Page 5 of Scoring Truth
I shake my head. “I’m good. Really. I’ll probably end up going because my family wants me to. But it’s not a big deal if I go alone.”
“I don’t know,” he sing-songs. “People are going to talk.They’ll be asking why you don’t have a date—probably wondering what’s wrong with you. A good-looking star QB that can’t get a pretty girl on his arm? I know the league is rethinking their boy next door brand.” He punches my arm.
Ignoring him, I ask, “How do you find decent women?”
“I haven’t.” He laughs. “But it’s fun sorting through them all.” He waggles his brows.
I don’t want to sort through. I don’t want to run through various women, sleep around, spend money so they can get a picture and get paid to put me in the paper. Some guys don’t mind that exposure.
I do, though. I don’t want my future wife to look back and see me swimming through a sea of women.
But maybe one night wouldn’t hurt.
Later that night in my apartment, I looked up the dating site. “Hire Love for the Night!” is the tagline strewn across the top of the website.
What is this shit?
Scrolling through, I see multiple options, or packages, if you will. I can rent a date for the weekend, for an event, for the summer—“Summer Love for a moment in time.”
I don’t want to lie my way through the holiday and definitely don’t want to lie to my family, but I guess it’s the same as a blind date, right?
I could say we met at training. Maybe she was on the field for a press pass. No, I can't link her to football because people will keep looking for her even after she leaves. The hiring of said date needs to be quick, as well as the firing of said date—quick and quiet.
Scrolling through pictures, there are a lot of beautiful women. Why wouldn’t they already have dates?
Closing the app, I toss my phone on the table. No. I don’t need to do this. Rent a date? Come on. That’s just crazy. Maybe I’ll just relent and let the blind dates happen. If they’re coming from my teammates, how bad can it be?
4
JAMESON
Never ask how bad it can be.
Reality will always be worse than you imagine.
I allowed my teammates to set me up. It went against everything in me, but I have to get out there. If only to quiet the league and my family for a moment, to let them see I’m trying and not hiding away from love.
Because I really do want to find it.
So, I allowed Darius to lead the way. This guy loves to party and is all about using his status, so I should have known who I was getting involved with right then and there.
But Darius is also a genuine guy underneath the football persona. I like him a lot and know he’s down for me if I need anything.
Blind date 1. The Fan.
Women fans are the worstand the best. I love to meet my fans, don’t get me wrong, but this is where I wonder who they want to meet. Do they want to meet Jameson, the quarterback, or Jameson, the man?
This chick? She wanted the quarterback. As I touched things on the table, I watched her trying to secretly pocket them. It was weird knowing that anything I held was going to end up for sale on the internet.
She was pretty and could hold a conversation once I started it, but she agreed with everything I said. I don’t want a “yes, man.” I need some give and take.
At the end of the night, when I made it clear I was not taking her back to my apartment, she grabbed the sweatshirt I was holding and ran off.
I’ll make sure Darius bids on that tomorrow.
Blind date 2. The “I don’t care” but I really do care.
The girl who appears unimpressed by status is the one to be cautious of. She wants to be nonchalant. Like she wasn’t screaming your name last weekend when you missed the end zone, or like she wasn’t betting against your team last year in the Super Bowl. She’s an avid fan overall, wants to act cool, but enjoys the spotlight I can bring her.
