“We’re letting you win,” Rodney gripes.
“Sure, you are.” Telly rolls his black eyes, the large square diamonds in his ears glinting in the sunlight. He gives it a second thought. “Maybe Kam is.”
“Definitely not.” I snort. I would never give up any kind of win. Ever.
I walk over to the golf cart to take a load off and grab some more ice. Fucking thing stings.
A minute later, Rodney joins me, leaving Landon and Telly to putt. Well, Telly is putting. Landon is stewing.
Rodney takes a seat behind the wheel and reaches back for a cold one. He cracks it open, takes a sip, then stares me down. What the fuck is his problem now?
“What?” I bite.
“Want to tell me what all that karma bullshit was about?”
“Huh?” I play dumb.
“That comment about you getting hit being karma. What the fuck is the universe pissed at you about?”
I roll my eyes and divert my attention away from him. I really don’t want to get into this.
“Hey, I asked you a question.” He nudges me.
“Are you wearing your asshole underwear today?”
“Don’t I always?”
I turn my head to look at him. “Yes.”
“So, want to tell me what’s going through that thick noggin of yours?” He taps my head annoyingly, and I bat him away. “You’ve been acting weird lately.”
“Just got shit on my mind.”
“Is everything alright with Laney? The wedding?”
I nod. “Everything is fine with us . . . it’s me . . .” I trail off.
“You?” he probes. “You having cold feet?”
“I have loser’s remorse.”
“What in the hell is that?” he questions before he realizes. “You feel guilty? Because we lost?”
I grit my teeth. “Because I’m the reason we lost.” There, I said it. I’m the reason. I cost the entire team every second of their blood, sweat, and tears. Their time away from their family and all their faith in me. I’m the reason we lost it all.
“You really are an egomaniac,” Rodney accuses.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“It means we play football as a team. There is no one person who gets the blame when we win or lose.”
“I threw a fucking interception. How am I not responsible?” I argue petulantly.
“Allen fumbled, twice. Brice missed a block, and you were sacked repeatedly. The way I see it, we all had a hand in that loss.” He drains his beer then crushes the can against his forehead. I didn’t think anyone over the age of seventeen did that, but then I met Rodney and was proven completely wrong.
“Hey, guys! Come get a load of this!” he shouts to Telly and Landon. “King QB thinks he’s the sole reason we lost the Super Bowl.”
I could kill him right now. Like literally split his skull open with a sand wedge and leave him on the green to die.
