by Rebel Hart
The game ended with a Widows’ victory, though by the skin of their teeth. All of Quinn’s hard work had gone to waste, yet when they removed their helmets, she patted them on the back and gave them high-fives like they’d done something worth doing. What a waste of good talent. People who were weak-minded on the field pissed me off more than dictators. I’d rather someone scream at me when I play like shit than pat me on my head and tell me I did a good job. Her team would never get better under her leadership. What a pity.
I waited for a majority of the spectators to pick up their chairs and blankets and clear off the field before I walked over. Quinn had walked over to thank the opposing team for the game and was making her way back to the rest of her team when I was close enough to call out.
“Quinn Dallen,” I called. She stopped and looked over at me. She still had her pads and jersey on, but her helmet was off, showing her face, flushed red from the game. Her teammates looked up, and all stared in our direction.
“Who’s wondering?” Quinn asked.
I tipped back the hood of my sweatshirt and removed my hat. If it weren’t for the fact that she was an insult to my sport, I might have been flattered by the way her mouth went agape and eyes flared.
“Zeke Matheson?” she asked. The rest of the Widows started to murmur amongst themselves, all in varying states of awe. “What are you doing here?”
“I heard about your application. I’d like to discuss.”
“Application?” one of the women behind Quinn, a dark-skinned woman with dreadlocks, asked. “What application?”
If I wasn’t glaring at Quinn with disgust, I certainly was then. “They don’t even know?”
Quinn closed some of the distance between us. “I didn’t want to put unnecessary pressure on this game. It’s my decision,” Quinn replied with a touch of bite to her voice that belied that she appeared to be starstruck a few moments ago. “What do you want to discuss?”
“Quinn, you good?” the same dark-skinned teammate called over.
Quinn looked back at them. “It’s fine. You guys head home. I’ll explain tomorrow.”
The team mostly seemed to take the direction without hesitation, but one of her team members, the rowdy one that struggled with teamwork, was staring back at me, and if looks could kill, I’d have died, come back to life, and died again.
“She seems fun,” I growled.
Quinn snapped in my line of sight to bring my attention back to her. It was oddly commanding, and it irritated me that I responded exactly as she wanted to by pulling my gaze back to her.
“Don’t talk about my girls,” she hissed. “What did you want to discuss?”
“I came to tell you to withdraw your application. The sooner, the better.”
Quinn crossed her arms. “What? Why would I do that?”
“Because you’re out of your depth. Sure, you’re pretty good, but this team? This team doesn’t deserve to bust balls on my team’s level. You need to back off.”
“Your level?” Quinn spat back. “I certainly hope you’re not talking about the level you played against Minnesota on Wednesday.” She looked me up and down. “I’m surprised you’re still standing with the way you bent over.”
“Oh, what a nasty woman.” I chuckled. “One loss doesn’t a shitty team make.”
“That’s funny because at least my team won.” Quinn wasn’t just a tornado on the field. “I bet we could beat the Vipers.”
“Ha!” I looked around to see if anyone was listening, but everyone was gone except for that one wild Widow in the back. “With her, you mean? She wouldn’t listen to you for one second.”
That second look I gave her was all the invitation she needed. She was at Quinn’s side in a second, with Quinn’s arm held out to keep her back. “Lila.”
“Oh, I saw your name on the roster. Lila Skeddit.” I snickered. “You think you can take me?”
“You wouldn’t even remember it,” she growled back.
“Believe me, if I let her loose, you’d regret egging her on,” Quinn added.
“My team would run circles around her,” I smiled at Lila, keeping my calm even though she was so mad I could damn near see smoke coming out of her nose. “She only thinks she’s a beast because she’s been running around with bugs. I have a jungle she’d drown in.”
“Quinn, please let me tear his head off.”
Quinn stepped between Lila and me. “I will, in a game.” She glared up at me. “Next Friday. At MontRec. My girls could show up exhausted and crippled and still beat the team I saw on Wednesday.”
It wiped the smile off my face. “You can’t be serious?”
Lila glowered at me, towering over Quinn. “You’ll see how serious we are.”
“Or are you scared?” Quinn asked, poking out her bottom lip in faux-sadness. It, too, was a shame. How much of an insult she was to my livelihood killed her beauty.
“Next Friday,” I replied. “I’ll show you just how out of bounds you are.”
Quinn didn’t say anything else. She had to put active effort into pushing Lila away from me, but eventually, they were back over to where all their supplies were. I stood my ground as they collected their things and walked off. I smoothed back my hair and slid my hat on over it, then I pulled up my hood and made off for my own car.
I tried not to be in the business of ruining dreams, but Quinn and her team deserved the rude awakening she just signed up for.
6
Quinn
“Okay, so let me get this straight,” Alec said. “You applied for semi-pro status.”
I stared in annoyance at Alec, who was repeating my words back to me for the fourth time. I nodded. “Yep.”
“And then you didn’t tell the team?” Alec’s eyebrow was raised. This was the part of the story he already knew, and it was exactly where things started to diverge into crazy.
“That’s correct.”
“And then at the game yesterday, Zeke approached you because he knew that you applied and told you to withdraw the application.”
