Page 80 of No Way Home
I laughed and went in for a hug. “No one told me you were coming.”
He squeezed me so tight my feet came up off the ground. “I decided to surprise everyone. Last minute, they said I could come homesince it’s a bye week.” He set me down and pushed his blond bangs out of his eyes.
“And since he never plays,” Theo coughed into his fist.
Liam’s eyes turned into heat-seeking missiles. He lunged for Theo, who screamed like a little girl and sprinted away, shoving his glasses up his nose so they didn’t fall off.
“You don’t just walk onto the field!” Liam shouted, not chasing him at all. “I’m behind a Pro Bowler. Coach isn’t benching him for me!”
“Translation!” Theo hollered back, fingers clapping to his palms likeCome and get me, sucker.“You’re the world’s most expensive practice dummy!”
Liam’s jaw rolled. He wanted to pummel Theo to the ground. It was written in every tense muscle in his body.
“Are you trying to die?” I yelled at Theo.
“Don’t kill him, Liam,” Cash said.
“He can’t,” Theo taunted. “Gotta save all that energy for warming the bench.”
Liam cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled. "Girls would still rather date a benchwarmer with an NFL jersey than Captain Kirk’s number one fan.”
I chuckled.
“Oh, really?” Theo smirked. “That’s not what Sariah Morgandale said onGame On.”
Charlie pressed her hand to her head. “Oh, Theo.”
He refused to tell us how it started, but Liam had some kind of history with Sariah Morgandale, one of the most popular—and hottest—sports commentators in football. So we’d made up our own backstory. Liam met her at a hotel bar after one of his games. Not knowing who she was, he convinced her to have a drink with him—virgin, of course, since Duprees don’t do alcohol—she fell hard and fast, but when he realized she knew more about football than he did, he dropped her even faster. Because Liam didn’t know how to date women who don’t need football plays explained to them.
Whatever had happened between them, it must’ve been something terrible. The fiery brunette treated Liam like her favorite chew toy—on TV, in print, and anywhere else she could sink her teeth in.
Liam’s face went bright red, and a string of swear words leaked from his throat.
Theo must’ve had a death wish because he shouted in a high-pitched female voice, quoting Sariah verbatim, “Apparently, women are really into Liam Dupree. I don’t get it, personally.” Theo tittered. “Sure, he has a nice smile, but he can’t take two steps without tripping over his own ego. Which is precisely why Coach Kozlowski won’t let him on the field.”
“That’s it!” Liam bellowed. Then he sprinted faster than I’d ever seen him sprint in an actual game.
Theo’s scream hit a frequency only dogs should’ve heard, but he kept it up at full blast, running for the lake like he thought volume might stop Liam from breaking him in half.
“Your contract!” Blue shouted as Liam burst past him.
Yup. Those legs belonged to his team. They were insured, right along with the rest of him—and in his contract, he had what we called the “No Fun Clause.” Right after prohibiting skydiving, bungee jumping, obstacle course racing, motorcycling, all extreme sports, including riding on a side-by-side—which really chapped his butt by the way—there was another line that said: Player shall not participate in roughhousing, fighting, or other unsanctioned physical conduct.”
Theo dove, disappearing under the surface. Liam dove in after him. A couple of seconds later, Liam heaved Theo—who was laughing too hard to fight back—above his head, and body slammed him into the water.
Satisfied, Liam stomped back onto the white sand beach that Uncle Ford had specially delivered for Aunt Peyton every summer. Theo heckled him as he went.
Liam looked murderous by the time he got back to us. “He’s lucky I’m under contract,” he fumed. “Otherwise, he’d be at the bottom of the lake right now.”
“You can kill him in fifteen years when you’re already retired and he’s still slaving away making websites for other people,” Cash said.
“Not likely,” Charlie said. “He’s probably going to sell that ridiculous app he’s been working on and be richer than any Dupree yet.”
Cash and Charlie began debating whether anyone would actually buy Recallio, Theo’s app that helped you ‘recall things on the tip of your brain.’
Liam’s eyes narrowed, watching our aunts and uncles.
“How long are you here?” I asked Liam.
