Nothing Less Than Everything

by Maggie C. Gates

“Well,” the lady in the crimson red dress said, hands on her hips. Her shoulders were back, and her head was held high. “We’ve got ourselves into quite the pickle, haven’t we?” “We’re up to twenty million views on TikTok, ten million on YouTube, and the clip is already being circulated around the sports networks. I have requests coming in from nearly every media outlet asking for comments and wanting to schedule interviews,” the beanpole of a kid squeaked without looking up from his phone. “The clip?” Wren croaked out. Sam shoved her phone in Wren’s face. Bracing an arm against the back of the exam bed, I leaned down and watched as Wren pressed play. The video began with Gideon on the line of scrimmage. He grabbed the ball as soon as it was snapped and faked the play to the half-back. The steady thumping of the heartbeat introduction from Taylor Swift’s “Wildest Dreams” had been added to the video, changing the narrative from a football play to an emotional rollercoaster. The video cut to Wren on the sidelines, smiling like a pageant queen and rustling her pom-poms before breaking out into the sexiest moves I’d ever seen. It went back to the field. I was running to make the catch, Mason Miller hot on my heels. The music skipped to the end, the bridge leading into the swelling chorus as I leaped into the air. Wren spun, lips parting as I crashed on top of her. But then it went into slow motion. There was the slide of my gloved hand into the back of her hair, cradling her he...