Disturbed, I turned my attention to the blonde, six foot-two, football player. “You better be joking.”
He resumed his game with Bear, the cacophony of noises erupting from the speakers again. “Man, my girlChelsea, is a MILF. I got her number last season so I could—" He put his remote controller down for the briefest moment to do air quotes. “Check in on you—as your Captain. But between you and me, I’m just trying to become your stepdaddy.”
I nabbed a pillow that had fallen to the floor from the couch and chucked it at him, knocking the video game remote from his hands.
“Oh, shit, shit, shit. Bear, you better not fail me,” Larson cursed as he scrambled to recover the controller.
Bear had a smug grin on his lips as he continued to play. I had grabbed my bag and pop tarts when Larson returned to the game with his remote.
“You—” Larson turned on Bear, whose grin was now a blatant smile. “Did you kill my guy?” Larson accused.
Bear shrugged, tossed his remote onto the couch and rose to approach me, leaving Larson muttering bitterly under his breath. I paused before walking out the front door as Bear slapped a large hand to my back.
“Are you doing alright?”
There were many reasons we called the big guy Bear. For one, the man was massive. He was easily the biggest and tallest on the team. He was our best lineman, a force of destruction that obliterated defensive lines and was an immovable wall of protection when it was his time to defend. But off the field, he was a teddy bear that talked about feelings when he got you alone.
I sighed. “I’m fine, man. Really, I just need to get home.”
He gave me a half nod. “Well, when she’s feeling well enough, you should bring her to visit. I bet we’d all like to meet the famous Maybelle.”
I smiled at the thought of my girl meeting my brothers. “I’ll definitely do that, hopefully in the next few weeks.” I grasped Bear’s hand. “I’ll be back Sunday night.”
He waved me off with a grunted goodbye and I wasout the door with Larson, calling after me, “Have a good weekend, son!”
***
“Mom, I’m home!”
“In here, love,” Mom called from the kitchen.
The house was filled with the savory aroma of Mom’s homemade lasagna, making my mouth instantly water.
Those pop tarts did nothing to satisfy my hunger on the long drive and my stomach ached for some actual food. I left my bag by the wall and sat at the small dining table that could seat four but was set for three. I scanned the room and the beginning of the hallway that led back to the bedrooms.
No sign of Maybelle, probably still sleeping, even though it was five o’clock in the evening.
Mom washed her hands after she finished chopping a head of lettuce for a salad she was working on. “How was your week, Hun?” She wiped her hands on a towel as she rounded the kitchen counter to hug and kiss me on the top of my head where I sat.
“It was good, long. A lot of practice and prepping for the upcoming semester,” I answered as I stood to give her a proper hug.
“Remind me when your first game is again,” Mom said into my chest before pulling away to get back to making dinner.
I followed her, stopping to wash my hands in the sink. “It’s in three weeks, end of the month. And it’s more a scrimmage to get people hyped up for the first official game and the start of the semester.” I dried my hands, then went to work on preparing the other salad ingredients she had waiting on the counter to be mixed and dressed.
“That’s right,” Mom exhaled. “I don’t know if I can make it to that one with my work schedule, but I’ll be atthe next one, I promise.”
I waved her off. “Don’t stress. It’s just a scrimmage. Only students will be there—besides, you’re no longer allowed to come to my games.”
She put her kitchen tools down and faced me, brows knitted. “What? Why not?”
I snickered, “Because you’re too pretty. A few of the guys are hoping they’ll get a shot at becoming my stepdad this season.”
Her eyes doubled in size.
“I’m teasing, but if you have Chad Larson’s number, delete it immediately, please.”
She giggled, nodded, and continued to chop up tomatoes. “Oh, I will, don’t you worry. Also, a little off topic, but Betsy called, said something interesting happened at work last night.”
