When he gets up, Brooks pats his spot for me to sit down. And I do.
I don’t have anywhere to be tonight, so sitting here with these two in this luxury suite doesn’t sound half bad.
He reaches around and pulls me into him, and I feel his fingers grazing my hip.
“I’m so happy you’re here,” he says under his breath, and when I look up at him, I can tell he means it. I reach out and grab his hand, stroking it with my thumb.
“Thank you for this,” I tell him. “You have no idea how much it means.”
He looks over at Cole, flipping through the channels and downing another soda.
“He’s a cool kid,” Brooks says. “Might be cooler than you.”
I elbow his side playfully, but then I shrug.
“He’s definitely cooler than me.”
Just then, there is a knock on our suite door. Brooks pops up, and Cole and I look at each other, confused.
“There’s my MVP!” Brooks says, pulling the man in the doorway in for a massive hug. And then my jaw drops, and so does Cole’s. Because it’s Jerome Parker.
“What?!” Cole exclaims, jumping up from his seat. “Jerome?!”
Jerome smiles as he follows Cole into the suite.
“Hey, hey!” he says. “Is my man Cole here?”
Cole doesn’t say anything, just stares up at the huge man in front of him.
“Oh my God,” he whispers. We all laugh as Jerome holds his hand out.
“You must be him,” he says. “I was told you’re my biggest fan?”
Cole nods enthusiastically.
“Maybe even bigger than me,” Brooks says, grabbing Jerome and pulling him down for a kiss on his forehead. Jerome laughs a booming laugh. “For real, dude. That catch? You are a fucking rockstar.” Then, he catches himself. “Whoops, sorry, kid.” Cole shrugs.
“My sister cusses all the time. No big deal.” We all laugh again. Then Brooks turns to me.
“This beautiful lady is Wren,” he says, introducing me to Jerome. My hand basically disappears in his as he takes it.
“Wren, so nice to meet you. Thanks for coming to the game. And thanks for putting up with this guy,” he says, motioning toward Brooks and playfully rolling his eyes. “It appears he has way outkicked his coverage with you.”
“Watch it, Parker,” Brooks says. I laugh and tuck my hair behind my ear.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” I tell him. “I think Cole here has peaked. Best day of his life by far.”
“You play football, Cole?” Jerome asks. Cole nods.
“Yeah. I’m a running back, like you.”
“Love that,” Jerome says. “I’m starving. I’m gonna make a plate and steal some of Brooksie’s food here. Sit with me and tell me about your team.”
And then we watch as my little brother’s dream comes true right in front of our eyes.
We spenda few more minutes talking with Jerome. Cole grills him with questions, asking him about his favorite teammates, and what his plans are for the playoffs, and how far he thinks he will go. They finish by taking a few selfies on my phone, and Jerome tells Cole that the next time he comes to a game, he'll get him a field pass so he can go down and watch them warm up.
I've never seen my little brother this happy before, and it does all the things to me. Jerome gives each of us a hug, tells Cole and me it was nice to meet us, and then tells Brooks that he'll get in touch with him later. Just as he's leaving, Brooks's phone rings. Eddie has the car waiting outside of the private entrance, and Brooks tells us it's time to go.
