Page 90 of Fair Catch

Then again, sheisthe one grilling me like a filet.

“No, it’s okay.” I say, smiling so hard it feels like my face might break. “I really don’t mind answering them.”

Hayes glances over to me, and I do my best to offer him reassurance with my gaze. I know it’s not much, but it seems to do the trick because he returns his attention to his mother when I go to speak.

“I’m earning a degree in sports management. Nothing fancy like Hayes, but I’m enjoying it.”

“I see,” she murmurs, nodding idly while cutting more of her food. “Is there a large market of jobs in the degree field?”

“Some,” I confirm, though I leave out the part where it’s a pretty difficult industry to get a foot in the door, or that I’d likely need a business degree on top of it to really get where I’d want to be. “It’s not really my main goal, though. The NFL has always been plan A.”

“Oh, really? I was under the impression that football was just for fun while you were still in school.”

I’m not sure how she got that impression, and from the look on Hayes’ face, neither is he.

“Kason is one of the best tight ends Leighton has ever seen. His stats have been the top of the conference the past two years, and he’s one of the best in the country,” Hayes chimes in, though I know that information is likely meaningless to them. It’s clear they don’t care for anything to do with athletics, but it doesn’t stop him from tacking on, “There’s a good chance of him being invited to the combine at the beginning of March and everything.”

She looks rather impressed by that information, however briefly. “Is that some sort of contest?”

I roll my head back and forth, not really sure how to describe it to someone who has next to no knowledge of football. “Sort of. It’s a process we go through after declaring eligibility for the draft. We’re invited to attend the combine to perform various drills so a pro team can see what they’re getting if they decide to sign us.”

“Meaning there is no guarantee that a team evendoessign you. Or even if you’ll get an invite at all,” Rhys explains before finishing off whatever dark liquor is in his class. “There’s always a catch when it comes to sports, Mom.”

Hayes looks ready to bury his brother six feet under as he smiles and utters, “His chances are high,” through gritted teeth.

The look in Rhys’ green eyes tells me he’s less than convinced, but surprisingly, chooses not to comment. Mr. Lancaster has remained silent through most of the conversation, clearly bored by the entire thing, his gaze fixated on his dinner.

Which leaves only Hayes’ mother to continue pulling information from me.

“Say you do get drafted…” she starts, gently placing her fork back on the table and folding her hands in her lap. “From what I understand, there’s no guarantee it’d be by the team in Chicago, or in a city anywhere near it. What would that mean for your relationship with Hayes?”

That…is a great fucking question. One I don’t have an answer to, if I’m being honest. Neither of us have talked about that possibility; we’ve been too wrapped up in each other to think about the logistics of how this would look in the long term.

God only knows if Hayes evenwantsthis to go past graduation.

I’d love nothing more, to be honest, but I’m also aware of how new this is, and more importantly, that it might be too soon to be asking these kinds of questions.

But unfortunately, from the expectant look on Mrs. Lancaster’s face, it’s not one we’re getting out of answering.

Hayes stiffens beside me, and I don’t take that as a good sign. In fact, I’m expecting anything other than what he actually says once he finds his composure.

“Plenty of people do the long-distance thing, Mom.”

I can’t help the way my heart fucking soars at that comment. This is a conversation we should be having privately, after all, and I can tell he’s only feeding her the tidbits he can without talking to me first.

But damn, it feels good to know that we’re somewhat on the same page.

Mrs. Lancaster, however, looks less than pleased by this information, pursing her lips again. “Of course, darling. Your father and I did long distance for almost a year when we were younger. However, it puts quite a lot of strain on a relationship, and that can cause priorities to start…shifting.”

“And that’s a bridge we’d cross if and when the time came.” Hayes’ hand lands on my thigh, squeezing it reassuringly under the table. “Besides, you know as well as I do, most of what I would be doing for LFC in the beginning can be taken care of remotely. There’s really no need for me to be in the office day in and day out for work until I officially take over for Dad.”

“So rather than go to the office, you’d just follow him around the country like some little groupie?” she asks, unable to hide her distaste of the idea.

Rhys snorts out a laugh. “They’re actually called cleat chasers, Mom.”

“Which I’m not one,” Hayes snaps at his brother before turning his attention back to his mom. “And that’s not at all what I’m saying. I was simply pointing out that distance doesn’thaveto be an issue.”

“And to be clear, this is only if I were to get drafted,” I add, doing my best to back Hayes up in this. “Who knows, maybe I get lucky and end up in Chicago or Indianapolis or somewhere else close by and it wouldn’t matter.”

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