Page 16 of Big Rucking Disaster

My heart panged. “Three nephews. All chaos agents, despite their military-style upbringing by their mother. Kolson leads the crew at a grown-up sixteen. Then Roland is thirteen. Meyer brings up the rear at four.” I smiled as I thought fondly about my nephews. “She really wants a girl, but she had three miscarriages before getting pregnant with Meyer. For everyone involved, they’ve decided three’s a good number.”

“They could always adopt.”

I cocked my head. “That’s true. I mean they’re a solid middle-class family with a nice home and could offer a ton of love.” I swallowed. “They’re good, though.”

“Any athletes in the making?”

“Uh, well…” I hesitated.

He arched an eyebrow. “That was a pretty easy question—unless they’re all math geeks in the making and completely uncoordinated.”

“Well, that’s not a thing. Meyer’s too young to have picked a sport, but he’s a devil on skates. Roland loves throwing and really wants to be a quarterback.”

“Ah.” He waited. For a very long time. “And Kolson?”

“Oh.” I examined my fingernails.

“Is there something wrong—”

“He wants to be a rugby player.”

“Ah.” Johnnie eyed me. “And you think I’d be a bad influence on him.”

“That’s a hell of a stretch.”

He arched an eyebrow.

“Okay.” I rubbed my face, wincing at the pain elicited by the added pressure. “I told you—I looked at your socials. As well as your teammates’. You think I wouldn’t prefer Roger or Isaiah as a potential role model?”

“Isaiah’s gay.”

“So am I. And the kids know it. I don’t give two shits about someone’s sexuality—and neither do Jamilla and Reuben. But they want their kids following the straight and narrow. Doesn’t do a Black boy any good to get in trouble. I mean, you don’t want any kids being truant or getting involved in illegal activity. But that’s even more for racialized kids. Our police force might slowly—and I mean slowly—be becoming more colorful. But there’s still a ton of prejudice out there. I’m sure you know the statistics.” Except maybe that was arrogance on my part. Ilived the reality of being a Black man in Canada. Better than the States, for sure, but still a huge challenge. I didn’t want my nephews to face discrimination. I wanted them to have all the same opportunities as their white classmates. To never be seen asless thanbecause of the color of their skin.

“I might not know the exact statistics, or the lived experience of Black kids, but one of my former teammates, Bruce, gets pulled over by the cops repeatedly. Yet, I’ve never been. Nor have Roger or Jason. We all knew the reason and railed against the injustice of it.” He sighed. “But I don’t see why you think I’d be such a bad influence. I’m kind of hurt. I don’t drink to excess. I don’t womanize.”

I started to speak.

He cut me off. “I’m always monogamous. Yes, there have been a few women—but never more than one at a time. I have a bit of a reputation, partly because of my looks, but I’m just an ordinary guy.”

Because of my looks.

Ha.

The man was fucking sex on a stick. Gorgeous. I didn’t doubt he had women falling at his feet. I wanted to believe those women wanted more than just a good-looking man on their arms.

Hell, he probably had men falling at his feet as well.

Still, all I managed to do was yawn.

He grinned. “I’m boring you? All this professing that I’m just an ordinary guy?”

I sighed. “If I tell Kolson that I’ve met you, he’s going to be stoked. He’s going to want to meet you.”

“And you think that will be a problem? Tell you what…” He tilted his head. “I was planning to offer a clinic to Greta, Kenji, and any other kid in the school who wants to come. Would it be weird if Kolson attended? I was going to ask Isaiah and Jasonto come. Roger, too, if he’s up for it. He’s pretty busy with the newborn.”

“You’d do that? Run a clinic for the kids?” That was way more than just dropping by and shooting the shit with the kids like he had today. “There are some younger kids who would definitely come and yeah, I can make certain staff know they can invite their kids. Then it won’t be weird if Kolson comes.” No one would question if my nephew showed up anyway—he’d dropped by a few times over the years. “Seriously, though? You’re not just saying this?”

“To what end? What would I get from lying to you and promising something I don’t intend to deliver? That just ruins my reputation as a good guy.”

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