In the End Zone: A Sports Romance (11 page)

Chapter Nineteen

The stadium had an eerie quiet
fall over it and to Morgan, everything seemed to slow to a crawl. Her eyes
remained glued to her love, her sweetheart, but in the corner of her vision she
saw medics sprinting to his side. Not too far away, many of the players were
arguing and things were getting heated. Sam Smythe was limping back to the
sidelines, holding his back where the defensive lineman had plowed into him. A
sea of orange and blue brewed angrily. Something was building.

But Morgan only had eyes for
Brent. She had not realized that she had tried to run to his side until her
security detail, Max, had grabbed her around the waist to keep her from going.

"No! Let me go" she
screamed as Mex held her up in the air. Her legs and arms flailed wildly.
"Brent!"

"Okay, calm down," Max
said, his low baritone voice soothing her, "He will be fine. Let the
medics work."

And when Morgan stopped
struggling, Max lowered her back to the ground. She watched, breathless, as the
medical staff checked Brent out.

When he sat up out of his own
volition, tears of joy rushed down Morgan's cheeks. The crowd, from both sides
of the stadium, cheered and applauded as Brent climbed to his feet and walked
gingerly to the sidelines.

"He's okay," Morgan
whispered, wiping her tears away quickly.

"Oh yeah. He's a tough son
of a gun. I've seen him take worse hits than that and jump right back up."
Max tucked his hands in his pockets as he spoke, watching Brent with a keen
eye.

The game kept on, though both
Smythe and Larson were sidelined throughout it. The second string quarterback
was decent enough, but without Larson there to catch the throws, the Caimans
lost the ball to an interception.

The Blue Kraits were up, and
when Erik Levitt took the field, his awful eyes found Morgan and he grinned at
her. It was a vile gesture, one that told Morgan that he had been thinking of
her, and that he had plans with her body. More than anything, he was certain
that she would be his.

When the ball was snapped, Levitt
was off like a shot. Down the field he jetted and Morgan could not take her
eyes away from the man who wanted to win her. He turned, and with the greatest
of ease, he caught the ball and began flying down the field.

"No... No... No!"
Morgan shouted and the fans around her echoed the statement.

But it was no use. Erik Levitt
scored a touchdown, putting the first points on the scoreboard and officially tying
him and Larson for most touchdowns earned in a game.

Levitt did not dance or
celebrate. He simply looked at Morgan, his eyes steady on her, and he winked.
Just that. A simple little wink that made Morgan's teeth sit on edge.

"Don’t you worry now,"
Max said behind Morgan. She turned to look at the man working to protect her,
and she knew by the look on his face that he had seen her trembling. "I've
seen the Caimans come back from worse."

But the game kept going worse.
The second string team proved to be just a little short, and another conversion
gave the Blue Kraits the ball. A second goal was scored, but this time it was
scored by the quarterback, who ran the ball in rather than tossing it to Levitt.
Morgan breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that while the Caimans were losing
14-0, at least the record was still tied.

Levitt looked furious at the
turn of events. He ran up to his quarterback and grabbed his helmet. Morgan
could hear the screams from the other side of the field. "What the fuck
was that? I told you to pass it to ME! Don’t you ever
fucking
do that again!"

The QB looked stunned, then
angry, but Morgan paid him no mind. The teams changed, and she looked up at the
clock to see that it was almost halftime. Neither Brent nor Sam had taken the
field again, but Sam was up and stretching. For the moment, the record was tied
and neither man had won.

But when Morgan peered at the
other team on the other side of the field, the smile playing on Levitt’s face
told her that he was not so ready to give up. Loud voices from the sidelines
broke through the buzzing of the crowds and Morgan looked over. She saw Larson
standing there, red-faced and screaming at two of the medics who were trying to
calm him down.

"No! I've got to get back
out there!" Larson's face looked panicked, and Morgan saw his eyes wide
and upset. "You have got to clear me now!"

A big hit pulled Morgan's
attention back to the field. She looked over and saw another Caimans player on
his back, but this guy was clutching his side. Two defensive players for the
Blue Kraits had shouldered him at the same time, possibly breaking some of his
ribs.

