Tight End

When Ryan arrived at the field, the crowd that had been chatting and laughing all turned to look at him. Their teenage faces were filled with scrutiny and curiosity.

Ryan's gaze swept over them in turn. American football was a sport that relied on three things: tactics and teamwork, reflexes and speed, and strength, height, and weight.

His new teammates came in all shapes and sizes. The short, compact ones were running backs; the lanky, springy ones played wide receiver; the sturdy, muscular ones were linemen; and the ones good at throwing played quarterback.

As for Ryan's position, tight end, it was the most unusual of all. Positioned at the edge of the line, a tight end was responsible for both defense and offense. The position also had the strictest physical requirements: a player needed speed, but also had to withstand the opposing line's impact.

A good tight end could put enormous pressure on the opposing team. A bad one was worse than a tackling dummy. It was a position with a high ceiling and a low floor. Since tight ends were so difficult to use, most high school coaches didn't use them at all, replacing the position with an offensive guard instead.

So when Ryan said he played tight end, quite a few people there shook their heads. The team's current playbook didn't have a place for a tight end.

"What a shame. Such a shame," the quarterback said, shaking his head.

Ryan didn't get to meet the coach, but he didn't say much about it. He changed in the grass with the others. When he took off his shirt, his underwear-model physique and defined muscles immediately set off a commotion among the cheerleaders gathering nearby. Someone let out a shriek.

"I'm drooling just looking at him!"

"Which one are you drooling over, the top or the bottom?"

"Obviously both!"

Not far away, in the stands, Abigail heard the cheerleaders' unabashed, lewd talk and immediately bristled. She folded her arms. "Those same b—bi—bitches again!"

Seeing that someone had already gone over to offer them drinks, Taylor, sitting beside Abigail, couldn't help frowning.

She had just received her graduation paperwork, and her mother had already gone home. She'd planned to stay and celebrate properly with Abigail, only to be dragged to the field in the blink of an eye. Taylor's younger brother was on the football team too, but as an underclassman, he was only a substitute.

On the field, the female cheerleaders made the first move and offered Ryan a drink. He politely declined, figuring it was best to keep a low profile in a new environment.

Just then, the football coach arrived at the field. At his request, Ryan introduced himself to everyone.

Then the coach brought up their next opponent. "If we can't beat Gallatin High School, we'll be out of the running for State Champion before the season even ends..."

State Champion? That had to mean a 6A Level Competition, right? Ryan felt a little uneasy.

Judging by Abigail's reaction earlier, he'd thought Hendersonville wasn't very strong. He hadn't expected them to be among the strongest teams in Tennessee. They were two levels above his old high school.

As he pondered this, practice got underway. After the initial drills, the main event for the day was a scrimmage between the team's own players.

As the only tight end in the entire high school, Ryan, the newcomer, got a chance to take the field.

"Do your best, handsome!"

Ryan heard an enthusiastic cheer from the female cheerleaders nearby. A few of the other male players let out derisive snorts. Ryan had caught the eyes of almost every girl there, so naturally they weren't about to welcome him with open arms. They planned to give the new guy some "special attention."

"This doesn't look good. Ryan's going to get hurt," Abigail said anxiously from the stands. The players lined up against Ryan were key starters on the defensive line, all big and tall. Even Ryan, at six foot one, looked "petite" next to them.

"It's only a scrimmage. Why are you getting so worked up?" Taylor scoffed. Unlike the lovesick cheerleaders below, she'd met plenty of handsome guys. After spending some time around Ryan, she didn't think there was anything particularly special about him.

The scrimmage began. Ryan collided hard with the defensive end and felt his insides tremble.

On the line, the defensive and offensive units had opposite roles. The defensive linemen were all experienced at breaking through and knew how to use their physical advantages. On top of that, these players were in a 6A competition and far stronger than the players Ryan remembered from his old school. On their first encounter, the defensive end broke straight through Ryan's block, and Ryan could only watch as he brought down the running back trying to circle around.

