Page 6 of Big Rucking Disaster (Rucked by You #8)

Chapter Five

Yardley

H e’s the first man you’ve had in here other than your friends, and he’s…straight. Not that my friends didn’t count. They were just…all paired up. Maybe you can call Johnnie a friend. Then your streak remains unbroken.

Right. Like that was somehow the most important thing going on at this moment. I sipped my lemonade—which happened to be my favorite drink. I should’ve offered him first pick, since he was the guest, but I was not an iced tea fan. At all. Lemonade, though, was a treat I never turned down.

As Louella and Hugo both knew. If they brought me one, they were usually trying to bribe me.

Johnnie moaned as he finished his meatball sub. Obviously a favorite and probably why he’d suggested it.

I enjoyed them, but would’ve likely found it too heavy. Bacon grease never upset my stomach, so the BLT had been a good choice. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He grinned that oh-so-perfect grin. “How’s your head?”

I took stock. “Still hurts, but not as much as before. No dizziness and, now I’ve eaten, no nausea. So, I guess you can go home now. Do you want me to drive you to your car?”

He scowled. “The entire point of driving you home was so that you wouldn’t be behind the wheel. Still hurts isn’t all gone and I’m perfect, thanks . Even then, I wouldn’t allow you back behind—”

“Allow? No one allows me to do anything. I’m a grown adult. No matter what Jamilla tells you—”

“Who’s Jamilla?”

“My older sister. What I’m trying to say—”

“Is she single?”

“That no one bosses…” I squinted. “What?”

“I’m just wondering if your sister’s single.”

“Okay. I’m almost afraid to ask why you want to know. That’s an incredibly personal question—”

“You said she was older. So, I’m wondering if she has other people in her life, or if she’s dedicated to bossing you around. You don’t seem like the type to just sit back and be ordered around.”

I blinked. Because he sort of had my relationship with Jamilla nailed. “She’s married with three kids. Her husband’s name is Reuben and, smart man, he sits back and lets her run the show.”

“Three kids?”

My heart panged. “Three nephews. All chaos agents, despite their military-style upbringing by their mother. Kolson leads the crew at a grown-up sixteen. Then Roland is thirteen. Meyer brings up the rear at four.” I smiled as I thought fondly about my nephews.

“She really wants a girl, but she had three miscarriages before getting pregnant with Meyer. For everyone involved, they’ve decided three’s a good number. ”

“They could always adopt.”

I cocked my head. “That’s true. I mean they’re a solid middle-class family with a nice home and could offer a ton of love.” I swallowed. “They’re good, though.”

“Any athletes in the making?”

“Uh, well…” I hesitated.

He arched an eyebrow. “That was a pretty easy question—unless they’re all math geeks in the making and completely uncoordinated.”

“Well, that’s not a thing. Meyer’s too young to have picked a sport, but he’s a devil on skates. Roland loves throwing and really wants to be a quarterback.”

“Ah.” He waited. For a very long time. “And Kolson?”

“Oh.” I examined my fingernails.

“Is there something wrong—”

“He wants to be a rugby player.”

“Ah.” Johnnie eyed me. “And you think I’d be a bad influence on him.”

“That’s a hell of a stretch.”

He arched an eyebrow.

“Okay.” I rubbed my face, wincing at the pain elicited by the added pressure. “I told you—I looked at your socials. As well as your teammates’. You think I wouldn’t prefer Roger or Isaiah as a potential role model?”

“Isaiah’s gay.”

“So am I. And the kids know it. I don’t give two shits about someone’s sexuality—and neither do Jamilla and Reuben.

But they want their kids following the straight and narrow.

Doesn’t do a Black boy any good to get in trouble.

I mean, you don’t want any kids being truant or getting involved in illegal activity.

But that’s even more for racialized kids.

Our police force might slowly—and I mean slowly—be becoming more colorful.

But there’s still a ton of prejudice out there.

I’m sure you know the statistics.” Except maybe that was arrogance on my part.

I lived the reality of being a Black man in Canada.

Better than the States, for sure, but still a huge challenge.

I didn’t want my nephews to face discrimination.

I wanted them to have all the same opportunities as their white classmates.

To never be seen as less than because of the color of their skin.

“I might not know the exact statistics, or the lived experience of Black kids, but one of my former teammates, Bruce, gets pulled over by the cops repeatedly. Yet, I’ve never been.

Nor have Roger or Jason. We all knew the reason and railed against the injustice of it.

” He sighed. “But I don’t see why you think I’d be such a bad influence.

I’m kind of hurt. I don’t drink to excess. I don’t womanize.”

I started to speak.

He cut me off. “I’m always monogamous. Yes, there have been a few women—but never more than one at a time. I have a bit of a reputation, partly because of my looks, but I’m just an ordinary guy.”

Because of my looks .

Ha.

The man was fucking sex on a stick. Gorgeous. I didn’t doubt he had women falling at his feet. I wanted to believe those women wanted more than just a good-looking man on their arms.

Hell, he probably had men falling at his feet as well.

Still, all I managed to do was yawn.

He grinned. “I’m boring you? All this professing that I’m just an ordinary guy?”

I sighed. “If I tell Kolson that I’ve met you, he’s going to be stoked. He’s going to want to meet you.”

“And you think that will be a problem? Tell you what…” He tilted his head.

