CHANGING THE PLAYER: Charleston Pirates #1 by Chance, Jacob (digital e reader TXT) 📕

* * *

“There’s a surprise waiting inside for you,” Nadia tells me as I’m about to unlock the door.

“Really?” I ask, flattered. No one ever surprises me with things. It’s usually me doing all the surprising.

“Yes. Why don’t you let me go first, so I can watch your reaction,” she suggests. I let her pass in front of me as we step inside and she hurries off.

“Where’d you go?” I laugh.

“I’m here,” she calls out.

When I step inside my kitchen, I freeze in place and glance around. The walls have been painted a light gray, and colorful, quirky artwork has been hung on one of the walls. “This doesn’t even look like the same room.”

“Do you like it?” She sounds unsure.

“I love it. I can’t believe you did this for me.”

“There’s more.” She takes my hand, leading me through the dining room, which has been painted the same color as the kitchen since they’re open to one another.

“This looks great.”

“Not the surprise,” she replies, and when we step down into my large living room, she stops. “This is the big surprise.”

Scanning the room, my eyes keep noticing new things. The walls are painted the same gray, but my bookcases are now navy blue. My books are all organized and she also placed some of my favorite things that I never knew what to do with on the shelves. She even added a picture of the two of us from the mini golf event in a small silver frame. The pictures she hung on the wall are a mixture of my college football days and my professional ones.

“Nadia, this is amazing. You made it feel like a home. Come sit on the couch with me. I want to take everything in some more.” I plop down and draw her over to me, placing my arm around her shoulders.

She looks up at me. “Are you sure you like it?”

“I’m positive. It’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.” Eliminating the distance between us, I close my mouth over hers and we say the proper hello we didn’t get to at the doctor’s office.

“I missed you,” she breathes out.

“I missed you more. As hard as the last few days have been, they made me realize how much we belong together.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. You don’t agree?” I frown.

“I didn’t say that. I think you’re just catching up to where I’ve been for a while.”

“I fell hard for you when you held me down and kissed me that first time.” I smile.

“I didn’t hold you down.”

“You were like an octopus, all arms and legs. I couldn’t keep up.”

“That’s not how it happened.”

“That’s the story I’m going to tell anyone when they ask how we fell in love.”

“That is more plausible than the actual truth.” She laughs.

“Oh, my parents want to get together with us sometime.”

“They do?”

“Yep. We had a long talk and worked out a lot of our issues. Things aren’t perfect, but it’s a start.”

“What’s perfect anyway?” Nadia asks.

“You are.” I press a kiss to her nose, her lips, her neck, and…

26

Flynn

“Boys, this is what we’ve been waiting for. It’s been a year of endless, backbreaking work and fighting through the playoffs to get to this point. And goddamn, we deserve this win. We’ve got less than one minute left on the clock and victory can be ours. Play smart and grind hard.” Darren pumps us up.

My gaze flies up to the seating where I know Nadia is watching from. I can’t see her, but just knowing she’s there gives me an extra boost of reassurance. We can do this. I can do this.

We line up, and the crowd roars inside the Texas stadium. As soon as the ball is snapped, everything around me fades away. It’s just me and Darren on the field playing catch. I run my designated route and barely come into contact with any defenders. Our quarterback puts the ball perfectly in my hands. The pass was a thing of beauty. I get tackled around the five yard line and jump to my feet smiling, even though it was painful as hell.

We huddle up around Darren once more. “Okay. This can be the last play of the game, the one that makes us Super Bowl champs. We’ve got to be smart about it.” He looks to Levi, our running back. “Are you ready?”

“You bet,” Levi replies confidently.

“Stick with your assignments,” Darren reminds us, glancing at each of us individually. We have to make our blocks if we’re going to win. “Let’s do this.” We give a single clap of our hands before separating.

Ambling over to take my position, I think about my gramps and how much I wish he could be here. He is here, I remind myself.

Waiting for the snap is the worst part for me. My heart gallops wildly inside my chest, and I have to quiet all the noise from outside forces and also the ones in my head. It’s easy to let negative thoughts be distracting.

The ball is snapped and handed off to Levi. I’m chest to chest with one of our opponent’s defensive linemen, digging deep to make my block so Levi has a chance to score. Focusing on my task, I hear wild cheering, but I’m not sure if it’s for us or the defense. I see Darren pump his fist and run toward the end zone, and I know—we just won the fucking Super Bowl. We’re Super Bowl Champions.

Darren slams into me and hugs me. “We did it, brother.”

“We sure did,” I say, fighting tears of joy. Levi crashes into us and then we’re in a giant pile of grown men screaming and shouting in celebration like a bunch of children, and nothing has ever felt more satisfying.

* * *

The big game is over, as are all of the interviews that followed. The seats are empty and the aisles free of spectators. I’ve since showered and changed into a suit and tie.