First Down: Sharks Football, #1

By Leslie North

Love is a full contact sport...

 

Mark Coleridge is living the dream. He's making big bucks as a pro football player with his favorite team, the Savannah Sharks. Life seems perfect. But after winning his latest game, he looks up at the Jumbotron and is shocked to see Tessa Black, his high school sweetheart. And standing next to her is a little boy who looks suspiciously familiar…

 

Suddenly, football has to take a backseat. Mark's a father… and still in love with the girl who ghosted him five years ago. Sure, he's angry she hid his son from him. But when he learns why, it just makes him want her even more.

 

Tessa's loved Mark for as long as she can remember. But she knew if she told him she was pregnant, his dreams of playing in the NFL would have been over. She couldn't bring herself to do it back then. Can she let him into her life now?

 

Mark's a good dad, and Tessa can't help but fall for him all over again. But she knows football will always be his first love. And her focus has to be on her son.

Can their love score a touchdown this time?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Relay Publishing
• Release date: Oct 21, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201058289

Book preview

1

Is there anything louder than a rowdy, home-game crowd after a touchdown? Even though he’d only been the Savannah Sharks’ rookie running back for a few months, Mark Coleridge’s knew the deafening sound well. He was often the cause of it. His focus was already causing a stir in the league and it’s exactly what had helped propel him to where he was standing at that very minute; midfield during a preseason game in Sharks Stadium, surrounded by his new teammates and a roaring crowd. He could thank his focus for the touchdown he’d just scored, but the truth was sometimes his laser vision kept him from seeing the big picture.

Which was exactly why he still couldn’t believe that he’d sweated his way through two quarters.

It’s halftime already?

Damn, rookie, nice play, quarterback and team captain James Sullivan shouted to him, a smile visible under his mask. Who you trying to impress with that flashy TD?

Mark grinned back but didn’t answer as they jogged off the field.

Oh, no big deal. Basically everybody. The hometown crowd that’s cheered me on since high school, my grandpa aka my biggest fan, and maybe, just maybe … her.

He snatched his helmet off hoping he could banish the thought from his brain before it was fully formed.

Nope. Don’t go there. Not now.

There was still so much to get used to in so little time, it was practically an alternate dimension. And though he was still getting to know his teammates, Mark was nervous about making a wrong move. He didn’t want to screw this opportunity up. The dream he’d held since childhood. The professional break he’d been counting on since college.

A few other teammates clapped him on the back as they started filing along the sidelines toward the tunnel to the locker room. Fans collected behind the railing, screaming the last names of their favorite players. Mark didn’t hear Coleridge among the chorus—yet. But he would soon enough, if he had his way. As long as he could show America that he was the rising star he’d promised to be.

The Jumbotron at the end of the field snagged his attention as the camera began panning through the audience. Excited grins and cheeks streaked with the trademark jade and black colors of the team flashed across the 160-foot-wide screen. And then the cameras focused on the Sharks’ mascot, bouncing near the sidelines with a group of children.

Mark paused on his way in to watch. This was one of his favorite parts of live games—the memories made, the way kids could get involved with the sport. A dark-haired kid jumped up and down beside Sharky, a friend hopping right beside him. Just as Mark was ready to follow the last of his teammates to the locker room beneath the stadium, an eager mother came into view.

Glistening blonde hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail, fair skin despite the fact that the sun blazed stronger than ever at this point in the Georgia summer. And that smile—the beautiful mouth that Mark knew he’d never forget, not in the six years since the last time he’d kissed it.

It was Tessa.

His first love. The girl he’d been ready to get down on one knee for. And his only heartbreak.

Seeing her again, larger than life on the screen, hit him harder than any tackle could.

Come on. Keep it moving. A voice barked at him, and then he stumbled forward. His teammate Maxwell walked past, smirking over his shoulder.

I’m coming, Mark said, unable to look away from the Jumbotron. The cameras were back on the boys, the blond one coming into view. Mark blinked a few times. Was he imagining all of this? Not only had he seen Tessa on the big screen, but that child…

Coleridge! Maxwell shouted from further up the sidelines, his tall dark frame casting a shadow where he stood waiting for him. We’re late. Coach is gonna be on your ass.