“I was planning to offer a clinic to Greta, Kenji, and any other kid in the school who wants to come. Would it be weird if Kolson attended? I was going to ask Isaiah and Jason to come. Roger, too, if he’s up for it. He’s pretty busy with the newborn.”

“You’d do that? Run a clinic for the kids?

” That was way more than just dropping by and shooting the shit with the kids like he had today.

“There are some younger kids who would definitely come and yeah, I can make certain staff know they can invite their kids. Then it won’t be weird if Kolson comes.

” No one would question if my nephew showed up anyway—he’d dropped by a few times over the years.

“Seriously, though? You’re not just saying this? ”

“To what end? What would I get from lying to you and promising something I don’t intend to deliver? That just ruins my reputation as a good guy.”

I almost suggested he was being nice to get into my pants.

Yeah, suggesting that to the straight guy, even as a joke, probably won’t go over well.

And I couldn’t suggest he was interested in my sister either—which had been my first flash thought when he brought her up.

“If you’re serious, I can make it happen.

You think your guys will be interested in coming? ”

“Isaiah teaches high school, so he’s definitely interested. He’s just in his first year, though, so he’s still feeling his way around.”

God, I remembered what those days were like.

“That’s why I would suggest after school or on a Saturday. Then he can come, and he might bring a couple of kids as well.”

“Did you have all this planned, or are you—”

“Winging it? Totally winging it.” He put his plate on the coffee table and yanked out his phone. “How’s next Monday afternoon? If we do it after school, I suspect Isaiah could make it. I can text him if you’re good.”

“I can’t speak for my students—lots have part-time jobs—but if I announce it tomorrow, I suspect most will be able to make the time.”

“Great.” He grinned, but continued typing on his phone.

Within moments of him ceasing, it buzzed like, six times.

“Okay. Jason, Isaiah—and even Roger—are in.”

“That’s fantastic. I’ll put an announcement out tomorrow and let all the kids know. Isaiah will tell his students?”

“Yep. He teaches just down the road from you, and I’m certain he’ll have kids who will hop the bus and head your way. Friendly rivalry, right?”

“Oh, yeah. I know which school you’re talking about. They beat us at football and we always kick their asses on the basketball court.” I winced. “Our football equipment isn’t quite as good as theirs. Not a reason for losing, but it doesn’t help either.”

“You don’t do, like, fundraisers and stuff?”

“Who are we trying to fundraise from? Our kids come from lower-income homes. We apply for grants and stuff, but there’s only so much money to go around. That’s why rugby’s such a great sport. Sure, there’s a bit of equipment—but not gear like football. Rugby’s an equal-opportunity sport.”

He grinned. “You get it. I mean, my uncle had money, so I could’ve played whatever I wanted. Except he was a 15s fan. England, to be specific. He felt Canada should never have become an independent country.”

I blinked. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. He was deferential to Queen Elizabeth, but he really wanted a king back on the throne.”

“That’s…”

“Sexist? Misogynist? You better believe it. Every day, I heard how useless women were.” His eyes shadowed. “I’d like to think I’m better than him.”

I closed my left eye, trying to understand his words. “You think you’re like him? Disrespecting women?”

“No.” His phone buzzed again. He glanced down and winced. “Sorry, I really need to make a phone call.”

“Not a problem. I need to clean up. Do you want me to call you a cab?”

“I was wondering if I might crash here tonight? I’m worried about your head.”

“Uh, unless you suddenly don’t have a home, you’re not staying here. My head’s fine, thank you. A couple more painkillers before bed, and I’ll be perfect by tomorrow.”

He looked doubtful.

I pointed to his phone.

Again, he winced. “Yeah, can’t put this off.” Sounded like something he definitely didn’t want to do. “I’ll call a cab myself. Thanks for dinner.” He headed to the kitchen.

Before I was even able to rise, he was gone.

I sat, a little stunned.

He thanked me for dinner? He’d paid for it.

Had put it on plates—which was way more than I would’ve done.

He’d been a true gentleman with me. Taking better care of me than most people I knew.

Certainly more than Nicholas ever would have.

The time I’d caught a norovirus and had been so sick I’d thought I’d have to go to the hospital?

He’d kicked me out of our bedroom and sequestered me in a guest bedroom.

He’d brought fancy soup that made me sicker and complained when I hadn’t been able to attend an awards banquet with him.

I’d felt guilty.

In retrospect, I was sorry I hadn’t given him the damn bug.

A week later, and seven pounds lighter, I’d emerged. With a newfound respect for nurses who cared for people like myself. I’d never been that sick in my life.

The back door shut.

Slowly, I eased forward on the couch. If he wanted to stay, he totally could have. You have three guest bedrooms. Two were in an attic space where he would’ve had to duck, but he probably could’ve managed.

I took the plates to the kitchen, then returned for the glasses.

I poured the bit of Johnnie’s iced tea that remained down the sink and chugged my lemonade.

As I stood over the sink, I took stock. My head had a dull ache, but nothing bad.

I certainly didn’t have a concussion or lasting damage.

As Johnnie said—volleyballs were softer than other balls.

After putting the dishes in the dishwasher, I had a quick shower, donned my pajamas, hopped into bed to read for a bit, and tried not to think about the enigma that was Johnnie Leclerc.