Chapter 12
THEO
“I just don’t see the point of waiting,” I say to my brother. “We walked two miles together, and we were basically laughing the entire time. That has to be a good sign.”
I pull a water bottle out of the cooler and twist off the top.
It’s almost noon, and the sun is high in the sky, though the day isn’t quite as hot as we expected.
There’s a nice breeze, and the humidity is lower than usual.
It’s still in the upper eighties, but that’s nothing compared to what it was last year.
“It’s definitely a good sign,” Carter says as I take a long swig of water. He levels me with a look. “But it’s been less than two weeks since her breakup. You really think she’s ready to start dating?”
I open my mouth to answer but then close it again. I can’t argue with him. It makes sense that she might need some time. But I’ve been thinking about this woman for eight years.
I never thought I’d get a second chance with Becca, and now that it feels like I have one, I don’t want to miss my shot.
“I just don’t have a lot of time,” I say. “She’s only here temporarily. If she’s single, and I’m single, and I’m no longer blocked on her phone, I don’t see the harm in asking her to dinner.”
Holly steps up beside me and claps me on the back. “I’ll be honest, man. Not being blocked on her phone is a pretty low bar.”
Carter chuckles. “I’m not saying you can’t ask her to dinner. I’m saying wait long enough that you aren’t a rebound. Don’t rush things.”
I want to push back, grumble, but I know Carter’s right. I don’t want him to be, but he is.
“Hey, has anyone seen Jordan?” Maggie asks from behind us. We turn to see the Jaguars’ events coordinator standing with an iPad in her hands.
“He’s here somewhere,” I say. “But it’s been a minute since I saw him.”
She sighs. “I’ll go look for him. If he comes back before I do, tell him he’s up in fifteen minutes. Holly, you start at the same time. Carter, you’re back on in thirty, and Theo, that’s when you start as well.”
“Got it,” Carter says. “Thanks.”
“Hey, Maggie,” I call before she can move away. She’s in her twenties and always talking about her dating life. Maybe she’ll have some advice. “What’s the right amount of time to wait before asking someone out if you know they’ve just broken up with someone else?”
She purses her lips to the side. “Depends on the person. But you can tell if you pay attention to her Instagram. As soon as she posts an unfiltered selfie, she’s ready to date again. Unless she’s still mentioning sad girl playlists in her notes … then she’s definitely not ready.”
“I don’t know what any of that means,” Holly says dryly.
“Are you talking about the woman you were walking with earlier?” Maggie asks. “Long brown hair? Gorgeous eyes? Great butt?”
I swallow a laugh at Maggie’s blunt—albeit accurate—description. “Um, yeah. That’s her.”
“You should ask her out now,” Maggie says.
“I should?”
She nods. “She’s into you. I could totally tell from watching you. She’ll say yes.” She turns to leave, and I grin at Carter.
“Did you hear that? Becca will say yes.”
“Maybe she will,” Carter says. “But Maggie doesn’t know your history with Becca. That matters. I’m just telling you to be intentional when it comes to your timing.”
I turn and look across the field to where Becca is sitting with Mia in the shade. She’s wearing a neon pink sports bra and black shorts with a matching pink stripe down the side, so she’s easy to spot. She also looks incredible, another reason my eyes seem to keep finding her.
When we walked this morning, for the first time, it felt like our interaction wasn’t overshadowed by our breakup. It was more like we were just old friends catching up. We went down our list of mutuals, filling each other in on who’s doing what and what the other might have missed.
She told me about the quarterback of our varsity football team who already has four kids even though he’s the same age as we are.
And our senior class president who’s running for mayor in Frisco.
If she gets elected, she’ll be the youngest mayor in Frisco history.
We talked about Becca’s sisters, what they’re studying, who they’re dating.
And I told her all about Carter’s marriage, swearing her to secrecy about the whole green card thing.
Only a handful of people know Carter originally married his wife to keep her in the country.
They’re so in love it hardly matters now, but it’s still not information we share publicly.
Becca loved the story, since it’s genuinely the most un-Carter-like thing the man has ever done.
The point is, I like being around her. And I don’t like not knowing when I’ll see her again.
Maybe I should throw a party? Something I could invite her to? She could bring Mia, I could invite a few of my teammates…
I turn, about to ask Carter if we could do something at his place since he has a pool, but then Jordo comes into the tent, phone lifted in his hand. “Guys. The Jaguars just traded a first-round draft pick for Blake Sanders.”
