Chapter 36
RAWLEY
AVERY: Can’t wait to see you later!
RAWLEY: Me too :)
She’s back from her five-day road trip, having arrived in the wee hours overnight, and we’re going to dinner later. Then I’m supposed to go to her game tomorrow before training camp starts a couple days later.
Our texting had returned to normal for the rest of her days away too. Seems like we’ve moved past the awkward moment from Aiden’s suggestion that we end things, thank fuck.
In the meantime, it’s close to when Connor flies back to Princeton, so it’s been nice to have these final days focused on him.
Though he’s still acting like a man of mystery, disappearing randomly. I’m tired of waiting for him to tell me what the heck is going on.
So, this morning, when he walks into the kitchen after a session in our home gym, I lay down the law. Or my version of it.
“I made you a killer omelet, but you’re only getting it if you stop hiding where you vanish in the mornings.”
He walks up and grabs the plated omelet out of my hands.
I’m not much of a disciplinarian.
“Threats will get you nowhere.” He smirks.
“Where’s Landon when I need him?”
Connor lets out a small laugh. “I’ll show you, Rawls. I’m finally ready for that. Are you free for the next couple of hours?”
I perk up right away. “Really?”
He looks at me stoically. “You available or not?”
Fuck yes. I’m not missing this.
“Yes. But eat that omelet first. It’s a masterpiece.”
“I’d expect nothing less.”
Twenty minutes later we’re in my car.
“Where am I going?”
“Head to Tolliver University.” Huh. Tolliver is the school where Grace just completed her business degree.
“You got it. You going to give me a clue what’s going on?”
“Nope.”
“The suspense is brutal, Con.” I’m joking. but it’s also annoying not to know when I’m the one doing the fucking driving.
“Just consider it a compliment that you’re going to find out first.”
We drive in relative silence, which is odd for us. I put on music to fill the quiet.
About five minutes out, I see Connor tapping his foot, but not to the beat of the music. He’s usually so under control, not fidgety like me.
“Nervous?” I ask, more out of genuine curiosity than to tease him.
“Shut up,” he responds like I’m giving him shit, though not with any fire behind it.
I do, if only because I don’t feel like talking about anything else at the moment.
When I turn into the campus, Connor gives his next order. “Head to the fields.”
Well, there’s my first clue. Not a big surprise, but this is sports related.
I drive through the streets leading to the athletic facilities. Tolliver’s campus isn’t as extensive as the University of Texas, but its sports complex is still top notch. Fitting, for a D1 program.
I follow the signs to get us to the right parking area, and I see a main field that has hashes for both football and soccer. There are soccer goals underneath the football field goal posts on both sides, as well as a full regulation track. This is probably where Grace ran when she was here.
I take in several other practice fields, including a couple with soccer goals.
Connor grabs his bag as I turn off the car. “We’re going to the main one.”
Okay…
I get out and follow as he steps toward the long stairs down to the field.
Peering across our destination, I notice there’s a handful of people running or walking around the track, someone shooting goals into the soccer net on the far side and on the near side…
Wait, is that Del? Del, the Waves’ veteran kicker?
My brain can’t compute why he would be here.
“Are we going where the soccer player is?”
Connor gives me a small smile. “Nope.”
“To Del, then?”
“Yep.”
“But—”
I stop walking, confused.
Connor quit playing the sport during his flag football days in middle school and focused on soccer. Landon has pleaded with him to give football a chance again several times, but Connor has resisted.
What’s going on?
I walk behind him like a lemming down the steps until we’re striding across the field. Del gives us a wave as we approach.
“Hey, Connor.” He turns his gaze to me. “Rawley, great to see you.” He doesn’t look surprised that I’m here.
I don’t know Del well yet, but he’s been the Waves’ kicker forever, and I first met him in passing during Landon’s rookie year, so we’ve had some interactions.
“Same.” I try to look like I know what’s going on, but yeah, super fucking confused.
“You ready to show him what you’re working on?” Del asks Connor.
Connor looks over to the person shooting goals on the other field—a woman, I see now. Is this soccer related, after all?
But then he shifts to Del. “Yes, let’s do it.”
“I have everything set up for you. You warmed up?”
“Yeah, I’m okay. Got loose in Landon’s gym before coming here.”
