Page 7 of Man to Man Coverage (Rangers Football: Hard-Hitting #6)
“Are you doing this yourself?” I wave my hand over the room before letting my eyes come down to my plate. “Holy crap, this looks fancy.”
“It’s like poor man’s beef Wellington, but I used filet mignon.”
“Doesn’t sound poor at all.” My mouth waters at the smell rising from the buttery, flaky crust.
Rex shrugs. “Would you like red wine, or maybe a porter?”
“You know, I think I’ll stick with water. I want nothing to overpower this amazing meal.”
“Good idea.” Rex sits beside me and lifts his fork, opting to do the same.
We eat for a few minutes in silence while I actively remind myself not to moan out loud.
Damn, this is good and way better than anything I can cook.
I’m a charcuterie board kind of guy, buying and laying out all the good stuff the deli manager throws in my cart.
Outside of that, I’m a whiz on the Grubhub app.
Considering I only saw Rex four hours ago, I’m super impressed with what he did in the limited time.
After taking a couple of bites and realizing I’m devouring versus savoring each morsel, I wipe my mouth before clearing my throat. “You were saying about the remodel.”
Rex looks up from his plate. “I haven’t found a contractor yet, so I started without them. Probably a bad idea. YouTube will only take you so far.”
Glancing around, I wonder what other rooms are mid-construction. “May I ask you a potentially sensitive question?”
He nods. “Sure.”
“Why did you buy a fixer-upper versus a new build on the north end where most of us live? You could have designed the exact house you wanted in my neighborhood.” As soon as the words come out of my mouth, I remember what he said about his upbringing. “Sorry, that’s probably a stupid question.”
He shakes it off. “It’s cool. I told you my dad took off when I was a kid.
I was maybe four or five. Pretty sure he’s in prison right now, if not dead.
He was—” Rex sighs “—well, if someone can be addicted to something, I’m sure he was.
Drugs, alcohol, gambling, sex—I think he tried in the beginning with my mom, but eventually his demons won.
He left us with less than nothing, draining the bank account and leaving my mom with tens of thousands of dollars in credit card debt.
She worked at a factory until the day she could no longer physically stand, but their benefits were practically non-existent, so when she got sick—I mean, by the time she was diagnosed—it was too late.
We’d rented the same one-bedroom shit-hole apartment my entire life and my bed was behind the couch.
My mom was never home because she worked two jobs and once I was old enough, I was also working when I wasn’t in sports. ”
He stands up and walks into the living room, returning seconds later with a framed photograph.
Handing it to me, he retakes his seat. Staring back at me is a woman in her mid-twenties with long, beautiful red hair and freckles.
She’s got a radiant smile as she sits and stares at the camera with her arms wrapped around a jubilant six- or seven-year-old boy. “She’s beautiful.”
“Yeah, she was. It was her dream to see me play professional ball. Even though we couldn’t afford it, she pushed me to play every school sport available, hoping for a scholarship.
Football, wrestling, baseball. Although we had nothing, she always got me the gear I needed.
” He takes the picture back from me and stares at it for a moment, a sweet smile spreading on his lips.
This vulnerable moment he’s willing to share with me makes me want to wrap my arms around him and never let go.
Rex glances around his place. “Back to the remodeling question. When the Rangers called and moved me out here, I wanted a place I could buy with cash. The organization gave me a significant signing bonus for showing up within hours, and I used that to buy this place. I figure, no matter what happens with my professional career, at least I’ll have a home that no one can take away from me.
Owning a three-bedroom home with a yard is all my mom ever dreamed about.
That and watching me play professional ball. ”
I wrap my fingers around his forearm and squeeze. “I’m sure she is super proud of you right now.”
“Yeah,” He looks down at my hand and then away, his eyes darting around the space. “If you know of any general contractors, send them my way. With our schedule, I’ll never get this place remodeled on my own.”
“I bet the Scotts know a few. The non-football side of the family is in real estate, so I’m sure they know all the local contractors. Want me to ask?” I squeeze his forearm again and then let go to push back from the table and clear our plates.
“That would be good.” He grabs our glasses and leads me into the kitchen. “Just set the plates down there. I’ll clean up later.”
“No way, man. My mama would skin me if she knew someone cooked me an amazing meal like this and then I didn’t do the dishes.”
He chuckles. “Fine. We’ll do them together.”
Fifteen minutes later, our leftovers are wrapped up and the dishes are in the dishwasher.
Rex offers me a beer, which I take, and we both grab a recliner, our computers in our laps.
For the next two hours we quest, giving Rex time to orientate himself with the keystrokes and shortcuts.
I take him on a couple of lower-level raids I can run by myself, building up his XP and gold in the process.
“This is the best date I’ve ever been on,” he chuckles.
A spark of hope ignites in my chest, but I tamp it down. “What do you mean?”
He motions to the screen where his character stands still and I run around killing all the NPCs. “I just stand here and look pretty while you do all the work to gift me gold and armor and weapons.”
“Interesting way to look at it, but if you want to call it a date, I’m okay with it.”