Page 54 of Replay

He gasps and nods enthusiastically. “How’d you know?”

“Your dad sent me. I went to The Wolfpack to give him these.” I hold the tickets out for him to see.

Berkley steps up, peering over Josie’s shoulder, and that’s when I spot the little guy attached to her leg as well. It's obvious these kids love her.

Trust me, little dude, I get it.

“Oh my gosh! This is frickin’ awesome!” he screeches.

“Jack, don’t say frickin’,” Berkley reminds him, but there’s a small smile on her face.

“Oops,” he shrugs.

“Can my sister come too? She can throw a football almost as good as you.” He smiles proudly at his big sister, and it's adorable.

“Yep. I got you guys four tickets, but I told your dad I can get more if I need to.”

“Bruh, this is the best day ever,” he says, tugging on his sister’s arm, and she rolls her eyes at him playfully.

I laugh. I can tell this kid is a handful.

“Berkley, will you be there?” he looks up at her, adoration shining in his eyes.

Looking at the tickets, she ruffles his hair. “Yep…but it looks like you have even better seats than me.”

Jack’s smile beams from her to me.

“Thank you.” He gives me the wolf sign, and I do it back.

The youngest girl in Berkley’s arms lets out a howl, and I officially love this family.

“Be right back,” Jack says after handing the tickets to Berkley for safe keeping.

“Do you guys know each other?” Josie asks, looking between Berkley and me.

Berkley says, “Kind of,” at the same time, I say, “Yep, since we were sixteen years old.”

Raising my eyebrow at her, I keep it PG because I notice the way Josie is watching us closely.

“Hey, QB, do you have a few minutes to spare?” Jack appears back in the doorway with a football cradled in his arms.

Nodding, I give him a smile. “Yeah, buddy.”

Berkley’s eyes widen, but before she can shut down the idea, I say, “Only for a few minutes, though.”

“Perfect.” He starts walking down the hall, waving for me to follow. “Come on, we have more room in the backyard.”

I motion for his big sister to lead the way. “You too. I gotta see this arm of yours.”

Berkley stands there with her mouth agape, probably pissed that I’ve now invaded another part of her life.

I reach my hand out for the quiet little guy wrapped around Berkley’s leg. It takes him a minute, but he finally relents.

Tapping Berkley’s non-toddler-carrying hip, I say, “Come on, BB. After all, I really came here to see you.”

“Okay, so little dude wasn’t lying about your arm,” I say, impressed with Josie’s spiral.

She smiles proudly. “Thanks.”

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