Making a Play Read online

  I took a bite of the waffle and gave him my attention.

  He shook his head and then laughed, but it didn’t look like a real laugh. One of disbelief or frustration. If I could hear, I imagined it would have been hard or maybe cold. “How did one week change so much? Last week my only concern had been the field. Winning.” He walked off then. Toward the front door.

  He hadn’t said it, but he blamed me. For coming here and making things hard on him. I knew he wanted me to be interested in anyone else other than Ryker. I hadn’t thought I would come here and meet someone like Ryker. It had been so quick. Happened so fast. I couldn’t help but fear it would end as quickly as it had started.

  Following him to the truck, I tried not to worry. I wanted to think about how Ryker made me smile. How I felt being around him. The excitement I didn’t know existed. But this all had been fast. I hadn’t even known him last week. Now he was all I thought about. Was that bad? When the new wore off for him, would he move on to someone else? Was I being naive?

  Probably.

  Possibly.

  * * *

  By the time we arrived at school, I had been set on not being the silly girl waiting on the guy. I wouldn’t look for Ryker. If he was there, then great. If he wasn’t, I was secure with myself. I had this all under control. I had pep-talked myself up and was so focused on not being obsessed with Ryker that I swung open my door, refusing to look around the parking lot for him, and climbed down out of the truck only to slam straight into his broad chest.

  I made a sound as his hands grabbed my waist to steady me, and I felt the vibration in his chest as he said something. Lifting my head to stare into the eyes that looked like a dark, warm liquid I could easily drown in and enjoy it, I knew my pep talk was pointless. All it took was one look at him, and I didn’t seem to care about anything else. This had to be dangerous for my heart. I cared too much and way too quickly.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, his beautiful eyes searching my face for answers to my weird, almost frantic exit of my brother’s truck.

  I nodded. His hands stayed on my waist. For a moment I thought he was going to kiss me. Right here in front of Hunter and the rest of the parking lot. Lost in his gaze, I didn’t care who saw us. Nothing else mattered.

  “You sure?” he asked, and again I was transfixed on the perfect fullness of his lips. I watched them more closely than was necessary.

  “Yes. I was just distracted,” I replied, using my voice.

  He grinned then. When I used my voice with him, he liked it. I could always see the pleasure on his face. That was unique for me. When I was younger and used my voice with the hearing who weren’t my family, I’d gotten mixed reactions. Most people were uncomfortable with it. They didn’t like the way it sounded, and I could tell. I’d stopped speaking except to my family or teachers.

  Ryker didn’t react the way the others had, though. He wanted to hear me. I wondered if it was the same for him as me wanting to feel his laughter last night.

  His hands moved from my waist, and he took a step back. I wanted to protest, but before I could react at all, he began to use his hands. It was slow and unsure, but he clearly signed, “I missed you.”

  I stared at his hands for a moment longer, then lifted my eyes to his face. I didn’t know what to say. I was surprised, and an odd feeling of emotion came over me.

  “Did I do it correctly?” he asked then with worry creasing his forehead.

  I nodded. “I missed you too,” I signed back to him.

  The smile that broke across his face as he understood what I had signed lit up my world. My eyes burned with the emotion growing thicker inside my throat as it tightened. He had signed. He had taken the time to learn to say something to me in the way that was easiest for me. I was going to cry and look like an idiot. Swallowing hard, I bit my bottom lip to keep from embarrassing myself with the tears threatening to spill.

  He took a quick, determined breath, then again lifted his hands and signed, “Good morning.”

  I smiled, and the expression was a watery one. I was failing at the not-crying thing. I signed back, “Good morning,” then wiped at the stray tear breaking free. All that trying to convince myself not to care too much about him. To protect myself. We had just met this week. He could move on to someone else tomorrow. Then this. He showed up this morning and greeted me with sign language. How did anyone think he was a bad guy?

  “Why are you crying?” he asked with his words this time. Then reached out to touch my cheek. He was unsure now. The smile gone. He turned his head from me and I followed his gaze to see Hunter standing there. I’d forgotten about Hunter, and the rest of the world for that matter.

  All I caught from my brother was “that.” I didn’t know what he’d been saying to Ryker.

  Ryker’s hand moved from my face to my shoulders as he pulled me to his side. It wasn’t a possessive move, or it didn’t feel that way. It was more protective. He was gentle. He reached around and slid my backpack off my other shoulder then moved it to his. Our eyes met, and I dropped my gaze to his mouth to see if he wanted to say something.

  “I’d do anything for you,” he said simply.

  There was the lump in my throat again. I didn’t know what my brother had said to him, but this was his response. Hunter had walked toward the school, leaving us alone.

  “Why?” I asked him, needing to understand how I had become this important to him so quickly. I had decided I’d come to care about him so much because he was the first guy who had made me feel this way. I was inexperienced with guys.

  “Being with you makes me feel right. Complete.”

  Another tear escaped, and his thumb brushed it away before he kissed my cheek where it had been. The warmth of his breath made me shiver and move into him, wishing I could stay like this beside him forever.

  I’d never hated first period more in my life.

