and he does.