Page 10 of Out of Bounds
“I understand your asking but I’m not Auston fucking Rogers, Quinn.”
The muscles in my teammate’s jaw twitch.
“Look, your family’s been through a lot recently. Annie especially. She’s got a kid with no dad around. She’s lost the number one person she would have turned to for help with Nelson. She’s back at school and even though she masks it with banter and smiles, she hates having to rely on a nanny.”
He looks away from me now, hands tightening around the steering wheel.
“My old man bolted before I was even out of diapers, Quinn. My mom took three jobs to raise me, and when my sister came along seven years later, my stepdad was as much of a waste of air as my real dad. So, I’d like to do something kind for a young woman I respect, who’s going through a lot.”
Quinn clears his throat and this time, when he looks at me, that wild animal aura feels more like a soft toy.
“Putting those things aside,” I continue. “Look at me. I mean, try to look past the fact I’m an absolute catch for any woman.” That gets a smirk from my buddy. “I’m twelve years older than Annie, I’m about to start my thirteenth season with more inflammation in my joints than a geriatric, and I swore I’d never do anything to take my focus off the game, not until I’ve hung up my boots.”
“You’re saying you’re safe as houses?” he asks.
“I can’t stand seeing people down on their luck. The club shrink tells me I’m triggered by the underdog.” He scoffs, staring into the distance. I knock my shoulder into his. “Which is how I know we’ll win the Big Game before I retire.”
We share a quirk of the lips at that. “So, is it cool with you, if I give her a few lessons?”
“You know she’s a godawful driver?”
I scratch my beard. “Yeah, three failed tests kind of insinuates that. But she also told me that your old man shouts at her and you pull on the handbrake every time she presses the accelerator.”
He rears. “That’s not— Meh, that’s partially true.” He does one of those Quinn silences I’ve come to expect from him.
“Look, I’m not going anywhere near your sister, Quinn. I know she’s out of bounds. I don’t think she has any interest in introducing anyone else into her life in any event. So let me do this. If she can drive, it gives you more time to focus on helping Lamar get you into the end zone. It gives you a chance to spend more time with Sas when she’s in town.”
“We agree she’s out of bounds?”
“Out of bounds.”
“Because I swear to God, Pace, if you cross the line with my sister…”
“On my word, man. I’m trying to help, that’s all.”
“You know if she suspects you’re throwing her a pity party, she’ll?—”
“Oh, I know. She’s feisty.”
He smirks. “I guess I should say thanks, then?”
“No, man. We’re all good.”
I’m buzzed as we get to our next shot. I’m buzzed the remaining fifteen holes of the game, and that results in me goofing around with the guys. Because the thought of doing something nice for Annie is making me feel on top of the world.
More than that, it’s September. My favorite time of year, because it’s days until I’ll be running onto the turf through the guard of my teammates for the first game of the season. To the seventy-thousand strong crowd of die-hard football fans at the Alamo Stadium chanting my name.
Football is my life. It has been since the first time my mom signed me up to training aged six. And the San Antonio Bears, Quinn and my other brothers, are as much my family as my mom and my sister.
I can do something kind for Annie because no matter how damn pretty and sassy that brown-eyed girl is, I will nevereverbreak her brother’s trust.
Me
The guard dog gave me your number. Cleared it with him and if it suits you, we can do a lesson on Tuesdays until we get you through your test.
Her reply is almost instant.
Annie Sunshine
