Page 4 of Dirty Player

Act cool.

“Fuck, I hope so.” I rub my jaw and smile coyly.

I mean, I don’t want to be overconfident and look like a dick. Nor do I want to throw my arms around him and tell him he just made my week.

Hell, my year.

“Yeah, and don’t eat shit food like Wallace.” Kemal, one of the wide receivers, says and gets shoved by the guy for it.

I laugh.

“Hey.” Jackson slaps me on the shoulder. “I know the stress, but the only helpful thing I can say is that this is the easy bit.”

I choke on my beer and cough as I bang my chest. “Gee thanks.”

They all chuckle at my reaction.

“No joke, man,” Jackson says. “Once you go pro, shit gets real. The media is on you every single minute. The fan pressure is insane.”

Yeah, and for the money they’re all making, so it should be. I understand hard work. My father drummed that into all of us from an early age.

“Do you have a manager?” he then asks.

“Working on it. Dad has some meetings set up. He’s been my manager until now.”

“Makes sense. Dude knows what he’s doing.” He smirks.

“Yeah,” I reply because Ward Montgomery’s story of becoming a self-made billionaire many times over is well-known. “But if I go pro, we both decided I needed to have my own manager to separate work from family, you know.”

“Smart.” Jackson nods.

None of us pay any attention to his new pool, so I was right. This was an intervention of sorts. A show of support and I’m blown away.

I can’t wait to tell Kaylee.

She’ll get it.

That’s the thing with her. She believes in my dream, and I feel like I can tell her everything.

So much so, it fucking scares me.

Falling in love so quickly and so young...man. It’s overwhelming. I’m not sure if she feels the same yet, so I’m trying to hold back.

To play it cool.

Which I think I suck at.

Unlike my oldest brother Knox, who’s broody as hell, or Atlas, who’s kind of charming but super dominant, I’m the more emotional one.

Cheeky, I’ve been told.

But I’m no poker player.

One of the guys lights a cigar and I shake my empty bottle and head back inside, eager to get my girl and head home.

As I walk through the door, something makes me turn my head and watch the couple making out in the hallway.

Blue denim shorts.

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