“Hey, how are you feeling this morning ?”, she asked.
“Much better. I’m still really sore but the pain is gone.”, I answered.
“Let me see your back.”, she asked.
I walked over to where she was sitting and turned around, she lifted my shirt up high on my back.
“God Brian, this looks awful, I can’t believe this doesn’t hurt like hell.”, she said, sympathetically.
“It’s much better, really it is.”, I replied.
I went into the kitchen and poured myself a cup of coffee, sitting down at the table with her. Today was Tuesday, our normal day off, so I knew I could relax and not worry about the team or game preperations for this week.
“I think I’m going to take the day off, stay here with you.”, Alexis suggested to me.
“Really Alexis, I’m fine. If you have work to do, I can manage until you get back tonight.”, I answered.
“I do have a ton of work to do, you sure you’re ok ?”, she asked.
“I’ll be fine. If I need something, I can call you right ?”, I responded.
“Of course you can.”, she replied.
She got up telling me she had to go to her unit to shower and get dressed for work. She kissed me very softly and sweetly on the lips, it was the most sensual goodbye kiss I ever had.
“Thanks for staying last night. I really appreciate it Alexis.”, I told her.
“You’re quite welcome, call me if you need me.”, she answered heading out the door.
I laid around the house and watched TV most of the day, it was pretty boring. Alexis called me about six, telling me she had a last minute appointment, she would be late. I told her I was feeling a lot better, not to worry, I would go to bed early and talk to her the following day. The anti-inflammatory medication was really working well. I got up about seven thirty Wednesday morning and started dressing for practice. Even though I had been excused until Friday, I wanted to see the trainers, get their feel on how I was progressing.
I arrived at the practice about eight thirty, most of the team was still dressing in the locker room area. I went in, put my bag in my locker, and walked over to see Josh.
“Hey kid, how are you feeling ?”, my friend said.
“Not bad considering how I felt Monday morning.”, I laughed.
“What’s it look like ?”, he asked.
I turned around so he could pull up my shirt, which he did so gently.
“Son of a bitch, I can’t believe you can stand.”, he yelled.
Several of the other players made remarks of one kind or another, finally Josh dropped my shirt. I told him I was going to meet with the trainers, I would see him later. I met with the trainer who looked me over and asked me a bunch of questions, then physically examined my back by applying pressure to different muscle groups. I was still plenty sore, but I really felt little pain. He told me I could go watch practice, then report in after for a soak in the ice tub, then a massage. I thanked him and walked out to the practice field in my street clothes.
The offense was going head to head against the defense, something we did every day. I walked up to where Coach Cullen was directling the play calling, standing right behind him. Several minutes passed before he noticed me, finally turning in my direction.
“Stevens, what are doing here. You’re supposed to be resting.”, he asked.
“I feel much better Coach. Besides, I was bored at home.”, I replied.
“You see the trainer yet ?”, he asked.
“Yes sir, they are getting ready to work on me.”, I answered.
He nodded to me then went back to work, directing this complex offense like he was playing tic tac toe. I watched practice until I knew they were maybe thirty minutes from finishing, then started to walk back to the locker room area. I stripped down and went to the medical area, the ice tub was ready. I got in slowly, I hated this brutal device. The whole idea behind this madness was after you got out of the tub, the blood in your body was immediately pumped vigorously back to the tissues stimulating oxygen and nutrient supply to the areas that needed healing. Some trainers swore by it, others called it voodoo medicine, all bullshit. I sat in the tub for ten minutes exactly, then got out and laid on the table. Hot packs were immediately laid on my back, I stayed like that for another ten minutes, that followed up by a short massage. I met with the trainer right before I left, he gave me two injections, then more anti-inflammatory medication telling me to double the dose for the next twenty four hours. I was back home for about noon, ate some lunch, then went down by the pool. I laid out there until about three, then went back up and took a nap, waking up to the ring of my cell phone. I looked at the number, it was from back home, it was Ashley.
“Hey hot shot, I haven’t heard from you in a while. How are you doing today ?’, she asked, cheerfully.
“I’m ok, a little banged up.”, I replied.
“I saw the game Sunday, they were trying to hurt you. I was so pissed off.”, she answered.
“It’s part of the game, no big deal.”, I told her.
We talked for about thirty minutes, just catching up really, but I sensed there was something she wanted to tell me. Finally she got around to it but I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear what she was about to say.
“Brian, uh….have you met anyone….you know a girl since you have been up there ?”, she asked, nervously.
“Well, actually I have been hanging out with someone for a few weeks.”, I answered, cautiously.
“Oh, good. Where did you meet her ?”, she inquired.
“Actually, she is my agent, Alexis Clarke.”, I answered.
“Wow, I’m impressed, a professional woman.”, she laughed.
“Kind of. How about you Ashley ?’, I asked.
“Well, that’s kind of why I was calling you. I have met someone myself. It’s only been a month now, but I really like him. He’s kind, gentle and treats me like your father did. He owns a small business in town, I don’t know if it will become serious, but I wanted you to know.”, she finished.
“I’m so happy for you Ashley, I really am.”, I replied.
“You mean it ?”, she asked, hesitation in her voice.
“Yes, I mean it.”, I responded.
“Brian, I can’t tell you how glad I am to hear that.”, she told me.
“But, he better treat you like that all the time. If he hurts you, he has to deal with me.”, I told her.
“I have already told him that. He really wants to meet you. Oh, his name is Jeff Constant, by the way.”, she replied.
We talked for a few more minutes, then she had to go back to her last class of the day. I promised to call her next week after the game.
After I hung up with Ashley, I was amazed at how relieved I was. It took me a few minutes for it to sink in, I was falling in love with Alexis. Two months ago, this news would have made me miserable, but I was truly happy for Ashley.
The following morning, the trainer cleared me to practice, although with no contact, mostly just drills. I was listed as doubtful for the game, I knew better, I was going to be ready. By Saturday, I had virtually regained most of my movement, although it was still difficult to get full extension without feeling pain. I was told, it would be a game time decision as to whether or not I played.
After meeting with the trainer early, I was told I was cleared to play, but I would not start, Billy would get the nod. I didn’t have a problem with that, I just wanted to be out there. Just to be sure I was fitted with a air cushioned flak jacket, with a thin plastic plate insert in the rear pocket, protecting my back. It was cumbersome and awkward, I had difficulty moving well, but I had no choice. I was in for a total of three plays in the first half, never catching a ball. We held a narrow 17-14 lead, but would get the ball to start the second half.
Late in the third quarter, we were inside their ten yard line, Coach Cullen was looking for a mismatch, he called my number. I joined the offense in the huddle, Josh knelt down and called the play.
“Delay, X Cross Right, Hook Left, 69 Smash, Toggle Y, Flash.”, he yelled, above the crowd.
This was a simple pattern, the first read was the right flat, the second was left at the goal line. The third read was the back out in the right flat. I would stay in tight, blocking anyone head up with me, if I had no one covering me up or on my outside, I would help the tackle with his man. After a three to five second count off in my head, I would simply run a quick post across the goal line.
The ball was snapped, I drove hard on Lester’s man, pinning him inside, then broke off middle, turning my head left. The ball was already in the air, I had to react quick pulling it in. I was hit immediately, spun around, then hit again, finally falling into the end zone. I got up slowly, teammates immediately surrounding me to protect me. I was fine, but I passed on the Hyper Dunk, I wasn’t up to it. I picked up the ball and jogged off the field. We scored twice more in the fourth to put the game away, once again Josh had close to four hundred yards.
It took another full week, for me to be back to normal, I spend a lot of time with the training staff. Alexis was out of town on business, she would be gone for close to two weeks. She was only gone a few days, I already was feeling terrible, I missed her a lot. I concentrated on football and getting healthy. Three weeks later we clinched our division and a playoff spot with a win, we were 12-0 for only the second time in team history. We were the number one rated offense in football, our defense was at eleven. Josh was on pace to crush the record for total yardage in one season. He only had to average two hundred yards a game for the next four, the record would fall.
Then inexplicably, as these things do, we laid an egg in Houston, getting beat 28-21, our worst performance of the year. Josh threw three interceptions, we fumbled twice. No way you have five turnovers and win in this league, not unless the other teams helps you. Our chance for a perfect season was gone, which stunk, but the playoffs were all that mattered. What did change however was how quickly we would secure the home field advantage in the playoffs. If we won two of our next three, we would host the playoff’s until we lost, or qualified for the Superbowl, whatever came first. The problem was, if we won our next two, the starters would definitely sit out the final game, it meant nothing. That might cause Josh not to get the record, which he really deserved. He was only six hundred and eighteen yards shy of breaking it, hopefully he would do it.
