Page 54 of Teasing

“We’re men, Em. We all pee in front of each other,” Jamie tells her from the other side of the room, and I nail him in the face with a pillow.

“Go find somewhere else to be, Murphy,” I groan.

“No can do, Beneventi. It’s past curfew.”

Emmie shakes her head and pulls the blanket up. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Sweet dreams, Em.”

“Sweet dreams, hot nanny,” Jamie fucking cackles.

I’m gonna kill him... until I hear Em laughing.

He’s lucky. He gets to live another day.

MAVERICK

Callen Sinclair, our tight end, Mason Corbin, our QB, and I walk out for the coin toss. We’re the captains, and preseason or not, this is our team. Buffalo wins the toss, and they want to kick off, so it looks like we’re receiving.

Time to play some football.

There’s no better sport in the world.

These men are my family.

This field is my church.

And this game is the altar I kneel for.

When I was first drafted, the reporters constantly asked if I played because of my dad.

Easy answer—no.

I look up to my dad. He’s a legend. He introduced me to the game. Gave me the skills I needed to love it. Then let me do my thing. If I’d turned to him at ten years old and told him I didn’t want to play anymore, he’d have been fine with that.

Whatever made us happy is what my parents wanted for us. It didn’t matter what that looked like. He didn’t care if it was football or music or the class play.

But seriously, who wouldn’t love football?

The first time I ever sacked a quarterback, I knew deep in my bones this was it.

I didn’t need to be the guy who scored or the guy who threw the ball.

I wanted to be the guy who made the play.

The one who stopped the other team’s QB from scoring.

And I was a little boy with an excuse to hit people and not get in trouble for it.

Life was good, and soon enough I realized, so was I.

After that, I never looked back.

Coach has most of the starters in for the first series, but we all know they’re getting pulled after. Ryker stands next to me, and my mind quiets while everything comes into focus. There’s something incredible about standing shoulder to shoulder with my brother before he gets to play his first down of professional football. Something right. Something special.

We’re the first Kingstons to ever play for the team our family has owned for the better part of a century, and there’s a responsibility in that which balances out everything else. It’s a pretty cool moment to be here with him as the offensive line moves into formation, and Mason calls the play.

Then, as if in slow-motion, I watch with the rest of the stadium in horror.

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