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Suddenly, my chest puffs out, and I push my shoulders back, feeling personally responsible for this kid. And as his mentor, I refuse to let him walk into the fire.

“You remind me a lot of myself when I was your age,” I say.

His brown eyes widen. “I do?”

I nod. “Definitely. And you know what? I worked damn hard in high school to get to where I am now, but do you know the one thing I wish I would’ve done differently?”

“What?” he says, hanging onto my every word.

“Stayed away from girls and out of relationships.”

“But you didn’t, and it worked out.” He waves a hand toward me. “I mean, look at you now.”

“Well, yeah. But think of how much better I’d be if I had stayed focused. Girls and relationships, they’re time-sucks. All they do is steal your energy. Think of how amazing you could be if you took all the time and energy you spend on pining after some chick who’s probably going to break your heart anyway, and spent it on honing your craft, excelling at your game.” I poke him in the chest. “Date nights are better spent in the weight room or on the field. All that time you waste on the phone with a chick could be more time going over game tape and reviewing plays. Think of how unstoppable you’d be.”

Paul shifts his weight, glancing between me and Meredith, as if torn between listening to his idol or nurturing his crush.

“Do you know how many high school relationships last?” I ask, desperate to drive my point home. He shakes his head, his dark gaze wary as I continue. “Two percent.” I hold up two fingers. “Don’t ask me how I know; I just do. Now, ask me what percentage of college athletes play football in college.”

“How many?” he asks, his tone eager for an answer.

“Upward of eight percent. And that’s not taking into account the kids with natural talent, who also have a personal mentor to coach them through their high school career.” I grin asI punch him playfully in the shoulder. “Yeah, I’m talking about you, brother. If you want it, I’m here for you, man. Now . . .” I say, purposefully shifting my gaze across the room to where Meredith is now blatantly staring at my new buddy, Paul. “Knowing those odds, would you rather spend your time focusing on a chick who’s going to give you a modicum of short-lived happy moments, hoping to be that two percent? Or would you rather take the better odds and harness all your focus on football in the hopes of making a career out of it?”

Meredith flutters a little wave at him from across the room, and Paul swallows. For a moment, I think he might crack and choose her, consequences be damned. But then he turns to me, his eyes hardened with determination, and I know I’ve got him. “You’ll really help me out?” he asks. “Be my mentor and shit?”

“Abso-fucking-lutely,” I say as I offer him knuckles. “Welcome to the club, bro.”

By the time he walks back to a group of his guy friends a few minutes later, it’s with my contact information securely in his phone and a postseason game plan to help him prepare for a kick-ass sophomore year.

Smiling, I’m feeling pretty proud of myself when Chris and Jace sidle up next to me a few minutes later. “Please tell me youdidn’tjust convince that kid that girls are a waste of time and to focus on himself instead,” Chris says.

“Who told you that?” I ask through narrowed eyes.

Did that little fucker betray me?

At Chris’s answering glare, I add, “So what if I did? I’m doing him a favor.”

“There’s a riot of boys forming who are going around and spreading the word about the brotherhood or some shit, and spouting off some statistic about only two percent of high school relationships lasting and why they should focus on other things with better odds.”

Just then, Paul glances my way and salutes.

Dammit.

“I fucking knew it,” Jace hisses. “Told you it was him,” he says to Chris.

“What’s the big deal?” I ask, feeling slightly defensive.

“The big deal? The big . . .” Jace laughs, a nervous sound. “The big deal is this is a co-ed dance, meant to bring girls and boys together in a fun and safe dating environment.” He waves an arm to where Paul stands with his friends, “And right now, I have a kid who just broke a girl’s heart by saying he needs to focus on himself and on baseball if he wants to get a scholarship. Brynn’s currently with his girl, Mindy, as we speak, trying to talk her off a ledge.”

Sure enough, across the room, Brynn has a petite brunette ugly crying in her arms.

“Oops.” I wince.

“Yeah,oops.” Jace rakes a hand through his hair. “Do you know how long I’ll have to hear about this?”

“Tell her it was bound to happen anyway,” I say with a dismissive wave. “Better now than later. Only two?”

“Percent of high school relationships last,” Chris finishes for me. “Yeah, we heard.”