Though his movement wasn’t as smooth as mine, he wasn’t the starter because he couldn’t throw.Seeing what we were up to, Danny hit his mark and called out for Mick to throw again.This time his pass had more snap to it.
“How does that feel?”I asked.
“I see what you mean.No one’s ever pointed out that stiffness before.”Eyeing Mitchell, Mick said, “Run another one.I need to get the hang of this.”
For the next ten minutes, the guys took turns running posts while Mick practiced the move.By the time he took a breather, his passes were snappy, and all three receivers were grinning.
“Damn, Cash.I felt the difference in the way you throw versus the way Patty throws, but I thought it was just a different style,” Callahan said as we gathered errant balls from the field and returned them to the bins.“Seems it’s more technique.”
“Pretty much.”
A weird expression fell over Mick’s face.“Why are you helping me?”
“One hundred percent I want to play on Saturday afternoons this fall.”I shrugged.“But even more, I want to play on a winning team.From what he told me, Ellis’s philosophy is always next man up.I’ll go in during specific points in the action, but we only win if you’re at the top of your game.”
Mick shook his head.“Why in the fuck would Washington not fight to keep you on their team?”
“New head coach.”I cleared my throat.“He came as a package deal with his son, like what happened in Colorado a couple years ago when they brought in Deion Sanders to coach.I may only play a few downs a game here, but that’s way more than I would’ve had a shot at if I’d stayed where I was.”
With another disbelieving shake of his head, Mick fell into step beside me as we headed back to the locker room.“While I was trying to figure you out, I didn’t correct you when you called me Mick.But for the record, everyone calls me Patty.”He grinned.
“Yeah, I noticed.I also figured I had to earn the right.”Offering my hand, I added, “Thanks man.”
Spring semester began on a blustery January day when the wind chill hovered somewhere around freezing, and snow had blown in overnight.My landlord wasn’t big on maintaining the driveway down the side of his house to the mother-in-law suite I was currently renting, so the only way my old Jeep was going to make it through the drift beside the big house was if I shoveled it out first.
Heaving a sigh, I grabbed the snow shovel my landlord had so helpfully leaned against the front of his garage, which happened to sit right beside my rental, and went to work digging out a path to the street.I’d be better off parking in the street, but my landlord took exception to that.Said he didn’t want my ride blocking the snowplows, which was bullshit, since almost everyone else living on this street parked in front of their houses.The lazy bastard wanted me to shovel his drive so he wouldn’t have to do it.
I skidded into the weight room at one minute to six, and of course, the first thing to greet me was Coach Larkin’s scowl.
“You’re late,” he growled as he ticked something off on his clipboard.“Everyone else is already warmed up.What makes you so special you think you can hold up your position group?”
“I promise, Coach, I’m even more warmed up than usual.”
Peering at me, his tone took on the barest hint of concern.“Why are you sweating?You got a fever?”
“Nope.I had to shovel a snow drift the length of my landlord’s house before I could move my Jeep.Trust me, I’m plenty ready to go.”
Frowning, he jerked his head in the direction of the bench where LeSean Call was already counting Patty’s reps.
The glee in LeSean’s voice bordered on obscene.“How many burpees do you think Donovan will enjoy before he goes to class today?”he asked Patty as Patty racked the bar.
“Zilch.I’m not late,” I growled, cutting LeSean off and sliding onto the bench.
“You haven’t warmed up yet,” he snarled back.
“I don’t know.He looks pretty sweaty to me.”Patty wrinkled his nose.“Smells it too,” he added with a grin.
I flipped him the bird then gripped the bar.He laughed as he started counting my reps.Out of the corner of my eye, I caught LeSean’s frown, but I didn’t have energy to waste on him.After finishing my first set, I hopped up off the bench and made a big show of inviting him to take my place.Though he shot daggers at me, he said nothing as he settled under the bar.
It was only when we headed over to the free weights that Patty finally asked the question both of them wanted to know.“Howareyou getting out of burpees?”
I grabbed a couple of hand weights and stepped over to the incline bench.“Guess Coach thought the half hour I spent digging out my driveway counted as warmups.”
“That’s rough, man,” Patty said as he situated himself on the bench beside me for single-arm presses.
LeSean’s smirk didn’t endear the guy to me.
An hour later I was on the practice field with Patty, Mitch, and Callahan.Danny had an early class, but after having the weekend off, the other guys were eager to throw and catch.The surprise was when Dallas Cousins, our center, sauntered out onto the field to join our fun.
