Page 98 of Third and Ten

“Okay, but then what happens if you get married and have kids of your own? I’ll just be in the way.”

“You could never be in the way, man. That’s not how any of this works, anyway. You don’t suddenly forget about your older kids once you have new ones. If anything, you’ll always know that we chose you before we elected to make second-rate replicas.” I lean over and bump his shoulder playfully, and he rewards me with a halfhearted laugh.

“And listen, if your aunt is willing to put up with me for that long, I’ll be thrilled to play whatever role you want in your life. But I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves. You’d better not let Tenley hear all this talk about marriage and babies. I’m not even sure she likes me all that much,” I chuckle.

He glares at me from the side. “Hold on. I thought you just said—”

“All I said is that it wasn’t like that.”

He shakes his head. “So, you mean to tell me—”

“I don’t mean to tell you a damn thing about my sex life,” I interrupt him. Then I remember I’m supposed to be working on the “leading by example” part. “But I do want to emphasize the importance of establishing a real relationship and building emotional intimacy with someone before getting to the physical stuff, for many different reasons, the main one being that sex is meant for marriage.”

That last bit stings a little after saying it out loud.

“Yeah, like you’ve never—”

I cut him off again, trying to redirect the conversation. “Look, my dad taught me to respect women, just like I’m sure your Pop did with you, and I care entirely too much about Tenley to risk doing things out of order. Did you really think I was desperate enough to use a trip with the team for that, anyway?”

“I mean…yeah.”

I elbow him and scowl. “Okay, desperate isn’t the word I’m trying to emphasize here. But I am offended that you think I’ve just been trying to hook up with her.”

He sighs. “I know you’re not that kind of guy. But some of the others were roasting you earlier at practice and saying some…” He shakes his head, as if he can’t bear to repeat what he heard. “They were making jokes about you and Aunt Ten. Then I saw you coming downstairs, and I just assumed the worst.”

“Ignore them. They’re just jealous because they think I’m getting laid and they’re not.”

He laughs. “So, you really went up there and nothing happened?”

“Do you really want me to answer that?” I ask with a cocky grin.

He rolls his eyes before turning to face me directly. “No, but can I tell you something off the record? Like, you can’t review the catch anymore because we’ve already run the next play?”

“I guess I can grant you one free pass, as long as it’s not too bad.”

“By the time you caught us in the hallway, I’d already been to Caidence’s room and back,” he admits with a smirk.

“You little…” I clench my jaw and knock him in the shoulder, and he winces as he rubs the sore spot. “I’ll make you regret it if I find out that you even tried anything with that girl. I mean it.”

“It wasn’t like that,” he says, mocking me. “We just hung out for a while.” His face reddens, despite his best attempts to come off as nonchalant.

“In a hotel-room bed?”

“All of our clothes stayed on, I swear,” he claims, his tone defensive.

“You shouldn’t be putting yourselves in that situation in the first place. There’s too much temptation.” He raises an eyebrow at me, since I sound like a big, fat, hypocrite again. “And you’d better make sure you haven’t damaged her reputation, either,” I continue scolding him. But I can’t help it when my scowl fades into a smile, which he returns. And we just sit there for a while, both of us wearing silly looks on our faces.

We’re interrupted a minute later when Blake knocks and cracks the door open. “All clear?”

“Yeah,” I call, glancing down at Ethan. “I haven’t killed him yet. Though it came close a couple of times.”

“All right,” Blake says cheerfully, letting himself in. “Did I miss all the gory details from your trip upstairs?”

“What the hell was I thinking when I offered you a job around kids?” I say through my teeth, urging Ethan out of the room before Blake can add anything else.

Ethan snorts. “Good night, Coach Thirsty,” he has the nerve to say as we shake hands and end in a bro hug.

“Keep calling me that, and I’ll make you a little cousin next time.”

---