"So are you ready to lose twenty dollars today, Cora?" Will asked as he walked up to me and the boys stretching before practice.

My three brothers gave me confused looks. "What's he talking about Coco?" Connor asked.

"We made a bet. He thinks I can't make it through a three hour football practice." I shrugged.

They all gave me knowing looks and I begged them to go along with it with my eyes.

"Good luck Coco" the boys pretended they didn't know I could beat more than half of the guys on this team.

"Yeah you're going to need it." Carter joined in.

"What are you talk-" Cooper started in confusion, but was cut off by Connor smacking him in the stomach.

"See?" Will motioned to my brothers. "Even they don't think you can do it"

Dad's whistle blew and we all huddled up around him.

"As some of you might have noticed my daughter will be joining us in our workout today." He announced to the football team.

"I'm out of shape but don't go easy on me. I like competition." I told the team.

They all busted into conversation. Some of them were checking me out, gross. Others felt bad for me because I was a girl and was going to get beat at everything. Most didn't think I'd make it through half the practice.

Dad blew his whistle again "Stretching lines, go. Oh I almost forgot, if I catch one more of y'all looking at my daughter's ass y'all will regret it." He yelled.

A group of freshman boys tried to look anywhere but me. I tried to stifle my laughter.

I stretched in a line next to Connor and Will.

"Ready to give up yet, Barnes?" Will smirked from beside me.

"Never gonna give up, Erickson" I smirked back. He has no idea what I'm capable of.

After a half hour of stretching and warm ups, we started a two mile run. Some guys started off pretty close to a sprint, idiots.

It was pretty easy. I passed at least ten guys in the first lap. My plan was to catch up to Will and my brothers, who were in the front. I knew I had time and didn't need to tire myself out this early.

The second lap I passed maybe another ten guys and they did not look happy when I passed them, neither did my dad. I know he was happy that I'm showing them up, but also these are his players and they need to be in shape for the season.

The next three laps I passed most of the guys and I was close behind Will and my brothers as well as Nick and Tommy. I already passed the rest of my brothers group of friends, although they weren't far behind me and could easily catch up in the next two laps.

The last two laps I picked up my speed and passed Nick and Tommy. I sprinted the last two hundred meters and finished just behind Will and my brothers.

We all took a few deep breaths. Will turned to me with shock and a smile stuck on his face.

"Out of shape my ass" He grumbled. "If that was you out of shape, I would like to see you in shape Barnes." He smirked at me.

I took a step and almost immediately fell. Thankfully Will was there to catch me.

"Are you getting clumsy on me, Cora?" He let out a small laugh.

I could see the boys giving me worried looks. I gave them a discreet, reassuring nod.

"My legs must be a little bit tired from running" I lied.

"Coco, are you okay? How's your knee? It's not hurting is it?" Dad asked frantically as he looked at me with wide eyes. He must've seen my little fall.

"Dad, I'm fine. I promise. My legs are just a little bit tired." I smiled to prove that I was perfectly fine.

He nodded and went to yell at the boys more. He looked back at us, or more specifically me, a few times with a worried look.

"What's wrong with your knee?" Will asked curiously.

"I tore my ACL my freshmen playing soccer and he's been worried about it ever since. That's when I stopped playing sports and just worked out after I healed." I explained.

The truth is my knee is a little sore and I should be wearing my knee brace, but I couldn't find it after we moved and I decided to go without it. It was over a year ago, I don't need it anymore.

As more guys finished their two mile, I could feel a bunch of them glaring at me or looking at me in shock. I smirked knowing that I'm totally going to win this bet.

"Ready to just give me the twenty dollars now and give up?" I asked Will.

"That was just one hour. I still got two hours left to win this thing."

I shrugged. "Your loss, Erickson"

"That's what you think, Barnes" He smiled.

Dad blew his whistle a few minutes after the last players finished. "Weight room" he called and half the team groaned. "What's that? You want to run even more" Dad said.

The half that groaned freaked out a little and frantically said no repeatedly.

Dad laughed. "Yeah that's what I thought"

We all made our way to the weight room together. Once we got there, I could tell this place was going to be crowded. There was a lot more boys and I than there were weight racks.

"Four to a rack, squat and bench, go"

The players broke into their separate groups. All the racks were full with four and I was left with no one.

"Dad?" I asked.

He pointed to the rack with my brothers and Will. "With them." I nodded.

"Looks like I'm over here with the big dogs" I joked as I walked over to them.

"Are you sure you can handle it over here with the big dogs?" Will asked, going with my joke.

I smirked at him. "Did I or did I not beat ninety-eight percent of your team in the two mile?"

