Page 60 of Second Chance Trouble

“What?” He eventually asked.

“I said, you look nice,” I repeated with a nervous smile.

Merri shook his head, trying to rattle things back into place.

“I’m sorry. You just threw me for a second. I’ve never heard those words come out of your mouth before. It took me a moment to figure out what they meant.”

“What are you talking about? I’ve said you look nice before.”

Merri feigned thinking about it before saying, “No. I was in love with you for three years. I think I would remember that.”

“So, I’ve never complimented you before?” I asked, surprised.

Merri pretended as if he had remembered something and then said, “Nope. Not once. Not even that time when I wore a tuxedo and looked an awful lot like James Bond.”

“Oh, I remember that,” I said with a smile.

He stared at me, waiting for something. “And?”

“And what?”

Merri sighed. “Nothing. Look, I’m here because I want to make you another offer.”

“Did the Cougars’ owner reconsider?” I asked, feeling a tingling in my chest.

“Oh. No. He’s still a bigot and a dick.”

“Oh.”

“The offer I want to make involves a pre-season showcase.”

“A pre-season showcase?”

“Yeah. There’s a showcase for undrafted players held in the middle of pre-season. I’ve been pulling a few strings, and I think I can get you included.”

“Why would you do that?” I asked, unsure how to feel.

“Because, despite how much you pretend not to want to play for the NFL, I think you do. I think you want it a lot. And I might have screwed things up for you with the Cougars, but you could still make it on a team. You could become the best quarterback in the history of the league; I just wouldn’t be your assistant coach,” he said with a sad smile.

I didn’t know how to feel about that. One of the only reasons I played football was for Merri. I had wanted to show off for him. What would football be without him?

“But, you heard your team’s owner. I’m slow to my spots and I can’t make a split to save my life.”

“Yeah, but he also believes that gays shouldn’t be involved with football. So, I would hardly call him a reliable source of information.”

“But I feel it. I feel slow,” I admitted.

“And that brings us to the other part of my offer.”

“Which is?”

“I would like you to stay at my place for the summer while I train you. I guess you don’t have to stay at my place. You can stay anywhere. But, my place is free. And since I still have access to the Cougars’ facilities, I could use it to prepare you.”

“For the summer?”

“Until the showcase.”

“I have a business to run.”

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