Page 63 of Silent Count
Chelsea: Okay, talk to you soon. X
I close out our thread and pull up my dad’s message. I’m not really in the mood to get his critiques tonight, but if I don’t answer, he’ll keep messaging me until I do.
Dad: Tough loss, son. You held the ball too long in the pocket again. You’ve got to read the defense faster, son. When that safety drops, you should already be moving.
I exhale a heavy sigh. Not in the mood to do this with him at all.
Bo: Yeah, I know. I saw it on film. I’ll work on getting the ball out quicker next week.
Dad: Assume you’re on the bus to the hotel? Call when you’re settled in for the night.
Bo: Okay, but it will be late. I need to do some film for the show tonight.
Dad: I’ll be up.
Great.
A few hours later, I make my way back up to my hotel room and decide I’d better call my dad before I get on the phone with Chelsea. He answers on the first ring, as if he was waiting for me.
“Hey, son. Are you finished with your filming?”
“Yeah, I’m on my way back to my room. What are you up to?”
“We’ve just been at home today. Watched the game. Then the girls had some friends over, so I escaped into my office.” He laughs.
“Fun. Did everyone watch the game?”
“Yes, your mom and sisters watched with me. You looked good out there, but it seemed like the team was not communicating well today. Our defense wasn’t reading Tennessee the way they should have and made mistakes, which cost us the game.”
“It was a rough game. It’s always hard coming back from a bye week. But to their credit, Tennessee is a great team.”
I reach my room and tap my key card to open the door. Casey is sitting on his bed, and he’s on the phone, no doubt with Noelle.
“They are good, and their coach is a fine man. You would have played well for him too.” He says it like me going there was actually a possibility.
“Nah, you know Walker was always my endgame. I’m exactly where I should be.” I clear my throat. “So, anything else you want to talk about? I’m pretty tired, and I need to make another call.”
I haven’t really said much to my parents, specifically my dad, about Chelsea since the last time we talked about me not having any distractions, but I’m itching to talk to her after this spectacularly shitty day. She just makes everything better.
“Just wanted to check in. It wasn’t the best game, but you’re playing well. See what happens when there’s no distractions?”
Distractions. There’s that concern again. I know where it comes from, but if anything, the girl who he thinks is a distraction has been the complete opposite. Knowing I get to see her at the end of the day has made me extra focused. I’ve kept my nose clean. Worked hard and kept my girl and football family tight.
“About that, Dad, I know you had concerns about me dating anyone, but I met a great girl. She’s been good to me, and I’d really like you to meet her.”
I let out a breath because it feels good to share this with my dad. He may come off as uptight at times, but we’ve always been really close, and telling him about a girl feels normal for us.
“A girl? A new girl?”
“Chelsea. She’s the one you saw with me in the photo. I know you want me to be careful but … Dad, she’s amazing. When you meet her, you’ll?—”
“Hold on. You’re seeing her against my wishes?”
I don’t know why he’s even asking. He knows the answers to his questions ninety-nine percent of the time. I hated when he did this to me as a kid and like it even less now as an adult.
“Dad, can I ask why this bothers you so much? You have never had any concern, or interest frankly, about my girlfriends or girls I’ve spent time with. Not that there has been anyone serious since I’ve been here. Or ever really.”
“Bo, I just don’t want to see you … how do I say it?” I hear him tapping something. “Potentially ruin your future in the NFL by letting a new relationship interfere with that. I don’t want to see her derail your plans.”