The buzzer sounded and Morgan
had never been so relieved for halftime before in her life. She looked over and
saw Brent slamming his helmet down on the ground in frustration before walking
off with the rest of the team.

Morgan looked up at Max.
"Can I go back with them?"

Max raised an eyebrow at Morgan.
"I don’t think so."

"Well, can you ask?"

Max sighed and pulled out his
radio. He asked, and soon Morgan heard the words, "Bring her back."

Morgan and her security guard
were soon headed down the long, dark tunnel toward the locker room. Morgan had
been down here before to do interviews after games, but she did not hear the
normal loud, rambunctious cheers coming from the players. Instead, there was a
dark murmur that permeated through the air. With every step closer, Morgan felt
a little more uneasy.

Max held the door open for
Morgan and the two walked in to find the Caimans broken and bruised. The medics
rushed between the hurt men, wrapping up cuts and applying ice packs to
bandages. Larson was among them, and Morgan gasped when she saw the horrible
angry bruise forming on his perfect skin.

"Oh no," she said
under her breath.

Coach Boss walked by her angrily,
not even noticing her presence. He was on a cell phone, screaming about
"crooked refs" and that "anyone with eyes could see how my boys
are getting killed out there."

Morgan looked around for a
glimmer of hope from anyone and she found none. Even Sam Smythe, the captain of
the team who was usually so full of optimism, looked glum off in the corner.

Larson looked up and saw Morgan
standing in the doorway. He smiled at her sweetly, then grimaced when he tried
to rise from the bench.

"No, you stay," Morgan
said, holding up her hands as if to push him back down.

She went over to her boyfriend
and she sank down on the bench beside him. Her hand came up and trailed down
the side of his face. Brent's eyes avoided looking at Morgan, but she saw only
him.

"Are you okay?" she
asked, her voice quiet and worried.

Brent nodded. "I'm fine. I
just need to get back out there."

Morgan pulled Brent's face to
hers and she stared deep into his beautiful blue eyes. She could practically
feel him melting in her hands as she said, "You can do this. You can go
out there and you are going to fight tough and you are going to kick Levitt’s
ass. Because who are you?"

Brent scoffed. "Oh, come on
baby, not that."

Morgan smiled, refusing to give
up. "Because who are you?"

Nothing could stem the little
grin that was trying to form on Brent's face. And it was like a ray of hope filled
the room when Brent responded softly, "I am Brent Larson."

"And who are we?"
Morgan smiled, and Brent's head stayed up all on its own.

"We are the Caimans,"
Brent said, his enthusiasm lacking.

"
Ahwoo
!"
Morgan pressed her forehead to Brent's and she gave her sweetheart a soft kiss.
"You all can do this, but you have to do it together."

Brent took a breath and he
seemed to strengthen in front of her. His resolve was growing, and he said,
"Yeah. Yeah!" Brent stood and he looked around at his team mates.
"Guys," he said, his voice stronger than ever before, "We can do
this!" He began walking around the sullen locker room. "I know they
are playing dirty, but we play clean. We are faster. We jump higher! WE are
better than them! And, my brothers, we are going to go out there and we will be
victorious!"

The other players all looked at
each other and Morgan could practically feel the energy in the room shift.
Everyone's confidence seemed to grow, rising from the ashes as Larson paced
around the room. Coach Boss looked on from the side with his arms crossed,
nodding his head and looking pleased.

"Are you with me, boys? Are
we going to go kick some ass?" Larson screamed, his baritone echoing off
the locker room walls.

"Yeah!" the other
players cried out, all jumping to their feet. "Let's kick some ass!"

Larson looked around and a grin spread
across his face. "Because who are we?" The players all responded in
unison, "AWHOO, we are the CAIMANS!"

Coach Boss clapped his hand
loudly. "Let's get back out there and win us a football game!"

The rowdy cheers from the
players left with them as they ran from the locker room, back out onto the
field. Morgan stood as the last few people filed out, and she looked at Larson,
who waited behind for her. Max bowed out of the room, standing just outside the
door.