We went on the road for our next game, which we won easily 45-10, Josh had a banner day, four hundred eighty six yards, four touchdowns. That combined with a loss by the team with second best overall record in our conference, meant we had home field advantage locked up. Josh was one hundred thirty two yards from the record, we had two left to play.
At practice the following Monday, we were told that the starters would definitely rest the final game of the season, possibly the second half of the game this Sunday. This meant Josh had possibly only two quarters left to get the record, it was going to be a tight squeeze.
At practice that week, all of the receivers kept putting the bug in Coach Cullen’s ear. We made sure he knew, we didn’t want Josh out until the record fell, no matter what. By Friday, he had heard enough, he called us together as a group and laid into us, although I know it was more for show than anything.
The tension was overwhelming in the locker room before our second to last game. Although Josh had all season long, down played the record to everyone including the press, I knew how bad he wanted. We all left him alone in the locker room, it was quiet and somber.
He threw an interception on our first drive, he short armed the ball, I knew he was feeling the heat. They scored first putting us in the hole, but the offense was right back on the field. Josh put together a good drive, we responded with a touchdown of our own, tying the game at
7-7. One of the equipment managers on the sideline was keeping an unofficial record of the passing yards, so the receivers could keep Josh informed. It was something that we had plotted on our own, no one but the receivers and the equipment guy knew about it. By the end of the first quarter we had a 14-7 lead, Josh had thrown for ninety two yards, there were only forty yards left to go. They went on a long drive to open the second quarter, they took almost eight minutes off the clock, finally scoring and tying the game up. We had a little over seven minutes to make it happen when we took the huddle. We threw on first down, a quick out for nine yards, we were down to thirty one yards. After a quick slant of fifteen, we were under twenty. With the ball on our thirty nine, this drive was going to do it. The fans were out of control, there were signs all over counting the yards down as we gained them. Josh couldn’t help but know, everyone knew now.
On first and ten, we ran a delayed counter trap to the rookie, who broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage, shifted gears then ran the ball the length of the field scoring quickly. We regained the lead at 21-14, there were a little over four minutes left on the clock. We never got the ball back, they settled for a field goal as time ran out. We headed into the locker room at halftime, no one knew what was going to happen. Thankfully Coach Cullen put it all to rest early, there wasn’t going to be a doubt.
“Josh, I’m leaving the starters in until the record falls, even if it takes the rest of the game. Go out there, relax, get it done, then we move on.”, he stated.
The entire locker room erupted in unison, everyone wanted the record for Josh. He just smiled and waved to us, I knew he was a mess inside, but he couldn’t show it.
They opened up the second half with the ball, had a good drive going, but then fumbled at our thirty five yard line. The offense took the field, we were ready to get this done. Once again we opened with a quick slant pass reeling off ten yards to our forty five. The next two plays, Scott Douglas ripped off two big runs, getting the ball inside their twenty to the eighteen. Our opponents took a time out, trying to regroup, at least hold us to a field goal. Josh went to the sidelines to talk to Coach Cullen, everyone else milled about in the huddle. Josh returned quickly to the huddle, we were still in a TV time out. He leaned over and told me quietly, he wanted me on the other end of the record setting pass, no matter what. I looked at him rather stunned, while we were close, for him to intentionally hold the ball and get it to me, meant a lot.
“X Slant Right, Double Pick, Power Option, Waggle Cross, Delay.”, he called on one knee.
This was a called pass, in which both receivers on the right would line up outside of me, then on the snap, both run slants across the field at two different depths about seven yards apart. I would run inside between them to the corner, hoping my man would get caught up in the traffic. By now the entire stadium was on it’s feet, they were seeing history. Right as Josh started his cadence, they showed us an all out blitz, stacking the line with seven players, possibly eight. I was covered up by the free safety, who was at best six foot tall. Josh immediately called an audible, signaling up and down the line of scrimmage.
“Kill, Kill, Kill. Seventy two, Seventy two.”, he yelled, above the crowd.
I put both hands on my backsides, then removed my right first, signaling him I was going inside. I then looked back at Josh, he was pointing up, telling me he was going high with the ball.
The ball was snapped to Josh who was deep in the gun, I collided with the safety, immediately pushing him off to the left, stepping inside of him. They came with the blitz, I headed to the back of the end zone. Josh held the ball as long as he could then threw it up in the direction of the goal post. I had beaten my man inside but I knew this was going to be way up there. My only chance to catch it was to stop, plant my feet then go up, I couldn’t do it from the fade motion. I stopped maybe seven yards deep in the end zone, planted both feet, bent both knees then jumped with everything I had. My eyes were glued on the ball, it was there. I felt contact with the defensive player just a split second before I felt the ball in my hands. It started to slip, but I was able to recover, holding it out as I fell to the turf, the safety on top of me. The noise was deafening, the stadium had erupted. I was being pulled up by teammates, everyone was out of control. I was about to start in Josh’s direction when I saw the flag on the ground. The defense was signaling to the officials I had pushed off to make the catch. Four officials were conversing in the end zone, two were pointing back and forth, then talking to the referee. While I had pushed off initially at the line of scrimmage, if there was anyone guilty of illegal contact late, it was the safety.
Finally the officials concluded their huddle, the referee stepped to the center of the field, turning on his microphone.
“We have pass interference on the defense, number thirty two. That penalty will be refused, Touchdown, San Diego.”, he said, as the noise level rose to a fever pitch.
I walked over to Josh, he jumped into my arms, I was holding him up, his feet a good foot off the ground. I held him there for several seconds, finally setting him back down. I handed him the ball I had just caught, this one was his, it’s worth had just sky rocketed with that call. It was priceless, a part of history, but it belonged to Josh. As the offense walked off the field, you could see the burden had been lifted off of our shoulders, the public address announcer spoke to the crowd.
“Ladies and Gentleman, Josh Henson had just set a new record for most passing yards in a single season with five thousand eighty two yards. Congratulations Josh.”, he boomed over the speakers.
The crowd was on their feet, he was getting a seventy plus thousand person standing ovation. He trotted back on the field, stopping at the hash marks then turned in each direction waving to the crowd, thanking them for their applause. Coach Cullen left the offense in for the rest of the game, which we won. In the back of everyone’s mind, we knew this was only going to be a slight window of happiness for us, we still had the playoffs looming. One loss in the playoffs and you were done, no one cared about your records. To the coaches credit, they allowed the team to celebrate with Josh , we would get back to work on Monday.
I was seated in the media room at the table next to Josh, Coach Reed and Coach Cullen. Both the Coaches gave their standard post game talk about how we still had a lot of work to do, the season had really just started again for us, one loss and it was over. Several reporters were pretending to be interested, but everyone in the room wanted to talk to Josh, no one else. Finally Coach Reed opened the floor to questions. Everyone was yelling at once, Coach Reed finally pointed to one of the national media reporters in the front.
“Josh can you tell us what it means to get the record. Considering how long it has stood, did you really think you would get it ?”, he asked.
“ Well first let me say I feel blessed. Blessed to play in this town, for this organization, this coaching staff and with these players. This is as much their record as mine, I didn’t do this alone by any stretch of the imagination.”, he answered.
“What was going on in your mind during that last pass, as you watched the ball leave your hand ?”, asked another female reporter, in the front.
“I let it go too early in my release, I didn’t follow through. I knew it was going to be real high. I guess the only thing I was thinking as I watched it was, thank God Stevens is six foot six.”, he laughed, looking over at me.
She quickly followed up with another question, as the room burst into laughter.
“You two seem to have developed a real bond between each other, it’s like you’re both always on the same page. Is it just chemistry, or is it something you both work on ?”, she asked.
“Last year, Coach Reed came to me and told me he was thinking of drafting a defensive end and converting him to offense. It seemed absurd at the time, but he never relented. This kid came to this team and busted his ass from day one. This is not chemistry as much as it is his hard work. He gives me another demension that few teams have. We have a great receiving corps here, add this guy next to me, Scott Douglas the rookie, well it’s tough to cover them all. I have so many options to go to.”, he answered.
One of the other reporters jumped up in the back, directing his question in my direction.
“Who gets to keep the ball that broke the record, Brian ?”, he asked.
“He thinks he has it, but I really swapped it out with a regular game ball. It will be in an online auction tomorrow, watch for it.”, I replied.
The entire room bust out laughing, even the coaches, which was unusual.
“How did it feel to catch the ball that broke the record ?”, he followed up.
“I’m happy for Josh, it’s his pass, his ball, his record. I’m glad to be part of history, but you have to give him the credit. I just hope I am able to play with his guy for a long, long time.”, I answered, pointing to Josh.
I got home sometime around eight that night, I didn’t see Alexis’ car in the parking lot. I got undressed and sat on the sofa to relax for a few minutes before going to bed, we had practice in the morning. I was there for maybe ten minutes when I got a text message on my phone from Alexis, she was still in Seattle. Apparently she now had to fly to New York, she would be gone another week. She promised to call me the following day after practice.
