Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 97882 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97882 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Everyone pegged me for a first-round pick.
We just didn’t know when in the first round.
I already had a hunch that it wouldn’t be in the first five. None of those teams needed a quarterback. But as we rounded toward the sixth pick, my palms started sweating. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were in the market for a QB, and I swore my phone burned in my pocket as I willed it to ring.
“Hey there, brother.”
I startled when Clay squeezed my shoulders with his massive hands, rounding the island to slide next to me. He offered me a beer, and even though I didn’t really want it, I took it just so I’d have something to do.
“I can’t believe you’re going pro.”
“We don’t know that yet.”
He gave me a look with flat lips. “Just promise me you’ll come back for my senior year championship game.”
“Back-to-back wins, huh?”
“You doubt us?”
I shrugged, tonguing my cheek. “I don’t know. Without me?” I whistled through my teeth, and Leo socked me in the arm as he came up on the other side of where we stood.
“You forget that it’s me who was your secret weapon these past few years,” he teased.
“Neither of you would have even had a chance if it weren’t for my returns,” Zeke piped in, tapping his beer bottle against mine.
Riley came up right behind him rolling her eyes. “And you’re all so modest, to boot.”
Zeke smirked, tucking her under his arm and kissing her temple as they returned to the living room and plopped down on the couch right in front of the food. Giana was in the corner of the room beside the TV making sure her cameraman was set up with the proper angle to capture our celebration if a call came in.
When, I tried to chastise myself, but my stomach was tight even as I did.
Coach Lee and Coach Hoover were both in the living room, too. Even Julep’s mom had flown out for the occasion, and the pair of them sat on the loveseat, each of them holding a glass of wine. They were laughing about something, and I didn’t care what it was because all that mattered to me was that Julep and her mom were laughing at all.
On the television, the commissioner took the stage, and everyone quieted.
Not so subtly, eyes floated to me, for my reaction.
If it was me they had picked, I would have had a call. I casually checked my phone just to make sure I hadn’t missed anything.
I hadn’t.
“With the fifth pick in the NFL draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select…” He paused for dramatic effect. “Bernie Hoffman, Iowa Central.”
The crowd in Vegas was a mix of cheers and boos, all in good fun as usual during the draft. I forced a smile as the quarterback out of Iowa Central took the stage. They’d asked me if I wanted to fly out to Vegas, too, just in case I was picked early on — but I’d elected to stay here in Boston with my team.
With my family.
“Ah, who wants to play for Tampa, anyway?” My uncle Nathan said, bouncing Joanne in his lap. “Too goddamn muggy in Florida.”
Everyone chuckled, but the energy had shifted with that pick. Slowly, conversation picked back up, everyone drinking and refilling their plates. The Giants were on the clock now, but I knew as well as the rest of the room that they weren’t going to be calling me.
I tried to sneak outside without being seen — knowing even as I slid the sliding glass door open that I had failed. Still, I breathed a little easier once I was on the back patio, a chilly wind sweeping through and cooling the sweat on the back of my neck.
I rested my forearms on the banister, breathing in deep. For a while, I just peered up at the few stars I could see, listening to the wind blowing through the trees.
“I wish you were here,” I said to the back yard, but I knew the message was heard by who I intended it for.
As if in answer, a gentle breeze rolled through the yard, rustling the leaves in the trees one by one. I heard it before I felt it wash over my face, and I closed my eyes and smiled when it did.
The sliding glass door opened and shut behind me, and after a few footsteps, Julep wrapped her arms around me from behind.
“Aren’t you freezing?” she asked, her chin balancing on the back of my shoulder as she wrapped me up tight.
I turned until I was facing her, and she chuckled at the sheen of sweat on my forehead.
“Apparently not,” she mused.
I tried to smile, but it was weak as I let my hands rest on her hips.
The real reason for my nerves stared back at me.