Page 33 of His Hungry Wolf

My team screamed in victory. I couldn’t imagine them having more fun than they had today. I enjoyed it, too, though I didn’t show it. It was enough to know I had made it happen. And they were having a great time without me.

“Bro, it looks like he is better than you,” Nero taunted Cage. “Where was all of this when we needed it in high school?” he asked me.

“We had a quarterback,” I reminded him.

He gave me a look that was more annoyed than amused.

As Merri stepped up, Nero turned to him and said, “I guess you weren’t lying.”

“I was not,” Merri said, beaming.

Having Merri so close to me made me feel warm. I desperately wanted to ask if he had seen me. I didn’t, knowing he had.

“No, seriously, Claude,” Titus interjected, looking shell-shocked. “Why didn’t you ever try out for quarterback in high school?”

I looked at him and then at Nero and Merri.

“I guess I didn’t want to make waves.”

“So, you just let someone who isn’t as good as you have what you deserved?” Titus challenged.

Remembering Momma telling me how dangerous it was to stand out, I shrugged and forced a smile.

“Well, fuck you for not leading us to state championships. I could have used some of them,” Nero joked.

“Yeah,” Titus agreed. “It would have been nice being recruited,” he said with a smile.

“Sorry,” I told them all. “Do you all mind if I head out?”

The guys looked at each other.

Titus responded, “You know we were just joking, right?”

Cage, who had joined us, added, “Quin and the others are setting up an open bar at our place. We were hoping you would join us.”

“I’m actually pretty tired. It’s been a while since I’ve played. I’m not in the same shape as I used to be,” I told them needing to get out of there.

“Oh, okay,” Cage said, disappointed. “If you change your mind, you know where we are.”

“Of course,” I said with a smile.

When everyone but Merri had left, he asked, “Are you sure you don’t want to join them? Cali invited me to game night last night. It was a good time. They’re a great group of guys.”

“You can go if you want,” I told him, unsure how he had met them.

“No, I was just thinking you might want to.”

“I’m good,” I told him, already feeling far more exposed than I felt comfortable.

“Where are you going?” Merri asked me.

“Not sure yet.”

Merri looked at me nervously. “Do you mind if I hang with you?”

I thought about it. As much as I wanted him to, I wondered if I should let him.

“That’s fine,” I said, walking to my car.