The next day she explained to me, she would be back on Thursday or Friday after wrapping up a new client’s contract. I really missed her, hearing her voice made it worst, but I tried not to let her know it. We talked for a while, then I let her go, she had a flight to catch.
Almost all the key players rested during the last game of the season as best as they could. Although blessed that no one was injured, we lost the game which is something you never want to do going into the post season. But we tried to put it behind us, one good thing we had a bye in the first round of the playoffs due to having the best record in the conference. That meant we had an extra four to five days off, which at this time of the season, is always a good thing.
We met Monday and Tuesday for meetings and to watch film, then released until the following Monday where we would know who our opponent would be. Alexis worked late the first three nights of the week, then took off Thursday and Friday, the agency rewarding her for all the traveling she had just done. I was looking forward to spending four days alone with her, I had really missed her. We had still only had the one brief sexual encounter, although I knew better than to push it. I really felt Alexis trusted me at this point, I didn’t want to do anything that would make her feel otherwise.
We laid around the pool all day Thursday, went out and had dinner and returned to her condo. We had just sat down, when there was a knock at the the door. I could tell from Alexis’ reaction she wasn’t expecting anyone. Alexis opened the door to find her friend Paige standing there, she invited her in quickly. It was apparent immediately something was wrong, Paige was a mess. When her friend looked up and saw me, she quickly stopped in her tracks.
“Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t know you had company. I’m just going to go.”, she said, turning quickly.
“Nooooo Paige, wait.”, Alexis urged, grabbing her friend’s arm., “What’s wrong sweetie.”
Paige stopped short, hung her head and broke down crying. Alexis hugged her friend, holding her head close to her. Apparently from what I could tell between the sobs, Paige had caught her boyfriend cheating on her. I knew instantly, I was a third wheel in this conversation. I jumped up from the sofa, taking my cell phone off of the end table.
“Paige, come on in, I was just leaving anyway. I have team meetings in the morning, I need to get to bed.”, I told her, lying to make her feel better.
I walked past the both them, putting my hand briefly on Alexis’ shoulder, winking at her.
“I’ll see you later in the week, when I can.”, I said, walking past her.
“Ok Brian, thanks.”, she replied.
I went back to my place, turned on the TV for a while, watching a show about the upcoming playoffs. Apparently they had already evaluated our team early on in the show, but I still watched it. I was just about to go to bed, when my phone rang, it was Alexis.
“Brian, I’m so sorry, she’s a wreck. They have been together for five years, this is the second time. He swore it would never happen again.”, she told me.
“It’s ok Alexis, take care of your friend.”, I replied.
“I’m letting her sleep over, she has no place to go, unless she goes back to their place.”, she stated.
“Not a problem, let me know if you guys need anything.”, I offered.
“You’re a doll, Brian. Thanks.”, she answered, hanging up.
By noon the next day, I had still not heard from Alexis, but I figured they might have been up all night talking. I put on my swim trunks, a tee shirt and grabbed a towel, heading down to the pool. I had been down there for about an hour when my cell phone rang, it was Alexis.
“What ya doing ?’, she asked.
“Nothing much, I’m down by the pool.”, I answered.
“Oh, well…um…maybe we will come down and join you.”, she replied.
“That would be great.”, I responded.
About a half hour later, the two women were walking across the courtyard towards me, carrying towels and a beach bag. The pool area was empty, so I got up, grabbed one extra chaise lounger, laying it out for Paige. I could see in her face, she was still in a lot of emotional pain. Both of them set their things down, pulling off their tops to expose their swimsuits. Thankfully I had my sunglasses on, I could hide my eyes. Although Paige was at least five to six inches shorter than Alexis, her body left nothing to be desired. She was in excellent shape, a tiny waist, great breasts, and a tight, firm ass. I made sure I quickly looked away, I didn’t need any trouble from either of them.
We laid out there for about thirty minutes, then the both of them got into the pool and swam around for a while. It was easy to see these two women were extremely close, although I didn’t really know how long they had known each other. We spent most of the day in and out of the pool, before finally going back upstairs around five o’clock. I invited both of the women out for dinner, they both immediately accepted. I went to my place, showered and changed, meeting them an hour later in the parking lot.
I took them across town to a really nice steakhouse, I had eaten here with members of the team a few times. The place was packed, we had to wait about fifteen minutes for a table. On top of that I was immediately recognized, I spent at least twenty minutes signing autographs and taking pictures. We were finally seated at a table for four, I made sure I held the chair for both ladies. I walked around the table and sat across from them.
“Brian, does that happen all the time. The people mobbing you like that ?”, Paige asked.
“It comes with the job.”, I laughed.
“It would drive me crazy.”, she responded, looking at Alexis.
Our waitress came over and took our drink orders, handing us each a menu. I knew what I wanted immediately, so I set mine on the table next to me. I waited as the two women discussed what they wanted, neither of them was really sure. It took three trips by the waitress before they finally made up their mind. To her credit, she was polite and extremely friendly.
“So you guys finally ready to order ?”, she asked, looking at me first.
“What was I thinking, it’s hard enough being on a date with one of them, tonight I bring the two of them together.”, I told the waitress as serious as I could.
She starting laughing, looking over at Alexis and Paige, who were doing their best not to laugh out loud.
“Oh that will cost you.”, Alexis stated.
The waitress took our orders, then left us alone to our conversation. The food took quite a while to arrive, but it was understandable with the crowd they had. It was very good, everyone seem to enjoy it. I paid the bill and we made our way out of the restaurant to my car. Once again, I made sure I opened both doors for the ladies, then moved around the car to mine. As I got into the car, Paige leaned over the back seat and laughed to her friend.
“Where ever you got him from, get me one just like him.”
“I’m not sure there’s another one like him out there Paige.”, Alexis replied.
We drove back to the condo, and made our way inside of Alexis’ unit. She opened a bottle of wine while, I went into the kitchen and made a pot of coffee. By the time my coffee was ready and I had a cup, they were both on their second glass of wine. Two hours later, the second bottle was being emptied, they were definitely having a good time. Out of the blue, Paige turned to me as serious as could be, her question shocking the hell out of me.
“So are you serious about my best friend, or are you here because she is the most gorgeous woman you have ever seen ?”, Paige asked. “Be honest with me.”
Alexis was mortified, I could tell she was as surprised by the question as I was. She reached out and slapped her friend on the shoulder, getting her attention.
“What, I think it’s a fair question.”, Paige told her friend.
“And I think it’s time to call it a night.”, I laughed.
“Aw, what’s wrong Brian. Big guy like you, get a little nervous when the heat get turned up ?”, Paige countered.
“Nope not at all, I live for pressure.”, I replied, getting up and heading to the door.
I reached the door and pulled it open, then turned back to Paige who was still giggling like a school girl.
“The answer to your question.”, I replied, “Is yes and yes.”
I went back to my unit, locked up and headed for the bedroom. I could only imagine what the two of them were probably saying right now, but I was not a fan of alcohol, it always lead to situations like that. I took off my clothes, tossed them on the chair and got into bed. I tried to remember Paige was in an emotional state, but I guess I just really wanted to be alone with Alexis. I turned and over and went to sleep, there wasn’t much point in trying to analyze it anymore.
When I finally woke up, it was after nine, I rarely slept that late. I went to the kitchen, started a pot of coffee, then checked my cell phone. There were no calls, I wasn’t sure if I was surprised or not. I drank two cups of coffee, showered and dressed, leaving about ten thirty to go shopping. I was about halfway through the grocery when my cell phone rang, it was Alexis.
“Hey, where are you ?’, she asked.
“I’m at the grocery store on the boulevard.”, I replied.
“You mad about last night ?”, she asked.
“No, not at all. I’m just not very good around people after they have had too much to drink.”, I answered.
“Ok, well what I called to tell you was, I have to fly out first thing in the morning, I have a client in New York has a problem. I should be back on Tuesday, can I call you then ?”, she asked.
“Sure, have a great trip.”, I responded.
“Oh, Paige will be staying at my place until the end of the week.”, Alexis added.
“No problem, talk to you next week.”, I answered.
I spent the rest of the day relaxing, went to bed early, TV was terrible. I woke up sometime around nine o’clock. I ate breakfast, drove over to Children’s Hospital making a quick visit to the children making sure everything was going well. I was back at my place around two o’clock in the afternoon, since we were back at practice the next day, I decided to relax, then go to bed early. I ordered a pizza around six o’clock that evening, around twenty minutes later there was a knock on the door. I grabbed my wallet and made my way to the door, opening it. I was shocked to see Paige standing there, although the wine glass in her hand was not a surprise.
“What are you doing ?’, she asked.
“Nothing, I thought you were the pizza guy.”, I responded.
“You ordered a pizza ? Good I’m hungry.”, she said, slipping past me.
