Page 1 of Best Year Ever
Prologue
LANDON - DECEMBER 29TH
“The baby isn’t yours,” my agent Aiden says as soon as our call connects.
Something incomprehensible like “ahghhhhhh” comes out of my mouth. I sit down on my couch with an overwhelming feeling of relief.
“She’s backing off and you don’t have anything else to do in this matter,” Aiden continues, in his typical direct manner.
I wipe my hand over my face, trying to recalibrate my stress levels in light of this news. My beagle, Grover, sensing something is off, walks a foot closer to me on the couch and lays back down, his head on my lap.
“Thank god,” I finally respond. “Aiden, I can’t even tell you how grateful I am for your help with this. We used protection, but I was so scared….”
“You’re in the clear,” Aiden replies, interrupting me, a hint of annoyance in his tone. “But be more careful. You’re Landon Battle, and everyone wants a piece.”
And with that warning, he hangs up.
While he technically works for me, I understand why Aiden’s pissed that he has to deal with this situation. One of the best in the business, he’s helped guide me over the last three yearsthrough the draft and my initial seasons in the pros, lining up incredible opportunities for a middle linebacker. It's not the most glamorous position. His irritation that I got myself in this situation is well deserved.
Hell, I’ve been angry at myself.
Still processing our phone call, I let myself sit and just breathe for a solid five minutes. As the time passes, I feel my anxiety loosen, helped by the soothing warmth of Grover’s head on my thigh.
Man, when Trinity called me four weeks ago to break the news that she was pregnant, she had me convinced that our weekend of fun in Vegas during my “bye” week in October—the one week off we have from a football game in the pros during our season—had ended up in a baby. My baby.
I want a family eventually. But not at twenty-three, and not with a virtual stranger.
My three younger siblings and I are a perfect unit for right now. We're all technically adults since the youngest Connor just turned eighteen. Still, our bond, cemented during our parent’s messy divorce eight years ago, is stronger than ever.
Slumping down further into the couch, I call my best friend Johnson, the quarterback of our team, the Orlando Waves. We’d first become tight in college, having played at Alabama at the same time, rooming together junior year. I can trust him with all of my secrets, and to have my back one hundred percent of the time.
“Hey,” he answers.
I jump in to give him the update, unable to handle small talk right now. “J, I’m in the clear—the baby isn’t mine.”
“Ah, shit, that’s great news,” he says, his voice tilting up in volume. “How’re you feeling?”
“Major relief right now,” I respond. “And since the season effectively ended with the loss yesterday, ready to move on and move forward for the new year.”
He grunts at me and then switches topics. “You still thinking of traveling for the off-season? Party all over the world? Nowthat the baby situation is out of the picture, you can really have some fun.”
I take a beat to respond, digesting everything that has happened. “Definitely travel, but do I want to keep running around with all these influencers and models for a good night or two? I don’t know, this whole thing burned me so bad.”
“Landon Battle, reformed player?” Johnson bursts out in a teasing tone. “Nah, you’ll be back at it as soon as you have a minute to recover from this drama.” We hang up quickly afterwards, with a promise of dinner soon.
I understand Johnson’s perspective, having been at way too many parties together over the years. On top of the public persona I’ve let build up, I've almost never been photographed with the same woman more than once.
But lately, it’s rare that anything happens with the women who appear with me. My publicist, Jim, makes sure that I don’t show up alone to big events where I’m expected to have a date, and the women agree to accompany me for their own benefit. We leave separately, both having done our duty.
Trinity was different because we genuinely had fun together. Still, this situation with her, combined with the legacy of my own parents’ dysfunction, reinforces that I should stay on guard right now.
“Besides,” I say out loud, cocking my head in Grover’s direction and rubbing his ears. “I have everyone I need in my life already, right pup?”
CHAPTER 1
Rori
NEW YEARS EVE
