Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 104151 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104151 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Josh took her hand and tried to pull her away from the field.
Her white teeth peeked out from her glossed lips. “Coach, are you jealous of your quarterback?”
It wasn’t the time or the place to discuss my fucked-up feelings, so I nodded toward the bench. “Have Josh grab his backpack. Do you have the money I gave you for the concession stand?”
“It’s in my back pocket. Do you want to check?” she baited me.
I’d met my match. But I never imagined she’d be eighteen.
“You have plans after the game,” I said and immediately turned to approach the players as they finished warming up.
We won.
I didn’t like how Drew looked at Eve, but the kid could light it up on the field. He threw two touchdowns, passed for one, and ran it in for another from the five-yard line.
After a post-game celebration in the locker room, I left the players to take their showers and stepped into the hallway, where their girlfriends were waiting for them.
Eve was on the floor with her back against the wall, legs outstretched, while Josh slept hugged to her with his cheek on her shoulder.
I gave her an apologetic smile and took him from her. “Sorry. That can’t be comfortable.”
She stood. “It’s fine. I’m not an old man like you.”
“Twenty-eight is old, huh?” I pushed through the door to the parking lot and held it open with my backside while she stepped out in front of me.
“Erin and my other friends left because I said I had plans. I wish I knew what they were,” she said, following me.
I unlocked my truck and lifted him into the back seat. He stirred while I fastened his seat belt, and then he collapsed onto his side, returning to sleep.
I pulled a twenty from my wallet and handed it to her. “Pick up something greasy.”
She chuckled, taking the money. “Such as?”
“Surprise me.”
“Anything for Josh?”
“He’s down for the night. I’ll be lucky to get him to go to the bathroom and wrangle him out of clothes and into pajamas.”
“Okay. I’ll see you in a bit. Crack open a cold one for me.”
I grinned, climbing into the truck. “Root beer?”
“Minus the root,” she called, walking to her car.
When I got home, Josh was as helpful as a rag doll, but he peed, mainly in the toilet and a little on the floor for me to clean up. Pajamas weren’t worth the effort, so I tucked him in with just his Micky Mouse underwear.
By the time I drank half a beer and turned on the news, Eve came through the front door with a Taco John’s bag.
“I was totally expecting pizza,” I said, taking the bag from her.
She dug the change out of her pocket and deposited it on the kitchen table before joining me on the sofa. I pulled the tacos and Potato Olés out of the bag and set them on the coffee table.
“If you wanted pizza, then you should have said pizza,” she wrinkled her nose at me.
“I’m kidding. You did good.”
She grabbed my beer, and before I could stop her or protest, she took several big gulps.
I frowned, reclaiming the can. It was easy to compare her to Melinda, but she reminded me more of myself at her age. Fred was the perfect child, always following God’s and our parents’ rules. I, on the other hand, had a knack for finding trouble. I wasn’t a leader or a follower, but I rarely passed up the opportunity to have a good time, even when Melinda tried to talk sense into me.
“Good game, by the way,” she said, unwrapping a taco.
“Your quarterback friend lived up to the hype.”
Eve stared at the TV and nodded while slowly chewing. “He’s good,” she mumbled.
“Did Josh give you any trouble?” I popped a Potato Olé into my mouth before unwrapping a taco.
“No. He’s adorable. All the girls were totally going crazy over him. He should be the team’s mascot.”
I chuckled.
“By the game's last two minutes, he leaned his head onto my lap and fell asleep. Even when the crowd cheered, he didn’t flinch.”
“He’s a sound sleeper like his dad.”
“I’ll get us another beer,” she said, standing.
I grabbed her wrist and shook my head when she peered back at me. “I don’t want another beer.” I lied. There were too many lines I wanted to cross with Eve, but giving her alcohol felt most wrong because it wasn’t legal for her to drink.
However, it was technically legal for her to do other things I wanted to do with her, but not drink.
“You’re no fun,” she said with a pouty face.
“I’m a little fun.”
She stared at my fingers around her wrist, then glanced back at my face. With a nervous laugh, she pulled away and cleared her throat. “So you said you have root beer?”
“Not in the fridge.” I followed her into the kitchen and grabbed a Dad’s Root Beer bottle by the back door.