Blake Sanders. I know that name. Why do I know that name?
Carter thwacks me in the chest. “Sanders. Is that Nathan’s little brother?” he asks, triggering my memory.
“It’s gotta be,” I say as I reach for my phone. Carter and I played with Nathan when we were still with the Appies, though we never met his younger brother, Blake. If I remember correctly, Blake was drafted the year after we were. “He was with the Warriors?” I ask as I search for his name.
“For the past three seasons. And with their AHL affiliate before that,” Jordo says.
“Forty-three points last season,” I say. “Not bad.”
Jordo nods. “He seems like a solid player, but do we need him?”
I look up at Carter, who has an expression on his face that makes me think he knows something the rest of us don’t.
“What do you know?” I say, immediately thinking of Miles. Our team captain has been making noise about retiring, but he’s still got one more year on his contract, so I’m not sure why I think of him. But Carter’s lack of response makes me think I’m on the right track.
As his brother-in-law, if anyone would have insider information, it’s Carter.
“It’s not really my place to say anything,” he says.
“You just did say something,” Holly says.
“And now you have to say more,” Jordo says. “You can’t leave us hanging like that.”
“Is it his shoulder?” I ask. “Is it acting up again?”
Carter finally sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “He doesn’t want to freak anyone out, but … yeah. It’s been pretty bad. He’s likely having surgery before the season starts.”
“Which means he probably won’t play until after Christmas,” Jordo says.
“That’s what they’re thinking.” Carter pushes his hands into his pockets. “But don’t repeat that. Coach knows. And everyone else in the front office. But you know how Miles is. He’ll want to tell the team on his own terms.”
“So we can for sure use Sanders with Miles out,” I say.
“Yeah, we can,” Jordo agrees. “I bet coach will move Fly to the first line. Maybe slot Sanders into the second?”
“He’s big,” Carter says. “He might fit better on the third with Westhoff.”
“Do you think Coach will choose an additional captain?” Holly asks.
“He will if Miles isn’t playing,” Carter says. “He’ll want three alternates.”
“Jordo, Holly. You’re up,” Maggie says.
Our conversation fizzles as Jordo and Holly move out of the tent and shake hands with their walking companions.
“Don’t forget to hydrate!” Maggie says. “We’re walking, we’re talking, and we’re hydrating!”
I drop into the camp chair Holly just vacated and put my half-full water bottle in the cup holder.
“You know, I was thinking it might be you,” Carter says, giving me a pointed look.
“What might be me?”
“Alternate captain,” Carter says.
I scoff. “Me? Nah.”
“Why not?”
“Because that’s your job.” My twin brother has been captain or alternate captain of almost every team we’ve played on, and I’m totally fine with that.
He’s got the steadiness, the ability to keep everyone calm and focused.
He’s the one people trust. And that’s the most important part of being a good captain.
“It could be your job too,” Carter says.
I quickly shake my head. “You know that’s not my role.”
“But maybe it should be. You were great with the rookies last year. And you’re always the one keeping everyone chill in the locker room. Stuff like that matters.”
“Having the best locker room playlist does not make me captain material.” I motion to him. “You’re the one people follow.” Then I point back at myself and smirk. “I’m the one they like.”
He reaches over and punches me in the arm. “You’re an idiot. And you’re selling yourself short.”
We chill and enjoy the shade for a few more minutes until Maggie returns with the people here to walk with Carter and me. I stand and drain the last of my water.
Carter is walking with a couple of teenagers wearing t-shirts from Atlanta’s youth hockey league.
I’m paired up with a father and daughter, Will and Brianna.
Brianna looks like she’s probably in middle school—eleven or twelve, maybe?
I’m not a very good judge, but she’s wearing a Jaguars hat and an expression that says she’s very serious about the next fifteen minutes.
When I shake Will’s hand, he makes eye contact and says, “I’m just going to apologize in advance. She plans to be hard on you.”
I lift my eyebrows, then look down at Brianna. “I appreciate the heads-up.” We head out to the track and start walking a few yards behind Carter. “Are you a Jaguars fan, Brianna?”
“Currently,” she says. “But I’m ready to root for my team in the Stanley Cup finals, so if that doesn’t happen this year, I might switch over to the Renegades.”
“Ouch,” I say through a chuckle. “Guess we’d better play our hardest, then.”