Are you mine?

Chapter 39

Noah's POV

I smash my fist against one of the lockers in frustration, making the door slam shut loudly as I enter the locker room. It's halftime and we're getting wrecked. Those guys are fucking unstoppable, they're destroying us and we're down by 13 points.

I have to get it together, I need this win. There's too much at stake here. For the first time, I have a girlfriend in the stands, to which I made the promise of a win. And most importantly, I have a college scout analyzing my every move under a microscope. If I don't pull this off, I lose everything, all my plans for the future fall through the cracks, and I don't have a backup.

I press my forehead against the cold metal of my locker and I take slow and steady breaths, thinking that I need to get my nerves under control before I let them paralyze me. Beads of sweat run down my face as I try to calm myself down, and without meaning to, but wanting to concentrate on anything other than my troubling thoughts, I tune into a conversation I imagine I'm not supposed to be hearing.

"What the fuck is up with Reed tonight?" Luke asks the rest of the circle.

"I don't know man," Chad responds, "Maybe it's the pressure. He has a lot going on this game and it's probably psyching him out."

"It's definitely his girlfriend that's the problem," I hear Mason cut into their conversation and I clench my jaw tightly.

"Noah has a girlfriend?" Luke asks, "Who?"

"Maddison Sterling," Mason replies, "Little one, long brown hair, nice ass," he says and I can practically hear the smug fucking grin on his face. He knows I can, he's trying to get a rise out of me.

"She won't let him pipe and his blue balls are probably messing with his head" he piles on, and I ball my fists so hard that my knuckles start turning white. "If you ask me, I would say that's because she's been getting it somewhere else. I mean I wouldn't mind hittin' that." I feel my boiling blood pumping through my veins. I'm going to kill this guy.

"Are you going to do something about that?" Tyler asks, appearing next to me, gesturing at the guys with his head as he takes off his gloves.

I should, I know I should. And I want to, but I can't get in a fight right now. Tonight determines my future, and I can't let Mason ruin it for me. I mean, do you think a college scout would recruit a quarterback that beats up his own teammates? I don't. This will just have to wait until the game is over, it'll give me time to meditate over a few ways I can murder him.

"You don't want to push me right now Tyler," I warn through gritted teeth.

He holds my gaze, nostrils flared, nails digging into his palms and jaw clenched tightly. "Fuck it," he says, and before I can even process his reply he turns around and his fist connects with Mason's jaw at full force.

Mason staggers back and takes a second to wipe at his lip. Seeing the red bloodstain on his thumb, he charges at Tyler and hits him near the eye. Being twice his size, Mason's punch sends Tyler flying backward and I catch him before he topples down to the ground. That should've been me, so without a second thought, I sit Tyler on the floor and out of the way, taking his place and jabbing Mason on the cheek with all the strength that I can muster up.

He falls to the ground and I kick his side, not hard enough to break any bones, but enough to knock the wind out of him since he doesn't have his gear on. I'm ready for another hit, but before I can do any more damage, Jackson grabs me from behind and pulls me back. Mason is still on the floor, a few guys gathering around him to help him up, but he shrugs them off aggressively. When he stands up, I can tell by the look on his face that he wants to hit me back, but he stops himself, knowing that if he tried it he'd probably end up dead.