Page 6 of Second Down Scrooge

I sigh. “I know you don’t mean that.”

“Of course I want you to have a great time.” She sniffs a little defensively.

“But just with Austin, not with Max.”

“Max? His name is Max?” she asks, and before she can say something likeisn’t that a dog’s name, I jump in.

“He sounds really great,” I lie. I don’t know the first thing about him other than the fact that Mrs. Howard thinks we’d be perfect together, and his name is Max.

I set that aside for now. “Can we talk about Christmas traditions?” I ask.

“Of course.”

“I want to start some new things for Mia, and I have about a million ideas and zero clue how realistic any of them are,” I say.

We launch into a conversation about decorating Christmas trees and drinking hot cocoa and listening to Christmas songs and buying matching ugly Christmas sweaters, and I push aside that weird feeling in my chest.

You know…that strange feeling that maybe Austin would fit right into the picture even better than I could dream. My parents already love him. My daughter worships him.

I think I love him, too.

But I just don’t know if I can trust that he won’t hurt the people I care about…or me. And that’s a risky gamble to take when it comes to my heart.

Chapter 4: Austin Graham

Winter Wonderland

Four Weeks Until Christmas

I feel pulled in ten different directions, and now that the season of giving is upon us, I feel even less enthusiastic than usual.

I just want to be alone, which is a difficult feat given my profession. I can isolate myself with my headphones in the locker room or the weight room to give off the vibe that I don’t want to be bothered, but that’s only going to cause further division between my teammates and me.

It’s the stupid event I have to attend tonight that’s causing me to feel this way. It’s a charity Christmas party that I knew was coming but didn’t have on my calendar, and I tried to get out of it, but our offensive coordinator says that if we can build bonds outside of the locker room, our chemistry on the field will be more electric.

It sounds like a load of hot shit to me, but I do what my coaches tell me to do, and since the entire coaching staff and most of the offense will be here, I’m sort of stuck.

Sometimes it feels like Coach Dixon decided to take me on as his pet project this season. Last season, he left me alone, but this season, he’s up in my face all day, every day.

Which is why I was basically forced to cancel my night with Mia to attend this shindig that I don’t want to be at.

At least I get to see Mia on Friday…and Kelly. Knowing that I’m going to see the two of them is my motivation. They always brighten everything around me when we’re together, thoughKelly seems to be pulling further and further away from me lately.

All things that contribute to my sour mood, I guess.

And as I slip into the suit I reserve for these events and attempt to tie the tie that no father ever taught me how to do my goddamn self, I find that sour mood worsening.

I blow out a breath as I glance at myself in the mirror. I throw a little extra gel in my hair before I head out the door.

I should’ve taken an Uber to this event instead of driving myself. At least then I could’ve had a few drinks to try to loosen up.

Instead, I clench my jaw as I pull up to the valet station. I get out of the car and hear the joyous Christmas music pumping from inside, and I find myself halting on the sidewalk outside of the event.

Dean Martin is singing about a “Winter Wonderland,” but we’re out here in the desert.

It’s honestly one of the things I love about living in Vegas. No snow. No stupid white Christmas. No blizzards to battle, no ice to chip off my windshield, no slush in the streets.

So why even bother playing the music? Even as I have the thought, the song ends and “Let It Snow” begins.

---