CHAPTER TWO: FORCE

What we insistently desire, over time, is what we become.
-Neal A. Maxwell

"Coach is letting everyone challenge you again, half the team has already dropped it after Colton sprained his wrist trying to catch one of my medium throws. And I knocked Jake on his ass!" Fly informs, a wide grin across his features.

He must have been able to tell I completely spaced out.

"Ian is saying he can handle my fastest ball just like you, but I told him it'd just break his wrist. Trust me, I'm not going easy on you. If I have to break your wrist again, just so that shitball doesn't get his way, I will."

I shrug at this, giving him a look that loosely translates to nothing more than I'm used to it.

This does manage to catch Jasper's attention away from his mom, as his hand places on my thigh and he leans in to say "You shouldn't hurt him." to Fly in a voice that says it's less of a suggestion and more of a command.

Flynn, only grinning more, shakes his head. "Cassie's used to the force, I promise. He doesn't even get sprained wrists anymore, his body is used to it. But let's say you tried to catch one of my hardest thrown balls, I might literally break you, or at least knock you on your ass."

Clearly not believing that if I'm not thrown off by it, he won't be, the giant only scoffs.

Smirking, I let out a low chuckle and turn to Jasper. "He's not kidding."

The musician raises an eyebrow, half pouting. "How? I um, I don't get football."

"I can tell." The blond beside me laughs out, kicking me under the table. "He'll do the math, but basically I can throw balls like, super fucking fast and if you haven't trained for it and built up the stamina and endurance that Cassie has, you'll be fucked."

Niko, just passing by, is grabbed by Fly and pulled into the chair next to him and the football player recovers in the matter of seconds to be smiling at us. "Sup?"

Ready to prove his point, Fly just asks, "What would happen if you caught a ball I threw the fastest I can throw it."

"I'd die." Niko laughs out, hand slapping the table as he makes a 'splat' sound. "Gonzo. I think Alpha's the only person on the team who can catch like that, without having to recover anyway. Maybe with practice Hayes could get it."

Jasper turns to me, blinking owlishly at me. "Explain it?"

"He'll do the math for you, while I explain the logistics!" Fly decides, supplying me a napkin and Niko gives me a pen.

I sigh and accept this- -I'm the only one here who can do that kind of math off the bat, Jasper's shit at math, Fly's dumb and Niko is a biologist, not a mathematician- -and listen to Fly explain the actual football to my boyfriend.

"Say a team has a really good offense and as I'm preparing a throw, they're getting really close to me. That means I have to throw the ball to the running back, Cas, without there being any time for the ball to slow down. It's hitting him full force."

Jasper sucks in a harsh breath, Atlas ruffles my hair as if to say glad you can take it. I'm proud. 

It's weird to feel and only now, when I'm used to him being like this, it's only because of the way Adonis is frowning at me.

"The only reason I've ever been able to actually toss a ball at that speed is because there's this tight pocket I can get it through to Cassie. Not to brag or anything," Fly says, bragging. "But he's literally a fucking phenomenal receiver, like it's insane. He's trained so hard, ever since we were kids and it's fucking paid off. Without him, I'd take the shit and we'd have to do the same stupid half-throw and block play again and again."

Grunting in reply makes Flynn kick me again so I kick him back, Jasper actually feels it this time and squeezes my thigh in warning, making me pause for a second.

"Anyway," Fly coughs, hand coming down to rub where I kicked, making me smirk. "That's a big reason why receivers are always being traded in the big league, because quarterbacks like me need guys like him who can make those really high-pressure catches. If Cas had the balls to get signed with any NFL team, we'd be a package deal because of how good we can read each other. Not to mention he always whips our teams into shape, I think he'd be just as good as me, if not better."

Maybe if I was eight inches taller, was able to put on more muscle without killing myself and wasn't already doing a bunch of cooking.

Besides, I'd get in the way.

But I'd be lying if I said a future like that didn't excite me.

Pushing the napkin away from me, I glance at Fly to signal I'm done before looking over to Jasper to see if he understood the football bit.

I can tell he did but he looks strangely proud of something, he has the exact same gleam in his eye as when he helps me bake something and it comes out good.

"Dude!" Niko and Fly sputter in sync, but it's the blond who continues. "Is this even English?"

"It's numbers." I deadpan, throwing a hand up.

Curious, Jasper takes the napkin from them and ends up completely blanking down at what's on it.

Now feeling a bit insecure about my math, I motion for him to give it to me. "Did I get the math wrong?"

Jasper shakes his head instantly, but quickly backtracks. "I don't actually know. That's just -that's way above me."

Niko's black eyes continue to dig into me until I snap my gaze up to meet his, making him grimace and scoot back in his chair half behind Fly. "Sorry, Alpha, it's just... explain whatever the fuck that shit is. I have no idea how to read that shit. Like, what does any of that have to do with football."

"It's Fly throwing- -toss, toss, toss-" My shoulders jump. "-a ball." Saying this, I get empty looks from all three of them.

How do none of them get this?

It's not like I'm a genius, it's just college level math that, in retrospect, they should know.

"I'm pretty sure that's not a picture." Fly says almost smugly, arms crossing. "Explain yourself right now, Cassie. Or I'm telling Coach you're torturing me and Niko again."

My boyfriend tugs on my arm, frowning slightly. "In English now."

"Guys, seriously, it's numbers." Winking about three times, I frown down at the napkin again. I did this right. "It's like a, uh, it's a nearly universal thing? Um...okay, I guess I can explain it like this."

They all nod like this is interesting, though I know it's not, and their eyes are stuck to my face, which just makes me embarrassed about speaking at all.

God, I'm turning red.

And sure, it's partly from Jasper, but not in the way I want.

"Kinetic energy is um, it's half of an object's mass- -mother ducklings- -multiplied by the velocity squared. So, the football's weight is multiplied by how hard Fly throws it, squared." It's so weird doing this out loud. "The mass of our football ranges from 14 to 15 ounces so I did 14 ounces, which equals to four tenth of a kilogram, right?"

Niko gives a helpless shrug, making Fly snicker.

Though I doubt he's following along any better, idiot.

"So, assuming Fly fucking threw the ball at his full potential, and it has a mass of four tenth of a kilogram, that would travel between 50 and 60 miles per hour. So basically, he's throwing the ball, let's say 55 miles per hour, and we're taking that and turning into the impact, rather than how much energy it has when it's at its peak height. Then you'd need to turn that into joules, so you can 'weigh' the force out, and it would come out to 143 point 8 joules. Then you need to convert the joules to pound. And one joule is basically point 7 pounds. Then you have to multiply it by the ounces. That's about 106 point 12 of a pound, rounded up, it's 106 pounds."

"So basically..." Jasper begins slowly. "You're hit with 106 pounds of force when-"

"When I throw the ball the hardest I can!" Fly finishes, slapping the table. "Man, I understand it, I'm so confused, but I understand it."

Knocking on the table, Atlas gets all of our attention. "Time for awards, shit faces. Who's going up for Cas?"

"I can!" Adonis and Fly answer at the same time, but it's Flynn who defensively continues. "I'm on the team away, Coach will probably like it better if I do it."

Nodding to him, I silently tell him thanks.

Not like I want to go up anyway.