Page 45 of The Surprise Play (Nolan U Football #3)

WILY

“Um…” Satch bulges her eyes at me, and I give her a confused frown, then start to smirk when I realize she must be talking to her parents.

“Do they know about me?” I mouth, pointing at my chest.

She cringes and I nod, pressing my finger to my mouth and promising to stay quiet.

“Bess? Who’s in the room with you, sweetheart?” Mom asks, and I watch my girl bite her lip and look to me for help.

“What do I call you?” she whispers.

“Do you want them to know about us?” I whisper back as softly as I can.

She nods but then shrugs and starts shaking her head. “But if you’re not okay with that, I’ll understand.”

“What?” My head jerks back, and I give her a baleful look. I may not want my parents to know I’m falling for this girl, but letting hers know there’s a man out there who’s totally into her? Yeah, I’m okay with that .

Leaning down, I speak into the phone. “Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Satchwell. Wily Wilson here. I’m Elizabeth’s boyfriend.” Her mouth pops open, and I give her a funny look, leaning in and whispering, “After what we did last night, I’m not your boyfriend?”

“Well… I mean, I guess…” she sputters. “I just thought you didn’t want to be tied down with a label.”

“Boyfriend?” Her mom’s voice perks up. “Bessie, you have a boyfriend?”

“Well, I…” She looks at the phone, then back to me.

I grin and shake my head at her before answering her mother. “She certainly does, ma’am.”

“Oh, I see. Well, uh… this is a surprise. How long has this been going on?”

I take the phone from her hand before she drops it, holding it up to my mouth and telling them all about how Satch has been my tutor since the beginning of the year.

“She’s been helping me pass my classes with excellent grades.” I grin. “She’s one smart lady. I’d be lost without her.”

“She is,” her dad agrees. “The smartest girl I know. She gets it from her mother.”

I laugh, winking at my girl, who is blushing up a storm and covering those red cheeks with her hands.

“So, other than studying with my daughter, what else do you do?”

This opens up the door to an in-depth football conversation. Her dad never played but seems very impressed that I’m on my way to being drafted. Mrs. Satchwell gets all excited, asking what position I play, although I get the sense that she doesn’t really know what any of it means.

Satch stands there shaking her head and looking pained as her parents get overly excited about me and the fact that I’m dating their daughter.

I lay it on thick, trying to impress them with my first-date antics and dancing in the snow.

Mrs. Satchwell starts giggling, the same way my girl always does, and I’m loving every second of this.

No wonder Satch is so damn cool—her parents are sweet and funny, and shit, I really want to meet them.

I want to shake the hand of the man who raised this angel of a girl.

I want to hug the woman who no doubt nurtured and loved her through every phase of her childhood.

They both sound like they adore her, so they must be pretty cool.

“So, are you free next weekend?” Mrs. Satchwell asks.

“Mom, I don’t… He’s very busy,” Satch tries to say, but I gently cover her mouth with my hand.

“I can be free next weekend.”

“Well, we’d love to have you. We’re putting together a special celebration for Bessie’s birthday. It’d be wonderful to have you join us.”

“That’d be great.”

“Are you sure?” Satch mouths, looking totally confused by the fact that I’m saying yes to this invite.

What does she not get?

It’s her birthday! Of course I’m going to be there.

Not only that, it’s Valentine’s Day, and like hell I’m missing out on celebrating it with her.

Satch’s parents get all excited about meeting me while my girl stands there blinking at her phone like she’s trying to decipher a foreign language.

“Oh, we’re so pleased. Our Bess has never brought a friend home from college before, and a boyfriend to boot. It’s all so thrilling. We’ll have the house all set up for you two. I can’t wait to meet you, Wily.”

“Thank you, ma’am. I’m looking forward to it too. And if you could do me a favor and send some gift ideas my way. Your girl here has been very secretive about when she was born, and I had no clue.”

“Oh, that’s so Bess.” Mrs. Satchwell laughs. “Why don’t you give me your number, and I’ll send you some ideas.”

I rattle it off while Satch waves her hands in the air. “You don’t have to buy me anything. I really… It’s not…”

Wrapping my arm around her, I pull her against me, trying to shut up her fussing. Like I’m not gonna buy her a gift.

“Thanks so much for your help, Mrs. Satchwell.”

“Oh, please. Call me Darla.”

“And you can call me Tommy!” Mr. Satchwell adds with a friendly chirp.

“Thank you, sir.”

“This is so exciting.” Darla’s buzzing, and I squeeze Satch a little closer, kissing the top of her head.

“Can’t wait.”

They say the same thing, followed by a stream of affectionate goodbyes before hanging up.

I hold out the phone for Satch to take, but she doesn’t move.

“Satch?” I shift, leaning down so I can check her face.

“What just happened?” She blinks at me .

“Oh shit, I’m sorry. Did I overstep?”

“You just made my parents fall in love with you.” She takes the phone, shaking her head in obvious shock.

“Is that… bad?” I step back, running a hand through my hair. “I mean, do you not want me to come meet them?”

“Of course I do.” Her voice pitches. “I just… It’s all happened really fast. I didn’t think you’d want to be my boyfriend and meet my parents. I mean, you’re… you’re…” She lets out a bewildered breath. “You’re Wily Wilson.”

I nod, looking at the ground and wondering what she’s heard.

Probably too much.

I’ve all but told her I’m the guy who sleeps around and never commits. I’m the player who can’t say no to a flirty lady.

But not anymore.

Shit, can a tiger change its stripes? I sure fucking hope so, because as I hold her shoulders and lean down, catching her eye, I mean every word that comes out of my mouth.

“And you’re different. You’ve… captured me, Satch.

And I don’t want this to be like anything else I’ve had before.

I want to be your boyfriend. And I want the whole fucking world to know that you’re mine. ”

Her lips part, her cheeks paling.

“Come on, you. Let’s get you back to my bed.” I take her hand, pulling her out of the spare room and grinning over my shoulder. “I’ve got plans for you today, my sweet. I have the best plans.”