Page 7

Chapter Seven

Beau

Shoving my duffle back in the locker, I check through my texts for the tenth time in five minutes. It’s been two days, thirteen hours, and fifteen minutes since I last talked to Kit.

It's not like I’m counting or anything. Four o’clock can’t get here soon enough.

Living around the corner isn’t helping. It’s taken every ounce of control I have not to walk over and knock on her door.

“Hey BD. How’s married life treating you?” The more restless I get, the worse the needling becomes. “Still wanting to get the marriage annulled, or are you reconsidering?”

I shrug and slide the phone back into my bag, not sure what to say. They were all with Kit and I in Vegas. Witnessed the wedding. They know me. They saw my response to her.

“Why would Beau want to let that sweet thing go? Did you see the way she looked at him?” Jones teases. “I’m sorry—kissed him? There’s obvious history BD isn’t telling us about.”

Here we go.

“Isn’t there anyone else’s love life you’re more interested in?” I tilt my head toward Romeo, aka Jeremy Thomas, our fullback. “We haven’t heard about—”

“Nope,” Romeo answers. “You’ve officially made my life dull.”

I snort. Practice is almost done. If I can hold on five more minutes and let the jabs roll off, like water off a duck’s back, I’ll make it out unscathed.

“If the annulment is still happening, I’d love her number so I can ask her out.” Teddy ‘Bear’ Wilson says nonchalantly. “She’s hot, and I love redheads.”

I clench my jaw and my fists ball at my side.

“Not sure our blindside flanker likes that idea, Bear.” Oliver snickers as my eyes burn holes in Bear’s back.

“What do you mean?” He turns a confused expression toward Oliver, then glances at me. “Ooooh. Yeah. Would you look at that? Seems like someone has a crush on their wife.”

His raised brow has me itching to smack it away.

Bear is a handsome guy. And, like Jeremy, he has a line of women that he goes through. There is no way that I would ever let him anywhere near Kit.

“Breathe, big guy.” Bear slaps me on the back, that wry smile still there. “I was just teasing. Usually, nothing gets you riled up.”

Rolling my eyes, heat creeps up my neck.

“The dating thing still holds, though.” When I pin him with my gaze, he throws his hands up. “I’m just saying. Geez.”

“Mr and Mrs, sitting in a tree,” Karate Kid starts to sing, and everyone except Wilson, joins in. “K-I-S-S-I-N-G!”

Running my hand through my hair, I shake my head and quirk a brow, working to keep the goofy grin from my face.

I’m acting like an infatuated fool. Oh, who am I kidding? I am an infatuated fool.

I just hate that everyone in this locker room knows it.

“Okay, songbirds, listen up!” Coach Hudson shouts, a gleam in his eye as he walks through the door. “The Play It Forward event is coming up and will be here before you know it.”

The Play It Forward organization puts on an incredible day for their mentors/mentees that includes activities, food, and one main competition that allows us to compete as a team. This year, we weren’t sure if they’d be able to accommodate the move, but they made it happen.

Having had a mentor growing up, I know the difference it can make in a person’s life. Given a day to celebrate that relationship is priceless.

“Make sure the families know so they can join in on the fun. If a parent or guardian can’t make it and you’re responsible for bringing your mentee, get the permission slip that legal sent you filled out and signed,” Coach continues. “Don’t forget to send the signed copy back to—”

Stopping to see who’s calling him, he shakes his head. “I don’t know how he does it, but here’s Milo now.”

Miles “Milo” O’Donnell, Play it Forward’s Director, is one of the quirkiest individuals I’ve ever met. Despite that, he’s undeniably easy to like. His passion and dedication to the mentor program make him hard not to respect—even if he is a strange bird.

Coach answers the video call. “Hey Milo! We were just talking about the Play It Forward day.”

Milo’s obviously in an airport, traveling, with his Play It Forward windbreaker on. He’s never not repping the organization.

“That’s great! My trip had a layover, and I’m stopping at one of the other team events in…” Stopping in the middle of the airport, he starts to sing. “The stars at night are big and bright.”

We all hear three claps from what seems like hundreds of people before they break out in song. “Deep in the heart of Texas.”

“Iconic,” Karate Kid says in awe, and snickers are heard around the locker room.

“Thanks for checking in, Milo,” Coach says, trying to end the call. Milo will talk for hours if you let him. “Hopefully, we’ll be as lucky as the group in Texas and get a visit on the day of our event.”

“Well, you know what they always say: When life throws you an unexpected curve, make some lemonade.” Groans can be heard around the room. No one says that. “Well, actually, no one says it, but I think it’s a good philosophy to live by.”

“Wise indeed.” Coach chuckles. “Thanks again. Have a great time in Texas.”

“Thanks,” Milo says. “Did I ever tell you about the time—”

“Talk soon,” Coach says, ending the call before he can tell us one of his many stories. “Where were we…oh yeah. Play It Forward and getting signed permission slips back to legal. Do it sooner rather than later.”

“This week, we’re playing NOLA Gold.” Coach gets a teasing glint in his eye before turning to me. “Anyone else planning on getting married this weekend?”

Scrubbing my face with my hand, I groan while the room erupts with amused murmurs. “I’m never gonna live this down.”

