Page 20 of Daddy Frost

Watch and learn, half pints. Delta quickly jerked his foot up at the last second to catch it. Honestly, he thought it would actually hit the ground. It seemed he was a bit rusty, but he refused to let a bunch of twelve-year-olds best him. Are you seriously showing off in front of kids? Does your self-esteem really need this kind of boost?

Apparently so.

But Delta knew the real reason. He was trying to show off in front of Kalen.

The muscle memory of years of practice finally took over as he flawlessly bounced the ball from one foot to the other, using his knee to transfer it back and forth in complicated maneuvers while spinning and turning with ease in between.

In that moment, Delta became lost in the fluid motions, transported back to his glory days on the field, his mom’s proud cheers from the stands echoing in his memories.

Incorporating more of his body—elbows, head, and chest—Delta made the soccer ball an extension of himself, seamlessly moving and controlling it with ease and finesse.

And for those few moments, he was lost in the familiar rhythm and joy of playing the sport he loved so much.

Then he spiked the ball high in the air and caught it in his grip on its way back down, dropping to one knee as he presented it to the little boy.

“Son, that is what you call a hustle,” the boy’s father said with a grin as he joined them. “Maybe next time you shouldn’t be so self-assured and cocky.” He pointed at Delta. “That’s what commitment and dedication looks like.”

Delta hadn’t been trying to embarrass the kid. He’d just felt a little mischievous and wanted to have a bit of fun. The boy glanced toward the ground but not before he saw shame in his eyes.

“You’re holding your foot at the wrong angle,” Delta said quietly. “Do you want me to show you an easy-peasy way to do it?”

He glanced at Kalen, who was standing there with a wide, proud smile on his face. Why did that smile touch him so profoundly, as if Kalen’s view of him deeply mattered?

Slowly, that gorgeous grin faded as the guy cocked his head to the side, like he was trying to read Delta’s mind. Then Kalen gave a slight nod and turned toward the father, engaging him in conversation. How had he… A strange feeling spread through the center of Delta’s chest, something warm and tingly. Somehow, Kalen had known what he needed and had delivered like the guy could actually read his mind.

Delta turned back to the boy and introduced himself.

“Tyson.” The boy shook Delta’s outstretched hand, the kid’s grip a little too firm. “How did you get so good?”

“I wanted to make my mom proud of me,” he answered truthfully. “Hours and hours of practice, but you also have to love the sport.”

Tyson glanced toward his dad. “I do, when it’s just me and my friends playing.”

Before his mom died, Delta wasn’t sure if he would have been able to relate to Tyson’s situation of an overachieving parent. Since Leo had come into his life, Delta knew how it felt to have someone pressuring you.

It sucked.

“All you can do is your best,” he said. “You have to remember to have fun as well, or it becomes a chore and the joy is gone.”

He spent the next forty-five minutes showing Tyson and his eager teammates simple tricks and techniques, encouraging them when they failed instead of criticizing them, like he was sure Tyson’s father constantly had. But he also praised them when they got it right.

“You wouldn’t be interested in helping me whip them into shape, would you?” Tyson’s father asked when he and Kalen joined them. “It’s not a paying gig, but this team could really use your help.”

Delta held back what he really wanted to say, that the guy was taking the freaking fun out of the game by acting like an asshole. Tyson and his teammates had responded beautifully when Delta had used positive reinforcement and encouragement.

Kalen looked at him with an expression that said he would back any decision Delta made. “I work mornings, so if you’re talking about anything after two in the afternoon, I can help out.”

The guy stuck out his hand. “Jeremy.”

“Delta.” He shook Jeremy’s hand. “If you give me a copy of the practice and game schedule, I can let you know what’s feasible for me.”

The poor kids needed someone helping them who wouldn’t jump down their throats when they screwed up.

This afternoon was even better than Delta had expected, though he wouldn’t have minded making out with Kalen at some point. But the day wasn’t over yet.

“Are you really going to help us?” Tyson once again looked skeptically at Delta as Jeremy walked to his SUV.

Ruffling the kid’s hair, Delta said, “I’m a man of my word, buddy.”

---