Page 28 of Personal Foul

Garrett

Walking back to the bench,I spot a figure sitting in the stands. I smile when I realize it’s Nick next to another man I don’t know.

I grab my water bottle, waving at Nick. His smile is huge as he waves back. I head back to the team just as Coach starts his end of practice speech.

“Good practice, guys. You’re looking good. We have some improvements to make, but I’m proud of how you are coming together as a team. It’s fluid as if you are one. We have our first preseason game next week, so get ready for it. It’s against Houston. I want two hours of game tapes watched each night. It might seem like a shoo-in, but we need to treat each team and each game as if it’s our biggest. We do that and the ring is ours this year. Who’s with me?”

We do our Seattle chant, which I’m getting the hang of, before we split up.

“Hey Coach?” I call out.

“Make it quick, Stone. I have a meeting.”

“Can I use the field for a little bit? Reagan’s kid is here, and I thought I could play catch with him.”

Coach looks over my shoulder then to me. “That’s fine, but you have to put whatever you use up.”

“Thanks, Coach.”

I jog over to the stands where Nick is sitting. The man next to him is gone now, leaving him by himself.

“Hey, Nick. What’s up?” I ask.

“Nothing. Ma said I could come watch practice and play on the field, but I’m supposed to wait until all of you are gone.”

“Or, you could come play catch with me.”

He thinks it over. “Ma made me promise.”

“You wouldn’t be breaking your promise. I asked Coach if you and I could play catch. So you have permission to be on the field with me.”

He smiles at my logic. “Okay.”

We make our way over to the bench where I grab a ball. Most of the players have left, but Montgomery and Finch are still here.

“Hey buddy. Where’s your beautiful mom at?” Finch asks.

I punch him in the shoulder. “Shut up.”

He laughs.

“Working,” Nick responds. “Garrett and me are going to play catch.”

“Oh, yeah?” Montgomery teases. “You wouldn’t rather play catch with the quarterback?”

I feel an odd sensation in my chest when Nick answers, “Nope. I want to play with Garrett. I want to be an offensive lineman like him when I grow up.”

Montgomery meets my eye, the look telling me he knows what just happened.

He pats me on the shoulder. “You’re in luck, kid. Garrett is one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL. He is the best person to be your mentor. You two kids have fun.”

Montgomery pushes Finch towards the locker room, teasing each other the entire way.

“You want me to run out?” Nick asks.

“Yeah. Not too far. I can’t throw like Montgomery.”

He runs back a couple of steps. “That’s okay. You do great at protecting him.”

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