Page 5 of The Forever Play

He laughs a little harder, spinning Carson around one more time.

“You’re such a dick!” he grunts, thumping Wily on the back and trying to kick him in the balls.

“Okay, okay.” Tyrell runs over to cool things off before Carson snaps. We can only push the guy so far, and you don’t want to be on the receiving end of one of his meltdowns. The guy’s got skills with his fists, and he isn’t afraid to fight dirty. If anything, he prefers it that way.

Carson lands with a thud when Wily throws him off his shoulder, then immediately scrambles back to his feet and jumps on the guy’s back, putting him in a choke hold with one arm while wrestling the ball out of Wily’s hands. It bounces wildly, and they scramble after it while I stand there grinning and wishing football could be as untamed as what we’re doing right now. There’s nothing like scrapping for a ball. Coach never lets us do it for fear of injuries, but he isn’t here right now.

Carson snatches the ball and starts running. He’s a hell of a lot faster than Wily, and the wide receiver leaves the lineman in the dust.

“Carson!” I shout, raising my hands and trying to warn him about the rocket coming up behind him.

Grady aka Flash is a fuckin’ bullet when he wants to be, and Carson doesn’t sense his approach until it’s too late. With a little yell, he hurls the ball my way, but thepass is made reckless by Grady’s side tackle. The ball ends up arcing straight over my head and bouncing into the playground behind me.

I look at Tyrell as the two guys start to tussle and see he’s already stepping in to deal with the fight while I retrieve the ball. Running into the playground, I head for the sand pit, where a little girl with blonde ringlets is gathering up the ball.

Aw, cutie.

I crouch down with a smile, ready to get the ball back, when the air is knocked clean from my lungs. The blonde cherub tottering toward me looks exactly like my older sister did as a toddler. Photos of Monica as a baby flash through my head, and I can’t believe the similarities. The same open smile and curious gaze. She looked like she wasn’t scared to take on the whole world… and neither does this little one.

She stops a few feet away from me and holds up the ball. “Bawl.”

I nod and smile down at her. “That’s right. Football.”

“Foobawl.” Her sweet little voice pitches with excitement, and she laughs.

“Do you want to throw it to me?” I beckon with my fingers, then glance around, wondering where her parents are.

She giggles again, then throws the ball with a little grunt, raising her hands in the air with a cheer when it lands a foot away from me, then dribbles to a stop by my feet.

“Good job, kid.” I wink at her, then laugh when she claps her hands.

Shit, she’s so like Monica it’s freaking me out right now.

“Zan-Man, let’s go!” Wily calls to me, holding up his hands to catch the ball.

I fire it through the air, then jog back to the edge of the field, turning one more time to look at the little girl. She’s crouching down in the sand, gathering handfuls and creating a little mountain.

For reasons I can’t even explain, I find myself watching her until my friends are shouting at me again.

“Dude, what’s up?” Grady calls across the grass. “Let’s go, brother.”

“Just give me a sec!” I hold up my finger, pulling out my phone and calling my sister while this little girl is still within my sights.

“’Sup, lil’ bro?”

“Do you have a daughter I don’t know about?”

“Ew, no. Why would I ever have kids?” Her reaction makes me laugh, and I shake my head.

My sister has taken independent woman to the next level. She’s in a relationship now, but who knows if it’ll last. She likes to go intense and hard… for short bursts of time. That just seems to be her style. I get why she never wants to bring kids into that kind of lifestyle. She’s not exactly the mothering type… although she’s had to mother me a time or two.

“Why are you calling to ask me stupid questions? You know I’m at work, right?”

“It’s Sunday.”

“I have a big case.” My sister—the hotshot lawyer.

“Oh, well, sorry. I just…” Shaking my head yet again, I gaze at the blonde cutie and let out a breathy laugh. “You must have a doppelgänger in Nolan, because I am staring at a kid who looks just like you when you were two. You know that picture on Dad’s office desk?”

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