Page 5 of Second Down Darling

I’ll admit I wasn’t excited to have a kid. Not at first. But despite my party reputation in high school, I would never let my responsibilities slide. Unlike my father, who eventually left us, I promised myself I’d be there forDakota.

She and I were a hookup after I’d seen my parents get into another screaming match on my mom’s front porch, one that almost made me come to blows with myfather.

I was pissed off at the world, drank too much, and banged the bombshell blonde at the party who straddled my lap and told me it was my luckynight.

There was nothing lucky about thatnight.

I rub the ache in mychest.

No, it feels wrong to think that. I got Asher, and he’ll always be the highlight of my life even though his mother has made my lifehell.

I changed everything forher.

She planned to attend North Texas U, so that’s where I went even though I’d gotten a full ride to my dream school, Lone Star State, which was four hours away. I wanted to support her and be near our son. I committed myself to her in a way I’d only ever done for family andfootball.

And cheating was the thanks Igot.

Dakota finally admitted she’d been fucking Troy Snyder almost the entire time we were atNTU.

At least Asher is mine—the DNA test confirmedit.

Sometimes I’m tempted to pick up the phone and call Charlotte to vent before I remember she doesn’t give ashit.

That’s a whole different level of betrayal. I don’t even know where the fuck she went. Dakota and her mother Waverly won’t tell me anything, and Charlotte changed her number, so it’s not like I can ask her. And even though she took pics for her sister’s social media, Charlie never posted any of her own online. After being on that reality show as a kid, she hated being in thespotlight.

Charlotte was my best friend from high school, the girl who never asked for tickets to games or wanted my help getting into hot parties or grilled me about my college prospects. I had a little thing for her when we first met. With her light blonde hair, big blue eyes, petite frame, and quiet ways, she drew out all of my protectiveinstincts.

She was in my English class freshman year, and one day our teacher randomly picked her to be Juliet. Charlie had to lie there while I, Romeo, reacted to her death. Even though we’d never spoken at that point, I could tell she was terrified. I hooked her pinky finger with mine to help steady her, and from that point on, we became the best offriends.

So when guys were dicks to her, I made it clear they’d have to go through me if they ever thought to mess with her. When I saw her sitting alone in the cafeteria, I pulled up the seat next to her. When she seemed sad, I invited her to hangout.

But she never looked at me all googly-eyed like the other girls. She never flirted or found reasons to touch me. She actually made me do my homework when we studied together. I figured she wasn’t into me like that and moved on. But she was still my best friend. Even when things got awkward between us after I started datingDakota.

And no, I’m not that dick who goes around fucking friends’ siblings. To be clear, I didn’t know Dakota was Charlie’s older sister when we hooked up. One, we weren’t real big on names that night. Two, Dakota had been off recording a reality show at some ritzy boarding school in New York. She’d just moved back home after one of her classmates partied too hard and overdosed, resulting in the show getting cancelled and the school nearly closing. And three, Charlotte called her sister Kota, and being a drunk dumbass, I didn’t put it all together until it was toolate.

In my head, I run through all the reasons Charlotte might’ve taken off two yearsago.

Initially, I’d thought she was upset after I accidentally walked in on that conference call in the buff. Dakota had called out to me, demanding we talkthat very minute, and I waltzed out of the shower with my dick and balls hanging free like an asshole. Honestly, things between me and Dakota had been so strained, I thought it would be funny. A way to break the ice, I suppose. We hadn’t had sex in months, despite the dumb shit she told her friends—probably because she’d been screwing my teammate—and some stupid part of me wanted to show her what she wasmissing.

Instead, I gave poor Charlie a full-frontal show, just barely stopping short of giving my dick atug.

Chingao.I don’t get embarrassed easily, but that’s definitely not my proudestmoment.

Dakota laughed her ass off. Almost as hard as she’d laughed a few nights before when she’d pretended we were fucking in the otherroom.

She stopped laughing when Charlie refused to return her calls. Or respond to her texts. Or do her social media posts. That’s when shit gotreal.

Dakota swears her “jokes” weren’t the reason Charlie went MIA. She says they got in an argument, but refused to tell me what it wasabout.

I didn’t get a chance to ask Charlotte before she tookoff.

Not knowing really fucking bugsme.

I just don’t understand why Charlie would ghost me too. I thought our friendship meant more to her. Thought she loved Asher and wanted to watch him grow up. Thought we were family, for better orworse.

Guess I was wrong. But I’m wrong about a lot of things, I’mrealizing.

The lights flip on, and Coach Santos returns to thepodium.

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