I closed the door behind me, following her into the main room. She sat down on the sofa, looked over at the TV.
“Is football all you watch ?”, she asked.
“No, but we’re in the playoffs this year, it’s important.”, I replied.
Thankfully, there was another knock at the door, this time it was the pizza. I paid the delivery boy, then walked back into the main room setting the box on the coffee table. I realized that if I was going to be close to Alexis, I was going to try and somehow have to learn to accept Paige, they had been friends a long time.
“Help yourself.”, I told her, going to the kitchen for a bottle of water.
By the time I arrived back, she had did just that. I sat down, grabbed a piece and went back to watching the program. I felt Paige’s eyes on me, but I made sure not to look her way. I knew the silence was too good to be true.
“You don’t like me much, do you Brian ?”, she asked.
“Paige, I barely know you, but I think you’re ok.”, I answered.
“Just ok ?”, she asked, a grin on her face.
“You know what I mean.”, I replied.
“Look, I know you got a bit upset with me last night, I’m sorry. It’s just I’m hurting right now, I feel so alone.”, she stated, sadly.
“Things will get better Paige. I have been there myself.”, I answered.
“Then you know what I’m feeling right now.”, she asked.
“Yes, I do.”, I responded.
She took another long sip on the wine, like maybe she was trying to summon up the courage for something. I was hoping, she was about ready to go back down the hall. Unfortunately, I was wrong, dead wrong.
“Brian, could I asked you something personal ?”, she asked.
“I…uh…I don’t know Paige, I mean…”, I started.
“Look I promise it will never leave this room.”, she interrupted.
“I guess so.”, I answered.
“Would you go to bed with me tonight. I need to feel wanted….I need to be loved, even if it’s only for one night. I promise, I would never say a word to Alexis.”, she offered.
I sat there stunned, I had no words to reply. This was Alexis’ best friend, was she really being serious ? I sat up in my seat, leaning forward a bit, trying to collect my thoughts.
“Paige, first of all, I really care for Alexis, more than I think you know. I would never do anything in the world, that I thought would hurt her. I think Alexis is the most beautiful and caring woman in the world, obviously your friendship with her is not that important.”, I replied.
“She will never know Brian. It will be our secret.”, Paige answered, starting to unbutton her shirt.
“Paige, I will know. Please get out, now.”, I demanded, pointing at the front door.
“Oh please, where the fuck do you get off ?”, she hissed, angrily.
“Right about here.”, I said opening the door.
She stormed out of the door, back to Alexis’ unit, I heard her door slam. I quickly cleaned up the mess, undressed and got into bed. I started to think of how to break this to Alexis, I mean this was her best friend. Then I wondered, if I should even say a word. It wasn’t likely Paige would bring it up, maybe it was best to not say anything. Although it would be very hard to be around Paige from now on. The more I thought about it, the more confused I became, I guess I finally fell asleep.
Monday’s practice was intense, you could see both the urgency and the finality in the preperation. We would be playing Houston, who won their first round game quite easily. By far this was the longest first two days of the week that I have ever been through. We were spending close to eight hours a day at the practice facility. I was looking forward to seeing Alexis tonight, I just hoped it would be alone. I certainly didn’t want to see Paige again, not after the other night. When I arrived back at the condo, I saw Alexis’ car in her spot, unfortunately so was Paige’s as well. I went upstairs, took a shower and changed, then made my way down to the pool area. I had been laying out there for maybe thirty minutes when the phone rang. I looked at the screen, it was Alexis.
“Where are you ?’, she asked.
“I’m down by the pool. I just got back from practice about an hour ago.”, I replied.
“Oh, well I will talk to you later then.”, she responded.
“I have missed you Alexis, more than I think you know.”, I told her.
She didn’t respond, didn’t say a word. I found that very strange, not like her at all. I thought maybe she was just tired from her trip.
“Can I see you later tonight, just for a while ?”, I asked.
“I’ll call you later.”, she said, hanging up the phone.
I laid out by the pool for about another hour, then went back to my condo and make some dinner. I was on the sofa watching TV when a heard a knock on the door. I jumped up and made my way to the door quickly, it was Alexis. She walked past me into the main room with no greeting at all, I closed the door behind her. She sat down on the sofa, her hand folded in her lap.
“Brian, we need to talk.”, she said, no emotion in her voice.
“Sure Alexis, what’s wrong ?”, I asked.
She took a deep breath, then looked up at me for the first time. I saw tears forming in her eyes, I knew something wasn’t right.
“I told you when we first……. I mean you know how hard it is for me to trust men.”, she started.
“Yes, I know.”, I replied.
“Well I trusted you, for the first time in a long time, I trusted a man.
Then this happens.”, she finished, tears rolling down her cheeks.
“What happened ?”, I asked.
“Oh come on, Paige is my best friend, you really think she wouldn’t tell me ?”, she said, loudly.
“She told you ?”, I asked, very surprised.
“Of course she told me, she is my best friend. Apparently my only friend now.”, she snapped.
“I’m sorry Alexis, but I’m lost here. Your best friend comes over here, asks me to sleep with her, starts unbuttoning her shirt, I throw her out, then I’m the bad guy ?”, I asked, astoundished.
“That’s exactly what she said you would say.”, Alexis, replied.
“Because that’s what really happened.”, I told her.
“Brian, don’t lie to me, you promised you would never lie to me.”, she pleaded.
“Alexis, I have never lied to you even once. I have told you things no one else in this world knows. I am falling head over heels in love with you, I would never hurt you.”, I answered.
“It’s over Brian, just please leave me alone.”, she said, getting up and walking to the door.
I jumped up and ran after her, catching her before she opened the door. I turned her around to face me, looking her right in the eyes.
“Alexis, I swear to you what I told you is the truth. Paige came on to me.”, I told her.
She pulled away from me and opened the door, walking down the corridor. I was determined to get this sorted out, I followed her. As she opened the door to her condo, I followed her in. She was protesting, trying to get me to leave. I was determined to confront Paige. Fortunately, she was standing in the hallway waiting for Alexis to come back.
“Paige, you claim to be Alexis’ best friend. You look her in the eye and tell her you didn’t come on to me, that I didn’t throw you out of my place that night.”, I demanded.
“I already told her what happened Brian. You’re just mad because I turned you down and now you’re busted.”, she hissed, looking at me.
“You look her in the eye Paige, tell her that.”, I asked again.
“She knows I wouldn’t lie to her, I love her like a sister.”, she said, wrapping her arms around Alexis.
I stood there dumbfounded, a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, not knowing what to do. Alexis was crying on her friend’s shoulder, I was outside looking in, the bad guy. I finally decided that this was going nowhere, it was time to retreat.
“Alexis, I will say this one last time. You mean the world to me, I have never lied to you, nor did anything inappropriate since we have been spending time together. I think I am in love with you. But if you choose to believe her over me, there’s nothing I can do about it. But if so, if you believe Paige, and as you say, she’s your best friend in the world, then I feel very sorry for you, you deserve a hell of a lot better friend than what you have.”, I ended, tears in my eyes.
“Get out of here.”, Paige screamed at me.
“Not a problem.”, I said, softly closing the door behind me.
I went straight back home, getting directly into bed. I felt horrible, I was sick to my stomach. After several minutes, I jumped up and ran to the bathroom, I had to throw up. I was sitting on the cold ceramic tile in the bathroom, my head over the toilet, wondering what I had ever done so horrible in this life. Everytime it seemed I had worked things out, I lost the one person who made everything make sense.
My dad took me from my mom years ago, things were great, he was killed. Then on again and off again with Courtney, then she died. Why even toss the Ashley predicament in the mix, that was hopeless. And now finally, Alexis.
I had seen other guys go through women like they changed their underwear, they always seemed happy. I, on the other hand, tried to do exactly as my father had taught me, but somehow, things always blew up. As I went to lay back down, I made myself a solemn promise, never again, I was done with relationships.
I woke the next morning early, had some breakfast then went to practice. My heart wasn’t into it, everyone could tell. I made the excuse I wasn’t feeling well, they seemed to buy it. I pretty much followed routine for the rest of the week, making sure I left before Alexis in the morning, then after she got home in the afternoon. I took the back staircase up to my place, not having to pass in front of her door.
We won our game against Houston, the score was 34-28, I did manage to catch a touchdown, although I dropped one that would have been my second. We were on our way to a Conference Championship, one game away from the Superbowl, but somehow, I couldn’t get excited about it. All I could think about was Alexis, I wanted so much to call her.
We began the following week preparing for the Conference Championship, we would be facing Pittsburgh for the first time this year. You couldn’t enter or leave practice without a reporter trying to interview you for the paper or television. It was absolutely crazy around town, everyone had the fever.
