“Your family will be happy to have you home, I’m sure.”
Even at the ten-yard distance, I could see the downward tick of Harte’s lips and his shoulders sag beneath the padding. “Nah, my wife bailed about three years ago. Said she wasn’t about to stay with a second-stringer.” His next throw to me was a hard one, with the weight of anger behind it, but I couldn’t fault him. “So much for true love, huh? What about you? Enjoying the playground of the city?”
Coach blew the whistle, and I motioned to Harte. “Better go see what he’s got to say.” We jogged over to him and joined our teammates gathered around him and the other coaches.
“All right. Time to call it a day. Tomorrow we’ll do a couple of hours here, watch some films, and go over plays. Hit the showers, and I’ll see you in the morning.”
Harte and I walked off the field together, and our offensive coach joined us on our way to the locker room.
“Nice teamwork out there today, Sloane, but a little less talking and a lot more throwing next time, got it?”
My face heated. “Understood, Coach.”
“You need to work on getting out of the pocket as fast as possible. Like we said, they’re gonna be on your ass. Make sure you have an alternate receiver if the one you planned for gets jammed up. You can’t throw to Durant all the time. Anticipation is the key to winning.”
I gave him a sharp nod. “Got it.”
“Good. We don’t want a repeat of what happened with Dev Summers. You need to stay healthy. Harte, good job. How’s the shoulder?”
“Fine, Coach. It was just a simple strain. With the PT and rest, it’s back to one hundred percent.”
“Good, good. See you tomorrow.”
He left us to the organized chaos, and I was happy to strip off my uniform and get into the shower. Still early, I was hoping to get home and have a little one-on-one time with Fallon. Anticipation crawled through my veins at the thought of a whole night together. I reentered the locker room and was getting dressed when my phone rang. Seeing it was Dev, I picked it up.
“Hey, what’s up? Just getting out of practice.”
“Good, then you’re free. Can you do us a big favor?”
I sat on the bench. “If I can, sure.”
“You know Riley Carson, tight end for the Sparks? He was scheduled to be onThe Huddlebut had to cancel last-minute. He forgot his kid has a school play. Could you fill in for him? Please?”
As much as I wanted to say no, I couldn’t. Not to Dev and Brody. They’d been nothing but good to me since I came to the city.
“Yeah, sure. When and where?”
“Oh, thank fuck. You really saved our asses. You can do it from home—it’s a video podcast. I’ll text Fallon and have him get the computer set up. I’m sure you’ve done them before.”
“Yeah. I’m familiar with it. I’m finishing up here, and I should be home in about an hour.”
“Perfect timing. You’ll have enough time to relax for a few and settle in. Thanks again, Trick.”
“Not a problem. Catch you later.”
I pulled on my hoodie, laced up my sneakers, and picked up my bag. “See you tomorrow, boys. Be good.”
“Or at least careful, right?” Troy cackled. “Where you rushing off to, my man? Got a hot date?”
My grin was big and bright. “Maybe so.” Without another word, I left to the catcalls of my fellow players.
An hour and half later, I clicked on the link Dev sent me, and he and Brody popped up on my screen. Both had on blue T-shirts and ball caps withThe Huddleon them, and I laughed.
“Nice merch, fellas.”
Dev waved. “Hey, Trick. Don’t worry. We’ve sent you over some. Thanks for joining us onThe Huddle. To our viewers and listeners who were hoping to hear running back Riley Carson, he’s been rescheduled due to a personal conflict, but we were lucky enough to snag our good friend and star quarterback of the Brooklyn Kings, Patrick Sloane. Patrick is new to the Kings, having come in only this year. Tell us, how are you liking it here in the Big Apple?”
“I’m loving it,” I responded with a big smile. “Everyone’s been welcoming and friendly—”
