“Nope.” The P popped and he shoved another massive bite in his mouth.
“Even when I dated Lacy?”
He nodded. “Yup.”
“And other girls?”
Another nod and a gigantic gulp. “Pretty messed up, bro. No wonder those relationships didn’t work out, huh?”
I scrubbed a hand over my face. “But it’s normal to have a lucky charm, right? What’s yours?”
“Don’t have one. But I suck. I’m third string.” He shrugged. “And I’m okay with that.”
“But other guys have them, right?”
“I mean, they have superstitions. Like Brion won’t floss his teeth all season. He swears any time he flosses, we lose.”
That was just insanity. And terrible dental hygiene. Then again, wearing your ex-girlfriend’s necklace for four years post-breakup would also land a spot on the chart of insane things athletes do in the name of winning.
Stilts wiggled a finger while he took a large drink of water. “Once, you forgot to tape it on during practice and it got ripped off. You made the entire team stay an hour after looking for it. When we couldn’t find it, you got the maintenance guys out there with metal detectors. Finally found it six hours after practice was over.” He swiped on his phone and scrolled. Then he slid it across the counter. Sure enough, I was grinning like an idiot, necklace held up for the camera, metal detector on the ground by my feet. “You told Marco, the guy who found it, that you’d name your first son after him. He still believes it, to this day.”
Holy crap. Twenty-year-old Blue didn’t love Anna Dupree a little bit. I was ridiculously, stupidly, entirely in love with her.Still.
I shook my head, frustrated. “Would’ve been nice to know before I set that relationship on fire today.”
Stilts held his hands up arrested style. “Not a mind reader over here. Don’t have a lucky eight ball.” He shrugged one shoulder, slurping a noodle in his mouth. “But maybe we should buy one.” He swallowed. “Last time I saw the two of you, you looked solid.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket. Forty nine minutes after I’d sent the text, Silas finally responded.
Silas Dupree
I’m not a miracle worker, Blue. And honestly, after today, I can’t even decide if I’m in your corner. She’s my daughter, basically. Do I want her to be with someone who would treat her the way you did? Absolutely not. If I hadn’t known you for years and thought I wouldn’t get locked up, I’d take a switch to your backside. I’m trying to give you grace. Clem says that’s what I should do. But the verdict is still out. If you’re a praying man, you might want to start right now. And if you’re not, you might want to try making your own magic. You’re going to need it.
My head fell back and I exhaled in defeat.
Madden chuckled his stupid chuckle. “You act like you’re helpless, dude.”
I threw my hands up. “I kind of am. She won’t even talk to me until my memory comes back and even then it’s nowhere close to a guarantee.”
He speared a chunk of bell pepper with his fork. “You’re going to Seddledowne this weekend. Find a way to get her there.”
“How? Why would she show up if I’m going to be there?”
“You signed with McDonald’s last month to get your own meal. You made a ton of money doing an ad for the local car dealership. You have your own jersey line. And you make bank off of UK every year. All that money has to help you somehow. If you’ll actually spend some of it for once.”
“I can’t buy her off, man. She’s not like that.”
He nodded. “I know. That’s the best thing about her. And she’s frickin’ gorgeous,” he added as an aside. “But there are plenty of other people who will happily take your money.” He popped the bite into his mouth, then backed it out again. “You didn’t sign that contract your dad gave you, did you?”
“No. Wait. How did you know about that?”
“Anna. She said it benefits your dad. Not you. She was adamant about me not letting you sign it.”
I’d figured out the same thing when I read it after today’s fiasco.
My hands flew up to the back of my head. “Wait. She took the time to tell you thatafterI humiliated her in front of everyone?”
“She did.” Stilts nodded, wearing a pity expression. “Good thing you’re not a betting man, Blue. Your instincts suck. You definitely backed the wrong horse today.”
