Page 26 of Sideline Play

It’s not like you to be this fucking stupid

Her brother will fucking bust your knee caps

Go get your dick wet somewhere else and leave Ro’s sister, your skipper’s DAUGHTER, alone

Remington

Watch your fucking mouth!

You ever call my girl a place to wet my dick again and I’ll be the one busting your kneecaps

Dawson

Just stay the fuck away from Scarlet. You’ll only break her heart when she falls in love with you and she’s already suffered more than she ever should’ve

Flipping him the finger as I lock my phone and toss it aside, I stroke my thumb up from Scarlet’s leggings and across her stomach. Adjusting between my legs, she slips her hand to the side of her knee, mimicking my caress along my inner thigh, the fingers of her other hand beginning to play in my palm as she asks, “So what’s the problem y’all are having?”

Still on mute, Sweeny’s words go unheard as he begins explaining the sides of his and Nash’s debate. Leaning in, Scar releases him from timeout and says, “Sorry, didn’t catch that.”

“Yeah, because your boyfriend put me in jail.”

“Eh, I’m sure you deserved it,” she shrugs, dismissing his complaint. “Everyone in the League knows you have a tendency to say things that make the rest of us want to punch you.”

“Come on! That was like three years ago!”

“Actually it was last year at Spring Training.”

“Still, can’t we forgive and forget?”

“You called my brother a mangy mutt! So no, we can’t, ‘forgive and forget.’ Especially because you would have had to have actually apologized!”

“OH!” the rest of the guys shout, Nash laughing, “I fucking forgot about that shit! Scarlet, didn't you key his car after that?”

“That was you?!”

Sitting up straight and suddenly very prim, she sniffs, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“That’s a yes,” Dawson snorts.

“Hush. I have stories from college about a certain feud with Carolina’s quarterback that will trigger your morality clause, Reeves.”

“Oh yeah?” he taunts. “And who the fuck was right there between Ro and I when it was all goin’ down?” Cupping his ear, he goes, “Hmm, silence. Just what I thought, Sugar.”

“I didn’t do a damn thing and you know it!”

“You drove the getaway car. Just like a bank robbery, you’d go down with us for the full crime.”

“Anyway,” she loudly exclaims, “What do y’all need fixin’?”

Laughing as she sinks back against me, a bit of a pout on her lips, I explain, “We’re tryin’ to plan how to raise more money to fund next year’s Kids of Cancer Retreats and all the other activities the organization hosts.”

The organization was how the motley crew of us seven players from five different teams all got together. While Diaz from Seattle and I were adults when my ma and his dad were diagnosed, the others all grew up with one of their parents, or in Nash’s case his granny who raised him, going through treatment. Some parents like Sweeny’s and Hill’s survived, and others like Nash’s and Dawson’s weren’t so blessed.

As an adult, the news of my ma’s diagnosis obliterated my life and completely reshaped every aspect of it to focus fully on her cancer and how to get her into remission. All sense of normalcywas gone with my role changing from her son to her caregiver in the span of a single breath. There were days I felt as if I were drowning under the weight and I was a damn adult. I am in awe of how Nash managed to do it all for his nan at fifteen, alone, and without it crushing him. It’s a testament to the kind of person he is beneath his playboy arrogance.

It’s what our charity aims to alleviate. We host all kinds of activities and experiences for kids of all ages, hoping to give them even just a few hours without worry, stress, and fear for their parents. The biggest events are always the seasonal retreats that take the families to Disney World or New York, skiing or the beach, basically any type of family vacation they may not otherwise be able to afford due to medical expenses.

“Oh, too easy,” she responds. “A black tie gala with an air of exclusivity. People will pay through the nose and donate whatever you’re asking, and in most cases more, to get their names on what they think is a coveted list. Throw in someleakednames of other athletes and celebrities who will be attending and you’ll make more money than you’ll know what to do with.”

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