There was something about Bristol that made me want to be a different man. She wasn’t using me just so she could tell all her girlfriends that she fucked an NFL star like all the other girls I’d been with. Never once had I found a woman who wanted something other than my dick inside her. Well, other than Sadie, but she was fucked up in the head.
I didn’t want to play Bristol for a fool and I didn’t want to just fuck her. When we were on the couch, I did want to rip off her clothes and have sex with her right there, and then take her to my room for the rest of the night. However, a part of me knew that wouldn’t be a wise choice. I was going to let her come to me on her own time.
“All right, Reed, let’s see what you got,” Drake called out. Aaron stood back while our kicking coach held the football in place. My longest successful field goal had been sixty yards, but it wasn’t something I could do each kick. The longest one on record in NFL history was sixty-four yards. I was determined to beat that record one day.
Taking a deep breath, I rushed toward the ball and kicked it, only for it to come up short. “Fuck.”
“Your balance is off,” Drake snapped. “You need to concentrate. You never know when the fate of our game lies with you.”
I flung out my arms angrily. “What the hell do you think I’m doing? I’m working my ass off.”
“That’s enough, Reed,” Coach Joel barked.
Clenching my teeth, I kept my mouth shut and kicked another ball. It, too, fell short, but it at least hit the field goal. I was getting close, but it wasn’t good enough. I’d had games rely on my kicks and been under tremendous pressure to perform. As a kicker, all eyes were on you in that situation and if you missed, your team would lose. Nothing else mattered but that one kick. So far, I hadn’t let my team down yet. My goal was to be the best, and the only way to do that was to make the sixty-four-foot field goal.
Two more balls were kicked and nothing. Aaron stood back, while Drake grumbled under his breath and walked off the field. “They sure are up your ass today, aren’t they?” Aaron said.
I couldn’t agree more, but tensions were high with the game against Tampa. We weren’t undefeated this season, so we had to step up our game, and Tampa Bay was known for their exceptional defense. Not to mention we had Ryan for the first game, and there was no telling how he was going to perform.
“They know it’ll be up to me if we can’t get past Tampa’s defense,” I told him.
He stood by me and we watched the rest of the guys practice on the field. Evan caught Ryan’s throw flawlessly and sidestepped Derek all the way down to the end zone for a touchdown. Aaron glanced over at me and slapped my shoulder. “I don’t envy you, Reed. I can’t imagine the kind of stress you deal with.”
I chuckled, but there was no humor in it. “I haven’t let our team down yet, but we’re not always perfect. Knowing my luck, we’ll be in the Super Bowl and there’ll be a sixty-four-foot field goal I’ll have to score.”
He burst out laughing. “And if you make it, I’ll give you two thousand dollars.”
I held out my hand. “Wanna bet on it?”
“Hell yeah,” he said, taking my hand. “I’m just hoping it doesn’t come down to that.”
Coach Joel blew the whistle and called us all in. Once in the locker room, all the other guys went straight to the showers, but I stayed back and pulled out my phone. There was nothing on it. I was tempted to text Bristol, but thought better of it. Being pushy worked with some females, but not with her.
“You expecting a call?” Derek asked, nodding toward my phone. “Every time I’ve seen you today you’ve been staring at it.” All the others were out of the shower and already getting dressed.
I glanced over at Ryan, who was talking to Evan, both of them smiling. As much as I disliked the douchebag, for the first time in my life, I was ready to let everything go. I looked up at Derek, the weight of what I’d done riding hard on my chest. “I have a problem,” I answered regretfully.
He snorted. “What else is new?”
When I didn’t smile, his expression grew stern. “What the hell did you do?”
There were too many people around for me to explain. “Can I come over to your place? I can’t talk about it here.”
“Sure. Hayden’s been asking about you. I know she’d like to see you.”
“Thanks, man. I’ll be over there shortly.”
After everyone left, I rushed to take my shower and headed over to Derek’s house. He was in the driveway, pulling out a case of beer from his truck.
“Look what I got,” he called out.
“Are you going to have one with me?”
He winked. “Maybe one. I gotta be coherent tonight. Hayden’s ready for more baby making.”
“No fucking way,” I exclaimed happily. “Congrats, man. How long have you been trying?” I grabbed the beer and followed him to the door. However, before we could get there, Hayden burst out and jumped in his arms. She was still in her green scrubs from the clinic, with her dark hair in a ponytail. There was no mistaking the excited grin on her face. I’d never seen two people as into each other as Derek and Hayden were.
“I’m pregnant!” she squealed.
Derek spun her around and held her close. “Are you serious?”
She nodded. “I suspected, but I didn’t want to say anything. When I got home, I couldn’t wait any longer to take the test.”
“Holy fuck, this is insane. We have to call everyone.”
I felt like I was interrupting their celebration, but I couldn’t help but be happy for them. “Here you go, D,” I said, passing him a beer. I grabbed one myself and we toasted. “To the baby. I wish you two all the best.”
We guzzled them down and then Hayden flung her arms around me. She gripped me tight and it made me smile. Derek pulled out his phone and I could hear him shouting the news to everyone he called. “It’s good to see you,” she said, smiling up at me.
“Same to you. I know you’re excited about the baby.”
She stepped back and rubbed a hand over her stomach. “I didn’t think it’d happen so fast. We’ve only been trying for a few weeks.”
“It’s because I’m the fucking man!” Derek hollered, pumping his fist in the air.
Hayden rolled her eyes and laughed. “Want to eat dinner with us? I have a roast in the Crock-Pot. It should be ready in about thirty minutes.”