Page 13 of Man to Man Coverage (Rangers Football: Hard-Hitting #6)

Devlin

F or the past three weeks, Rex and I have been sneaking around, stealing moments on the road, and spending a couple nights each week in his bed.

We cook, game, snuggle, and talk, and somehow have kept our relationship a secret.

I think the reason behind our success is that everyone else seems to have their own things going on.

Declan found out he’s the father of a cute five-year-old, and he’s working on rekindling the relationship with the mother of his child.

Aggie’s divorce is final, and he’s in the process of moving out of my basement and into Declan’s sky-rise apartment.

Jepson and Jaxson are dating a woman, so their nights are occupied, which leaves Rex and my evenings free.

With Thanksgiving rapidly approaching—now that I know this isn’t a fling—it is time to invite Rex to my brother’s house to meet my family.

“I want you to come to Seattle with me on Wednesday night,” I blurt.

Rex brings his head up from the vegetables he’s sautéing. “What?”

“What else are you going to do for Thanksgiving?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugs. “Jepson and Jaxson invited me over.”

I walk up behind him and slide my arms around his waist, resting my chin on his shoulder. “My family wants to meet you.”

He side-eyes me. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“Why wouldn’t it be? We may not have told our friends, but my family knows about us.”

“Meeting your parents is a big deal. What if they don’t like me?” he murmurs.

I squeeze him tight. “Are you kidding me? They are going to love you.”

Rex sighs. “I’ve never met somebody’s family before.”

“We’ll stay in a hotel nearby. That way, we have some privacy and a place to escape to if you need it. We’ll hang out with them for the day, go see the sights, and fly home Friday night.”

Rex turns the burner down and spins in my arms to face me. “You know I’m crazy about you, and I am beyond touched that you want me to spend the holiday with your family.”

“Is that a yes?”

He grins. “That is definitely a yes.”

T hursday morning, we wake up and shower together before driving to my brother’s house.

Patrice and my mom have been cooking since yesterday, baking bread and pies and all the goodies.

Rex is fidgeting in the passenger seat of our rental when I reach over the console and slide my hand onto his thigh. “Are you going to be okay?”

“I can’t believe how nervous I am.”

“My family is super chill. I let them know I was bi when I was fifteen, and they’ve been okay with it since day one.”

“I’m not nervous about that. I just want to make a good impression.”

“Baby—” I pull into Darren’s driveway and turn off the engine, sliding my hands onto either side of his face “—be yourself and they will love you, just like I do.”

The words slip out, but I don’t regret them. Rex sucks in his breath and nods. “Okay.”

I pull his face to mine and give him a gentle kiss. “Ready?”

“Yes.”

The front door opens, and the kids run out with my mom waiting for us in the doorway. I scoop my niece up in my arms and slow down to grab my nephew, who climbs me like a tree.

“Rex, this is my niece and nephew, Vanessa and Pablo. Can you say hi to my friend?” I kiss both of their cheeks. Predictably, as soon as Rex smiles and shakes their little hands, Vanessa opens her arms and demands he hold her.

“Oh.” Rex accepts the little girl in his arms.

“Are you Uncle D’s boyfriend?” she asks with a child’s innocence.

“Uh, yes?”

“Come on, y’all,” my mom calls to us from the doorway.

I grab Rex’s free hand and lead him to the door, each of us carrying a toddler in our arms. “Mama, this is Rex.”

“It’s so nice to meet you.” She flashes him a warm smile.

“I see where Devlin gets his million-dollar smile,” Rex says, dropping my hand to shake hers.

“I’m a hugger, sweetie.” She pushes his hand away and wraps her arm around his waist, pulling him and Vanessa into a group hug and then escorts him inside, calling to the rest of the family, “They’re here.”

Darren and my dad come out of the TV room at the same time we set the kids down. “Rex, this is my dad, Gary, and you met Darren a few weeks ago.”

“Nice to meet you.” My father and Rex shake hands.

“Glad you came.” Darren follows suit.

“Thanks for inviting me.”

I give my mom and dad a hug and then slap palms with my brother.

“The game is on.” Darren tilts his head to the TV room as if there is nothing more to say.

“Let me introduce Rex to Patrice and then we’ll meet you in there.” I slide my hand onto Rex’s back and guide him into the kitchen where Patrice is knee-deep in serving dishes, my mother following us in.

“Smells delicious, Patrice.”

“Hey, D.” She looks up with a big smile and wipes her hands on a towel. “You must be Rex.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He shakes her hand, and the nervousness rolling off him makes me want to wrap my arms around him and hold tight.

“Oh, please call me Patrice or Patty or hey you—anything other than ma’am. I’m not old enough for that yet.” She giggles.

“Patrice.” He motions to the pots and pans. “Can we help you?”

“I hear you are quite the cook, but I’m pretty territorial of my kitchen on the holiday meals.” She eyes the chaos meaningfully.

Rex holds his hands up. “I get it.”

“You two grab a drink and check on the game. Kick-off was a few minutes ago. Can you take this to Dad?” She hands me a bowl of dip.

“Sure.” I tilt my head and Rex follows me to the TV room, but let’s be honest, this is a football house and there is a TV in every room. Even when we sit down to eat in a few hours, there will be a muted TV on in the dining room.

Detroit is playing Chicago on the big screen. My dad sits in one of four theater-style recliners with a small table between each seat, his eyes practically glued to the big screen.

“Hey Rex, sit beside me.” My dad pats the empty chair.

