Page 131 of Necessary Roughness
Everyone leaned closer, although we couldn’t hear who had called or what they were saying. I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood. Roman put a hand on my back and let out a long sigh.
“Yes,” Knox said, eyes widening. “That does sound good to me, sir. Absolutely. You didn’t need to do that, but I’ll take it! Yes, sir. I’m your man. You won’t regret this.”
His eyes shimmered as he hung up the call. “They picked me.”
“Who?”Logan demanded, but Knox was pointing at the television. The commissioner was stepping up to the podium again. I could barely hear his words because my heart was pounding in my ears.
“With the twenty-fourth pick in the draft,” the commissioner announced, “the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select… Knox Maddox, quarterback from Westview College.”
It was like a bomb had gone off in the room; we screamed and shouted, jumped up and down, high-fived and pumped our fists. Knox hugged his parents tightly, sharing a moment with them. Then he turned to me, tears pouring down his face.
I smiled as I embraced him, and then my own tears were flowing. Through the shimmer I saw our embrace on the television, broadcast from the camera guy with a three-second delay.
“You did it,” I whispered.
“Wedid it,” he said.
I wanted to argue, to tell him I was only a small part of his success—if at all! But I couldn’t form the words, couldn’t do anything but hug him tightly.
Tampa Bay, I thought.He’s staying close. He’s staying in Florida.
Epilogue
Sloane
Eventually, Knox let go of me and hugged everyone else—Logan, Roman, his coach, the athletic director. Jayden even went in for a hug, slapping Knox on the back and openly weeping.
“What?” Jayden said, wiping tears from his cheek. “I’ve never seen a room sohappybefore. It’s contagious!”
Darlene popped champagne, then she and Roman filled flutes and passed them around. Robert made a toast. Logan’s glass shattered while clinking it against the coach’s, so we had to pause and clean everything up.
The rest of the draft was a blur. Knox was bombarded with texts and phone calls from everyone he knew. Jayden proudly showed off the Buccaneers cupcake, announcing that it was one of the best ones. Knox only took a bite, giving the rest to me to split with Roman and Logan.
Then the thirty-second pick was announced, and the first round of the draft was over.
That’s when I remembered Logan.
“Doesn’t mean anything,” Roman told him, squeezing his shoulder. “We knew you wouldn’t go in the first round. There’s six more rounds to see what happens.”
“I’m not getting drafted.” Logan smiled sadly. “My stats this season were fine, but nothing special. And there were a hundred more impressive receivers at the combine.”
“You don’t know…” I began.
“I’m not upset,” he announced. “I was already prepared for this. Maybe I’ll be a walk-on at NFL tryouts this summer.”
“About that,” Knox said.
We all turned toward him.
“When the Buccaneers coach called to tell me the news, he was afraid I might turn down their offer. So he said they were willing to sweeten the pot by signing you to the practice squad.”
“Oh shit,” Roman whispered next to me.
“I know it’s not the same as being a starter,” Knox told Logan. “But you’ll get to keep playing football for a living. And it still pays like two hundred grand a year. I bet I can get them to bump that up a bit. What do you say, best friend? Want to play with me in Tampa?”
“Well…” Logan scratched his neck, glanced at me, then turned back around to face Knox. “I was kind of thinking about staying in school. Getting my master’s degree in creative writing, or sports journalism.”
“Logan,” I whispered, tugging on his arm. “I’m flattered, but you can’t stay just for me.”
