Page 85 of Third and Ten

I grin and nod proudly. “Yeah, he’s a great kid, currently my RB2.” Then I remember I’m supposed to be protecting Ethan, not bragging about him. “But, uh, we’ve been keeping our relationship kind of quiet to make it easier on him, especially until they finalize a new custody arrangement.” They both look confused. “It’s complicated,” I add with an awkward laugh at the end.

“Right. Well, keep in mind that a place like this can afford a lot more opportunities for your, uh, nephew. Not to mention you wouldn’t have to worry about small-town gossip,” Cliff explains.

“Of course.” But now I’m annoyed and borderline offended. I don’t care for the way these guys are playing the “what’s best for your family” card, much less cutting down my hometown, school, and football program in the process. Plus, I’ve had a lifetime of playing nice with people who only pretend to care about my well-being long enough for their own benefit. “I’ll keep all of it in mind.”

“Great,” Ray says as he and Cliff both rise from their seats, signaling the end of our meeting. “I’ll have one of my guys reach out to you when the position officially opens.”

“Sounds good, Coach, and thanks again for letting us use the facilities here. My boys are having the time of their lives,” I say, standing to shake each of their hands. “We really appreciate it, you know, especially coming from such a small town.” I can’t help myself as I throw that last bit of shade in, maybe because I’m still salty after that fight with Blake, but it seems to fly under their radar.

We exchange a few more pleasantries on the way out, though I’m eager to get back to my team. I notice Blake is on the field with some of the offense, giving Ethan and another running back a lesson on ball security, which isn’t a promising sign at this point in the season. Now I’m worrying about Ethan fumbling the ball, not only because we can’t afford any turnovers tomorrow night, but also because I know how upset he’d be with himself if he lost the ball during a game. And these days, my stomach turns at the mere possibility of having to watch Ethan endure any kind of disappointment.

I begin walking toward them, watching as Ethan tries the move Blake’s just shown him. Then Blake grabs him by the face mask and says something before tapping on the top of his helmet. It’s one of the attaboy gestures that I’ve probably imitated hundreds of times after seeing my brother do it first.

I sigh heavily, realizing that I owe Blake an apology. He may have been a jerk in the delivery, but he only meant to ensure I’m looking out for myself. I lift my whistle and give it a few quick bleats before allowing the team some free time to check out the rest of the facilities.

“Yo, Blake,” I holler. He presses his lips together as he walks toward me, though he doesn’t turn to face me until we’re standing in front of each other.

“Back from rubbing elbows with your old friends, boss?” he asks, his voice dripping with resentment.

This probably isn’t the best time to mention that job offer.

“Well, someone has to suck up so they’ll invite us back,” I reply, and he grunts in response. “Listen, man, that was my bad earlier. I passed judgment on your lifestyle, right after getting pissed at you for thinking you were doing the same to me. I’m sorry.”

He nods and finally allows his expression to soften. “Yeah. And I might have gone too far. I just want you to be careful. You’re too good sometimes, JD, and I can’t allow anyone else to take advantage of you, because that’s my job.” He smirks at the end, and I reach out to offer my hand for a bro hug.

“But if you ever bow up to me in front of the team like that again, you’d better be ready to swing,” he grumbles over my shoulder, making me laugh. We both know I’d kick Blake’s ass in a fight, though size is my only advantage. He’s definitely scrappier and usually angrier.

“Okay, I will gladly accept any wisdom you may wish to impart pertaining to my current situation, so long as you don’t accuse my girlfriend of any ill intentions again.”

He raises a brow. “Your girlfriend? Are you even allowed to call her that?”

I roll my eyes. “Whatever. We may not be sleeping together or holding hands in public, but she doesn’t seem to mind my tongue in her mouth on a daily basis.”

He tilts his head back and laughs at that one. “There you go, buddy,” he says, slapping me on the back as we walk toward the sidelines. “This is what’s been missing. You went from throwing yourself at her when she wasn’t interested to being too chicken to use the hotel room key that she very purposefully slipped you.”

“Okay, okay, I get it. Maybe I’ve been taking things too slowly with Tenley. But I can’t just go all in, either. You know as well as I do that I’ll scare her away if I tell her everything.”

“JD, don’t take this the wrong way, but I think your girl might be one of those rare, ‘less talk, more action’ kind of women. Maybe she needs the physical connection to get to the next stage of your relationship, and she’s just waiting for you to make a move. She slipped you that key in front of me. She freaking stared me down while she did it to make absolutely sure I saw. Do you know why?”

I shake my head, playing dumb. I don’t think Tenley would appreciate it if I told Blake that she only initiated the whole exchange to help me look less pathetic in front of him.

Unless…Tenley only used that as her excuse…

“So you’d have someone else to hold you accountable, bruh. She knew I’d encourage you to go and keep you from punking out.”

“Even if we already discussed the reasons why it would be a bad idea?” I venture.

“If she crawfished on the offer, it’s only because she got the vibe that you weren’t interested.”

“And you really think she wants me to go up there later?” His reasoning is making a little too much sense this time.

“Text her again if you don’t believe me. If she turns you down, I’ll butt out for good, I swear. But if she says yes, then you have to use the old hoodie trick and tell me all about it when you get back.”

I consider his offer carefully before I nod. “Deal.”

CHAPTER 27

TENLEY

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