“How much longer I want to keep putting my body through this.”
Pausing the movie, I sit up. “Wait, are you thinking about retiring?”
“Right now? This is the first time I’ve even entertained the thought.”
“Wow.”
He rubs my back. “I’m in my last year of my current contract with Nashville, and I don’t know if I have it in me to go play with another team.”
“Would they re-sign you?”
He shakes his head. “Unknown. Considering my age and how I’ve been playing this season, I don’t know.”
“I don’t think I can remember the Knights without you.”
“Nothing’s been decided. Maybe they re-sign me to a short contract and I keep playing.”
“Do you want to?” I ask. “I mean, you said it yourself, it’s taking a toll on your body.”
“Maybe I have a future in singing.” He laughs, changing the subject.
I take it for what it is and restart the movie. “Well, if I can move on from this whole mess with Eric, I’ll hire you as one of my backup singers.”
“Liar.”
“Well, maybe a groupie. You’d make a pretty cute groupie.”
“I’ll bring Zucchini and Dolly with me. Get them little earphones to protect their hearing.”
“That would be so fucking cute, Jasper.”
“Once my arm gets better, I’ll have a cat on each arm to cheer you on.”
“Well,”—I laugh—“until then, I’ll just give you sugar to help your medicine go down.”
He tries to tickle my side as the song comes on. “Aren’t you funny?”
“I mean, I don’t know what kind of patient you are. You are one stubborn man, so really, I can only assume.”
“I’ve been a good patient so far,” he says.
“I have a feeling you’re only being good today because I’m here. At home, you’ll probably overdo it.”
“I promise I won’t.”
I cock an eyebrow at him. “I might have to install a spy camera on Zucchini’s collar to make sure.”
That earns me a boisterous laugh. “Only you, Quinn. Only you would threaten me to take it easy by installing a camera on Zucchini’s collar.”
“It’s either that or hire Mary Poppins to follow you around and make sure you take it easy.”
“There is only one person I want following me around.”
“Let me guess…Noah?”
“Har, har. Aren’t you funny?”
I shrug a shoulder. “I try. He would make a good nurse for you. Yell at you to make sure you don’t hurt yourself even more.”
