Page 269 of His Hungry Wolf

“Yeah,” I said half-heartedly. “Listen, there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you guys about.”

Cage let go of his boyfriend and both moved in front of me.

“What’s up?” Cage asked.

“So, you guys know that I’ve been playing well.”

“We know. Your game last Saturday was insane.”

“Yeah. Yesterday wasn’t that good, but it was close,” I informed them.

“That’s fantastic. I’m proud of you, bro.”

“Yeah, me too,” Quin said enthusiastically.

“Thanks. But, you know how after someone has a few good games, people start talking about you going pro?”

Cage chuckled. “I remember it well.”

“That’s started happening to me.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. And, I’m considering it.”

“You mean this year?” Cage asked surprised.

“Why not? I’ll be 21 by draft time. That’s the same age as most people going into the draft.”

Cage looked at me concerned.

“You get that running backs aren’t what NFL teams are looking for right now, right? And, more important than that, playing professional football isn’t like playing in college. Professional players are paid to get under a running back’s skin. What if you lost control during a game or on the plane after a tiring road trip? Bad things can happen.”

“You think I haven’t considered that? I was the one sitting in the jail cell. Not you. But if I ever wanted a chance to start over, this would be it. I have to strike while the iron’s hot.”

“I guess,” Cage said not as excited for me as I hoped he would be.

“And, I get that you had the chance to go #1 in the draft but chose us instead…”

“Hey, I didn’t go pro because I was injured.”

“You don’t have to bullshit me. I know you were feeling better in time to make it. And even if it wasn’t last year’s draft, you could have made it this year.”

“But I didn’t want that.”

“Yeah, you wanted to be with us.”

“I did.”

“And now I’m choosing to go pro instead of doing what you did,” I said lowering my head.

Cage put his arm around me and squeezed my shoulder.

“Nero, I made the decision that was best for me. I needed this. What’s more, I wanted this. But because I chose this for myself doesn’t mean you have to.

“The world is big. You should explore it. I can hold down the fort. I’m here so you don’t have to be,” Cage said with a smile. “You hear me?”

I felt a tear on my cheek that I quickly wiped away.