“Wah-wah-wah,” I muttered under my breath, earning myself a glare from him. I smiled weakly in return. “Sorry.”
Aubrey found it hilarious as she busted up laughing. It took her a few minutes to calm down. “How long is the game?” she asked.
“A couple hours,” I answered.
“Ugh! How did you talk me into this again? We’ll be in the car longer than we’ll actually be there,” she complained.
“Hey, you didn’t have to come,” Jackson reminded his sister. “It’s not like you’re driving or anything.”
“Oh, stop.” She glared at her brother. “Like I would miss out on a road trip with my bestie. I’m just cranky.”
Luckily, we pulled up at the field a few minutes later, Aubrey pouting a bit in the back seat. “You should have taken a nap on the way,” I told her.
“Nah, I’ll just grab an energy drink. I’ll be fine, and I can sleep all the way back anyway.”
We paid to get in, and I saw Drake warming up on the field. He was so sexy in his uniform, sweat already dripping his forehead. As he ran, I watched the pumping of his legs, his thigh muscles clenching as he moved. Jackson waved a hand in front of my face. “Anyone home?”
I looked over at him, startled. “Sorry, I was distracted.”
He glanced over at the field to where Drake was and grimaced. “Yeah, I can see that. C’mon, let’s grab our seats. It’s gonna start soon.”
As we sat down, I smiled over at Drake and took off my coat so I could show him my Blythe College Rugby sweatshirt. I turned around so he could see his name on the back and he flashed me a huge grin. I’d taken it to a shop in town so I could surprise him.
“That’s gotta make him happy,” Jackson muttered when he saw it.
“What?” I asked.
“You’ve branded yourself as his with his name across your back,” he said, tracing his name over the letters.
“Do you really think he likes it?” I asked.
“I’m sure he fucking loves it.”
“Yay!” I grinned up at Jackson. “I thought your sister was an idiot for suggesting it. It sounded so high school. But I really wanted to show Drake that I support him today.”
“Hey!” Aubrey protested. “You know you should never doubt me like that.”
“Sorry,” I apologized. “You were totally right. Again.”
The match began, and I watched avidly. It was really close, and I couldn’t tell if Drake’s team was going to manage to pull it off. It seemed like Purdue was going to beat us during the first half of the match. Luckily, I had Jackson with me to explain everything. I was apparently a slow learner when it came to all the rugby slang and rules. A tough series of penalties brought the Boilermakers up 0-12 early on. Blythe had a successful trip into the opposition’s try zone, bringing the score to 7-12. I grew worried as Purdue was doing so well. The score remained the same with just a few minutes left in the half.
With a quick turnaround off the restart, we managed to tie the match at the thirty-seven-minute mark. Some quick plays came in the final minutes of the half, seeing a significant attempt to the try zone by Purdue that worked, and a missed conversion brought Purdue ahead by five. With just moments left, Purdue brought in three penalty points by launching the ball through the uprights from thirty-six meters out. The halftime score saw Purdue up 17-25. Things were not looking good for Drake’s team.
I watched Drake as the team walked off the field, his head hung low. He was walking stiffly, favoring his right leg. I rushed over to him to make sure he was okay. He waved his teammates ahead when he saw me coming.
“Are you hurt?” I asked worriedly.
He shook his head. “Not really. Just a pulled muscle.”
I gave him a quick hug, knowing he needed to get into the locker room with his team. “Hey, you’ve got this,” I reassured him with a kiss on the cheek.
After a short intermission, they came back out looking energized for the next half. Whatever their coach had said to them must have worked because after just five minutes into the second half, we crossed the ball over Purdue’s try line, pulling us within one point of the Boilermakers. Maintaining the momentum, Drake’s team continued to apply pressure and brought the ball deep within Purdue’s half. A successful goal-line stand ended up with a Blythe knock-on, resulting in a Purdue scrum. Luckily, we brought in five more points. The clock kept ticking down, and with a few minutes left in the match, Purdue drew a penalty. They made a penalty kick, bringing the score to within one point. Argh! We couldn’t lose this close to the end. Drake would be crushed.