Page 16 of No More Jocks

I stepped out of the shower expecting a scolding for taking more than one shower a day, but to my surprise, it was my brother, Brandon.

“What the fuck are you doing here? You scared the shit out of me.”

“I don’t get a hello or a what’s up, bro after I just drove over 2 hours to see you? And you better be careful using that language in this house. You know mom got the ears of a bat.”

“My bad, Brandon. It’s good to see you.” I gave him a light hug, not wanting the water on my body to get him wet. “Do you mind if we talk while I get ready? I got a date tonight.”

“A date this late? These are more like booty call hours, and isn’t this past your curfew?”

“Yeah, but she’s worth it,” I said. I couldn’t believe I had just referred to Caleb as she. If Caleb had heard that statement, he would have been pissed, but I wasn’t ready to tell my brother yet. He wasn’t religious like our mother, but I still feared his reaction and how it would affect our relationship.

“What’s this sexy girl’s name?”

“Ca… “ Fuck, I had almost given away my biggest secret to my brother. I needed to be more careful. “Her name is Kay and is short for Kaydence.”

“Don’t worry; I’ll cover for you.” I threw on a pair of jeans and a fitted sweater that showed off all my muscles. “So, what’s the plan?”

“I’m going to climb out the window and jump.”

“Why don’t you just go out the front door?”

“I don’t want to risk waking mom up and missing this date. If she catches me coming in, I can take the punishment, but if she catches me going out, I won’t be able to go on the date, and I can’t risk standing Kaydence up.”

“Go for it, but I think it’s too high to jump.”

“If Caleb can do it, so can I,” I replied.

Fuck, did I just tell my brother the name of my guy crush accidentally!

“Whose Caleb, and why is he jumping out of your window?”

Fuck, I talk too much.

“He’s one of my football buddies that mom doesn’t like me hanging with. We watch rated R movies, and he always leaves by jumping out the window.”

“Oh, Okay,” he replied. I couldn’t tell whether he had bought my story, but I knew I needed to get out of the house if I was going to make it to my destination on time.

I climbed out the window and onto the roof. I peered over the edge, which was much further down than expected. There was no way I was jumping. I climbed my ass back into the house and decided I’d have better luck sneaking out the front door. My coach and mother would kill me if I broke a leg or sprained an ankle by jumping from the roof during football season.

“Too far to jump, huh?”

“Yeah, you mind dropping me off at the corner of Pemberton and Oak?”

“Yeah, I can drop you off. I just stopped by to drop mom some money for the bills.”

“You give her money?”

“Of course; don’t let her know I told you that, but the church isn’t bringing in enough money for her to pay the bills, so she asked me if I could help. She’s contemplating getting a part-time gig because she’s behind on the mortgage.”

“Why didn’t she tell me? I could get a part-time job after practice, and what happened to the child support payments?”

“Bro, they stopped when you turned eighteen.”

“I thought they went on as long as I went to college.”

“They do, but the payments go to you, not her. That was the agreement in the divorce. Mom wanted you to focus on football and didn’t want to worry you. I’m telling you because you’re eighteen and should know what’s happening. Her income source is drying up. I make a great living as an assistant Warden of a jail, so I can afford to help. Besides, when you go pro. You’re going to pay me back.”

“You know I will,” I replied.

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