Fuck. Even more to stress about.
Jamal came and sat next to him.
“You stressed?” Jamal asked.
“Like crazy.” The only person Nathan would say that to was his best friend.
“Relax, man. You’re the best I’ve ever seen at quarterback, besides your dad. You got this. You just have to believe in yourself.”
He knew Jamal was right. He wouldn’t be in this position right now if the team and the coaches didn’t believe he could do the job. He just had to believe he could do it.
He looked over and nodded. “Thanks.”
Jamal nudged him with his shoulder. “Always gonna have your back, buddy.”
“How about you?” he asked Jamal. “You ready for this?”
Jamal gave him his signature grin. “I’m easy. Ready to rock and roll this thing.”
That’s what he liked about Jamal. He was always low-key and no tension.
Nathan nodded. “All right, then.”
“Now let’s go kick Detroit’s ass.”
Coach met them in the locker room and the entire team huddled around him.
“I know we’ve made some changes in several key positions this year,” coach said. “Most notably in our QB position. I want you all to give your support to Riley here, because he’s given all he’s got to this team and I know he’s the leader to take the Sabers right to the playoffs this season.”
Nathan winced. No pressure there, Coach.
“So let’s rally behind him and all our new players and rookies and let’s get this done.”
They all put their hands in the center of the circle, then shouted, “Go Sabers!”
Then it was time to take the field.
Nathan wanted to believe this giant boulder in his stomach would go away and be replaced by exhilaration. After all, this was his debut as the starting quarterback for the Sabers.
But as they took the field and the sold-out home stadium crowd got to their feet with a roar and applause, that boulder suddenly felt like he’d ingested an entire mountain.
“Use the crowd to energize you,” Jamal said as they moved to the sidelines.
Nathan nodded and tried to remember all these people wanted him to succeed. He’d gotten an early morning text from Mia, who had wished him luck and told him she’d be at the game today. So she was somewhere in this crowd. He had no idea where but he looked around the entire stadium, letting the sounds and the cheers fill him with adrenaline instead of scare the shit out of him.
Detroit won the coin toss and they elected to receive the ball, which meant Nathan would have to wait it out while the Sabers’ defense took the field first. Pent up with nervous energy, Nathan couldn’t sit. He wandered the sidelines and watched the defense as they stuffed Detroit on first down for no gain.
On second down, Detroit’s quarterback threw a short pass for five yards.
It was third down. The quarterback dropped back, intending to pass. Flynn skirted past the offensive lineman and the quarterback barely got past him, and with no receivers open, had to throw the ball away.
Oh, hell yeah. Flynn had been a beast on that play.
Nathan fought a smile, not knowing when he’d be on camera. And now it was the offense’s turn. So while Detroit punted, he took his last-minute instructions from the offensive coordinator and put on his helmet.
Then it was time to take the field. He hoped to God he didn’t pass out on his way out there.
But the funny thing was, as soon as he stepped out onto the field with his offense, that boulder disappeared, and all that tension was gone. He was focused, his vision was clear and he knew exactly what he was supposed to do.
Until he took the first snap from center, threw a pass and it was an incompletion. Because he’d overthrown the receiver. Like by about ten fucking yards.
Shit. That didn’t go well. He went back to the huddle and reorganized his thoughts for the next play, which he managed to get off without screwing it up, mainly because it was a run. Their running back gained six yards, which meant they were at third and four.
Since it was short yardage, the offensive coordinator called for a run on third down. Nathan handed the ball off to Anthony Weston, their running back, who took the ball seven yards for a first down.
He breathed a sigh of relief as he listened to the crowd’s cheers. At least they were still on the field.
The next play was a pass play, and he had to get it right. He huddled up with the offense and gave them the play.
But he threw another incompletion, overthrowing the receiver again.
Sonofabitch. It was like he’d forgotten how to throw an accurate pass. What the hell was wrong with him anyway?
His gut tightened as the next play called was another pass. Why would they do that? Couldn’t they see he didn’t know what he was doing? He hoped like hell they were warming up his backup.
As they broke the huddle, Jamal took a second to walk with him.
“You know what you’re doing. Breathe, brother.”
Nathan nodded and took his position under center.
Yeah, he knew what he was doing. This was second nature to him. Every game, no matter where it was played, was the same. As he worked his count, he remembered he’d done this hundreds of times before.
Pull it together, Riley. And just fucking play football.
He took the snap, dropped back and searched out Jamal fifteen yards down the left side. He launched the ball in the air, watching it as it landed right in Jamal’s hands for a perfect catch.
Fuck yes, that felt good.
The crowd roared its approval.
After making that first successful throw, he got into a groove. They moved down the field, alternating running and passing plays. It was working.
When they found themselves in the red zone, that pressure feeling returned, but Nathan used it to his advantage. And when he hit Jamal right in the numbers in the end zone, he raised his arms in triumph and ran to meet him.
“You were right there every time I threw to you,” he said to Jamal.
Jamal handed him the ball as they jogged back to the sidelines. “Your first pro touchdown, bro. So damn proud of you.”
That’s right. It had been his first touchdown. Sonofabitch, it had felt good. He grinned. “Thanks.”
Hopefully, this feeling of euphoria would never go away.
MIA SAT IN THE STANDS WITH AMELIA. MOSTLY, THEY stood, because the Sabers were kicking ass in this game. They were either driving their way down the field and scoring, or pushing Detroit back with outstanding defense.
Both her brother and Nathan had done well. They’d both played first quarter only, and had come out of the game after that. But it had still been an outstanding game.
“I don’t know how the coaches decide who to cut,” Amelia said as they sat in the stands about fifteen rows up. Flynn had offered to get them seats in one of the private clubs, but they had told him the weather was supposed to be nice, so they got great seats close to the action.
“At least we’re not drunk today,” Amelia said, referring to one of the games they’d come to and ended up toasted by the end of it.
Mia grinned. “I remember nothing about that game. Other than the amazing wine we consumed.”
“Flynn said we sang in the car on the way home.”
Mia gave her a look. “We sang?”
“Yes. And talked about our periods.”
Mia threw her head back and laughed. “That is awesome.”
After the game, they headed down to the player entrance since they had passes. They had to wait out media interviews, so they chatted up player family members while they waited.
“I remember seeing you here a while back,” Tiffany La Salle, one of the players’ wives, said to Mia. “You’re here for your brother Flynn, right?”
Mia nodded right away. “Yes. How are you, Tiffany? And congratulations.” Tiffany was sporting a healthy looking baby belly.
She rubbed her stomach and grinned. “Thank you. It’s our second baby and pretty soon I’ll have a three-year-old and an infant. Lord help me.”
Amelia laughed. “I can’t even imagine. But you’re smart and capable and I know you’re going to wrangle Randy to help you.”
“You know it. He was great with Tyrone, our first. I know he’s going to be just as good with this one. It’s a girl. I can’t wait to see how she wraps her daddy around her tiny baby finger.”