Page 34 of Personal Foul

“Did you see that?” I point to the screen, losing my shit. “That was straight-up bullshit. Was that a glitch or something?”

Nick laughs his ass off, holding his stomach, tears streaming down his face.

“So glad I can make you laugh,” I mutter.

Nick rips the controller from my hand and plays the next round. “Hurry, the circle is closing.”

“Chill, Stone, I got this.” And sure enough, the kid pulls through with the victory.

“I don’t know how you managed that.” I rub my face, suddenly feeling old. I look over at Nick and see him looking at me with a curious look on his face. “What?”

“Do you love her?” he blurts out.

Shit.I was not expecting to explain myself to him. He’s old enough to see what’s going on between us, but I didn’t think he would ask me point-blank. I’m hovering on dangerous ground. I’m not sure if Reagan will approve of it, but I can’t lie to the kid.

I take a deep breath before looking him in the eye. “And if I do? How would that make you feel?”

“I mean, as long as you don’t send me to a boarding school, we’re good.” He shrugs, biting his lip. “She deserves love and a husband.”

“She does,” I agree. “I do you know. Love your mom.”

“You’ll take care of her?” he challenges.

“I’ll try,” I say sincerely. “But Nick.” I get his attention. “I don’t just want her, I want you too. You and your mom are a package deal, I know that, I’m cool with that.”

He nods. “Good.” He looks back down at his hands. “I think it would be cool to have another guy around, especially another Super Bowl winner.”

I smirk. “I think we’re good then, kid. But I have one piece of advice.”

“What’s that?”

“You should start learning Spanish now. That way you can understand my familia. One second they are speaking Spanish and the next in English. You never know.”

“That’s so cool.”

I ignore his red cheeks. “How about we order some food?”

“Pizza.”

“Pizza it is.”

I think tonight was a success.

* * *

Reagan

“What do you think?”

My eyes don’t leave the field as the coach comes over to stand next to me. Instead, my eyes continue to follow the recruit. Stephen Sanders is an up-and-coming receiver. His high school records were impeccable, but that was high school. This is his second year in college, but he was red-shirted his first season. This will be his first season playing on the big field. We will see if he has what it takes to make it.

“He can move. He needs to learn discipline though. He makes split-second decisions that only work out half the time. He has work to do, but if he does it, he could make an excellent candidate.” I finally turn to meet Coach’s eyes.

This was all a part of recruiting for me. Yes, I’m here to look at potential recruits. Possibilities for the draft.

With that being said, this is more than that for me. I want to help these kids meet their full potential. Even if they have no plans to draft, they can still learn lessons in the game.

Hell, I never played football on a real field with teammates, but it still taught me a lot.

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