Page 14 of Roughing the Player
She scoffs. “I’m about to turn twelve. What do you think some boys talk about in school?”
Good God. “Sex?”
“Yep.”
“You stay away from them, you hear me.”
“I do, Mom. Don’t worry.” She twists her mouth, chews on her bottom lip. “Meghan’s brother talks about him all the time.”
“Brock Parker?”
“Yes.” She huffs out a breath. “Mike wants to be just like Brock Parker. That’s why I don’t care for him.”
“But I thought you liked Mike.”
She lets out a dramatic sigh. “Brock Parker, Mom.”
I’m getting whiplash from her zig-zagging. But I don’t want her to think badly of Brock. Even if she doesn’t know who he is. Even if I don’t want to talk about him. I cover her hand with my own. “Honey, his career was ruined because of what happened that night.”
Her glance cuts to me. “What are you talking about? He’s a professional football player who makes oodles of money.”
“Yes, but at the end of that season, he lost his starting quarterback position. He was traded to San Diego to play backup.”
“Big woo. He still got to play football.”
“Not as the number one. As a backup. And that’s the kiss of death for a quarterback.”
“How can that be? Last season he played the starting position for San Diego, didn’t he? And he took the team to the playoffs.”
Her breadth of knowledge about Brock alarms me. “How do you know that?”
She shrugs. “I looked him up.”
Oh, God. If my heart stuttered before, it’s downright thundering now. But I can’t let her see through me. I have to stay calm. “Honey, it didn’t matter how well he played. San Diego didn’t want him as their starter. So they traded him to the Chicago Outlaws.”
“As backup to Ty Mathews?”
“Yes. Honestly Kaylee, where does this sudden interest in football come from?”
Glancing down, she fidgets on the chair. “Well, Mike plays varsity football. I thought if I boned up on the subject, he might like me or something.”
And we’re back to her budding crush on her friend’s brother. “Sweetheart.”
She firms her lips as her chin comes up. “Don’t worry. Now that you explained how things work, I’m over him.”
I sincerely hope that’s true.
Her cell phone rings, and she glances at it. “Meghan. She probably wants to talk about Brock Parker.” She rolls her eyes.
What?!!“Why?”
“She saw him on the news. They showed that press conference when the Outlaws introduced him. Of course, Mike was watching. She flipped when she saw him. She thinks he’s hot.” Kaylee sticks a finger in her mouth and fake gags.
Meghan’s skipping high school and college boys and going right for an older man? Hope her parents are keeping close tabs on her, because that girl is headed for trouble.
“Brock Parker might not be a jerk, but he’s definitely a liar. When someone asked him how he felt about being traded to the Outlaws, he said he was thrilled to play for the best team in the league. He didn’t look thrilled.”
He’d need to say he was, even if he wasn’t. It’s all part of the game. I point to her phone. “Better take that call before it rolls over to voice mail.”
She lets out a dramatic sigh. “Yeah.” She pushes a button on the phone. “Hey, Meghan.” And wanders out of the room, leaving me shell-shocked.
Meghan saw Brock Parker on TV but didn’t realize how much Kaylee resembles him. Because if she had, she would have told Kaylee about it. I watched that conference. Brock wore a Chicago Outlaws cap throughout the interview. So she probably didn’t get a good look at him. As boy crazy as Meghan is, she’s probably going to do what every pre-teen girl has done since time immemorial. Pin Brock’s picture to her bedroom wall. Kaylee’s not stupid. Far from it. Sooner or later either she or Meghan will notice a resemblance. And then I’ll be well and truly screwed. God. What am I going to do?