Mark drew a deep breath but felt like a hand was clamped around his lungs. The sensation had nothing to do with his conditioning and everything to do with her. But he couldn’t allow himself to be thrown off his axis during such an important game. He sprinted to catch up with Maxwell. One of the benefits of being the fastest running back on the team: he could outrun anyone.

But once he caught up and was tucked into the locker room with his teammates, it was hard to focus. The room was sauna-warm to keep muscles loose and the music was cranking to keep spirits high. There were bodies everywhere; splayed on the floor to stretch, changing out of ripped pants and torn jerseys, and lining up for taping and numbing agents. As the clock ticked on the players filed to opposite corners of the room, offensive players huddled in one and defensive in the other, all waiting for the coaches to emerged from their locked door meeting with final strategies.

Mark leaned into a hamstring stretch and tried not to think about Tessa.

Yeah, good luck with that, buddy.

She’d reached out to him for the first time in six years earlier that week, asking for a friendly meet-up for coffee. As if her years of absence hadn’t happened and meeting they’d planned was just another date. But it wasn’t for another three days, so why was she showing up on the Jumbotron today? And why did that blond kid have him so rattled?

Outrageous possibilities swirled inside him, but he struggled to push them aside as Coach Scooter outlined the shifts in their strategy and he and his teammates gathered in a circle for the team chant. Once the game-ready shouts filled the locker room and they headed back up to the field, Mark’s mind wandered to his beautiful ex once again.

Not now. You gotta stay in the game. Think about it after.

Mark could hear the screams from the crowd before they reached the field. They’d been gone for twenty minutes, but it felt like they were starting the game all over again. And he couldn’t deny it…he loved this feeling. It was different from the adoration from college football fans. Now, he felt like he was somebody. Like he was truly making a name for himself.

Mark tugged his helmet on and prepped himself to focus. Whatever was happening with Tessa and that boy…it could wait. It had to wait.

The Sharks played strong in the second half, with Mark scoring yet another touchdown. The game wrapped up with a score of 34–15, and the cheers were thunderous. It wasn’t even a regular season game, yet the fans had come out in a huge way. Mark felt the usual rush, the one he was always chasing, as his teammates crowded and congratulated each other, and then the opposing team.

When his coach came into view, Mark jogged toward him. His heart still raced in his chest, but it wasn’t from the game anymore. Now that that was behind him, he could focus on the next pressing task.

Hey, Coach, I got a quick question. Mark tucked his helmet under his arm, looking up toward the crowds in the stadium over Coach’s shoulder. I saw some kids celebrating a birthday with Sharky on the big screen during half time. You think, uh…you think we could get those kids in for a meet and greet with the team or something?

The idea felt insane, especially since he was already supposed to be meeting Tessa later that week. But this felt too urgent to let slip by. Yes, he’d been aching to see Tessa since the last time they’d crossed paths. He’d always wondered why she’d ghosted him, if it was something he’d done or said. And now that she had a kid…? Possibly two? They needed to get caught up now.

I think we’ve already got one scheduled in the locker room after the press is out of the way, Scooter said, clapping him on the shoulder. And hey, I like to hear that you care about the fans. You’re ready to sign your first footballs, huh? The knowing smile on his coach’s face made Mark laugh. If only it was a simple interest in connecting with fans.

Yeah, I suppose I’ve been waiting for this for a long time, Mark said.

Let’s head down, Coach said, and tell the press what a damn good job you did today.

Mark fought back the smile that threatened to take over his face. He hurried down to the locker room and showered quickly, already familiar with the impatient press waiting for behind-the-scenes access. They had just enough time to pull on gym clothes before the media streamed in, ready for sound bites and interviews.

Mark hung back, letting the veteran teammates like James take the lead. But soon enough he was roped into the scrum. He answered a few questions about his rookie status and the exact number of rushing yards in his college career. One even asked him why he was such an old rookie at age twenty-three, which forced Mark to explain his gap year and subsequent five years of college. Soon, the reporters’ attention turned elsewhere. And once the media cleared out, the kids arrived.

The first signs were the excited shouts echoing down the hallway. And then Sharky appeared, slightly hobbled by the costume but still managing to lead a mass of excited kids behind him. Mark could only blink and take it in. The group of about ten kids sounded more like fifty; grinning parents hung back and let the kids have their day.

