AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Yet the second reason I’ve tried to spend the majority of the day in the kitchen.
“Dinner is almost ready,” I say, setting the salad on the dining table.
“Sounds good,” my dad says without looking away from the TV.
I take everything to the table while my mom carves the turkey, because God forbid my dad be asked to step away from the game. Fifteen minutes later, my mom calls us for dinner.
“Looks great, ladies,” my dad says when he sits at the head of the table.
My mom sits at the other end and I’m beside my aunt, across from Trisha and Scott.
“You guys play against Green Bay yet?” my dad asks me once we’ve all got our plates filled and are ready to eat.
I nod and finish chewing. “Just preseason.” Guess my dad doesn’t follow the Kingsmen.
“They’re looking good this year, even better without Banks.”
That’s the problem with fans as loyal and crazy as my dad. Brady Banks was praised and worshipped when he played for Green Bay, but because he moved to be closer to his family and probably get more money, they’ve stripped him to nothing as if he wasn’t that great of a player. Even if he’s our number-one scoring wide receiver at the Kingsmen.
I cut into a piece of turkey. “They are, but we’re doing better in the standings, which has a lot to do with Brady Banks.” I’m not sure why I’m purposely going after my dad. I mean, I’m a Green Bay fan too. I mourned Brady Banks when he left the team.
“What’s it like working for a professional football team?” Scott asks. “It must be really cool.”
I smile and wipe my mouth. “It is. The players work harder than any athletes I’ve ever worked with, and it’s great working with the best equipment and resources out there. There are a lot of cutting-edge treatments coming down the pike, so it’s pretty cool to be one of the first ones to get to use them.”
Trisha grins at me. “Do you get to massage any of the players? I swear that team is stacked with hot guys. Especially the quarterback… what’s his name?”
I swallow the food in my mouth hard.
“Burrows.” My dad groans. “Lee Burrows.”
“Yes!” She points at my dad with her fork. “That’s him.”
“I’m sitting right here,” Scott says good-naturedly.
Trisha laughs. “You know you’re my number one.” She gives him a kiss on the cheek.
I can’t help but be envious. Not because she has someone she clearly adores so much, but because she doesn’t have to hide it.
“So… do you?” Trisha asks me.
“Trish, leave Shayna alone. She’s there to do her job. If there’re handsome men around, it’s just a perk, right?” My aunt winks at me.
I try to force a natural smile. “Right. The rules are pretty clear about that sort of thing. All the guys and staff are very professional.”
A part of me feels bad for outright lying, but for the most part, it’s true. It’s just not true in one specific instance.
“Boring,” Trisha singsongs. “Rules are made to be broken.”
Scott looks at Trisha for a long beat before burying his head back in his plate.
Looking to change the subject, I address Scott. “You two didn’t tell me how you met.”
They look at each other and grin before Scott dives into the story of how his buddy had tried to set him up with Trisha’s friend, but Scott knew right away that he wanted to be with my cousin. They look at each other adoringly and share glances that suggest some inside joke between them. With every lovesick glance at one another, the knife twists deeper in my chest.
In any other circumstance, Lee could be here with me. We could be the two fawning over each other in front of everyone, telling the story of how we met. Instead, I’m deciding what’s more important to me—my career or the man I love.
The conversation shifts to Trisha’s job as an early childhood educator and she relays a few funny stories about some of the kids in her class. We’re all laughing over a little boy who brought his mom’s vibrator in for show-and-tell because he thought it was a spaceship when there’s a brief knock at the front door and my uncle walks in.
