Page 49 of Draft Pick

That sounded about right. I grinned, “Say less,” and grabbed a package for myself, relieved to have a choice.

“What’s the occasion?” the old man asked, conversing politely because old-timers loved finding a reason to chat with strangers.

I figured, what the hell, I’ll share. “There’s this girl I’m trying to impress…I offered to make her dinner. Steak and mashed potatoes. Figured that was a solid choice. My other option was spaghetti but that seemed messy for a first date.”

“Real mashed potatoes or that box stuff?” The old man queried with a speculative eye as if his judgment hinged on my answer.

“Creamy red potatoes,” I answered dutifully. Even I knew that box potatoes were crap. “My grams taught me to make them right.”

He nodded with approval. “Sounds like you’re off to a good start.” He hesitated as if weighing whether or not I was the kind of cat who’d listen. “Want some advice from an old man who made his share of stupid mistakes?”

I chuckled. “Sure.” Who doesn’t welcome advice from a stranger in the middle of a busy supermarket over the meat counter?

“Be a gentleman. Kids nowadays have lost the art of treating a lady like something worth treasuring. Open the door, pull her chair out, listen to what she’s saying instead of just waiting for your turn to talk. Trust me, we think we have interesting things to say but we really don’t. Our brains just aren’t hardwired like a woman’s. The complexity of a woman’s brain…hell, we’ll never understand what’s going on in that complicated place and we just need to stop being scared to admit it.”

I chuckled with wry amusement, humoring him. “Is that so?”

But he was onto me and called me out. “Oh, I know what you’re thinking, that old geezer don’t know what he’s talking about and maybe I don’t but I can tell you this: when you’re young, you’re stupid. I don’t say that to be mean or nothing, but it’s true. I was dumb as a brick when I was your age. I wish someone had shared this kind of wisdom with me when I needed it. Might’ve made a whole helluva lotta different choices back when it mattered.”

I sobered, saying, “I appreciate your advice — and the meat cut rec.” Maybe it was the relationship I’d had with my Grams, but I liked old-timers. They always seemed more interesting than most younger people. Too bad my Grams was gone. She might’ve liked this rangy silver fox. He had something of a bohemian energy that she would’ve vibed with.

“All right, enough from me. Good luck. Remember what I said.” He started to walk away but then remembered something else, adding, “Oh, and don’t get caught up in all that fancy stuff when you’re seasoning the meat. Garlic, salt, pepper and a little butter — it’ll melt in your mouth.”

I accepted his advice with a grin. Gotta love old-timers. My Grams was the same way — simple was better.

That’s what was missing in my life. The simple pleasures. Everything felt larger than life, the stakes were big, and failure wasn’t an option.

Maybe I was going about this all wrong. The minute I started overthinking everything with Starlie, I bailed, thinking it was the right choice when it’d done nothing but fuck things up. When I was living in the moment, everything had been perfect.

Starlie had been perfect.

So, maybe I ought to just stop thinking about the future and what it might look like — including trying to plan for the inevitable bullshit — and just enjoy the moment with an amazing woman.

Who was pregnant with my child.

The import of that statement played with my vertebrae. My kid.

Jeeeesusssss, help me.

I hustled to my place, thankful for the small balcony my parents had paid extra for, and fired up the grill. The deal with my dad had been if I focused on football, he’d handle my living expenses. I’d always held up my end of the bargain, which had afforded me certain luxuries my buddies didn’t have.

Zay was on a scholarship, but Linc had a job, and both had roommates. Another condition of my dad’s — no bunking up with friends.

“The last thing I need is you becoming a drunk on my dime just because your friends think you’ve got an easy ride,” my dad had grumbled as he put together my semester ‘budget.’ “You need to focus on your career, not getting laid or the next party.”

My little rental wasn’t big enough for a roommate, either.

Or a baby.

I pushed that thought away and returned to the dinner prep. I kept an eye on the clock, trying to time everything so it was ready when Starlie arrived.

I mean, was I trying to infer that I could handle the responsibilities of a kid because I could handle all aspects of a dinner on my own? Maybe a little, but saying that out loud made me feel like a jackass, so I shoved that thought into the garbage, too.

Darby met me after class,eager for details about my upcoming dinner with Cason. We slid into a booth at the campus cafe, and she immediately started yammering at me. "Unbelievable. I leave for a few days and I come back and now you've changed your mind about having Cason be involved? What happened? And for the record, I'm not saying that I am, for or against, because I'm a neutral party but what gives?"

I rolled my eyes. "You? A neutral party? Yeah, that doesn't exist. However, I will say that I'm currently not taking opinions on this decision because I am already on shaky ground and I don't know what the hell I'm doing but I don't want to cancel."

Darby tapped her chin in thought. 'That in itself tells me that you really do like this guy, and maybe you need to think through this big life-changing decision to either cut him out of the baby's life or have him in the baby's life."

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