Del nods, and without either of them paying me any mind, they walk to the thirty-yard line on this side of the field.
There are several footballs, and as they hit the center of the yard line, I see Del pick one up and say something to Connor.
My brother takes three large steps back, and all of a sudden, Del is kneeling, holding the football in place.
A split second later, Connor starts to approach Del rapidly, and then—holy shit—boots the ball.
It clears the field goal posts, dead center and about fifteen feet higher than it needs to be.
Which means he could make it even farther from the post.
“Again,” Del says, loud enough that it projects my way. Connor shoots me a smile as he walks back to his starting spot.
And then he drills another perfect field goal.
This time I don’t stay still, jogging closer to them. “What the hell, Con? What is this?”
“Surprise.”
“But what is this?” I repeat.
Del chuckles. “Landon introduced me to Connor last year, and in May, he asked to get a few kicking lessons while he was visiting this summer. He’s a natural, though that’s not a surprise as a D1 soccer player.”
Like several other kickers in the NFL, Del is known for transitioning from collegiate soccer to a pro kicker.
“Landon knows about this?”
“No,” Connor replies. “I asked Del if we could keep it secret while I figured out whether I was interested at all, or could even kick it through the uprights properly.”
“No problems there,” Del says. “He’s reliable. Like a machine.”
This is wild. I have a million questions, but I table them for the drive home.
“This is definitely cool.”
Connor looks pleased at my response but doesn’t comment.
“Okay, you want to keep going?” Del asks him. “I know this was largely for Rawley’s benefit, but I’m stuck here for at least an hour because Eden rode with me.”
Connor’s head twists back to the soccer player, and I see his eye flash with something I’ve never seen.
Is that…is that Connor’s version of yearning?
Dang, this is a day of surprises.
“That’s my daughter Eden, the one shooting goals over there,” Del explains to me. “She’s going to be a freshman at Tolliver this year.”
“She’s on the U-19 National Team,” Connor adds softly. U-19 meaning the players are under nineteen years old.
Huh.
The disbelief on my face is geared toward my brother right now, but Del misreads it.
“I know, it’s probably surprising I have an eighteen-year-old. I’m ancient compared to you guys.” He chuckles. “That’s the beauty of kicking. We can play into our forties, so at thirty-eight, I have some years left.”
I recover from my surprise. “Yeah, nice.”
“Is it okay if we keep practicing a bit longer, since we’re here?” Connor asks me.
“Yeah, I’ll get some sprint drills in or something.” Not my favorite thing to do but whatever, it’ll be my workout for the day.
Connor nods, and I go to the sideline to stretch before doing some forty-yard dashes along this part of the field.
Only twenty-five minutes later, Connor’s done a ton more kicks and walks over to me, his bag in hand.
“Finished already?”
“Yeah, I’m good.” He twists his head one more time, but it’s toward Del’s daughter, I notice.
Connor is usually so well masked about women, but yeah, she’s got my little brother’s attention.
I have even more burning questions about what happened today though. And once we get in the car, I don’t hold back.
“Connor, you secretive little shit, start talking.”
He rubs his hand over his face. “Sorry. I didn’t want to get your hopes up.”
“About what?”
“I’ve been thinking about career options.”
“And what does that mean?”
“So, you know, Princeton’s probably the end of the line for my soccer career. My playing career anyway. I’m sure I could coach somewhere.”
“Sure.”
“But a, I don’t really feel like starting coaching at twenty-one. It doesn’t feel like where I want to go in two years.”
“I get that.”
“And b, the pay in coaching, especially at first, is unacceptably low. I don’t like the thought of barely scraping by for years. And I sure as hell don’t want to ask any of you guys for money.”
“Totally understandable.”
“When Landon had me chat with Del last year, I didn’t really have any motivation to listen, to be honest. But then with everything that’s happened, and learning he’s getting paid almost five million a year to kick for the Waves, my thinking changed.”
“Yeah, kickers get paid decently. I think high six figures is the league minimum.”
“Much better than the five figures I’d probably make as an assistant soccer coach somewhere.”
Connor is really practical, so I get that, but also… “Do you like kicking though? I mean, trying to make it to the NFL isn’t a cake walk either. So you need to enjoy it or the grind will suck.”
“Yeah, that’s part of the reason I held off telling you guys.
I wasn’t sure until I tried it. But I like the simplicity, elegance and routine.