“And Lila almost tore his head off. Yes.”
“And then you challenged him to a game next Friday, and you haven’t told the team about that, either?”
“Um, that about sums it up,” I replied.
Alec sat in silence for a moment. We were sitting outside of MontRec, getting ready to report for Saturday practice, and I decided that it was best to fill him in. He’d been called in for a last-minute shift at the bar and couldn’t attend the game, so I wanted him to have an idea of what he was walking into.
Suddenly, he started chuckling. It started muted and very under his breath but got louder. He pulled his keys out of the ignition of his car and shook his head in disbelief. “You’re in so much trouble.”
I started to protest, but Alec climbed out of the car, slamming the door behind him. When he opened the back seat door to grab the supplies he’d brought with him, his laughter filled the car once again.
“Shut up,” I growled, but he shut the door and started off for the field without me.
I took a few minutes to compose myself. I was well aware of how my impulsivity had landed us in a very precarious predicament. I didn’t want to think my team was going to turn on me or be mad at me. Hell, if Lila could support me in Zeke’s face, anything was possible. I’d have a lot of apologizing to do, maybe even some groveling if I wanted them to see things through my perspective. We were a good team, and with more money and state support, we could be even better. We could recruit from out of state, and we could buy pads that fit. It was the final piece to the Black Widow puzzle. If I didn’t go for it, I’d be a sham to my team.
I clapped my hands on either side of my face and let the sting pump me full of confidence. “This is good. That’s what I’ll say.” I could convince them that this was a good move.
I grabbed my backpack and purse and climbed out of the car. Alec headed straight for the field, but I detoured into MontRec to grab our supplies. As expecte
d, Kris was leaning against the front door with her arms crossed. She always waited by the door at Saturday practices to help me grab supplies, but this time, she had a slight grimace on her face.
“Quinn. The woman of many surprises.” She stepped to the side so I could unlock the door. “Wanna explain why Zeke Matheson approached you after our game yesterday?”
I avoided eye contact. Kris had a way of getting inside me that I never quite understood. She was more than a good friend. She was like a soothsayer. She always knew how I was feeling with just a quick glance and could sense when there was unrest anywhere around our team. She was a center for a good reason.
“Um, I’m going to explain it to everyone,” I replied to her. “Just gotta grab this stuff.” I unlocked the employee entrance to MontRec, but when I tried to pull it aside, Kris grabbed it and held it in place, just closed enough that I couldn’t slip through. I faced her. “What?”
“Are you okay?”
I put my arms and face into trying to express my emotions. “Yes! Everything is fine. I made a couple of…maybe impulsive decisions, but I think people are going to be on board.”
Kris looked me over, and the height in one of her eyebrows suggested she didn’t believe me, but she loosened her grip on the door so that I could open it fully. I walked in, and Kris followed. Neither of us said anything as we walked into my office, collected the balls, pads, and jerseys, and left again through the front door. I locked it behind us and led the way around the building and out back to the field. Everyone was there and waiting, and as soon as I was within view, all their eyes shot to me. I pressed on through their scrutiny, setting our materials down and holding out the jerseys for everyone to collect, but no one moved.
“Yeah,” Jazz started, her turquoise hair shimmering in the sunlight, “we’re not doing that until you explain yourself.”
I looked at Alec for support, but he turned his face away from me, so I rolled my eyes and faced the group again. “Okay, fine. Everyone sit. This could take a minute.”
Everyone sat down in the grass in front of me, except for Lila, who remained standing with her arms crossed. I didn’t know how much of Zeke’s and my conversation she heard, but Lila wasn’t stupid. She’d probably long put the pieces together.
“Um, okay, so. On Wednesday night, well, Wednesday night into Thursday morning, I submitted an application for the Black Widows to go semi-pro.”
“What?” the Widows resounded almost in unison.
“What are you talking about?” Kris asked.
Hollie raised her hand and remained quiet. I pointed at her, and she put it down. “Hi, yeah. Are you out of your mind?”
“We only have eleven players. We can’t go semi. We’d get eaten alive,” Jansen exclaimed.
“How could you do something like that without talking to us first? You’re always saying that we’re a team on and off the field,” Beck complained. “How would I swing semi-pro status? I have a full-time job and a kid.”
“Same,” Gria continued, “and half the time, I’m rushing off to get to stuff for Addy.”
A flurry of additional complaints started to fly at me, and my first impulse was to run, but my feet wouldn’t move. I could feel Alec staring at me with an unspoken, “I told you so,” but I ignored it. I expected the team to be a little shocked, but I didn’t think that they’d be so upset.
Kris jumped up out of the grass and came to stand next to me. She put an arm around my shoulders and audibly hissed at the team, who went silent. “What’s wrong with you? After everything Quinn has done for us, you can’t even hear her out before you jump down her throat?” She squeezed a spot on my shoulder hard enough to hurt. “I’m a little pissed that we were left out of the conversation,” she said but released her grip, “but I’m willing to hear what her thoughts are. I’m sure she had a good reason, or hopefully, many.”