We were mid week into practice, things were going well, we were a two point favorite to win the game, due to home field advantage. I was getting back to my condo late Wenesday night, I had spent extra time in the weight room, I wanted to be in top form for the game this week. As I turned the corner, I noticed a man knocking on Alexis’ door. I took my keys out of my pocket, pushing one into the dead bolt.
“Paige, I know you’re in there. Please open the door.”, he said, loudly, still knocking.
I turned the key in the lock, pushed the door open with my foot and started in.
“Excuse me. Hey, excuse me.”, he shouted.
I stepped back and looked in his direction, he was walking towards me. I set my bag down in the doorway, leaning on it for support.
“Excuse me, do you know the woman who lives there ?.”, he asked.
“Yes, I do.”, I replied.
“There’s a pretty blonde been staying with her for a while.”, he continued.
“Yes, I have seen her.”, I replied.
“I’m trying to find her, she’s my girl friend.”, he answered.
“Well, if they’re not home, I don’t know where they would be at.”, I told him.
“I really need to talk to her……”, he said, looking down, “You wouldn’t by any chance know Alexis’ phone number do you, I don’t have it in my cell.”, he asked.
I looked at this guy, I really felt bad for him. You could tell he was hurting, I guess when you’re in agony, you can see people who are in the same boat a whole lot easier.
“Yes, I have her number, but honestly, I don’t think she will answer it. But you can try.”, I offered, finding Alexis’ number in my contacts and hitting send.
I handed him the phone, he put it to his ear waiting. I walked inside, tossed my bag on the sofa and went back towards the front door. Obviously, I was wrong, Alexis had answered the phone.
“No it’s not Brian, it’s Chad. Is Paige with you ?”, he asked desperately.
“Because he was coming home when I was knocking on your door, that’s all. He let me use his phone. Please can I talk to Paige.”, he pleaded.
Apparently Paige didn’t want to talk to him, he was getting nowhere fast. To his credit, he continued to try.
“Alexis, please. I love her with all of my heart. I don’t care what she did, I want her back. We can work it out.”, he begged.
“Wait, wait. She told you I cheated on her ?”, he asked, his attitude changing.
“Alexis, I have never cheated on Paige once. It’s been her both times. But I don’t care, just please let me talk to her.”, he ended.
“Alright. Alright. I’ll wait here.”, he said, closing the phone, handing it back to me.
“Thanks, I really appreciate man.”, he thanked.
“You wanna come in and wait ?”, I asked.
“No thanks, I’ll just wait in my car.”, he replied, walking off.
I was hoping he would have taken me up on the offer. Apparently what from little I overheard of the conversation, Paige had a penchant for lying. She obviously had convinced Alexis’ that Chad had cheated on her twice, when in fact, it was the other way around, at least if you believed her boyfriend. I was really hoping to get more details on Paige, but it didn’t work out. About an hour later, I heard voices out on the breeze way, I opened my door softly and looked out, Paige and Chad were talking in front of Alexis’ door. I quietly closed the door and went back to the show I was watching on TV.
The rest of the week flew by, soon I was on the table being taped for the Conference Championship, the game just hours away. The game was a sellout, the stadium was packed, emotions were sky high. We started slowly, they jumped out to a 14-7 lead, but with our offense, we could score three or four times in a quarter, we were never out of a game. On the next drive, we moved quickly down the field, getting a first down on their fifteen yard line.
On second and ten, I was able to get free across the middle, Josh threw a dart which I snagged at the three yard line. I remember taking a few steps, then the lights went out. The next thing I remember was being flat on my back, the trainers and team doctors hovering over me. Everything was blurry, my head was spinning, I felt nauseated. I remember several people asking me questions, none of which apparently I processed very well. I felt a board being slid under my back and legs, then I was taped down to the board at my helmet, waist and feet. I remember being lifted up, then moved quickly inside the undergropund facility of the stadium. By the time, I arrived at the emergency treatment area, I had begun to come around. I could move my arms and legs, although my head was still secured to the board.
Finally, I was eased out of my helmet, my head and neck area being examined. While it appeared that there were no major injuries, the fact that my head hurt, I was dizzy and nauseated, suggested I may be suffering from a concussion. Once the trauma experts were finished with me, the team doctor took over, once again asking me a series of questions, which this time, I was able to answer quickly. He patted me on the knee, getting off the stool in front of me.
“You’re ok Brian, just a little woozy.”, he said, handing me several tablets.
I took the medication quickly, then turned looking for my equipment. I reached over for my pads and helmet, which were nearby.
“Whoaaa, there big fella. Calm down, you’re not going anywhere yet.”, the doctor, told me.
“Come on Doc, I gotta get back out there.”, I answered.
“Maybe the second half, lets see how you do for the next hour or so.”, he answered.
I stayed in the locker room for the remainder of the first half, finally the team filing in for halftime. Josh came over and checked on me, I assured him I was alright. I saw Coach Cullen having a conversation with our team physician, apparently as to whether I could go or not. He didn’t seem pleased with the answers he was given. I was updated that the score was 21-14, we were trailing for the second time in the game. I got up and made my way over to where Coach Cullen was standing, he was going over some last minute preparations.
“Coach, I’m good to go, I feel fine.”, I said, in a low voice.
He looked up at me with a sort of smile on his face, nodding that he was grateful for the effort. He went back to scanning his charts giving me no indication of whether or not I would play the second half. I followed the team out on the field for the second half, but Billy got the nod to start in my place. I moved to the end of the bench disappointed, I wanted to play.
We opened up the third quarter with a long drive, capped off by Scott’s ten yard run for a touchdown, the game was again tied. It stayed that way until late in the third quarter, we intercepted a deflected pass, running it back thirty yards for another score.
Early in the fourth quarter, Josh found a breakdown in coverage throwing a sixty eight yard pass for another touchdown, we were beginning to pull away. We were now up 35-21, we knew they had to start pressing to score, time was running out. On the next drive they moved down the field quickly, they had a first down on our thirty five. On third and eight, Sam Jackson, our best pass rusher, broke free and hit their quarterback from the blind side causing him to fumble. We now had the ball at our own forty, only six minutes left to play.
We were able to pickup two first downs, but had to punt with about three and a half minutes to play. They went on a long drive finally scoring with about a minute and a half to go in the game. With the score 35-28, we knew they would onside kick, there was not enough time to gamble on holding us without a first down. We put our “hands” team on the field, which consisted of players who normally handled the ball, we had to make sure we recovered the kick. Sure enough, the onside kick came but it was a terrible effort going directly to one of our wide receivers in the front row, who simply fell on the ball at our own forty eight yard line. One first down and this game was over.
They stacked the line of scrimmage, knowing we would run the ball, trying to kill the clock. We ran on both first and second, gaining very little yardage. After both downs, they called a time out killing the clock. It was third and six yards to go for a first, they were once again showing eight men in the box, committed to stopping the run. I looked up at the clock, there was a minute, three second left to play. We showed our 96 Power formation in which we would run over right tackle, it was a standard set. The ball was snapped, Josh dropped to hand off, but instead pulled the ball back on a play action pass. The defense sold out to the run, eight men attacking the line of scrimmage. Billy Huber was able to make an initial block, then slipped the linebacker into the flat. Josh threw a perfect pass, Billy pulled it in then ran twenty one yards up the field for a first down, the game was over. Josh took a knee twice, running what time was left off the clock. We were going to the Superbowl, it just didn’t seem real somehow. I headed back towards the locker room, although I was feeling a lot better, I still had a slight headache. Before I could enter the tunnel to our dressing room, a young female reporter grabbed me by the arm, pulling me into view of her camera.
“Brian, how does it feel to be going to the Superbowl ?’, she asked, sticking the microphone in my face.
“I don’t think it’s even sunk in yet. But this team deserves it, we have worked hard all year.”, I replied.
“Brian, you left the game in the second quarter, although you came back out, you never returned to the line up. Can you tell us what the extent of your injuries are ?”, she asked.
“Nothing is wrong, I just had my bell rung, that’s it. I was a bit out of it for a few minutes. I think they held me out as a precaution, but I feel fine.”, I answered.
“That’s good news, congratulations on the win.”, she stated.
“Thank you.”, I responded, turning and running quickly into the tunnel.
I hit the showers immediately, was out quickly, then dressed and packed my things. I was not asked to be at the post game interview, which thankfully, I was grateful for. As instructed, I went to the team physician before leaving the complex, checking in with him. He asked me how I was feeling, what if any side effects I was experiencing. I told him other than a slight headache, I was feeling fine. He handed me a bottle of medication, telling me to take them as needed for the headache. He also told me, if the headache didn’t ease up by the morning, or any other symptoms occurred, to call him and he would meet me at the hospital.
