Zeke crunched on a piece of popcorn. “Jokes aside, howisthe hammy?”
Kyle shrugged. “Fine. Just tight. Coach wants me loose tonight.”
“Careful,” Clay added. “You’re getting old.”
Kyle gasped dramatically. “You have a child. You don’t get to talk about aging.”
“So do you, asshole,” Clay shot back.
“If anything keeps me young, it’s those middle-of-the-night wake ups,” Kyle grumbled. He smiled in an instant. “She’s the cutest, though.”
There were no arguments from us — but Atlas stirred against Clay’s chest, and Clay froze like someone had just pointed a gun at him.
The entire call went silent.
“Don’t wake the baby,” Leo whispered.
Atlas let out a long breath before he was steady again.
Clay exhaled slowly.
And then we all lost it.
“Man,” Holden said, shaking his head with a grin. “We’re really out here with mortgages and kids now.”
“And nonprofits,” Leo added, nodding toward Zeke and Riley.
Riley lifted the popcorn bowl like a toast. “Novo Football Coalition is expanding to three new cities this fall.”
“Hell yeah,” I said.
Zeke nodded. “Got a big donor meeting next week. If that goes well, we’ll be able to start the scholarship program.”
“Look at you two changing the world,” Kyle said.
“Someone has to balance out the dumb things the rest of you idiots do,” Riley replied.
Kyle grinned.
Holden’s eyes shifted to me through the screen. “What about you, B? You ready?”
“Yeah,” I said, rolling my shoulder once. “Ready.”
The guys were silent a moment, assessing. I wasn’t ever much of a talker, but I’d been quieter than usual on this call, and the way they were looking at me told me they noticed it.
“Year two,” Clay said. “Big jump year.”
“Don’t remind me.”
Leo pointed at the camera. “You’re gonna kill it. You’ve been putting in the work.”
I nodded, even though a tightness settled in my chest. Year two was when teams decided whether you were worth investing in… or replaceable.
And I felt the pressure of that like a water buffalo on my chest.
Kyle tilted his head slightly, watching me through the screen. “You’ve seemed a bit off lately. Something going on?”
I frowned. “What? No, I haven’t.”