Brent walked over to Morgan and
he put his hands on either side of her face. "I don’t know what I would do
without you."

Morgan smiled up at him and she
felt warmth, as though she was sitting in sunshine. "Good thing you'll
never have to worry about that."

Morgan stood on her tiptoes as
she wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's neck. She kissed his lips, softly
and gently, letting the moment wash over them. For just that brief period of
time, life felt as though it stopped cold and all that there was in the universe
was Morgan, Brent, and the feeling of their bodies intertwined.

When their lips broke apart,
Morgan whispered, "I love you, Brent Larson."

"I love you, Morgan
McMinn."

Morgan grinned up at Larson, and
that sudden surge of confidence was back and better than ever. "I think
you have a football game to go win, mister!"

Chapter Twenty

The sunlight blinded Morgan as
she walked out of the dark tunnel from the locker room back out on to the
field. She was flanked on either side by her strong men: Larson on the right,
Max on the left. She looked over at Brent and gave him an encouraging smile.
The running back nodded before he ran off. Although she wanted to, she dared
not kiss him now while millions of people were watching. Instead, she forced herself
feel content with that kiss that they had shared together in secret in that
empty locker room.

Now, it was time to go win a
football game.

***

Morgan and Max moved back over
to the press area. Morgan had barely gotten herself settled when the piercing
blue eyes of Erik Levitt were on her again. But this time, she stared back with
confidence. He could not tear her down, he would not make her afraid. He
grinned at her, but she only gave him a stony glare in return.

The whistle from the referees
and the cheers from the crowd started the third quarter of the game and the
Caimans were on defense.

"Let's go, Caimans!"
Morgan shouted as she clapped her hands hard and jumped up and down. Out of the
corner of her eye, she saw Max's dark eyes twinkle at her.

The defensive line was on point
and they targeted Erik Levitt with every play. The quarterback for the Blue
Kraits was desperately trying to deliver the ball to Levitt with every play,
but he was short almost every time. Morgan watched as Levitt got more and more aggressive
with both his team mates and the Caimans.

"Come on, you
bastards!" he roared at the others on his team,

But it seemed that the angrier Levitt
grew, the less his team mates wanted to help him. And all the while, the
defense for the home team was working strong. Soon, the ball was converted and Levitt,
angry and red-faced, ran back to his bench and slammed his helmet to the
ground.

Larson, Smythe, and the other
first stringers for the Caimans headed out to face that devious, hard-hitting
Blue Kraits defense. Larson looked more determined and confident than Morgan
had ever seen him. She watched as his eyes narrowed and his body tightened,
ready to spring into action at any moment.

Morgan could not stop herself
from cheering right along with the crowd. "Go, baby, go!" she
screamed, her voice feeling hoarse. But she didn’t care. The anticipation made
her body tie itself in knots, and all she wanted was for the play to begin.

At
Smythe's
call, the ball was snapped and Larson sprang forward. He was off like
lightening, sprinting so fast that he looked like a blur as he blew past where
Morgan was standing. The ball smoothly left Sam's hands, and as it flew in the
air, Morgan held her breath. She watched the ball come sailing down, right into
the waiting arms of Brent Larson.

The entire stadium erupted in
cheers as Brent caught the ball. "Oh my god, GO! Go, baby!" Morgan
screamed. Even Max next to her was cheering him along.

Larson was running as though his
life depended on it. He ran hard and fast, looking all around as big, strong
defensive linemen were creeping up on him. But Larson was just too quick
footed.

"20... 15... 10!... 5!...
TOUCHDOWN CAIMANS!" The announcer called out.

Morgan lost her mind and she
screamed louder than anyone else there. Larson slammed the ball down and the
rest of the Caimans rushed to jump all over him. Morgan could barely hear the
announcer, who relayed that Larson had beat the record for touchdowns and was
the current record holder above Levitt.

Once Larson was free from his
celebrating team mates, he ran back to his bench, pointing a finger at Morgan.