After four consecutive plays, the "strong side" where Ryan was lined up had become a sieve, and the defense kept breaking through. One of his teammates began to question him.

Ryan felt a little embarrassed. On the next few plays, he blocked with everything he had. He still couldn't keep them from breaking through, but he managed to slow them down a little.

"Nothing special," Taylor murmured from the stands. She didn't think Ryan's arrival would change anything for her alma mater's team.

The coaching staff on the sidelines, however, were pointing toward Ryan and discussing him animatedly. Their assessment of him was completely different from Taylor's.

"He's holding off the defense while playing alongside two underclassman substitutes! This transfer student is incredible!"

"He's up against the strongest offensive line in Tennessee!"

The defensive and offensive coaches spoke in turn. They were the only ones who knew that this newcomer had been facing a wildly uneven matchup from the very beginning.

"Don't rush to judge him. This is just what he can do on the line," the head coach, who had insisted that Ryan stay, said leisurely. In other words, Ryan hadn't yet shown the full extent of his value.

On the next play, Ryan charged at the defensive line right away, just as he had before. But this time, at the moment of contact, he turned sideways and slipped right between two defenders. He looked up, leaped, and caught the football with ease, then sprinted twenty yards before the defense brought him down.

On the very next play, Ryan used a feint to create another opening, then carried the ball forward another five yards.

There were only fifteen yards left to the end zone. After the snap, Ryan charged forward again. When he saw that he had drawn the attention of two defenders, he came to an abrupt stop and set a block, allowing the running back behind him to score a touchdown under his cover.

"As the line of scrimmage gets closer to the end zone, the tight end's offensive advantage grows," the head coach explained, revealing the reason. "This tight end might just become the Assault Team's biggest trump card this year!"

Ryan's performance spoke for itself. The female cheerleaders on the sidelines went wild. The other players claimed, "We've never defended a tight end before. We weren't ready." But their earlier disdain for Ryan had vanished completely. He had earned their respect through his performance.

The two girls in the stands couldn't help screaming, either!

"Did you see him charge forward just then?! He was so fast!" Abigail stood up and applauded.

Taylor pressed her lips together. She had to admit that she'd underestimated Ryan.

That bastard wasn't just all looks after all... Taylor watched Ryan take off his helmet on the field. In the sunlight, the sweat on his skin shimmered like diamonds, and something stirred faintly in her heart. Then the steamy scene in the car a few days earlier surfaced in her mind.

Everyone who made it onto the football team was in top physical condition. Like most young women in America, Taylor had a bit of a "football player bias." Years later, she would find that bias confirmed by another tight end.

But then she remembered the nasty look on Ryan's face when he'd threatened her, and whatever faint fondness she felt for him vanished.

"Come on, admit it. You like him, don't you?" Abigail lowered her head and gave her friend a scrutinizing look.

"I told you, I'm not interested in him." Taylor shook her head repeatedly.

"Really? Then why did you take him to the recording studio and play him your songs? Nobody else got that treatment." Abigail smiled as she pointed out how Taylor treated Ryan differently.

Taylor was at a loss for words and hurriedly offered an explanation that didn't quite follow. "That's because he's Trey's nephew. I'd already promised him he could be in the music video. Now that filming's been canceled, I have to make it up to him somehow, out of consideration for Trey."

"Do you care that much about what Trey thinks? You wouldn't do that for anyone else," Abigail persisted.

"I really don't have feelings for him." Taylor turned up her nose as if to say, Believe it or not.

"Really?"

"Really."

Abigail nodded, seeming to believe her.

Taylor breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't know why, but she'd actually felt pressured just now.

Then Abigail changed tack. "So, do you consider me a good friend?"

"Of course. You're the first friend I made after moving to Nashville!"

"What if I needed your help?"

"If it's within my power, I'd... Wait... You're not thinking..." Taylor suddenly realized what she was getting at.

"That's right." Abigail nodded. "He doesn't have a girlfriend, does he?"