  Calm the Hell Down

  CHAPTER 23

  RYKER

  “I spent breakfast trying to convince her that dating you was making things difficult for the team. I need her to keep you a secret until tomorrow. Our roles in this game are crucial. You know this. I don’t trust my dad’s reaction to her dating you. If this shit blows up in our face before Friday, then our heads won’t be in the game. But you signing to her . . . I wasn’t expecting that.” Hunter’s words stayed with me all morning.

  It was a seal of approval I hadn’t expected to get from Hunter Maclay. I’d had to stay to talk to the teacher, who wanted to discuss my last test grade, after first period, so I’d missed seeing Aurora between classes. Even if seeing her always made me late to my next class. Nash was beside me as soon as second period ended.

  “In case you missed it, Nova was all over Brett in the hall this morning,” he said as if to warn me.

  “Good,” I replied, thinking it was a relief, and I hoped the tennis player could keep her interested for a long while.

  “You don’t care?” he asked.

  “Hell no. Helps me out.”

  “Gets his attention off Tallulah, so I was fucking thrilled, but then I wasn’t sure where you were with this Aurora thing.”

  “I’m all in with it. Not interested in anyone else,” I said, turning my head enough to look him in the eyes as I said it.

  “Is that why you’re walking in this direction instead of your third-period class? To see her?”

  “Yup.”

  “Damn, I didn’t think I’d ever see you get all tangled up over a female.”

  I thought about that for a moment. “Me either,” I finally said. This was never something I’d expected. But the moment I’d seen her Monday, something inside me had come alive. The more I was around her, and even just texting with her, getting to know her, I was getting more attached. I had no other way to describe it.

  “You ready for tomorrow night? North Bank hasn’t lost a game. Richards is the number one scouted quarterback in the state. It’s going to take all we have to pull off a win.”
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  I had a lot more faith in Hunter than Nash did. He was on the sidelines now, coaching. He didn’t feel the vibe on the field anymore. Only the team could know for sure if we had this. After Hunter’s approval today, I knew we were good. His head would be back on the field. That’s all we needed.

  “We’re ready,” I told him. I didn’t have time to talk any more about it, because Aurora stepped through the crowd in the hallway, and her eyes met mine. The way her face lit up at the sight of me made me feel like a fucking god. “Gotta go,” I said to Nash, and moved with ease through the bodies blocking my way, since I was larger than most of them.

  She didn’t have to move, because I was to her in moments. I’d spent most of last period watching the same YouTube video I’d studied last night on sign language for beginners. I was ready to try what I had learned. Even though I’d only watched it over and over on my phone, which I had hidden in my book, and not actually tried it yet.

  “How has your day been?” I signed, hoping I’d done it correctly. This morning I had been a little more confident. I’d practiced the movements late into the night and all morning in the mirror. This time I wasn’t as prepared.

  She beamed at me and signed her reply, but spoke the words as she did it. “Better now.”

  “Mine too,” I replied, not knowing the sign for that or anything more.

  I’d give anything to get to go with her to all her classes. See her all day. Instead we had nothing together.

  I reached and took her backpack from her shoulder and slipped it over mine before nodding my head in the direction of her next class. “I’ll walk you to your class,” I said to her. She gave me a pleased grin.

  I slid a hand around her back and moved her through the people with ease. She was small, but against me it was easier to get by as everyone rushed to their classes when the three-minute-warning bell went off. I’d be late, but I wasn’t worried.

  Her classroom door was open, and as others hurried inside, I reluctantly took her bag and gave it back to her. I signed, “I miss you.” Because I already did.

  She signed, “I miss you too.”

  I fought the urge to kiss her and watched as she went into the room.

  When I turned to leave, there was Nova. She had one eyebrow raised, and her left hand rested on her hip. “Did you just use sign language?” she asked incredulously.

  I saw no reason to answer her, but I nodded before walking past her and toward my classroom.

  “I’m seeing someone else now. I’m not playing your games. You can stop acting like an ass. It didn’t work,” she called out to me.

  I once again nodded and kept walking.

  The late bell rang just as I stepped into my classroom.

  * * *

  Lunch with Aurora was difficult. Everyone was talking loudly. Even Nash was focused on the game tomorrow night. Hunter didn’t watch us the entire time, which was a relief, since I just wanted to talk to Aurora. But with all the activity and interruptions, it made things hard. When someone at the table would ask me a question or direct the attention toward me, answering them meant turning my head away from Aurora, and she had no idea what was being said. I didn’t like her being isolated like that. There had to be a better way to do lunch. It was the only time I had with her during the day.

  I kept her hand in mine under the table as much as I could. It gave me some connection to her, even if we barely got to talk without being interrupted. Tallulah sat down across from us, and she signed with Aurora, which meant I had to let go of her hand, and I was torn between being frustrated with Tallulah and grateful to her for making Aurora feel included.

  I watched them sign, trying to figure out anything I might recognize and learn. Tallulah saw me and began using words as she signed, for my benefit. The guys would try and draw me back into the conversation often, and I had to settle on placing my hand on Aurora’s thigh. When I had placed it there at first, she jumped a little, and I’d grinned at her. The pink tint to her cheeks made me want to kiss her, but then again, it didn’t take much to make me want to kiss her.

