Fumbling Perfect (Raymere Grove Series Book 1)

by Nikki Kwiatkowski

  Kyler had showed her who he was from the beginning. Well, if she didn’t count the part that he totally lied to her about how smart he was. Instead she let rumors and her own assumptions destroy something that never got a chance to begin.

  She didn’t want to believe what Kyler had said to her the other day. He looked at her just like she read about in some of those ridiculous books she often found herself consumed by, just like how the men looked at the leading ladies in the old black and white movies she often enjoyed. He didn’t look at her like her father looked at her mother. Nor had she ever seen him look at any other girl in school that way. Not for a second did she want to think that he meant it when he said he didn’t want her anymore.

  Lilah wanted to wait until the next day to say something, but not talking to him for days was driving her crazy. Her hands shook as she nervously sent off the text. Right now, all she needed to know was if they could still be friends. If they could, then maybe she had the opportunity to fix things for something more.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Kyler felt his phone go off in a pattern that signaled a text. He rarely got messages at lunch because most of the people that would message him were sitting right in front of him. For some reason, he immediately looked up, only for Lilah’s eyes to quickly dart away, back to her friends.

  He couldn’t get his phone out of his pocket fast enough. After their conversation Monday, he never expected that she’d ever talk to him again. Worst of all, he hated that in a fit of frustration he had said things he didn’t mean.

  Lilah: Good luck on your game tomorrow.

  It wasn’t much, but it was something. Just a small something to open the door on her part. He groaned at how hopeless he was, how one simple message from her already had his heart racing.

  Kyler: Thanks. It’s the last one.

  “Who’s that,” Sarah asked over Kyler’s shoulder, but before he could say anything she scoffed. “What a loser.”

  He couldn’t take it anymore. He knew that by not setting Sarah straight long ago, he had inevitably helped put himself in the situation he was currently in.

  “Actually, she’s pretty amazing.”

  Sarah sat down and didn’t say another word. Kyler knew that wasn’t going to be good enough.

  “Could we maybe step out for a second? I need to talk to you,” he asked in a way so that they wouldn’t get too much unwanted attention.

  “No thanks,” Sarah snapped.

  “Fine, if that’s how you want to be,” Kyler began. He took a deep breath and carefully thought how to best say it so that Sarah got the hint once and for all. “I’m shocked that you’re so evil and vindictive to do what you did to Lilah–”

  Sarah was quick to interrupt, a little more loudly than Kyler would have liked. “Oh, shut up! You act like I committed murder. I got a guy to ask her out, and newsflash to you, she said yes to him. So what does that tell you about her?”

  “It tells me that you had her believing that in some screwed-up universe, you and I were together. It tells me that you put it in her head that she didn’t have a chance with me,” he growled, getting more annoyed by the second. He had days to sit and think about why things were the way they were, and this was a conversation that was long overdue.

  “Then maybe you should watch the signals you send out!”

  “Signals?! Being nice to you shouldn’t make you think that I want a relationship with you.”

  Unable to deal with further rejection and humiliation, Sarah opted out of the conversation the only way she knew how. She ferociously snatched Sean’s open sports drink from across the table and dumped the nearly full bottle of blue liquid right on top of Kyler’s head.

  She quickly got up and began to gather her things, and only became more enraged when Kyler gave up and didn’t succumb to her dramatic actions.

  Kyler simply pulled his messy and sticky hair back and took in a deep breath. “Thanks,” he grumbled. “Real mature.”

  Sarah then proceeded to stomping out of the cafeteria, with Britt and Abby close on her heels.

  Kyler forced himself to ignore all the attention that Sarah had managed to attract and, acting as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened, he quietly excused himself to the locker rooms. He could go without finishing his lunch, but he could not stand the smell and stickiness of Sean’s blueberry drink soaking into him.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Lilah only saw the part where Sarah drenched Kyler in a sports drink. What led to that was beyond her. She watched as Kyler left the room in annoyance.

  “Wow. That was…” Alice began.

  “Something,” Jolee finished.

  They zeroed in on Lilah and waited for a response.

  “Don’t look at me! I didn’t do that.”

  With a devilish smirk spread across Jolee’s lips, “I have a feeling you indirectly did.”

  She had to admit, seeing Sarah storm off like a five-year-old was pretty entertaining, but she felt bad for Kyler. Though he knew how to push her buttons, she couldn’t imagine what he would have said to garner such a dramatic reaction.

  She hovered over the screen displaying his last text. There was nothing she could think to say after his and Sarah’s performance. In fact, Sarah was hands down the last name she ever wanted in a conversation with Kyler ever again.

  Then an idea hit her.

  “Hey, what are you two doing tomorrow night,” she eagerly asked Alice and Jolee.

  Jolee gave a slight shrug.

  Alice began rambling about a new season of some vampire series.

  “There’s something I want to do,” Lilah hesitantly continued. “But I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do it alone.

  Jolee’s eyes lit up. “Well, you have me intrigued.”

  Alice pretended to be disappointed. “I guess those episodes can wait until Saturday…”

  “What is it,” Jolee asked impatiently.

