Page 76 of Just a Football Star

“Fine. Want to go get something refreshing to drink?” I ask him.

He unbuttons the top button of his casual, pale blue shirt. “I’m ready to hydrate,” he says, and I can’t get a read on his expression.

Our drive is quiet, but by the time we’re out of the drive-through of a soda shop and have some lemony drinks flowing through our systems, we start to chat about sports news as he directs me where to turn right and left.

We circle around the vast lake, and then he finally instructs me to parallel park along the side of it.

“You sure? Are we going fishing or something?”

“Not fishing. But that sounds fun for another time.” He jumps out of the car and jogs around to my side, then opens my door. Offering his hand to me, I feel butterflies tickling my stomach. All this man has to do is offer me his hand and I’ll follow him anywhere.

We walk along the sand and it’s a quiet section of the lake. Large boulders and driftwood litter the beach. “This spot isn’t very easy for the boats, so it’s usually secluded over here.” He holds my hand and leads me to a woody, marshy area.

With his other arm, he reaches into a tall thicket of wooden stalks with fuzzy, sticky green leaves. “Look,” he says reverently.

I peer into the brush to find plump, spiny globes.

“Raspberries? The wild raspberries you’ve told me so much about?”

He picks one. “Close your eyes and open your mouth.”

“That takes a lot of trust, Alec.”

“Do you trust me?” His voice is quiet.

Truth zigzags through my body. “I do. I really do,” I say before opening my mouth, the anticipation killing me.

The berry is large, and it’s grainy and sweet in my mouth. I bite on its seedy deliciousness, and even more flavor bursts through. “Mmmm.” I don’t have any words.

I open my eyes as he feeds me a few more and I feed him. My toes sink into the warm sand, and I breathe in the glorious, citrusy, musky scent of the man I love.

“I’m really honored you came to Austin, Oakley,” Alec says, his arms draped along my back. “What a selfless move.”

“Alec, I’ll always go to battle with you.”

“You’ve proven that, from your help with my knee to showing up here.” He reaches out to squeeze my arm. “I want to be there for you. I’m ready to step forward into a new life.”

We’re interrupted by Alec’s ringing phone and at first, he glances at it and then silences it. “It’s just Matt Willis.”

“One of the coaches at the high school?”

“Yes, but I can call him back later,” he says.

“I can see the anticipation in your eyes. You really want to accept this call.”

“No, I—”

I grab the phone from his grasp and push the button to accept the call. But I’m too late and it’s already gone to voicemail. A minute later, the voicemail pops up.

“If it’s about the high school team in any way, shape, or form, I know you want to listen to it,” I say.

“I sort of do.” His laugh is apologetic. “I’ll put it on speaker.”

“Hey, buddy,” Matt’s casual drawl makes me smile. I’ve never talked to the guy, but I’ve heard enough about him from Juan and Alec. “I just wanted to offer you a big congrats. Coach Stephenson and I have reviewed your application and we’re both happy to offer you the position as offensive coordinator. Dude, I’ll be in charge of the defensive team. Isn’t that cute? We’ll have to pick out matching t-shirts or something.” My eyes meet Alec’s and we laugh.

“Anyway,” Matt’s voicemail continues. “The pay is a stipend and to be honest, it’s not going to be much. But I’m thinking you’ll be okay with the small amount, seeing as how we’ve received your sizable, anonymous,wink wink, donations and if they’re any indication of how much you got for playing in the NFL, I hope you’ll be just fine with the small stipend.”

Alec shakes his head. “I’ll donate it anyway.”

---