Chuckling, I roll my eyes. “What do you want to drink?”

Rex shrugs. “I’ll have whatever you’re having.”

Locking eyes with him, I give him a soft smile and a wink, attempting to reassure him that this is a safe place and he can relax. He visibly inhales and then lets it out slowly, sinking into the chair next to my dad.

At the back of the room, I fix us a couple of whiskey sours.

My brother walks up with Pablo in his arms and whispers, “Is he okay?”

“He’s nervous. It’s his first time meeting parents.”

“Ah.” Darren nods. “Mom will break him of that in no time.”

“Right?” I chuckle.

The four of us settle in front of the TV, intent on the game until the commercial break, which always seems to wake us up out of our zombie state.

“So, Rex, which college did you play for?” My father asks as my mother sits on his lap, snatching a cherry tomato off his veggie plate and popping it into her mouth.

“I went to Nebraska for a couple of years, sir.” He glances at me sitting on the floor with Vanessa as she colors us a picture.

“Ah yes, the Huskers. How was that?”

He shrugs. “They have a good program, but I got little playtime as a freshman or sophomore.”

“That’s right—” my mom says softly “—you left school to take care of your mama, correct?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She reaches over and grabs his hand, giving him a gentle squeeze. “I’m sure she’s so proud watching you play for the Rangers from heaven right now.”

He blushes and dips his head. “I hope so.”

“This is your first year with the team, right?” My father steers the conversation back to football.

“Kind of. I came on mid-season last year.”

“He was flagged during try-outs. The team knew they wanted to bring him on the first chance they got.” I hate it when Rex sells himself short, as if being on the team is an accident or something. “He’s got some untapped running back potential waiting to be used.”

Darren snorts. “Isn’t it annoying when the number one wide receiver in the league waves his pompoms in the air for you?”

Rex chuckles. “I wouldn’t say it’s annoying…”

“Bite me,” I tell my brother with a big smile on my face.

For the next couple of hours, we watch the game and chat idly about life.

My father is retired and tends to his chickens, goats, and whatever other animals he rescues while my mother still works full-time as a contract lawyer.

Patrice is an interior designer and takes Rex on a tour of the house after she learns about his newly remodeled kitchen and bathroom.

My father nods his head approvingly when they leave the room. “I like him.”

“Yeah, he’s pretty amazing.” I take Rex’s seat while he’s out of the room.

“How much longer before the team finds out the two of you are dating?” My father arches his brow, cutting through all the unspoken things to the underlying question at hand.

Darren turns his head in our direction as if to silently ask the same question.

I shrug. “I don’t know.”

“Are you happy, son?”

From across the room, I lock eyes with Rex talking to Patrice in the living room. He flashes me that coy smile he gives when we catch each other’s gaze across the locker room. Unable to resist, my lips spread and I nod. “I really am.”

“Then that’s all that matters.”

After dinner, Rex and I are in the kitchen drying dishes while Patrice and Darren get the kids ready for bed. “I like your family.”

“I told you they would love you.” I elbow him and then lean forward, planting a kiss on his neck.

“Like you?” he murmurs.

My heart stops for a second. “I didn’t mean to freak you out.”

“Did you mean it?”

“Of course, I did.” I set the platter down and turn toward him, resting my hip against the counter. “I know we’ve only been seeing each other for a couple of months, but I knew I loved you the moment we kissed.”

He presses his lips together. “Growing up with no family other than my mother, I haven’t had a lot of practice saying the words out loud.”

“You don’t have to say them if you aren’t ready, Rex.” I brush my fingers through his hair and tilt my forehead to his. “It doesn’t change how I feel about you.”

“I’m going to say it when you least expect it, when it really means something,” he whispers more to himself than to me.

“Want to stay for the last game, or do you want to head back to the hotel?”

“Split the difference. We’ll stay until halftime and then say our goodbyes.”

“Sounds perfect, baby.”

An hour and a half later, we are standing at the front door saying our goodbyes.

“Will we be seeing you for Christmas, Rex?” my mom chirps.

I rub the top of my head. “I haven’t had a chance to ask him yet, Mama.”

“Don’t we have a game on Christmas?” Rex looks at me, his brow furrowed.

Tilting my head in Darren’s direction, I say, “We both do, which is why we are celebrating a day later in Atlanta.”

“You have to come,” my mom adds, grabbing both of his hands in hers.

“I—” he glances at me “—would love to.”

“Good, then it is settled.” She pulls him into her arms and plants a kiss on his cheek. “Take care of my baby.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He blushes as she steps back.

I roll my eyes at my mama’s blatant manipulation and pull her into my arms. “See you in a month.”

Darren chucks me on the shoulder and then slaps palms with Rex. “See you guys soon. Be careful out there.”

My father walks us to the car. “You fly home tomorrow, yes?”

“We do.”

“Okay, well, we will see you at Christmas. You’re going to love Dorothy.” He shakes Rex’s hand and gives me a hug.

Rex waits until we are in the car to ask, “Who is Dorothy?”

“His goat.” I chuckle, shaking my head and putting the rental in reverse.

Once we drive out of the neighborhood and hit the main drag, Rex slides his hand into mine. “Thank you for bringing me.”

“Thanks for coming.”

“Christmas in Atlanta, huh?” His thumb slides soothingly over the back of my hand.

“Yeah.” I bring his hand up to my mouth and kiss his fingers. “Stick with me, baby, and I’ll show you the world.”