AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I shrug. “You win some, you lose some. Want to go for a hike with me tomorrow morning?”
He nods. “I need to stretch my legs, so yeah. Six AM?”
“Sounds good.” It’s a little earlier than I would prefer given that I’m still on Vegas time, but if it gets me a minute with my brother alone and away from the rest of the family, I can talk to him about the trade.
I think about how to approach it as I get ready for bed, but when I slip into bed, the thoughts fade away.
This is the same bed where, nearly twenty years ago, I lost my virginity to Jolene Bailey. It may not be the same bedroom, but it’s the same bed.
This bed is where I knew I was destined to end up with her until our entire world came crashing down just a few days later.
It was tender and sweet. It was full of love and passion.
I’ve heard plenty of horror stories about everything from first times to hundredth times in the locker rooms over the years, but what we shared was intimate.
I’ve never allowed that sort of intimacy anywhere else.
I was too afraid it would all be ripped away the same way she was. I was afraid I’d be forced into another choice I didn’t get to make—a choice that was already laid out for me because father knows best.
I’m not sure how the fuck I’m supposed to sleep here with those memories plowing into me. I get up and pace around the bedroom, and it feels too small.
I need sleep—especially if I’m going for a hike in five hours with Asher—nine years my junior and definitely more agile than this old man.
Yet…I need to move. I need to get out of here.
I head downstairs to clear my head, and I find Grayson leaning on the kitchen counter, the light of his phone the only light in the room and making his face glow. A bottle of beer sits next to him on the counter.
“Whatcha doin’?” I ask casually, and he jumps about ten feet into the air. I laugh as he catches his breath.
“Fuck, dude. I’m getting too old for jump scares.”
“Too old? You’re thirty-fucking-two, man,” I point out.
He nods and twists his lips as he reaches up to his shoulder to massage it a little. “Yeah. I guess I just…”
My brows dip as I watch him grapple for words. It’s unlike him. “What’s going on, Gray?”
“I just got word Kendrick Barber is heading to the ‘Fins. Another reminder we’re commodities, not people.”
“Do you really feel that way?” I ask, perching on the countertop across from him.
He holds up his beer. “Want one?”
I nod, and he grabs one from the fridge, the room lit from the light there for a minute before we’re back in darkness again. He hands it to me then lifts himself up to sit on the counter where he was just leaning. As my eyes adjust to the darkness, the moon is lighting up the kitchen enough that I can see Grayson.
He draws in a breath. “Sometimes. I guess sometimes I feel like I might be ready to hang it up, you know? I’m tired. I’m beat up. I’m cupping and taking Toradol and trying to ease the aches rather than giving anything time to heal. The off-season isn’t enough time. I guess…it just gets old.”
“I know,” I murmur. Oh, I know that feeling all too well. It only took three seasons to take me out. He’s survived nine.
“But then I remember how many years Dad played and I know he’d be disappointed in me if I gave it up earlier than he did.” He shrugs.
“The game has changed,” I point out. In a lot of ways, it was easier back in the day. The paychecks were a little smaller, but the talent pool was also shallow and the physicality wasn’t quite as brutal as it is today. “You’ve accomplished a lot in your career and you’re still helping your team win games, but you’re smart and you know your body better than anyone else.”
He nods, and we’re both quiet for a beat before I have to ask the question on my mind.
“Is Dad the only thing keeping you in the game?”
“Sometimes I think he is.”