He put his hands up in defense. "You got me there, but lifting and running are two different things. They don't go hand in hand. I promise not to underestimate you though." He smiled.

It was no secret that I don't lift as much as the boys do, it's science. They're all a lot stronger than I am, but I'm comfortable around my brothers and I'm pretty sure Will won't be staring at my ass the entire time. He might end up dead in the end if he tries.

For the next hour, I surprised Will with my amazing lifting skills. I'm stronger than I look. My arms weren't as strong as the boys' for obvious reasons. The only difference is that I don't need really strong arms to throw a football or anything.

Dad blew the whistle again and we went back to the football field for drills. Dad had a tires set up and a quick foot ladder as well as some cones. We separated into sections. I ended up with Will, Cooper, Cole, and a few other boys, whose names I don't know.

Dad explained what we were doing and we started. He yelled at the freshmen a lot and most of the football team. I could hear things being said about me throughout the workout. Stuff about me being a stuck up bitch and a turn off.

"Are you going to say that to my face like a real man, or are you going to hide behind your whispers?" I yelled at the guy who said that.

"And what are you gonna do about it, Princess? Call your daddy and brothers for help." The guy asked condescendingly.

My blood boiled. No one gets to call me princess and a stuck up bitch without any consequences. "Oh no, they know full well I can take care of myself." I smirked.

"Oh I'm so scared" he said sarcastically and threw his hands up in the air.

Without a second thought, I balled my fist up and punched the guy on his cheek.

"Bitch!" He screamed and held his cheek in pain.

"You might want to think twice about who you insult behind their backs, because my bite is worse than my bark"

If people weren't looking at me before, then they definitely were now.

"What is going on here?" Dad yelled.

"Your daughter just punched me in the face" The boy complained.

Dad looked at me with a shocked expression and awaited an explanation. He knew I wouldn't make such a violent choice without reason. I threatened a lot and I definitely could back it up, but it's always jokingly with my brothers.

I shrugged. "He called my a stuck up bitch and insulted me and my strength, making fun of you and the boys in the process." I said nonchalantly. The boys might be overprotective over me but I'm overprotective over my family.

Dad looked around at the other guys and they nodded their heads in agreement with my statement.

"You go to the locker room and get dressed you're done for the day and after practice you can meet me in my office." he pointed at the locker room. The boy held his face and walked away with a scowl in my direction.

Dad turned to me. "You know punching people is not the answer to your problems, but I am proud of you for sticking up for yourself and your family. Do you need some ice for that hand though?"

I shook my head. "I'll be fine for the rest of practice."

"You're still going to finish practice?" He asked. "Of course you are, why would I ask you and your stubborn ass?" He rolled his eyes playfully at me. "The rest of you back to your drills!" he yelled and blew his whistle.

I like to push myself past my limits in everything I do. If I know I can do better, I simply try until I can't get any better. It's one on the things I love about sports. You can never stop improving.

I wouldn't be lying if I said I think the freshmen were a little scared of me now. They stood a little bit further in the distance than everyone else and with a scared eyes.

"Cool down lap and break out on Will" Dad called before he made his way back to the locker rooms.

We ran a cool down lap. Everyone else stopped after one. I still had a lot of stuff to clear out of my head. I decided I would take a mile.

"What is she doing?" Some guy asked.

"She, my friend, is not finished" Carter patted the guy on the back.

I heard the boys break out and footsteps behind me. Within as second, Will was beside me running at my pace.

"Didn't get enough at practice?" he asked.

"I needed to clear my head." I corrected him.

We ran the third lap together. As we rounded the first curve on the fourth lap, Will spoke up. "Wanna race last 100?" He asked.

I didn't answer until we got to the last 100 and I started sprinting.

"Hey!" Will exclaimed from behind me.

I finished and Will was a couple steps behind me.

"You cheated, that wasn't fair" he pouted.

I reached up and pinched his cheek. "Poor baby"

He grabbed my hand that had a noticeable bruise across my knuckles.

"You need ice" he said.

I shook my head in protest.

"No, you need the swelling to go down. Come on" He nodded his head to the locker rooms.

Will walked me into the training room. I sat on the training table as he put ice into a bag.

"I gotta hand it to you, Cora. I didn't expect you to make it through the practice. You're a lot tougher than you look." He smiled and walked over to me.

He grabbed my hand and gently placed the bag of ice on my hand. I winced at the cold as it touched my hand.

"How's it feel?" he asked.

"I told you it doesn't hurt"

He shook his head with a smile. "Not that. I meant being twenty dollars richer, because I sure as hell didn't win this bet. You've grabbed my attention, Barnes, and I'm not very quick to let go." He whispered the last part in my ear.