  “I want to go to the football game.”

  Both Alice and Jolee gave each other incredulous looks before shouting in unison. “What?!”

  Chapter 38

  Walking back out on the field after halftime of his last high school career game had Kyler’s stomach in knots, but it had little to do with the fact that they were losing by sixteen points and everything to do with the stupid message he saw on his phone when he opened his locker during the break.

  Lilah: Please don’t let my first game end in such a disaster.

  It was sent shortly before halftime, right around the time that everything started to go downhill. For starters, Raymere Grove’s running game had been weak all season. Though Kyler’s throws were spot on, they were no match when it came to the defensive line of their opponent, Halshire High.

  Now, to make matters worse, that stupid text from Lilah had his head spinning. He asked her a couple times throughout the season to come to a game, and she practically laughed at him. Scratch that, he distinctly remembered her definitely laughing at the suggestion. So why would she be here now?

  Kyler sat on the bench as he watched their defense take the field. He tried from time to time to turn around and catch a glimpse of the stands behind him. There were easily a couple hundred people and he had no idea where to look for Lilah, assuming she was still at the game.

  “Stop being so weird,” Miles grumbled next to him.

  “What are you talking–”

  “Far left, about five rows up, white shirt and grey jacket,” Miles interrupted.

  Kyler shot him a look with narrowed eyes and a tightened jaw, only for Miles to throw his head back in laughter.

  “Hey, man, wouldn’t you notice a fish out of water?” He shook his head, still trying to comprehend the trio in the stands. “I never thought I’d see Lilah McCallister at one of our games.”

  Kyler remained silent. His heartbeat quickened at the possibility of what that could mean.

  When Kyler didn’t reply with anything, “Are you finally going to ask her out?”

  “
I don’t know if that’s a good idea after everything.”

  “Seriously?! Why do you think she’s here? I can tell you one thing, it’s not to watch us win, because we don’t know what the heck that is anymore.”

  Kyler sighed at that; however, he was a little excited to see their opponents with 3rd and 17 after a nice sack from Raymere’s defense.

  “It’s our last game. A lot of the town is here for that,” Kyler admitted.

  “Yeah, well it might be a lot of lasts if you don’t get your head on straight when it comes to her.” Miles didn’t give Kyler a chance to respond. He grabbed his helmet and motioned for Kyler to do the same just as Halshire punted the ball away.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  “Oh, now he’s back on the field,” Alice clapped. “That’s a good thing, right?”

  Lilah nodded, although, after watching a few of the drives in the first half, it really didn’t matter who was on the field. She knew that with football, everything could change in a handful of seconds, but seeing the score, 7 to 23, didn’t give her much hope in their school winning the game.

  “It doesn’t even matter at this point,” Jolee chimed in. “We didn’t go to state. I heard the team, as a whole, pretty much sucks.” She shrugged and went back to a book she had brought along.

  Lilah decided to keep her mouth shut and watch intently. Her friends had already given her a hard time during the first half with her little bit of knowledge about the game.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  2nd and 20 after a loss of yardage from a sack by Halshire.

  Kyler was livid as they got back in formation. A few choice words under his breath gained the reaction of Sean.

  “Maybe if you could get rid of the ball…”

  Kyler got in Sean’s face. “Wow. Why didn’t I think of that? Oh, maybe because I have less than a second for a window because some of you can’t figure out your jobs.”

  “Whoa, whoa,” Miles jumped in. “I’ll be open this time. Just get it to me. Let’s not have anyone getting kicked out on our last game.”

  Kyler knew that Miles couldn’t guarantee that, and just like he expected, Miles was so closely covered that there was no way he was going to risk an interception. His eyes caught the flash of red and white darting toward him, but just as he was about to throw the ball away, he saw an opening.

  It was risky, and a little bit egotistical, but he decided to run it himself. His goal wasn’t necessarily to get a first down, and he knew there wasn’t a chance in hell he’d get in the red zone, but there was no way he’d allow a loss or no gain. As he got farther down the field, he quickly started making his way closer to the sidelines. He had already been sacked three times; he knew how brutal Halshire’s defense was. Not wanting to take the chance of taking another hit, he finally stepped out of bounds, the roaring cheers already telling him that he got the first down.

  Miles ran up to him and jumped on him like he had won the game. “Dude! That was so stupid,” he laughed. “Awesome, but stupid.”

  “What was that,” Sean yelled as more players came to congratulate Kyler.

  “That,” Kyler began, catching his breath, adrenaline pumping through his veins. “Is how you get a first down.”

  Sean stormed off, ready for the next play, and something hit Kyler. He fully intended to tell Sean that if he couldn’t do a better job blocking, he didn’t need him; he could do the game himself, but suddenly, that wasn’t his mentality anymore. He rolled his eyes, knowing he’d have to swallow his pride, as he jogged up to Sean.

  Kyler tapped Sean on the shoulder.

  “What?!”

  “Look, I’m sorry.” It came out quickly and Kyler felt like he had swallowed vomit.