But not just any parents.

Tessa was there.

Her gray-green eyes met his for a moment then quickly looked away.

Shouts filled the room as Coach Scooter made a quick introduction between kids and team, and then the room was full of eager requests for jerseys and footballs to be signed. The happiness was contagious in the locker room, and Mark watched as his teammates pulled Sharpies from their pockets and got to work. He uncapped his own and waited his turn.

It wasn’t long before the tow-headed boy approached him, looking far more familiar than he felt comfortable with. The boy held out a football with an excited grin. Mark glanced up at Tessa at the other side of the room, finding her ashen. His gut twisted into a painful knot.

What the hell is going on?

Hey there, Mark said, mustering a smile as he took the football from him. He poised to sign it but paused, looking down at the brown-eyed boy. What’s your name?

Angus, he said, his eyes nearly sparkling as he looked up at Mark. He couldn’t stop staring at the kid. It was like looking into a photo from the past. Looking square in the eye of his own childhood…which didn’t make an ounce of sense.

He and Tessa had always talked about the future, back when he still believed they’d have one together. About how they would name their first kid Angus if it was a boy, Isla if it was a girl. Back then they were young and stupid enough to think they knew what the world was about. He missed that hopefulness.

He ran the dates in his mind as he turned the football over in his hands but they weren’t adding up. There were only two possibilities, neither of which were particularly good.

Either Tessa had his child without telling him, which seemed…insane, if not impossible, or she had had a child with someone else, and the child just happened to look like him. Which was heartbreaking but more feasible.

Whatever the truth was, Mark intended to find out.

But why is she here now? Why didn’t she tell me she was coming today?

He realized he was leaving the kid hanging.

You a big fan of the Sharks, Angus? Mark asked, his mouth dry as the words came out of his mouth. He barely saw what he wrote on the football: To Angus, keep loving the sport. –Mark Coleridge.

"The Sharks are my favorite team ever in the entire world!" Angus gushed, his eyes going wide as Mark handed it back.

Mark forced a smile. Every inch of his body vibrated with the need to see Tessa up close, to talk to her, to figure out why this twist in his gut was slowly turning into a fist that threatened to take him down.

Who’d you come with today? Mark asked.

My mom and my best friend Jack, Angus said, gripping the football between both hands. It’s his birthday; he’s six now. I’ll be six next year and I wanna come back for my birthday! How old are you? When’s your birthday?

Mark laughed softly. The kid’s mix of joy and awe was exactly what he needed to clear away some of the stress he was feeling. I’m twenty-three. Young for these guys, he jerked his thumb at his teammates, but probably ancient to you. And my birthday is in March.

Angus started to answer him but the group of kids surged and one of his little friends pushed ahead to see Mark next, knocking the boy a few steps away.

You be good, okay? Hope to see you next year, Mark said, nodding toward Angus as another kid with an open-mouthed expression and a football replaced him.

It took Mark a moment to acknowledge the new boy. His gaze crossed the length of the room again and met Tessa’s waiting eyes. She nibbled endlessly on her top lip, that trademark nervous habit that had left her with a busted lip from how anxious she could get back in high school. His chest tightened, everything going tilted and strange for a moment.

What in the hell could Tessa want with him, six years later, out of the blue? And what were the chances that the sweet kid had something to do with it?

Mr. Coleridge, I can’t believe how many touchdowns you made today. My dad always says that… The new kid in front of him gushed on and on. Mark tried his best to focus, but it was near impossible. All he could do was smile and nod, signing on autopilot. He didn’t even remember if he’d signed his full name or not by the time he’d handed the ball back and encouraged him to keep following his passion for football.

Throughout it all, the question echoed in his head: Why was Tessa here?

The clamor and bustle of the locker room made talking privately impossible. But maybe he could move their meeting up a little bit. Maybe it could happen immediately, so that he could ask a few of the burning questions that had been plaguing him for the past six years. The ones that woke him up in the middle of the night, or plagued him during long drives, or made him second-guess what he knew about relationships. Because now that she’d reappeared in his life, he needed answers.

Mark tried to look casual as he scanned the room, hoping to spot her in the crowd.