Page 16 of Replay

“Well, you knew I had Berkley keeping me straight.” The words are out of my mouth before I even think to tamp them down.

A sad look takes over my dad’s face. “Have you seen her yet?”

I swallow thickly at the memory of last Sunday and nod.

“Not so good?” he asks, probably from the solemn look on my face.

“Yeah, it didn’t go quite as planned. She’s umm…” It kills me to say it. “She’s dating Carter Graves now.”

“Well, shit…” My dad huffs in surprise. “I didn’t see that coming. She’s so far out of that dude’s league, it isn’t even funny.”

Couldn’t agree more with you, Pops.

The waitress walks up to check on us and refill our waters. “Hey, you’re our new quarterback, aren’t you?”

I smile up at her. “Guilty.”

“Well, you know if y’all win tomorrow, you’ll have to come eat this every Friday before a home game.” It’s her attempt at flirting, but the only thing I can think about is whether she knows Berkley or not.

I chuckle in good fun. “For sure. Couldn’t do it without this chicken and lettuce.”

She smiles. “Let me know if you need anything else, QB1.”

My dad and I both thank her, and he jumps right back into our discussion about Berkley.

“Have you thought any more about being honest with her?”

I push the salad around my plate with my fork. “Yeah, a lot, actually, but then it feels selfish of me to do it now, like it was all for nothing, and then it might end in the same result for her…or maybe it won’t. Maybe now that it’s all said and done, it wouldn’t change much. I don’t know. It’s never not on my mind, but I’m not sure what to do.”

He sets down his burger and puts on his serious face. “I’ve always been team you-being-honest-with-her, but after a conversation I had with your mom the other day, Idefinitelythink you should be.”

I drop my fork at the mention of my mother. “You talked to her?”

He looks at me incredulously. “We have two children together, one who lives with me full time. Of course, I talk to her.”

Shaking my head, I roll my eyes. “Yeah, okay, well…what did she say that made you feel the need to bring her up?”

“For one, she wants to come to a game, but I told her that was a discussion she should have with you, not me.”

I don’t respond to that because, honestly, my mom is a sore subject, and I don’t have the energy to worry about seeing her right now.

“But she also told me something I found interesting. She said that Berkley never goes home to Nori Beach. She hasn’t been back in over a year.”

My eyebrows pinch together. “That doesn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t she go there? Unless her dad comes here often.”

I make a mental note to ask Graham if he’s seen Mr. Black.

“I don’t know, Nathan, but I think it adds to the fact that you and her need to have a real conversation. Put your pride about Graves aside and talk to her. I want to see my son happy again, even when he’s not on the football field.”

I consider his statement, swallowing roughly I reply, “Okay, Dad…subject change.”

He takes a sip of his water. “Okay, okay. How you feelin’ about tomorrow?”

I smile at that thought. “I’m excited. We have a good thing going. I love being back with Graham. And my other roommate, Nola, is untouchable; we have real chemistry on the field. He’s going to make me look good.”

“I figured you and Graham would fall back into it. Even in high school, you guys had the Mahomes-Kelce thing going on. I’m excited to see this other kid play. How about your defense?”

Offense scores points, defense wins ball games.I remember him saying this to me since I was in little league.

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