"I LOVE YOU!" he
shouted from behind his helmet.

"I love you, baby!"
Morgan felt more alive than she ever had before as she watched her boyfriend
grab a drink and settle himself down. Coach Boss and the assistant coaches
swarmed him to congratulate him, and the defensive line went back out again.

Morgan looked up at the clock to
see that the third quarter was only partly over. The clock was running down,
but the game was nowhere near over. She looked for Levitt and found him glaring
at Larson from across the field. Her heart skipped a beat, and she knew that Levitt
would stop at nothing to win the record, the bet, and her.

The Blue Kraits took the ball
after the kick-off, and when the ball was handed off to Levitt, he practically
ripped the ball from his quarterback's hands. Levitt took off towards his own
end-zone, and Morgan was horrified to see him blasting past every defensive
player that tried to stop him. "NO!" she screamed, her hands balled
up into fists and pounding on her legs.

Finally, Levitt was taken down
at the 35-yard line. He hopped up and grabbed the mask of the Caiman player who
took him down and he began shouting and cursing at the player. Levitt let him
go, pushing him back. It frightened Morgan how quickly Levitt could turn on his
anger. She looked him over and she saw every vein in his body pulsing, every
muscle tense, and his skin was all dark red from anger.

The teams set up again and when
the ball was snapped back to the quarterback, Levitt took off toward the Blue
Kraits' end zone. He was waiting for the ball and the quarterback was waiting
for his open window.

"GET HIM!" Morgan
shouted.

But before the defense could get
to him, the quarterback snapped the ball to Levitt. Morgan's mouth dropped and
she watched in horror as it sailed perfectly into Levitt’s waiting arms.

"TOUCHDOWN BLUE
KRAITS!" The announcer shouted, his voice squeaking.

The crowd began booing and
jeering the opposing team as Levitt celebrated. His team looked less than
thrilled, and they began going through the motions of switching out. Levitt
pointed at Morgan and the gesture turned her stomach.

"I'm coming for you,
baby," Levitt said with a laugh and Morgan could taste bile in her mouth.

Morgan looked up at the
scoreboard as the Blue Kraits kicked for the extra point. They lead 21-7 as the
game entered the fourth quarter and Larson and Levitt were tied again for the
record. Her heart fluttered, but she refused to let her confidence come down.
She knew that Larson would do everything in his power to ensure a win for both
his team and his relationship.

The Caimans went out to play
offense and Smythe was setting up the perfect plays. The Blue Kraits had
adopted the strategy of blocking Larson with everything that they had, so
Smythe turned that strategy against them. He was delivering the ball to other
players, even running it himself from time to time.

"What's he doing?"
Morgan asked Max.

"It's perfect," Max
said, "I mean, think about it. Levitt is too headstrong to want the ball
to go to anyone else. Our boy Larson doesn’t mind if someone else gets a
touchdown every now and then."

And with the next play, that's
just what happened. The ball was snapped to Smythe, who launched it into the
air, not at Larson, but at a different player, who ran it in for a touchdown!
With the good kick from Mitchell, that made the score 21-14. Only one more and
they would tie, two more and they would win.

Levitt and his boys were up
next, and sure enough, every time the ball was in play, it was going toward Levitt.
The quarterback seemed too afraid to send it to anyone else, so when the Caimans
crowded Levitt out, it was not long before the ball was back in Caiman hands.
Morgan watched as Levitt screamed and shouted in anger, tossing helmets and
even turning over a bench to vent his frustrations.

The record was still tied. And
Larson was up to play.

Chapter Twenty-One

Morgan had never truly realized
how much she loved to watch Brent Larson play football. She had watched him
play many times, sometimes during a game, sometimes on television when he was
out of town, and sometimes on the practice field. But no matter where it was,
Morgan could get hypnotized watching him play.

But now, more than ever, she
knew the stakes that were involved. And so did he. Larson was running as though
his life depended on it, and since they had played other players during the
game, the Blue Kraits defense had given up on covering Larson the entire time.
They seemed to scramble between him and a few others, which gave Larson the
room to run as hard and as fast as he could.