And the challenge of striving for perfection.
It’s very different from soccer where it’s all about passing, your teammates’ positions, and so many variables. ”
I’m not surprised to hear Connor’s mind work through the answer this way, and it’s a good sign that he really does enjoy kicking that he’s thought about it in detail.
“So what’s next?”
“I want to play soccer at Princeton in the fall. But I’m going to keep working on kicking. Talk to the Princeton football coach about future seasons. Maybe try to get some punting training too, in case I prefer it.”
“I’m glad you’re liking it, truly.”
“On top of everything else, it feels like a natural extension of what I’m good at. Not as intense athletically, but it’s more rewarding than I thought.”
“Are you telling Landon too?”
“Can we keep it from him a bit longer? I don’t want him to ride me about it.”
I agree. Been there.
We pull into the house, and Connor heads off to take a shower. I’m about to do the same, a little worse for wear after the sprint reps. Only I don’t make it far when our doorbell rings.
I look through the window by the door, and what the fuck…
It’s Stefani.
I swing the door open in a dramatic fashion.
“What are you doing here?”
Her blond hair is piled up on her head, and she’s wearing a stretchy top with tiny athletic shorts. Typical Stef.
She crosses her arms over her chest. “What kind of welcome is that, Rawley?”
“I wasn’t expecting you.” I walk out to the front porch, blocking her from coming inside. “How did you get through the gate anyway?”
“The guard called Landon, and he said to let me through.”
Oh, yeah. Landon wouldn’t think twice about approving Stef as a guest, since we’ve been friends so long. Plus he’s in Tampa, focused on Rori. He probably assumed I hadn’t had a chance to mention her visit.
“I wanted to surprise you. I thought it would be a good thing.”
“Did you…did you fly all the way down here to see me?”
“Oh no.” She waves her hand dismissively. “My family is here for vacation. We’re going to all the amusement parks.”
“That’s nice.”
She glances around the front porch and sneaks a peek through the slit of the open door. I know without following her eye line that the expansive entryway and the sunken living room are visible.
“Landon did all right for himself, wow.”
“Yeah, it’s a big house. How did you get the address?”
“Mom’s Christmas card list.” She glances at me directly. “This house is much bigger than yours at home.”
“Yes, it is.” I try to keep the impatience out of my voice.
I guess I should be happy she’s here—but I’m not? I take stock and yeah, happiness is not the dominant emotion.
“I wish you’d texted before coming.”
She doesn’t seem to pick up on my vibe.
“I just thought you’d want to hang with us? Maybe we can go off and do our own thing one of the nights?”
“Stef…”
“C’mon, it’ll be fun. Just friends, I promise.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why, is Avery the jealous type?”
Now I’m getting irritated. “Don’t twist this. No, but it would be uncomfortable for me. And disrespectful to our relationship.”
“Hmmm, okay.”
I hear footsteps coming from inside the house, and then Connor pops his head out the front door.
He freezes at the sight of Stefani.
“Hello, I didn’t know you were coming.” His gaze travels to me, and I shrug.
“It was a surprise,” she says, in a less sweet tone than when she’s been talking to me.
“Lots of surprises today,” I say to Connor, unable to keep the glib tone out of my voice. He snickers in appreciation.
Stef looks back and forth between the two of us. I think she’s getting the memo that whatever she wanted to accomplish with this visit isn’t happening. “I should probably go then.”
“Toodles,” Connor says drily.
“I’ll walk you to your car,” I offer.
When she nods, I close the front door, following behind.
She turns as we reach the car and steps toward me to give me a hug. I guess I’ll accept it, then send her on her way.
“Well, I’m sorry you can’t—”
Suddenly there’s the sound of another car pulling in. Maybe it’s a delivery truck?
Only when I look up from the embrace with Stefani, it’s the worst-case scenario.
It’s Avery. She brings her car to a halt, eyes laser-focused as she takes us in.
Stef turns to look at who’s arrived, and now both ladies are staring at each other. I watch Avery’s eyes go wide like saucers as she realizes who I’m hugging.
Shit, no, no, no.
I pull out of the embrace and take a step toward her car—but it’s too late.
She hits reverse, and faster than I can get to her, she’s gone.
My shoulders droop.
“Ooops,” Stefani says.
Fuck is more like it.