[Complete] Ariel and the Bandits

17 - The First Week Back

Time tackled us into July far too quickly.

"Hike!" I shout. Caleb, our center player, tosses the ball over to me. Once I get a grip on the ball, I locate my receivers, tight ends, and running backs. There's coverage on each player. My last choice is running the ball myself, but I don't resort to that unless necessary.

Luke is towering over Uriel, but from one point to the next, Uriel slips away. Uriel waves his hand to notify me he's open. I toss the ball.

We're now seven yards away from the end zone.

Coach Beau blows with a whistle. "Great toss, Park."

He waves me over, and I lightly jog over to him. The coaches of their respective expertise give feedback to the other players. Coach Beau shows me some potential routes to guide the rest of the team through on his tablet.

I gather with the rest of the team on the field and walk them through one of the routes Coach Beau had in mind.

"Luke's going to want to have full coverage on Uriel and Ryan. He'll probably have Liam help him cover. Jake-- that'll leave you a little more open. Run Post then Comeback. Ryan runs Curl. Uriel runs Corner."

Figuring out the success of these plays is a process of trial and error. If this play works out, it's something we could use during the season.

We realign on the line of scrimmage. I pay close attention to Luke's alignment, and something feels off.

"Omaha--" Right when I say that, Luke taps his foot, and the alignment changes. Double coverage on Jake, and Liam is covering Uriel. Luke is open to either cover Ryan or cover Uriel.

Shit.

I look to both sides. Jake doesn't know what to do. I look to my right and make contact with Uriel. He just gives me an assuring nod.

"Hike!" Caleb snaps the ball back to me. I have it in my hands searching for an open player, but no one is open.

Uriel comes around the left instead of the right. He goes past double-covered Jake and runs toward the end zone. This distracts Luke, letting Ryan dash it. I toss the ball to Ryan, who just barely manages to catch it. He continues to run down the field until he makes it into the end zone.

Coach Beau blows the whistle, calling for a rotation. Liam, Luke, and I take the bench as some of the rookies step in to fill our spots.

"Nice job out there Luke," I say.

"You too, man. I know I threw you off, but you gained your momentum back."

"Uriel and Ryan deserve eighty percent of the credit."

"Dude just shut the hell up and give yourself some credit." Liam nudges me with his shoulder.

"Alright. Alright," I grin. "So Luke, the final details are in place for this Saturday?"

"Yeah. Rehearsal dinner on Friday. I'm trying to make sure Charlotte doesn't feel too stressed with the arrival of all our family, so I planned a little spa treatment for the two of us."

Liam leans over to me. "I always feel like we don't take enough relationship notes from him. Should we be writing this down?"

"I'll make a mental note of it now. We'll invest in another chalkboard."

"Not that it's any of our business," Luke pauses. "But do you know what's going on between Jake and Naz?" Luke asks.

Liam and I simultaneously shrug. There is no way to answer that. If anyone were to know details about Jake's more personal stuff that he doesn't share with the rest of our friend group, it'd be Luke. And if he's not filled in, then something is definitely off.