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“Okay, but the offer stands if you change your mind.” I take a sip of my drink, swallow, and then yawn.
I’m on edge, but I’m also exhausted.
A good hard fuck with Brianna would ease this tension, but I can’t think solely of myself after our near-death experience. I have to think of my sister and what she needs.
Dave finally brings his cognac to his lips and takes a drink. Then he lets out a long, low sigh. “Damn it all,” he says.
“I hear you.”
“I think I’m one of those people who never thought anything bad would ever happen to him, you know?”
I raise my eyebrows. I’m not sure how he expects me to reply, because that’s so not me.
“But then my family’s past came to light,” he continues. “All those secrets my mom and dad and aunts and uncles tried to bury to protect us. Did Bree tell you all of it?”
“Most of it. She didn’t tell me about Dale and Donny’s past.”
“Fuck.” He rubs his hand over his face. “It’s horrific.”
I breathe in. Out. In again. Take another sip, letting the liquor coat my throat, coat my feelings.
I want to know, yet I also don’t want to know.
“She says it’s not her story to tell,” I say, “and I agree with her.”
“Then I’ll keep it to myself,” he says.
I nod.
“After all that shit came out, and I was forced to realize the Steels weren’t fucking charmed, I needed a break. That’s why I came here to join you guys on the tour.”
“Yeah, I know that.”
“Right. I figured it would be the vacation I desired. A respite. See Europe. Hang with Brock and Bree.” He shakes his head, sighing. “But you know the biggest lesson in all of this? In my family’s secrets? And then tonight’s event? It’s not to get complacent, Jesse. Not to think you’ve got the world by the balls. Because you don’t. You just don’t.”
I’m not sure what to say to that. So I say nothing at first, until?—
“I grew up resenting the hell out of you guys.”
He chuckles, but it’s a nervous chuckle. “I know that. I don’t think you were alone.”
“I’m sure I wasn’t. I think I felt it more than most though because of the thing with Donny and me in high school.”
“Don is the first to admit that if he’d been on that committee, he wouldn’t have been able to choose between the two of you for MVP.”
I nod. “Honestly, I agree. Would’ve been tough. Tough call.”
“But you were the quarterback,” Dave says.
I nod. “True, but the quarterback isn’t always the most valuable player.”
“But you were. You and Donny both.”
“Who the fuck cares at this point?” And I realize I mean those words with all my heart. Nothing like almost crashing into the English Channel to get your priorities in order.
“Damn, Jesse, you’re right about that. When you look death in the face, you realize that nothing really fucking matters. I played football too, and so did Brock. Neither one of us was anything like Donny was, though. The only one who came close was Brock’s brother Brad. He was a damned fine player, but he wasn’t scholarship material like you and Donny were.”
“Donny didn’t take a scholarship,” I say.
