It wasn’t just from his family or his team, but his fans.
Kids idolized him. They wanted to be like him.
The last thing he wanted to do was ever tarnish a child’s dream, but if he fucked up, it could happen.
He had the next two years planned out to finish his contract, invest his money, and figure out his next career move to keep himself and his family nice and comfortable and his nose as clean as could be.
“Deep down, you’re just a simple guy,” Casey said. “No one ever sees it but us.”
Someone saw it last weekend though.
Emma hadn’t been wowed by his status.
She didn’t even know who he was when she first served him a beer.
“About that,” he said.
“Oh,” his mother said. “I need to sit down. I think this is going to be good.”
He smiled. “Do you have your drink?”
He heard a twist top open and some fizzy sound, then his mother gulping. “Just opened my seltzer. What’s going on? You don’t normally call me. Are you bored?”
“That goes without saying,” he said.
He worked out several hours a day. He read a lot of books, he listened to podcasts, and he’d been thinking about Emma.
That last was a new one on his daily list of things and something he hadn’t done in a long time.
“I’m sure you can find many things to do.”
“I’m at a resort right now,” he said.
He returned to The Bond Resort on Tuesday. He hadn’t thought he could get a room, and it was not one he would have liked, but he took what was available.
It was still a stunning suite, but not as grand as the last time he was here a few weeks ago. Maybe he wasn’t as simple as his mother said he was.
“That sounds like a wonderful place to be,” his mother said. “Are you being bothered working out in the gym?”
“No,” he said. He was going down late at night or early in the morning. With earbuds in and a hat, he got away without being noticed most times. It’s not as if most people did a serious workout when they were on vacation and the tourist season still was weeks away.
“Are you going to make me ask you a million questions to find out what is bothering you?”
He laughed. “Nothing is bothering me. I met a woman a few weeks ago. Here at this resort.”
“And you went back looking for her?” his mother asked. “Interesting. Did you think she’d still be there on vacation, or did you hope your celebrity status could get you some information?”
“I’d never throw my weight around,” he said. Though he was pretty sure he might have to because the past several nightsgoing to the bar, he hadn’t seen Emma. He thought for sure she’d be working by now.
“That’s true. So you didn’t find out anything about her? Do you even know her name?”
“Her name is Emma. I didn’t get her last name. She’s a bartender here. She didn’t even know who I was. By the way, I’m on Amore Island, so not far from home.”
“Which means she can’t follow sports or watch TV to not know who you are. You’re in enough commercials.”
He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t thought of that.
Even if she didn’t watch football, she didn’t recognize him from any of the commercials he did. Which were plenty with his four major sponsors.