I put my head on her shoulder for a moment and then lifted it again. “Thank you.” My hands instinctively went into my pockets to hide. “Look, guys. I’m sorry that I didn’t say anything to you. Honestly, it was a knee-jerk decision. We’d just finished watching the Vipers play, and Alec—”
“Ah,” Alec said and snapped his fingers. “Don’t drag me into this.”
“It was you, though!”
“I said it’s a shame you guys weren’t semi-pro. I didn’t say to go do it and then challenge the Vipers to a match!”
“What!” the Widows screeched, and I leered at Alec.
Alec winced. “Oops, I forgot we hadn’t gotten that far yet.”
Kris pulled her arm from around me and folded it into her other one across her chest. “You did what?”
“Well!” I bellowed, my hands flying back out of my pockets to fan out. “He was totally trashing us. I couldn’t just let him say whatever he wanted.” I pointed at Lila. “She agrees with me!”
George looked up at Lila. “You knew?”
“I don’t agree,” Lila responded to me, totally ignoring George.
“Wh—you said!”
“I was angry. You’re the captain. You’re supposed to keep a level head.”
Jansen scoffed. “You’re one to talk.” George and Max both turned to glare at her, and she scooted closer to the safety of Hollie and Gria.
“You think we can beat them, though,” I said.
“Of course, we can beat them,” Lila replied, “but I’m not about to go to some dog and pony show in some misogynistic, male-dominated ring just to prove that I’m allowed to be there. I’m out.”
I shook my head, feeling like I was going to have a meltdown any second. My frustration must have radiated because the entire team went quiet. I opened my eyes and looked into the waiting expressions of my confused and betrayed team. “Guys, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done this without asking you, but I did it because I believe in this team. I believe in us. We can be something more than just a community team. I know that some of you have jobs, jobs you like, even. This would be a full-time commitment if it happened, but we could figure something out. You wouldn’t be volunteering your time anymore.”
I pointed at Gria. “Practices would be during the day, so your evenings would be free to be with your kids. Beck and Mala, you too. We’d be able to buy real jerseys and pads. No more car washes. No more trying to hold Lila back from killing a man when he asks her to flash her boobs.”
“God, that’d be nice,” Alec murmured.
“More than anything, the Black Widows should be a semi-pro team. We’re a force to be reckoned with out there. We win most of our games, and we’re all good at what we do. Why shouldn’t we fight for something more?” The silence I got was a good sign. They were thinking it over.
“I would like to go on record as saying I do not agree with Quinn’s methods,” Alec started, “but I barely understand football and still love watching you guys play. You’re electric. At your games, most of the people who show up are there to see you. People have driven for hours to your away games to see you. They wouldn’t do that if you were just some cobbled together group of people.”
I grinned at Alec. “Thank you.”
Kris started to nod. “That’d be fucking crazy, you guys. We’d be televised.” She flicked a finger between Lila and me. “Pros would be looking at you guys for sure.”
“There aren’t any women in the pros,” Jansen responded.
“We could change that!” I yelped. “Maybe I wouldn’t go pro. To be honest, I don’t think I could ever leave you guys, but if people see what a group of badass women can do on the field, the whole landscape of football could change. In Montpelier, in Idaho, in the country!”
Max chuckled. “It does sound kind of fun.” George and Lila shot her nasty looks, but she shrugged it off. “Screw you guys.” She looked at me. “I’m in.”
My smile was so big that I could feel it trying to climb off my face. “Thanks, Max.”
Kris’s hand slapped on my shoulder. “Me too.”
One by one, the entire
team started to turn around. A couple of people still had questions and complaints, but I knew I could deal with the smaller ones. If they were on board, we were in good shape.
I turned a look to Lila, the only one left. “Lila?”
Everyone looked at her, and finally, she shrugged. It was as much of an agreement as we were going to get.
I clapped. “Okay! We’re going to wipe the floor with the Vipers on Friday.”
All of the excitement popped like a balloon.
“The game against the Vipers is this Friday?” Kris asked, exasperated.
I looked over at Alec. “Shit, I forgot we hadn’t gotten that far yet.”
7
Quinn
It had been a long week of getting ready for the game against the Vipers. The team voted unanimously to have practices every day instead of just Monday and Wednesday, and Alec even took the week off to stand in as a makeshift coach. He wasn’t good at it. He didn’t understand football enough to run it. He had a spectator’s vantage point, at best, and it brought up questions about a coach. I had one in mind, but I simply hadn’t gotten that far. It sowed seeds of unrest about semi-pro status again, but I assured them that the person I had in mind would be good, but we had to meet and talk it over. On the promise that it would be priority number one once the Vipers game was behind us, everyone worked hard without any additional voiced concerns.
When Friday finally came, I was a bundle of nerves. I wasn’t sure if he was just making a show of being semi-pro, but Zeke brought his team in their official Montpelier Vipers bus. It was hardly necessary. The Vipers’ stadium was only about ten minutes from MontRec. I’d be willing to bet that half the team lived closer to MontRec than to the stadium where they would have had to drive to get on the bus, but Zeke had proven he was an overconfident asshole, so it probably shouldn’t have surprised me so much.