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“I know.”
“Don’t make me kill you.” This comes from Will, who’s still stuffing his mouth. “I actually like you.”
“No offense intended.” I step back and offer Sophie a smile. “I’m just glad I ran into you this morning.”
“And why is that?” she asks. “So I could cushion your fall?”
“There is that,” I concede. “I wouldn’t want to be injured in the off-season. Plus, you gave me something to think about all day today.”
“You’re cute and sweet,” Meg says with a grin. “You remind me of Will when he was your age.”
“I’m still cute and sweet,” Will objects. “Okay, Ike, grab some food and follow me before I have to kill you out of principle. Family honor and all.”
I laugh and snag a couple of things from the spread on the counter and then follow Will outside where a couple of other players are playing Ping-Pong in a covered rec space.
“She’s beautiful,” I say when we sit, watching my teammates.
“Yep,” is his only answer.
“Taken?”
His eyes narrow on me again.
“Come on, man. You know I’m not an asshole, like a lot of the guys on the team. Hell, I wouldn’t trust her with those two over there, and I like them.”
He sighs. “Not taken. But if I ever found out that you caused one fucking tear to fall from of her pretty blue eyes, I’ll have your heart for breakfast.”
“Naturally.” I eat the last of my snack, happy with the turn my day just took.
“You’re back under contract negotiations.” The subject change is abrupt, but it’s the main reason I came to talk to him. I’d like to hear his thoughts on this. “Or, about to be.”
“Yeah, we should start the back-and-forth in the next couple of weeks.” I sigh and push my hand through my hair. “It’s damn nerve-racking.”
“Why are you nervous? They’ll renew your contract in a heartbeat. You’re the new big thing in this league, and I can guarantee that Paddington won’t let you leave any time soon. She’s got her eye on a championship, and she knows that you’re her ticket there. No owner is going to be stupid enough to trade you.”
“They might not offer me enough money, and then I’ll have to go somewhere else.”
I didn’t mean to say that part out loud. I want Will’s advice, but no one knows that money is a concern for me regarding this new contract. Hell, thanks to my first contract, I’m a fucking millionaire.
Or, I was.
But that four-year contract is up, and it’s time to renegotiate.
Will watches me for a long minute. “I know that rookie contracts aren’t huge in the grand scheme of things, but you were drafted at number two, and I know you got a hell of a signing bonus. You didn’t get peanuts, Ike.”
“No. It was a good salary, especially for a farm boy from Oklahoma.” I take a drink of the sweet tea that Meg offered me when I arrived. “More money than I thought I’d make in a lifetime.”
“You’re single, you’re talented, and you’re not injured. So, what’s the problem?”
“Nothing. Forget it. It’ll all work out. This isn’t your problem, and I’m sorry I brought it up.”
“Fuck that shit,” he says, waving me off. “I brought it up. We’re friends, and I was a young player once, too. Tell me what’s going on in that head of yours. Have you had one too many concussions?”
“I’m hesitant to say this out loud and jinx it, but I can report that, so far, that’s never been an issue for me.”
“Good. So, spill it.”
I rub my hand over my mouth and watch Rogers taunt Malloney with the Ping-Pong paddle, and then I decide that Will’s the one person in Seattle that I feel like I can confide in.
“Okay. So, yeah, it was a lot of money, like I said. But there are agent fees, taxes, all the damn things. And yeah, there’s still plenty left over, but my family—”
I shake my head. I can’t believe I’m voicing this out loud.
“How much?” he asks without looking over at me. “How much have they taken?”
“I bought a house here, paid off my sister’s student loans, and most of the rest goes home.”
Silence sits heavy around us until I finally give in and look his way. He looks damn pissed off.
“Why are you sending all of your money home?”
“My dad always used to say when I was in high school, I can’t wait for Ike to go pro so I can retire.”
“How old is he?”
“Almost sixty, I guess.”
“And you retired him.”
I shrug. “Isn’t that how it works? If a guy does well, like really well, and his family has always struggled, he helps.”
“Sure, he helps, Ike. He invests in the family business or pays off his parent’s house or buys them a new car. Sends them on vacation once a year. He doesn’t give everyone he knows a free ride while he worries about his own financial situation.”
