“How do you like it?”
“It’s totally you.”
Rush crashes his heavy body on the blue couch I bought for a steal in the Ikea As-Is section, and the joints of it make a squeaky cry for help. It’s the only half-decent piece of furniture I own, but it’s probably going to need replacing soon.
“Take it easy, big boy. I think you may just break my precious couch if you’re not careful.”
“A simple summer breeze from your window could break this precious couch.”
“Very funny, Bacchetti. Not all of us can afford hand-carved Italian furniture flown in from the motherland.”
He rolls his eyes.
“What’s for dinner? Smells good.”
“A Taylor family specialty.”
“Which is?”
“Spaghetti and meatballs, salad, and garlic bread. The meatballs are made with a combination of ground lamb and beef.”
“Impressive.”
“I know, right? Since I’m not allowed to say the forbidden words between us, I thought the next best thing would be to cook you a celebration dinner.”
“You better take that jersey off then. I don’t want you getting any Taylor family sauce on it. It’s a collector’s item.”
I cock my head to side. “How much did this cost you?”
“I’m not telling.”
“You didn’t get it for free?”
“No, Bird. Stevenson doesn’t just give away his jerseys to random people for free.”
“You’re not random.” I shake my head and feign disappointment. “When are you going to realize that you are the most feared, most talented, tight end in the league?”
“You should start a fan club for me,” he jests.
I know that I often make Rush uncomfortable with my compliments because he isn’t your typical vain football star. He knows he’s talented, but he doesn’t like a fuss to be made about it. He’s always been that way. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to allow him to forget who he is to this game… a freakin’ phenom.
“I would start the Bacchetti fan club, but then I’d make everyone singPurple Rainas a requirement to get in. They’d hate it.”
“I like Prince and even I’d hate that,” he quips.
I pull off my gift with the quickness and hang it carefully in my closet. I have a feeling I could auction it at Sotheby’s in ten years and buy a beach house with the proceeds, so I better take good care of it.
“I can’t believe you got this for me,” I say, overwhelmed by his generosity.
“I can’t believe you actually got the job.”
“Stop the act, Bacchetti. It’s obvious that you had everything to do with me getting the job so quickly.”
“I swear I had nothing to do with it. They wanted to fill the spot ASAP.”
“Yeah, but she said that she needed to pass her notes to her superiors. There’s no way she did all of that in twenty-four hours.”
“Actually, it’s very possible that she did. They work fast and well past the usual nine-to-five hours.”