I left the stadium, signed a few autographs on the way out, then drove straight home. I took two of the pills the doctor had given me and went straight to bed. The next morning when I woke, I had a slight stiff neck, but the headache was gone. I got dressed, packed my bag and headed to practice. Our opponent in the Superbowl would be New York, the game was in two weeks in New Orleans. Monday’s practice was just a series of meetings in which the coaches briefly outlined what our schedule would be in the upcoming weeks. We would be off tomorrow, then practice Wednesday through Saturday as normal. We would leave for New Orleans late Sunday evening, arriving at our hotel around midnight. This was prearranged to avoid the media, as well as the hoards of fans that might be camped out nearby.
We were each told we would receive five tickets for the game to be given out as we saw fit, but we were forbidden to sell them.
After all meetings were done, I was sent to the trainers for them to evaluate me, making sure I had no ill effects from the previous day. After speaking with the trainer, he felt confident enough that I had not suffered a concussion as first was thought. He assured me unless something changed, I would be cleared to return to practice Wednesday. Before leaving the practice facility, I was approached by Biller Huber, asking if he could speak to me.
“Brian, I know we aren’t allowed to sell our tickets, but I would like to donate three of my tickets to your foundation, maybe you could raffle them off or something.”, he offered.
“Billy, you don’t have any family you want to go ?”, I asked.
“My wife and my Dad will be there, that’s all the family I have left.”, he answered.
“Well, I will have to see if that’s possible, make sure I don’t violate any rules, but I would love to have them. Thank you Billy, that’s quite a gesture.”, I said, shaking his hand.
“You’re quite welcome Brian.”, he answered.
I walked away thinking about how funny life was. When I first arrived here , Billy treated me like his mortal enemy. Now just a few years later, we had become friends, life is funny that way. I left the facility, stopped and picked up a few things at the grocery on the way home. I arrived back at my place sometime around two o’clock, noticing that neither Alexis’ nor Paige’s car was parked in their normal spots. I went inside, make myself some lunch, then took a short nap. I woke up about six that evening, I decided to call home and talk to Ashley. She had just came in from her last day at school before the Christmas break, she sounded out of breath.
“Hey hot shot, I tried to call you last night, but it went to voice mail. Are you ok ?”, she asked.
“I’m fine Ash, they thought it might have been a mild concussion, but it wasn’t. Just got my bell rung pretty good.”, I answered.
“So, you’re going to the Superbowl huh ?”, she asked, very excited.
“Yep, that’s why I called you in fact. I want you to be there.”, I responded.
“You’re kidding right ?”, she asked.
“No, I’m serious, I have two tickets, one for you, one for Jeff.”, I explained.
“You want me to bring… I mean you’re ok with….?”, she stuttered.
“I’m fine with it, I want the both of you there. I’m not taking no for an answer. I will pay for everything, you’re all the family I have left, I want you there.”, I urged.
I could tell she was emotional, she began to cry, trying her best to keep her composure.
“Look you have that emergency credit card I left you, charge everything to that, I will take care of it.”, I instructed.
“Brian, I can’t do that it’s….”, she started.
“Ashley stop it. I insist on paying for both of you. I want to meet this guy anyway, make sure he’s good enough for you. No way you’re not coming, end of story.”, I demanded.
“Thank you Brian, that’s so generous of you.”, she answered.
She told me she would call me later in the week and fill me in on their plans, but that she would be there regardless. I then called Mr. Timmons and asked if he would like a ticket, he was the closest thing to a father I had left in this world. He was floored at the invitation, never dreaming he would go to a Superbowl, much less know someone playing in one. He sounded in much better spirits then the last time we had spoke, I assured him I would express mail him the tickets as soon as I had them. That was four of my five tickets, I still had one left.
The next morning, I called the foundation’s lawyer, asking him if I could accept Billy’s generous offer and raffle off the three tickets as he had suggested. The lawyer, without hesitation told me he didn’t think it would be a good idea, but furthermore, the logistics would be a nightmare. With less than two weeks to go, trying to organize and pull off a raffle would be difficult at best. He suggested that I possibly use the tickets to compensate someone who had either made a contribution to the foundation or who had donated their time.
I thanked him for his help, I would talk to Billy at practice the following day, see what he thought. I took my car in for an oil change and tire rotation, I was back at the condo for about three thirty. I was watching TV on the sofa when the phone rang, I picked it up and looked at the number. I was shocked, it was Alexis. I debated on whether or not to answer it, I let it ring four or five times, then finally pressed the green bar.
“Hello.”, I said, very calmly.
“Hello Brian, how are you ?”, Alexis answered, very professionally.
“I’m ok, I guess, thanks.”, I replied.
“Congratulations on the win, you must be excited ?”, she asked.
“Yes, I am looking forward to the game.”, I answered, trying my best not to be emotional.
I heard her exhale deeply on the other end of the phone, like maybe she was trying to get up the nerve to tell me something. I waited, there was a very awkward pause before she broke the silence.
“Brian, I……. I’m not really sure……. I think that Paige…..”, she stammered.
“Alexis, what are you trying to say ?”, I asked.
“Brian, I don’t know what to believe anymore. I found out that……well that Paige was the one actually cheated on Chad, it was never the other way around.”, she blurted out.
“Why would she tell you that Alexis, I thought she was your best friend ?”, I asked.
“She is…..I dunno anymore Brian, I am really confused.”, she answered.
“It sounds like you and Paige need to sit down and have a serious heart to heart talk Alexis, clear the air.”, I suggested.
“We are going to dinner together tonight, we’re going to do just that.”, she responded.
“Well good luck, I hope you two work it out.”, I told her.
“Brian, I ….. I want to talk to you after….I mean if you want to still talk to me.”, she asked.
“Get everything squared away with Paige first, you need to do that.”, I urged.
“Ok, thanks, take care.”, she answered.
“You too.”, I wished, hanging up the phone.
All I could hope for was that Paige really wanted to clear the air with Alexis, tell her the entire truth about everything. I went back to watching TV, trying not to think about things I could not control. I was on the sofa laying down just about asleep, when I heard my phone signaling I had a text message. I reached over the arm of the sofa grabbing the phone, opening the message.
“Brian, I am so sorry. I was wrong. I know I hurt you, I just hope
you can one day forgive me. Love Alexis.”
I read the message at least a half dozen times before it sunk in, Paige had obviously confessed to what she had done. I was thankful for that, it couldn’t have been easy for Paige to admit to her long time friend what she had tried to do. I wanted so much to call Alexis immediately, but I didn’t want to appear desperate. I decided to text her back, just to make sure I wasn’t being an asshole.
“Thank you for that Alexis, I know you have been hurt as well.”
Since I had practice in the morning, I decided I had better get ready to go to bed, I knew practice was going to be intense. I laid down about nine o’clock, but I couldn’t sleep. All I could think about was Alexis, I wanted to run down to her place so bad, just wrap my arms around her and hold her tight. I know it took me well over an hour to fall asleep.
I got up early the next morning, got dressed and left about eight o’clock for practice. Alexis’ car was still in her parking place, the other was vacant. I arrived at practice about a half hour early, there was a note taped to my locker clearing me to practice. I started getting ready, I was eager to get back to work. We worked out hard for close to three and a half hours, then when inside to shower and dress. We were each asked to report to the media room before leaving to pick up our tickets for the game. I took my time cleaning up, I was one of the last guys in line. Billy walked up to me handing me the three tickets he had promised.
“Oh Billy, I asked the lawyer about the raffle, he told me he didn’t think it was wise to hold one on such short notice. Maybe someone else can use them.”, I told him.
“Well, find someone to give them to… I can’t use them.”, he said, handing me the tickets.
“Thanks Billy.”, I replied.
I picked up my five tickets, then made my way directly to the post office, overnighting one set to Ashley and the other to Mr. Timmons. I still had four tickets left, I had no idea what to do with them. As I was driving home, I suddenly had an idea, it seemed like a good one. I got home, pulled out my briefcase that contained foundation information, finding the phone number I was looking for. I dialed it right way, a man answered quickly.
“Mr. Butler, this is Brian Stevens, how are you sir ?”, I asked.
“Oh Brian, I am doing great, thanks.”, he answered.
“And how is my number one fan, little Bryan doing ?”, I laughed.
“Oh my God, he almost had a stroke when you went out of the game last week, he actually cried for you to come back.”, he answered.
“Tell him I’m fine, in fact that’s why I am calling.”, I started, “I was wondering if possibly you, your wife and Bryan would like to be my guests for the Superbowl in New Orleans ?”, I asked.
“Holy crap, are you serious ?’, he asked.
“Yes sir, I am. Since Bryan was the inspiration for my foundation, and my first real fan, I think it’s only fitting you guys are there.”, I replied.
“Brian, that’s so generous, but I’m not really sure we can afford the trip. My wife and I are just back to work full time since the last bout with the illness, it might be a bit difficult.”, he answered.
“It’s all on me, the game ticket’s, the airline flight, the hotel and the meals. It’s something I want to do for Bryan, please say yes.”, I urged.