The Caimans had moved to the
20-yard line, close enough for Larson to bring it home one more time. Morgan
clenched her jaw so hard that it ached as she watched Sam Smythe desperately
try to launch the ball in Larson's direction. But the Blue Kraits seemed to
read his mind and they covered Larson so heavily that the ball had no chance of
getting to him. So, at the last moment, Smythe tucked the ball into his chest
and darted toward the end zone.

"Oh my god, GO SAM!"
Morgan shouted, cheering on her quarterback.

"Holy shit, he's going to
do it," Max said behind her.

The pair cheered together as Sam
rushed the end zone, making a touchdown before the Blue Kraits even knew what
hit them. and when Mitchell kicked another field goal, the score was officially
tied up 21-21.

The clock was winding down and
Morgan knew that the Caimans had to get that ball back in order to win. And
even more important, Brent Larson had to score another touchdown to beat Levitt.
It seemed impossible as the Blue Kraits' offense caught the kickoff and began
rushing toward their own end zone.

Morgan watched helplessly as Levitt
barreled through the field, until he was stopped by three defense players, all
struggling to take him down. He was at the 60-yard line, which gave Morgan a
sigh of relief. He was nowhere near his own end zone, nowhere near another
record-breaking touchdown.

Levitt sprung up and looked at
Morgan. He laughed a horrible, jeering laugh and thrusted his hips at her.
Morgan again tasted bile and she had to look away. Her eyes landed on her
boyfriend, and Larson looked murderous.

Four minutes left in the final
quarter.

Morgan felt a heavy hand on her
shoulder. "If the Caimans lose," Max's docile tones rang in Morgan's
ear, "You keep your head down and come with me. No questions. Do not leave
with anyone else until we can get you secured."

But Morgan only smiled. "Don’t
worry, Max. They won’t lose."

She watched as Levitt and his
team worked themselves to the bone trying to run the ball, but they ended up
going nowhere. The Caimans' defense was like a brick wall and Levitt could not
tear it down no matter how hard he tried.

The closer that the Blue Kraits
grew toward their end zone, the more Morgan could feel herself tremble. She was
suddenly very aware of her whole body. Her toes and fingertips were numb and
shaking. Her arms left as though they were made of lead. And her gut felt
twisted and bruised. Could he do it? Could Levitt actually win the bet? She
made eye contact with the horrible man and he blew her a kiss, making Morgan's
stomach seize up.

The Blue Kraits set up their
play, and soon the quarterback was launching the ball at full force toward Levitt.
Morgan held her breath, but she could not tear her eyes away.

Levitt reached out to catch the
ball.

But he dropped it.

FUMBLE!

Levitt stood there stupidly,
looking at the ball as if he did not understand why it wasn’t in his hands.
Meanwhile, the defense for the Caimans was springing into action, and one
player dove for the ball, pulling it tight against his chest. It was a
conversion! Caimans ball!

Realizing what had happened, Levitt
grew furious. The defensive lineman who had recovered the ball attempted to
celebrate, but Levitt came at him, cussing a blue streak and spitting mad.

"Oh my," Max rumbled
over the celebration from the crowd, "I have never seen that boy that mad
before."

Morgan looked up at Max, but
before she could comment, he just shook his head. "Larson better watch
out."

The referee separated Levitt and
the Caimans players quickly, though Levitt’s anger was just short of actually
fighting with fists. He begrudged went back to his bench, but Morgan knew that
he would not be kept down for long.

Larson and the rest of the
offense ran back out onto the field at full sprint. The game was winding down
and Morgan knew that they needed every last second of playing time. Smythe set
up the play and soon they were in action, driving the ball fast and hard toward
their end zone. All they needed was one more touchdown, and they needed Larson
to do it.

3rd down and 5. Morgan held her
breath as Sam Smythe launched the worn, brown football across the field into
Larson's waiting arms. Brent clutched the ball tight and he ran as though his
life depended on it.

"Go
go
go
!" Morgan screamed along with the rest of the
crowd.