Page 270 of The Perfect Spiral
“I’m good today Gerry thanks! How are you?” He’s polite but I can hear the shakiness in his voice that makes me cringe. Seeinghis jaw tense, he heard it too.
“So another two years with the Giants? You planning on nabbing yourself another title this season?”
I begin to pierce my salad with chicken onto my fork and struggle to get it inside my mouth. I get attacked by the leaves hanging from it and groan at how annoying it’s being.
“That’s the plan alright Gerry, but we’ll take each game as it comes. No point thinking too far ahead in the future. The season hasn’t started but it’s a goal for the team” answering smoothly.
He’s in a sharp black suit that accentuates his toned body. He looks so good. You can see the upper part of his six-pack through this white shirt that is then cut off by the button clasped holding the material together.
That is one strong button.
His hair is neatly combed back like the time when we went to the People magazine event back home.
“Well, it’s good to have a goal and game plan. How do you prep yourself before a game?”
“I have a good breakfast, lots of protein to keep my energy constant. I usually have the blue Gatorade before I walk to the field.
No rituals, like the same socks or underwear, I don’t believe in that stuff. I listen to pumped-up music to get me hyped. That’s it really.”
“All that helped you win the Super Bowl title for your team? You didn’t have a strong start in the game, but you picked up after halftime. I know it wasn’t Beyoncé that pumped you up?
You mentioned someone helped you pick yourself up? Care to tell us who it was?”
Shaking his head with a smile on his handsome face. He sighed loudly. Running his fingers along the leather armchair he sits on beside the desk.
“If I shared that with you, I’d have every athlete after her getting her to hype them up too. She’s my secret. She helped me open my eyes a little to play my own game and nobody else’s”
His eyes flicker to the camera like he’s watching me. Hannah nudges me slightly and my mom turns her head around to send me a small smile. I see him playing with his hands, wringing them because he’s nervous.
“It almost sounds like you were playing for her? You made exceptional passes that day. Correct me if I’m wrong but statistically, that was your best game-”
“In a way I was. She put effort into hyping me up for the second half so I owed it to her to bring my end of the bargain in. Yeah, statistically and it felt like it was the best game I’ve ever played.
I wouldn’t change anything about that day. I threw numerous perfect spirals that felt amazing and that rarely happens to me” he smiles to himself at the memory resting his fingers on his chin.
Showing his pearly white teeth to the people. His nerves are fading as he relaxes into the seat being cool, calm, and collected.
“Nothing’s better than a perfect spiral! But it’s time to take a quick break. We’ll be back with more of Knox Carter after these messages!”
Another few commercials run. Including his Calvin Klein commercials, which we saw on the big screen in LA. After a few minutes more we stopped chatting to listen in again to him.
Listening to the introduction music, the screen occupies his entire face with him smiling at something the presenter said off-camera.
“Welcome back to the show, we still have the most talked about football player at the moment here with us, Knox Carter. Thanks to his popularity we’re taking in a lot of viewers today.
So let’s move on to your endorsements, you have got a lot of companies after you for sponsorship deals. Your face is everywhere! What does that feel like?”
He sighs once more laughing at himself. I can tell he hates this type of question.
“Well, it’s nice they consider me as influential. But I’ve had a lot of support from my family and friends. Some of them make loads of fun of me” switching his eyes to the camera I make eye contact with Kyle who laughs at me.
He’s throwing a dig at me through the camera. How nice. “But I know they secretly love to see me half naked” I roll my eyes, because I know he’s still making reference to me. Shifting my weight on the seat I feel my legs sticking to the covers of the seats. Feeding my food into my mouth and continuing to listen in along with everyone.
“Speaking of family, you’ve got a lot of fans? How does your family deal with your well-known status?” He laughs with Knox who seems a little more relaxed now.
“Well, I love my fans! I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them.
But it can be hard at times too, like I have a three-year-old nephew that I want to be able to do things with, without being approached because he gets scared of all the flashes and cameras.