  The bell ringing and ending lunch was frustrating. This had been too short. I’d have practice this afternoon, and Aurora had two tests tomorrow she had to study for tonight after dinner with her family. This was all I’d get to see of her today. There was no time between our next periods for me to see her. I took her hand as we stood and walked slowly behind everyone else to leave the cafeteria.

  Letting her hand go so she could walk away from me was harder than it should have been. When I couldn’t see her any longer, I turned and headed to my next class. Asa was standing between me and the class.

  “You’re really into her.” He wasn’t asking me. He was just noting it.

  “Yeah, I am,” I replied anyway.

  He shrugged. “She’s something to look at, but the deaf thing seems like too much work.”

  I knew Asa well enough to know he wasn’t being an ass. He was just too blunt. Said things without thinking. But hearing him say it as if that made her defective infuriated me. Anger crawled up my spine and exploded before I could think clearly.

  Then I was in front of him, and he was shoved up against the lockers behind him. My head was pounding and my blood pumping. I knew I had to get control of myself, but it was like I’d stepped away and was watching this from afar, unable to do anything about it.

  “Don’t you ever fucking talk about her like that again!” The roar of my voice carried down the hallway. I was aware of it, but I was detached.

  “Jesus, man! I wasn’t bashing her. Calm the hell down,” Asa said just as angrily, his eyes wide with shock.

  “She’s goddamn perfect. Do you understand me? Don’t ever say something like that about her again!” I was still yelling.

  The hands that grabbed my shoulders were firm and strong. I was hauled backward off Asa, and it was that moment I managed to come back to myself and snap out of whatever had taken over me.

  “My office. Both of you.” Principal Haswell’s firm voice was not coming from behind me but from a distance away. I jerked my head back to see who had pulled me off Asa, and I found Coach’s pissed-off expression as he shoved me toward Haswell with enough force that I stumbled at first.

  I didn’t know what to expect. I’d never snapped like that before. I couldn’t explain it. Asa walked beside me, but he kept a distance. I knew Coach was behind us as we made our way to Haswell’s office.

  Tomorrow night could be the game that solidified my college education. It was important. I wanted to play football four more years in college, but I also knew my parents really wanted me to get a scholarship. I hadn’t thought about any of that, though, when I’d snapped on Asa. Without a scholarship to a big university, I’d be going somewhere more affordable. This game would be what decided it all. Now there was a good chance I wouldn’t be playing in it.

  We Have a Game to Win

  CHAPTER 24

  AURORA

  I wasn’t sure if I was being paranoid or what was happening, but as I walked out to find Ella in the parking lot after school, it felt like everyone was looking at me. Other than the first day I was here, I hadn’t felt this way. The new had quickly worn off, or Ryker’s presence beside me had stopped it.

  Either way, when I finally got to Ella’s car, I was relieved to close the door behind me and get away from it. It had been an odd feeling. One I didn’t like in the least.

  I looked at Ella and smiled. Talking to her was always awkward. She made it that way.

  She said hello, and although I couldn’t hear, I could tell she was talking loudly by her wide eyes and the over-exaggeration of her mouth. She did that a lot with me. I’d seen my dad and brother both tell her that yelling at me didn’t help. She wasn’t the brightest person I’d ever met, though. It wasn’t sinking in that yelling at me wasn’t required.

  Hello, I replied silently.

  That was enough conversation for her, and she was now happily pulling away from the line of cars
picking up students and driving away. I sighed with relief. This afternoon had been long. No Ryker after lunch and I understood why, but I missed him.

  Tonight we would eat a very healthy, unappetizing meal that Ella would prepare, and Dad would talk about tomorrow’s game with Hunter while we ate. Then I had to study for a Literature test I wasn’t too worried about and a Trig test that did concern me some.

  The ride home was nothing new, and my afternoon went as planned. It wasn’t until dinner that things took a bad turn. Hunter came into my room abruptly, the door swinging open wide and a look of anger on his face. I jumped up, startled at his sudden appearance, but then I quickly became annoyed with his bursting in like this.

  “I warned you,” he signed. “I knew this was bad. I asked you for one thing. One simple thing. Playoffs are what will determine my college career. Thanks to Ryker, winning tomorrow night is going to be impossible.” He signed all of it. His anger also verging on fear that flashed in his eyes.

  “What happened?” I asked, confused.

  “You. You happened. Ryker attacked Asa in the hallway over some comment he made about you. They spent the afternoon in Haswell’s office with Coach Rich. The decision was to let Asa play, since he hadn’t meant to say anything offensive, but Ryker has to sit out the first half of the game. Do you have any idea what could happen to us without Ryker the first half?” He threw his hands up in the air then with frustration.

  “This is Ryker’s future too. He will go to the college that gives him a full scholarship. He has the makings to be great in college and could go pro. But he’s so wrapped up in you this week that he’s tossing that away over Asa saying something about you being deaf.” Hunter dropped his hands to his side. He was done signing. I didn’t see how this was my fault, though.