She stopped herself and spun around before he could grab her to him and plant one on her in front of his friends. Taking off his ball cap, he slapped it against his thigh as he watched her walk back toward the bridge.
When Jordan offered him a tequila shot, he took it without any resistance. Then they all hung out around the fire pit, talking about football. After the earlier elation of playing—even something as simple as a pick-up football game—he was starting to feel a bit like an outsider again, but then Sam cleared his throat, and Jordan immediately launched into how awesome the camp was and how he couldn’t wait to do it again next year. Everyone joined in, and while it eased some of Blake’s tension, he still had to crack his neck to get it to move right.
When he rose to leave, he put a hand on Hunter’s shoulder. “I’m going to turn in.”
The guys stopped talking and turned to look at him.
“I…oh crap…I’m going to get emotional here.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose with his free hand. “Having you guys here for the camp this week meant the world to me. I’ll…never forget it.”
Hunter reached out and gripped his hand. “We’re here for you, Ace. Any time you need us. That’s what our Once Upon A Dare Club is.”
“Like I said earlier, camp was awesome, Ace,” Grant said. “I feel like Brad Pitt in that movie, you know, the one where he goes to Tibet and comes home inspired.”
“Your butt is way too big to be compared to Brad Pitt’s,” Jordan said with a smirk.
Hunter threw an empty plastic cup at the quarterback, who caught it deftly. “Blake, count me in every year. The kids are awesome, and I learned a whole bunch about what it means to be a true player. I…shit…now I’m getting emotional. I thought I played from my heart, but these kids…they showed me something. Thanks for inviting me, man.”
Ah, hell. He knuckled away tears and saw a few of the guys do the same.
“We’re having a moment,” Zack said with a laugh. “I know we’re not supposed to say anything about your future, but you’re a damn good coach, Blake. I’d be proud to play on your team.”
Shit. Now it was like they were trying to make him cry.
“Yeah, if you were like fourteen again, Zack Sprat,” Jordan teased to lighten the moment.
Everyone started laughing, and it eased some of the pressure in Blake’s chest. Coaching had become clearer during camp. He was good at it. Sure, he had a lot to learn, but he loved running drills, helping players, coaching them through scrimmages, watching them grin when something he’d taught them finally clicked. It was another option—one of many he planned to consider now that camp was over.
“I think you might have found your next calling,” Sam said quietly when the laughter died down. “Not that I’m surprised. I always knew you were one hell of a leader.”
“Then again, I saw that guy from Special Olympics watching you like you were the second coming or something,” Logan said. “I have a feeling all you need to do is figure out what you want and ask for it.”
“I can’t see anyone not giving you exactly what you ask for, Blake,” Jordan said.
“Funny. Someone told me the same thing a few weeks ago.” He knuckled away more tears as he glanced at Sam. “Hell, I’m going to have to find a box of tissues before I head over to Natalie’s,” he said as a joke, but it stuck in his throat.
Head over to Natalie’s. Tonight that statement seemed like more evidence of their lingering separation. Separate homes. Separate lives.
“Then go find them and head on over,” Zack said. “You don’t keep a woman like that waiting.”
“Like you’d know, Zack Sprat,” Hunter cajoled.
“Up yours, Hunter Punter,” Zack shot back.
Blake man-hugged all the guys, promising to catch a few of their games once the season started. It would be hard to sit on the sidelines, but it was something he would have to face. He loved the sport too much to shut it out of his life, and these guys were his best friends. He’d be there to cheer them on like they had always done for him. Unless they were playing the Denver Raiders.
When he walked across the bridge with Touchdown, he stopped and traced one of the infinity circles engraved in the wood, thinking about everything that had brought him to this place, this moment. He crept into the house with Touchdown, who immediately padded over to his doggie bed.
“Night, buddy.”
Natalie had left a few lamps on like usual. He turned them off like he always did, shutting the house down. After turning up the air conditioner to the temperature they both preferred at night, he headed into her bedroom.
She was reading on her device in bed, her knees tucked up. “Hey.”
“Hey,” he said, his mind filled with all the things unsaid between them. “I wanted to thank you…for coming today.” He shrugged out of his shirt by his side of the bed. “It meant a lot to me.”
She set her device aside after turning it off. “I’m glad I did. You…I wasn’t particularly eloquent earlier.”