“Brian, I don’t know what to say, I really don’t. Let me call my wife and discuss it, then we will get back to you.”, he replied.
“That will work, call me at this number.”, I responded.
He called me back in less than fifteen minutes, telling me his wife would be estatic to go. He told me they had not told Bryan yet, they wanted me to call him myself. I agreed to do just that. I got his home address telling him I would wire the money for the trip to him later that day. He gave me his home phone number telling me Bryan was there now, he was out of school for the holidays. I called the number that I had been given, Mrs. Butler answered the phone. She was very emotional, almost in the verge of tears.
“Brian, I can’t tell you what this means to me. This will be the greatest thing that Bryan has ever experienced. He will be thrilled.”, she said, thankfully.
“You all deserve it Mrs. Butler, I am just happy you can make it.”, I replied.
“Let me get Bryan to the phone.”, she said.
She set the phone down then called out to her young son that he had a phone call. I could hear the young boy as he approached the phone.
“The call is for me , Mommy ?”, he asked, “Who is it ?”
“I don’t know, here.”, she replied.
“Hello.”, said the faint voice.
“Hey Bryan, how’s my number one fan today ?”, I asked.
There was a brief pause at the other end of the phone, then the voice came back.
“Mom, it’s him. It’s Brian.”, he yelled.
“Yep it’s me buddy, how are you feeling ?”, I asked.
“Pretty good, I am gaining weight, I feel ok.”, he answered.
“Well good, I am glad to hear that.”, I replied.
“Why are you calling me ?”, he asked, as only a seven year old could.
“Well, the team gave me tickets to the Superbowl and since you’re my number one fan, I want you to go.”, I told him.
“To the Superbowl, for real ?”, he screamed.
“For real. I already talked to Mommy and Daddy, they say it’s up to you.”, I hinted, waiting for a response.
“When are we leaving ?’, was his only response.
I laughed at the youngster, his enthusiam was contagious. It was fun being around the younger children, they never failed to amaze me. I promised to see him there, I heard him drop the phone and take off yelling. I finished the arrangements with his mother, then hung up.
We ended the week’s practice on Friday about three in the afternoon, we were given Saturday off to prepare for the trip. We were due at the practice facility by two o’clock Sunday afternoon, the bus to the airport would leave close to three o’clock. By the time I got back to my place on Friday afternoon, I was exhausted. I had spent the entire week practicing, making sure everyone’s tickets were mailed to them, sending out money order’s and trying to get myself packed.
I made myself a light dinner, then bagged up what little food was left in the fridge, going out back tossing it in the dumpster. I would be gone for close to nine days, nothing would be much good when I returned. I grabbed the mail out of my box on the way back up, it was stuffed, I was bad for getting the mail. I was sitting on the sofa watching TV when my cell phone rang, it was Alexis.
“Hey Brian, how have you been ?”, she asked, nervously.
“I’m ok Alexis, it’s just been crazy this week, getting ready for the trip to New Orleans.”, I replied.
“Yes, I bet it is. Are you looking forward to it ?”, she asked.
“Not as much as I thought I would. Somehow, it’s not what I pictured it would be so far.”, I answered.
“Brian, would it be possible for me to talk with you ?”, she asked, her voice anxious.
“Alexis, you can always talk to me. It’s not a problem.”, I answered.
“Could I come down now, or would you rather wait until you get back.”, she inquired.
“You can come down now, I’m not busy.”, I offered.
“Ok, thanks. See you in about an hour.”, she responded, hanging up.
I dropped the phone on the sofa and leaned forward toward the coffee table picking up the stack of mail. I tossed the junk mail to one side, a few bills to the right. I then came upon a medium sized manilla envelop that was extremely thick, all of the edges had been taped together for extra support. It was addressed to me with the word PERSONAL wrote at the bottom of the envelop. I quickly saw it was from Mr. & Mrs. Timmons, their home address visible on the upper left corner. I turned the envelop to one end, carefully tearing off the end, opening it up. I pulled out a small piece of paper that was torn from a note pad, it was in Mrs. Timmons handwriting.
Brian,
I was going through some of Courtney’s older things,
I found a shoe box full of photo’s. I made you copies of all
of them, I thought you might like them. I know she was
special to you, as you are to us. We love you, hope to see
you soon.
Love, Elaine.
I took a deep breath, then slowly reached into the envelop, removing a large stack of photos that had been carefully bound together. I broke the band, unwrapped the loose leaf paper, turning the pile of photo’s over. I looked at the top photo, my heart immediately sinking into the pit of my stomach. The photo was of Courtney and I kissing in her parents kitchen, just minutes after I had been drafted by San Diego, several years earlier. Courtney was standing on her tip toes, her arms wrapped around my neck.
I slowly moved to the second photo, it was of the two of us, before our first dance together in high school. We were in front of her parents fireplace, it seemed like only yesterday. As I turned each photo, another small piece of my heart broke off, everything came flooding back to me. By the time I had gotten to the bottom of the photo’s, I was crying like an infant. The pictures were all face up on my coffee table, an emotional jig saw puzzle from the past. Courtney was beautiful, God I had loved her so much, I just wished that I could have one more day to spend with her. My emotional outburst was broken, there was a knock on the door.
I got up, trying to compose myself, it was impossible, I was too far gone. I opened the door, Alexis was standing there, her smile quickly fading as she saw my state.
“Brian, what’s wrong ?”, she asked.
“It’s not important, please come in.”, I asked her.
She walked past me into the front room, I passed her on the way to the kitchen.
“You want something to drink ?”, I asked.
“A water would be nice.”, she replied.
I went to the ice box and grabbed two bottles of water, there was little else in there. As I walked back into the room, Alexis was looking through the pictures on the table, her right hand pushing them around. I handed her a bottle of water, then sat down on the other end of the sofa.
“Maybe this is a bad time for you, I can leave you alone.”, she offered.
“It’s ok, those just came in the mail. I wasn’t prepared, I had no idea what they were.”, I replied, looking down.
“She was beautiful Brian, it’s obvious you loved her deeply, even now you’re not over her.”, she said, softly with a smile.
“I’ll never get over her Alexis, she will always have a place in my heart. I have accepted that she’s gone, but I will never forget her completely.”, I answered, tears still rolling down my cheeks.
I think Alexis knew perhaps it was time to change the subject, maybe get on to what she had wanted to talk about. She shifted around nervously in her seat, her eyes looking down at the carpet, unable to look at either me or the photos.
“Brian, this is probably a bad time to have this conversation, in fact maybe it’s best I just go back home, leave you alone.”, she offered.
“Alexis please, say what you want to say, we’re both adults.’, I urged.
“Brian, I was wrong, I made a huge mistake. I can’t ask you to forgive me, I made a choice, I made the wrong one. I’m just hoping, maybe, we could start over, maybe you could give me one more chance ?”, she asked.
“What did Paige tell you ?”, I inquired.
“I have known Paige since my freshman year in college, I trusted her like a sister. I have never known her to lie to me, not once. Apparently though Paige has a problem, she admitted it to me for the first time. She has a hard time controlling herself around men, she enjoys sex very much, too much it seems.”, she admitted.
“So what exactly did she say to you ?”, I asked, once again.
“She told me she came down here that evening, with the intent on seducing you. It seems she finds you incredibly attractive, she had been fantasizing about you for a while. She figured you were like most men, you wouldn’t have a problem sleeping with her, if she kept quiet. She admitted she came on to you, what you told her, that you threw her out. It wasn’t until she had gotten back to my place, she realized what she had done. By then it was too late, she was afraid you would tell me, that it would ruin our friendship. So she decided to try and save our friendship, making you the villian.”, she ended.
“Well, tell her thank you from me, I’m grateful that she admitted the truth. It means a lot to me, it really does.”, I answered.
“She wanted me to ask you, if perhaps, one day you might forgive her. If not, she does understand.”, Alexis told me.
There was an awkward pause, I was wondering in my mind had Alexis already forgiven her friend. I knew that being around Paige from now on would be extremely difficult to say the least.
“So, I guess there’s not much more to say. Other than once again, I am so sorry. I hope you can forgive me, I don’t want to lose our friendship.”, she ended.
“I forgive you, Alexis.”, I replied.
“Thank you. I’m sorry I doubted you, I made a horrible decision.”, she answered.
As bad as I felt, it seemed a tremendous burden had been lifted from my shoulders. While I had no idea if my relationship with Alexis would ever be the same, at least she knew the truth about what had happened. There wasn’t any chance of moving on until that was settled, now it was. I could sense from her posture, she perhaps felt a little better as well, her sagging shoulders now raised up higher. As usual she looked amazing, it had become so difficult to sit in a room with her without wanting to hold her and kiss her. She was wearing tight blue jeans, a tee shirt and sneakers, but still looked like she had jumped from the pages of a modeling magazine.
