“I got this,” I say, hoping to convince myself as much as him.
“Lights are good,” the producer’s voice shares. “Jalen, you all set to start?”
“I am.” He turns toward Landon and me. We’d talked to him a little in the green room—more specifically, he and Landon talked comfortably as I watched on. My brother’s already been on his show twice before.
“Any last words before we begin, gentlemen?” Jalen says in a teasing tone.
Landon smooths out his clothes to get them camera-ready. Taking his cue, I do the same.
“Ready as we’re ever going to be,” Landon says back. Jalen nods to his producer.
“Okay, we’re live in…”
Three…
Two…
One…
Jalen gives us a wide grin as the red lights on all three cameras around the set brighten.
“Landon and Rawley, great to have you here today. Both of you have big seasons ahead of you, so we’re grateful that you made the time.”
As planned, Landon takes the lead, helping me settle in.
“We’re glad to be here. It’s nice to start sharing the big stage with my little brother.” He points to me and grins.
I make myself smile through my nerves. My right leg is bouncing, and I try—and fail—to get it to stop.
I hope that’s not visible on camera.
“Let’s hear from both of you. What are your big goals this season?”
“That’s easy,” Landon says. “The Orlando Waves winning the Super Bowl. The only goal.”
“I hear that,” Jalen responds, nodding. “Rawley, how about you?”
“Well—” I clear my throat as I hear my voice almost break.Shit.“Definitely, we want to go to the championship too. The collegiate one.”
The words are right, but I sound so fucking nervous.
Relax, Rawls.
Landon steps in to save the moment. “What Rawley isn’t going to tell you is that he lives and breathes football. He works his butt off to help his team. Can I say butt on here?”
They laugh, but Jalen keeps his attention on me. It’s inevitable, since I’m the story right now.
“I heard you’ve been going to Florida to train with Landon during the offseason. What’s it like to have a brother in the NFL, and to be able to work with real pros?”
I push out a puff of air. This answer is easy, at least.
“Oh man, it’s been awesome. I’ve been able to go to Johnson Samuels’s house and practice on his mock field. I could play all day on it.”
“Johnson, the Waves’ quarterback—that must be great exposure to the league,” Jalen says.
Landon jumps in. “And the kid has made me throw to him one hundred times when Johnson hasn’t been around to do it. Practice catches from every position.”
Jalen nods. “Probably a good thing for a wide receiver to love to do.”