  “What…”

  “I know we’re all trying our best. Halshire is a really good team. I guess I just got worked up. Call me crazy, but I’d actually like to win our last game.” Kyler gave a shrug, hoping that by calming his attitude and ego, Sean would do the same.

  As if by some miracle, Sean sighed, his features softening, and his tense shoulders deflating. “I’m trying, man. Their guys are just so much more with everything. Stronger. Faster. Bigger.”

  “I get it. All I’m saying is, let’s just do our best, for the team. As soon as the game is over, you can go back to hating me for being such an egotistical jock with the perfect life just handed to me.”

  Sean scoffed and rolled his eyes. “If you think I’m going to correct you on that, you’re wrong.”

  Kyler laughed and patted Sean on the shoulder. He was well-aware that when Sean had a chip on his shoulder, he was useless on the field. Hopefully that brief interaction had helped.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Lilah laughed when Jolee put her book down, suddenly intrigued at what was happening on the field.

  “They don’t suck as much as they did at first,” Jolee calmly admitted.

  Lilah wasn’t sure what happened after Kyler made that amazing run halfway down the field, but something in their team’s attitude for the game seemed to shift. Halshire still tore their players up, but everyone worked a little better together.

  31 to 29 in their favor.

  Halshire with the ball just shy of the fifty-yard line.

  Going for it on 4th and 2.

  A minute and fifteen seconds left on the game clock.

  Lilah sat on the edge of her seat along with everyone else in town.

  Alice leaned in closer. “Why is it so quiet?”

  “If they don’t get this, we win,” Lilah whispered back, unsure why they were whispering.

  “Cool…What do we win?”

  Lilah couldn’t respond to that. Though winning seemed to be a big deal to everyone in the stands, it really didn’t matter too much she supposed.

  “We win not losing the last game,” Jolee answered instead.

  Lilah couldn’t help but chuckle a little. “That.”

  Lilah clamped down on her bottom lip as the ball was snapped and handed off. Three seconds later, there was a messy pile of players from both teams as everyone waited for the call.

  When the referee motioned that it was Raymere Grove’s ball, their side of the stands erupted.

  Then Lilah spent the next few minutes explaining to Alice why with no timeouts left for either team, they didn’t have to play anymore, which would only risk injury or heaven forbid, an interception.

  Chapter 39

  It wasn’t a game like in the movies. It wasn’t like they had won the Super Bowl. When the clock hit zero, Raymere Grove had really only won their last game of the season, and possibly the last game forever for several of the seniors.

  The players were excited and after a few moments of celebrating and showing respect to their opponents, they took their leave off the field. It was at this point that most of the people in the stands began to make their way in every direction.

  Lilah didn’t know what she was expecting. Kyler had given her a few glances after halftime, but none of which gave her any clue as to what he might be thinking with her presence there. Maybe the hopeless romantic hidden somewhere deep inside thought that he’d rush over the barrier separating the field from the stands, climb the few stairs up to her row, take her in his arms, and…

  Her thoughts were interrupted with a sigh from Jolee. “Well, they won.”

  “It wasn’t the worst. Maybe we should have come to games sooner,” Alice admitted with a shrug. “I can’t believe I just said that,” she laughed.

  Lilah nudged her. “Just so you know, they have this in college, only it’s way bigger and more intense.”

  “So, what are we supposed to do now,” Jolee asked. She looked around the stands that were becoming emptier by the second.

  “You two should go,” Lilah answered quietly.

  They gave each other a look before Alice had to ask. “What about you? We can’t just leave you here.”

  “I’ll leave soon.” Lilah put her arms around both Jolee and Alice. “Thank you both for coming. This was out of
my comfort zone and I don’t think I could have done it alone.”

  Though the girls were hesitant to leave Lilah, although they knew Antonio was only a call away, they decided to call it a night. It wasn’t until just as they said their goodbyes, and Lilah received a text, that they knew they most definitely needed to head out.

  Kyler: Wait for me.

  Lilah clutched her phone to her pounding chest. Excitement flooded her whole body, all the way to her toes. Despite everything, this had to at least mean something to him. If he was mad at her for all her stupid thoughts and decisions, he couldn’t possibly want to give her the time of day. Though it was just a text of only three words, those three words meant the world to her. She knew without a doubt that she owed Kyler the same.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Maybe he should have gone up to her right after the game; however, he felt like it needed to be a moment for just the two of them, not a good portion of the town with front row seats. Also, he smelled. Bad. While Lilah probably wouldn’t have cared, he really didn’t want a meaningful conversation to take place when he was covered in sweat, grass, and dirt.

  He ignored all the celebration. A chuckle erupted as he dug contents from a bag in his locker and ran to the showers. He never thought after their first wins that their season would end so poorly. While everyone continued to celebrate, it was very bittersweet. Kyler knew he’d play in college, especially with the scholarships he was offered for football, but for a couple of the guys, high school and this game was it.

  Kyler looked in the mirror after the fastest shower of his life and ruffled his damp hair. He grabbed a small glass bottle and gave a few sprays. Laughter erupted behind him. Turning, he saw Dawson and Miles, with Gavin in the middle, his arms thrown over the other two.