Chasing Football Dreams (Diner Girl #2)

Chapter Ten

“Y ou don’t mind if I eat?” I asked taking out the wrap Duncan got me when he picked me up front work for practice.

He cast me a side glance. “I honestly don’t mind,”

I took a bite from the wrap, moaning at how the flavors swirled around in my mouth giving me a mouthgasm and how good it felt to have some food since I neglected to have breakfast this morning because of my mind being somewhere else.

“Do you want a piece?” I asked holding the wrap out to him. While he kept his eyes focused on the road, he took a generous bite.

“That was half my wrap,” I complained staring at him with narrowed eyes.

“You can have it back,” He teased opening his mouth and sticking his tongue out.

I wrinkled my nose. “That’s disgusting, no,” Says the one who let him use his tongue to make you orgasm.

He chuckled and continued chewing. “It’s actually good,”

“Duh, it’s chicken and spicy guacamole,” I muttered breaking the wrap in half and feeding him the other half.

“That’s supposed to be yours,” He gave me a questioning look.

I shrugged. “It’s called sharing, all you have to do is say thank you,”

He shook his head while smiling. “Thanks, babe,” He shot me a wink making my heart skip faster.

I unhurriedly enjoyed my piece while he gobbled his up and ended up sharing my shake with him as well.

We got to the field before the team and went our separate ways to get dressed for practice. Coach Shane was already on the field, laying out cones when I stepped out on the field. Duncan was nowhere to be found and I almost felt convinced to turn around but by the time I decided to skip back, he had already seen me. “Zoey,”

“Coach,” I acknowledged holding my composure as I walked up to him. I was comfortable pretending that nothing was wrong but it still felt strange that there could be a slight chance that he could be my father.

“You’re early,” I noted, gazing around and taking in all his work.

He shrugged. “I thought we could work on some drills together,”

“Sounds good,”

No matter if Coach Shane is my father, he was still my idol and learning from him was a privilege. My dream has always been to be as good as him if not better and getting a chance to be coached by him was an opportunity I wasn’t going to slide.

Coach Shane stood a few feet away from me as he watched me pass the ball to his instructions. The ball flew further across the field with every commandment he gave me of how wide my stance should be, and where I should rest my focus and reminded me to trust my runners.

He shared some of his secrets and gave me some training on how to take down a tackler.

I didn’t even realize that Duncan had taken a seat next to the field with the rest of the team, watching Coach Shane helped me develop my skills.

Coach Shane blew his whistle when he saw them having a chat and ordered everyone to run a few laps, lecturing them for slacking. I concealed my smile at their groans before they took off. As much as I love jogging, I was in no mood to run laps when I could strengthen my wits for Friday’s game.

Coach Shane came over handing me a football and ordering me to go for another pass. “I received a call this morning from ESPN. They want to do a live interview with you,”

I stared at him unblinking, feeling overwhelmed by his request. Does ESPN want to interview me? “Did they say what it was about?”

He smiled at me. “I think it has to do with your record-breaking season,”

“Are you sure it’s not about me being a girl that was given the Quarterback position?” I would hate for them to focus on my femininity instead of my talent.

“You weren’t given the position. It’s your determination and heart for the game that got you this position. And let’s not forget about that incredible arm you’ve got there,” He looked unhappy with my remark of being given the position and it felt great to have the famous Shane Martin acknowledge my talent.

“You believe it’s a good idea?”

He nodded. “It’s a good opportunity to get your face out there with NFL drafts coming up soon,”

I looked at my rowdy team rejoining us after their laps. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them. It’s been a rough ride in the beginning since everyone had something to say about a girl joining an all-male football team.

“I will do the interview but only if my team joins me,” I wasn’t going to take all the credit for a good season. My team fought extremely hard to have me on the team and they had my back with every negative headline.

Coach Shane covered his amazement with a clear of his throat, failing big time when a smile slipped. “I will let them know,”

He then called the team to get started on their practice and got my receivers to catch my passes. “I am going to push you and challenge each of you. I am going to be a pain in your ass until I know you are ready for the championship,”

There was a different aura that surrounded Coach Shane. He was determined and strict, not wanting us to lose this season.

The whole team was a sweaty mess at the end of practice. Coach Shane let me take a break to rest my arm for a while, not wanting me to blow it out while he had a run with our second string.

I was enjoying my small break, watching Coach Shane share his knowledge with the team and how he got a player who had no confidence to believe in himself.

“Oh, look here, girls. It seems the team finally realized that Zoey is not a good idea,”

I control the urge to drive my fist through Monique’s hideous face.

I didn’t acknowledge her presence when she sat down beside me on the bench. “Maybe you should just accept that you will forever be a nobody. Not even your parents wanted you. They had to die to get away from you,”

As much as I tried to control my outburst that was the last straw. “Maybe you should stop poking your nose in other’s business because that nose of yours is starting to look a lot like a stick,”

“At least I am not an orphan or a diner girl,”

“You are such a bully and for what?” I got to my feet with her following my movement.

“People like you don’t belong in this world,”

“And who the hell are you to decide?"

“You are pathetic,” She spat.

“Maybe you should look in the mirror,"

I walked away, noticing Coach Shane calling me to the field. He placed the ball in my hands but didn’t remove his hands from the ball. “You are an orphan?”

I nodded my head slowly, not surprised that he overheard our conversation. “My parents died in a car accident when I was four,”

“And you were never put in a foster care program?”

I shook my head. It wasn’t a secret anymore and even though I didn’t like to tell people that I grew up in an orphanage—I don’t have anything to feel embarrassed about who I am.

“I didn’t like the way that girl spoke to you,” He noted, glancing over his shoulder where Monique huddled up her cheer squad and started to cheer for the team.

“There’s not much I can do,” Monique likes reaction and more specifically she loves attention. Something that I wasn’t going to give her.

“If she only knows how important you are for this team,”

“I don’t let her get to me. I’ve dealt with worse people than her,”

Something flashed in Coach Shane’s eyes but I wasn’t sure what it was and I wasn’t going to ask about it.

“I am sorry about the other day. Benjamin was out of line. There was no need to make you uncomfortable,”

If he only knows it wasn’t his comments that made me uncomfortable. “He didn’t make me feel uncomfortable. I’m used to people dissing my dream,”

He shook his head not agreeing with me. “It’s not fair to you to normalize prejudice. I don’t care what anyone says. You deserve a shot at the major leagues,”

“Thanks, coach,”

He nodded. “I would be a proud father if you were my daughter,”

I had no comment on his remark because knowing he could be my father made it almost impossible for me to stay composed. “Sometimes I wish my father could’ve been here to see me,”

As much as I pretended not to care about growing up without parents, the longing for having them at my game still lingers in my heart.

I blinked a few tears away not wanting to break out crying in front of everyone.

He patted my shoulder and smiled at me. “He’s watching over you every day and I believe he is proud to see his girl kicking ass,”