“Not while I’m your coach,” Hudson razzes. “But on a more serious note, team, you have some homework to do. Gold is a great team and some serious competition. Let’s focus on getting a win.” He points at me and smirks. “See you tomorrow, boys!”

Grabbing my duffle, I shake my head and chuckle. Guess I better get used to being the butt of jokes for a while.

When I pull up to Jack’s house, he’s sitting on the porch waiting. The expression on his face has me taking a deep breath and getting prepared to deal with teenage angst.

“Jack!” He stands up and rolls his eyes so hard I’m waiting for them to fall out of an ear. A ton of teenage angst. “You said you’re a fan of animals, right?”

Jack walks over to the car, his shoulders slouched. “Yeah.” His tone tells me he’s less than thrilled about anything I could potentially want to do today. He gets in the car and fastens his seatbelt.

“Super! I have an incredible afternoon planned for you.” My cheeks pull up as he rolls his eyes again. Is eye-rolling an Olympic sport I don’t know about now?

“Super?” He quirks a brow, and the corner of his lip pulls up, which is the result I was hoping for. “Aging yourself there.”

I shrug. “Maybe you think I’m cool, but I’m really not.” This time, both corners lift, and I nudge him. “So, how are things at school? Any new crushes you want to tell me about?”

Immediately, the smile fades, and his eyes shutter. I have definitely struck a nerve. Rather than dig deeper, I change tactics.

“Did you watch the game last week?” Silence greets me. Okay—not sports today.

We drive in silence for a bit while I try to figure out a new game plan.

“Do you think I could get some advice?”

Jack’s brows shoot up, and he points to his chest. “From me?”

“No. The person in the backseat.” When Jack glances over his shoulder, confusion lining his face, I chortle. “Yes, you!”

A reluctant twitch tugs at the corner of his mouth. “You’re weird.”

“When you get older, you won’t think being weird is such a bad thing.” Some more eye-rolling. Teenagers. “But seriously, I need some help.”

When silence greets me, I glance over to see him staring out the window. I can see his emotions hovering under the surface. Rather than ignore this opportunity, I choose to take his silence as consent.

“There’s this girl I like, but I’m not sure if she’s interested in me or not.” Jack scoffs. “What? I can’t have these problems?”

“You’re a professional athlete,” Jack says, and I see his shoulders droop from the corner of my eye. “Everyone likes you.”

Ahhh, so that’s what’s going on. “That is definitely not true. You’d be surprised at how many people don’t like me because I’m a professional athlete.”

“Really?” Surprise laces Jack’s voice; his eyebrows shoot toward his hairline. “I thought that meant you were automatically popular.”

“Popularity is code for what other people think about you. It doesn’t dictate how well-liked you are. Or, more importantly, whether or not you’re a good human being.”

I turn to Jack, who’s sitting in silence, his brow furrowed, and I wait. Working with kids, I’ve learned that there are some who will talk your head off and others that you need to let get uncomfortable enough to fill the silence.

Jack is the latter.

Just when I start to think I was mistaken, Jack starts talking softly.

“There’s this girl at school. She’s a cheerleader.” Uh-oh. Jocks can be ridiculous when they think someone is encroaching on their territory. “We have math class together, and she needed help, so I helped her. But then we started talking. She’s fun.”

“And cute I bet,” I say, wiggling my brows. “What’s her name?”

“Stephanie,” he pauses, and I notice him pulling at his jeans. “She used to date the captain of the soccer team.”

This is where things get tricky. I’m not sure if I should wait for him to continue or start talking. Since I’m still not sure what the problem is. I wait again, only to be rewarded with him continuing.

“Yesterday, a few of the guys from the team came over while we were talking and brought up my parents. They continued on about me being an outcast and dirt. Everyone was laughing.”

“What about Stephanie?” I ask cautiously. “What did she do?”

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” And just like that, he shuts down on me.

“No problem. I’m here if you do.” So many thoughts are running through my head, but I also know that I can’t fix this for him. Kids are tough—I know, I was one once. And though I wasn’t mean, I was pretty brutal in taunting others.

Just ask Kit.

My face lights up just thinking about her.

Bringing my attention back to the boy next to me, I offer. “Just remember, how people treat you is a reflection of their character. What you do with it is a reflection of yours.”

“Huh?”

I glance over at him. “What your parents did doesn’t make you any less valuable, Jack. What people say to you or think about you isn’t as important as what you think and feel about yourself. Does that make sense?”

“Not really.” His head falls to his chest, and he lets out a sigh.. “All of this is just hard.”

I cup his shoulder and give him a squeeze. “I know. I think you’re doing great, though.”

“Really?” He asks, eyes huge.

“Really! Being your age is way harder than being mine.” I chuckle.

“So what do I do when I see Stephanie again? I’m so embarrassed.”

“Why are you embarrassed when the others were the ones making fools of themselves?”

“Because everyone was watching and laughing,” he scoffs.

He’s right. Seeing everyone again the first time after that can be tough.

“I’m gonna share a secret with you. It’s what I do whenever someone points out something I did or said. Professionally or personally.”

He’s watching me with an intent expression on his face. It’s the perfect time to share with him the lesson that changed my life.

“Has anyone ever talked to you about ducks?”