Page 3 of Unexpected Pass

I took him in. He was a handsome guy—brown skin with a low fade and a nice smile. The way his collared shirt was tucked into his pants made him look a little too square for my taste, and we stood at the exact same height. I was about five foot ten but still. I liked looking up at my men. I smiled at him, feeling bad for already writing him off, but he wasn’t my type.Reggie is your typeand look where that got you.My subconscious had jokes. Shaking off my thoughts, I extended my arm and lightly shook his hand.

“In the flesh.” I forced a smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Same… Your Mom couldn’t stop talking about you at bingo.” He looked me up and down. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

We stood there staring at each other awkwardly. I’d never been on a blind date before. I didn’t know what to say.

“You ready? Um... The game starts in about an hour, but we have food in the suite.” Carson broke the silence between us.

A suite? I didn’t know we would be in a suite. Maybe this man was a bigger deal than I thought. I took a deep breath. I was twelve weeks pregnant. I should tell Carson to disappear, but going to the Super Bowl beat sitting in the house trying to track down Reggie and sliding down the wall crying. This could very well be my last date for a while. Who was going to want to date a single mother?

“Sure, let’s go!” I replied, forcing excitement.

We both stepped out the door and headed toward the elevator. It was just one date. In a few days, I would let Carson down easily and focus on my future as a single mother.Embrace the evening. I followed behind Carson. Even if this date was just a distraction from my sad reality, I would do my best to enjoy it.

“Everything you’ve workedfor comes down to this moment, kid. You’ve got this, Kellon!” My head coach, Coach Mason Tomlin, shouted, giving me a reassuring pat on my back as I stepped onto the field.

My eyes glanced at the clock as I lowered my helmet over my face.

“Thirty seconds,” I muttered to myself.

Only thirty seconds left in my first Super Bowl appearance, and it all came down to me. We were down by four, and the task was simple. Throw the game-winning touchdown.

“I got it.”

I peeked up in the stands, searching for my mom. I needed a reminder of why I had to win this. I found her, and myeyes immediately locked on the angel image of my big brother Jeronee plastered on her shirt. His eyes seemed to be staring into mine. This was his moment, and I couldn’t mess this up. I couldn’t let his death be in vain. I zoomed out, looking at my mom. Her hands fastened together, praying. It seemed to be the consensus throughout the stadium for the fans sporting neon green and white. The fans in the opposite colors screamed and roared, trying to knock me off my game. They couldn’t shake me, though. I was in the zone, and nothing was getting in between me and victory. I had to do this. If not for me, for Jeronee.

“Let’s get this ’ship!” one of my teammates called as we lined up in formation.

I nodded, scanning the opposing team, paying attention to their coverage. I knew they were about to come straight at me.

“White eighty….” I called, letting my lineman know I would make a quick throw. The ball snapped, and I only had a second to glance at my wide receivers. Just as I had predicted, the defenders were closing in on me. Locking eyes with my right hand man, Braelon Davis, I launched the ball into the air. This was it. A lifetime of playing football, four years in the NFL, and it all came down to this.

“Come on, Braelon! Catch it!” I whispered under my breath as I desperately watched the ball spiral through the air. Everything around me seemed to move in slow motion. The stadium had muted in my head as I watched our star wide receiver leap into the air and snatch the ball down into the end zone.

“Touchdown!”

The referee’s arms went up, signaling the ball was caught. The crowd screamed as I looked at the clock ticking to zero. I didn’t have time to realize what we had done before the neon green confetti poured out of the ceiling and my teammates swarmed the field.

“Fucking Super Bowl Champions!”

I was engulfed in a sea of my teammates’ laughter and cheers surrounding me. I’d just won the Super Bowl. Yanking off my helmet, I ran to the sideline and was immediately met by Braelon.

“I’m so fucking proud of you, my boy!” We embraced.

“You deserve this. We did this shit together!” I replied and meant every word.

Braelon had been my go-to receiver all year. We’d become the dream team in the media. I recognized that I couldn’t have made it this far without him.

“You did it, Barnes. I knew you had it in you!” Coach interrupted my brotherly love moment with Braelon.

“Couldn’t have done it without you, Coach T!”

I hugged him as some team officials handed us our championship t-shirts. Within moments, I was swept into a press area. I barely had time to slip my shirt over my jersey and place my championship cap on my head before a microphone was pointed in my face.

“Kellon Barnes, how does it feel to win your first Super Bowl?” a reporter asked as cameras flashed in my eyes.

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