Alexis got up from the end of the sofa moving towards me, finally sitting down right next to me. She reached out and took my hand in hers, her eyes looking into mine.
“Brian, I would do anything for things to go back to the way they were. I just have a feeling I have broken something inside of you, something I possibly can’t fix.”, she whispered, tears forming in her eyes.
“I don’t know Alexis, it just seems every time I think my entire life makes sense, something happens. I feel like maybe, it’s my destiny, who knows.”, I answered.
She looked down at the coffee table littered with photo’s of Courtney and I, then back up to me, a single tear running down her beautiful face.
“I do know one thing Brian. I will never be able to compete with Courtney.”, she replied, sadly.
“I’m not asking you to, Alexis.”, I responded.
She leaned over and put her head on my chest, her arm around my waist. I held her with my left arm, resting my face on the top of her head. She smelled so good, she felt so wonderful, I would never forgive myself if I didn’t try and make this work. I’m not sure how long we sat there, it had to be at least twenty minutes.
“What are your plans for tomorrow ?’, she finally asked, not raising her head.
“I wasn’t going to do much, hang out here. I have to leave about mid day Sunday.”, I answered.
“Would you spend the day with me ? Just the two of us ?”, she asked.
“That sounds nice, I would like that.”, I replied.
She left shortly there after, no kiss goodbye, just a long sincere look as she closed the door behind her. I went back into the main room, gathered all the pictures up, placing them back into the envelop. I went to my bedroom placing the envelop in my top dresser drawer. I undressed, got into bed my mind wandering back home, to the days I had spent with Courtney, when everything seemed so much easier.
I woke the next morning to the sun streaming through the blinds, the room bathed in soft sunlight. I swung my feet to the floor sitting up in the bed, rubbing my eyes. I got up, went to the kitchen starting a pot of coffee. I went back to my room, grabbed some clean clothes, then took a long shower. By the time I got back to the kitchen, the coffee was done. I poured a cup and went over to the sofa, sitting down and turning on the TV. I picked up my phone, noticing I had missed a call from Alexis a few minutes earlier. I pressed the redial button, she answered quickly.
“Hey, everything still ok for us today ?”, she asked.
“Yes, I must have been taking a shower when you called.”, I answered.
“So, what do you want to do today ?”, she inquired.
“Doesn’t matter to me, you have any ideas ?”, I asked.
“Nope, not really. How about we go get an early lunch, then come back here, maybe to the pool ?”, she suggested.
“That sounds good, I’ll be over in a few minutes.”, I replied.
I put on some team shorts, a short sleeve white compression shirt and a pair of sneakers. I grabbed my wallet, keys and phone making my way to Alexis’ unit. As usual the door was slightly ajar, I yelled as I entered the doorway.
“Come on in, be right with you.”, she shouted.
I was sitting on the edge of the sofa for maybe three or four minutes when she came walking in. She was wearing a pair of pink, lycra shorts, a white cotton top, trimmed in pink, white socks and sneakers. Her hair was pulled into a pony tail, her fluffy band being pink as well. This was not a unusual look for Alexis, I had to do a double take on her appearance.
We drove down to the boulevard stopping in at a small specialty restaurant, where we had a nice lunch. We drove back to the condo, where we went directly poolside, grabbing a few chaise lounge chairs, moving them to the north end of the pool. There were only two other people out there, both of them in the pool already.
“You getting in ?”, Alexis finally asked.
“Like this ?”, I asked.
“Sure why not ?” Alexis laughed.
“We don’t have any towels either.”, I answered.
“I’ll be right back.”, she replied, jumping up.
She ran up the stairs, disappearing around the corner. She was back in less than five minutes with two large white beach towels and a small tote bag. She had already removed her shoes and socks, she was ready to dive in. I took off my shoes and socks placing them inside of her tote bag, then stripping off my shirt. We both walked over to the pool lader, Alexis got in first. I followed her quickly, swimming over to the safety rope stretched across the middle of the pool. I had both arms over the rope, hanging in the middle of the pool, when I felt Alexis wrap her arms around my neck, pulling herself up on my back.
“Gotcha.”, she laughed, kissing me on my neck.
I turned slightly to my right, she slipped around me, so she was on the rope as well. Her white tee shirt was almost transparent, exposing a pink, laced bra underneath. I felt her hand on her hip, her foot rubbing my lower leg. As much as I was trying not to let her, she was beginning to get to me.
“The water feels really nice doesn’t it ?”, she asked, smiling.
“Yes it does.”, I answered.
She leaned over towards me, her tongue wetting her lips before she pressed them to mine. As was usual, I felt of jolt of electricity through every nerve ending in my body, as her soft, moist lips touched mine. I put one arm around her waist, pulling her in a little closer. She finally pulled away from me, her eyes opened looking directly into mine.
“I have missed you.”, she admitted.
“I have missed you too, Alexis.”, I answered.
“I hate it that you are leaving tomorrow, you’ll be gone for over a week.”, she pouted.
“Come with me then. I still have one ticket left. I will be with the team most of the day, but I am sure we could squeeze some time in together.”, I offered.
“Really ?”, she responded.
“Sure, why not. You can meet Ashley, we can all go to dinner together, it would be nice.”, I replied.
“You’re serious ?”, she asked, once again.
This time instead of answering her, I simply leaned over kissing her passionately. She responded warmly, her tongue brushing again my lips.
“Let’s go back upstairs. I need to make reservations as soon as I can.”, she giggled.
We got out of the pool, each grabbed a towel wrapping it around us, heading upstairs. I went down to my unit, showered quickly rinsing off the chlorine, then changed clothes. I made my way down to Alexis’ unit, letting myself in. She was still in the shower, but joined me within a few minutes. The team was staying in a large hotel within walking distance of the Superdome in New Orleans. I looked up the number online, then dialed it asking for a reservation. I was told they were booked up solid, nothing was available. I called Ashley to see where she might be staying, maybe there would be an opening there. She told me she had booked two rooms in that very hotel, just over a week ago. She told me in a round about way that as of last week, she had not yet been intimate with her new boyfriend. Apparently within the last few days, that had changed. She seemed reluctant to tell me, but there wasn’t too many excuses you could have for booking separate rooms. I assured her, I was fine with everything. I asked if it would be ok with her, if perhaps Alexis could have one of those rooms. She immediately offered her the room, telling me she looked forward to meeting her. The great news was, everyone would be in the same hotel.
Alexis called in her plane reservation, she would leave Tuesday, right after work, getting in late Tuesday night. Ashley and Jeff were getting there about middle of the day Tuesday. With everything in hand quickly, we were able to breath a sigh of relief. I called Ashley back to tell her what we had arranged, when she could expect Alexis.
“So tell me hot shot, is she the one ?”, Ashley laughed.
“Well….I uh…..I’m not sure.”, I replied.
“Oh she’s sitting right there huh ?”, Ashley kidded.
“Yep.”, I answered.
“Have you two ….you know…. yet ?”, she giggled.
“Since you’re taking a survey, the answer is no.”, I laughed.
“Oh this should be interesting then. I can’t wait to meet her.”, Ashley laughed.
We talked for a few more minutes, then I hung up. Alexis had went back to the bathroom, finished drying her hair, then joined me back on the sofa. She was wearing a pair of short white terry cloth shorts with a white tee shirt, her hair pulled back tight behind her.
“It’s going to be kinda of weird meeting Ashley. I don’t want to sound……”, she started.
“Alexis, please don’t ever tell Ashley, what I told you about us. Not unless she brings it up, promise ?”, I interrupted.
“I promise.”, she replied.
She got up and walked to the refrigerator returning with two bottles of water, handing me one. She sat down right next to me, her hand coming down on my thigh. I put my right arm around her shoulders, my hand resting on her right shoulder.
“You know this is absolutely crazy right ?”, Alexis finally asked.
“What’s crazy ?”, I asked, completely confused.
“That I’m doing all of this to avoid taking you back there.”, she said, pointing down the hall.
“What are you talking about ?”, I laughed.
“ I know this is absolutely silly, I should just take you to bed and get it over with.” she admitted.
“Get it over with ?”, I asked, sarcastically.
“Oh…no that’s not how I meant it….I mean..the tension is…”, she started.
I reached over and turned her face to mine gently. Her light green eyes were opened wide, sparkling like jade in the sunlight.
“Alexis, it’s no big deal. Everything will happen in time, if it doesn’t then it doesn’t. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself, you’ll know if and when you’re ready.”, I told her.
“Oh I already know the if part, it’s the when that’s driving me crazy.”, she admitted.
I laughed at her, to which she slapped me on the chest, really embarrassed. I couldn’t imagine what she had went through years earlier, I had to believe exposing yourself to another man after that had to take extreme courage. She pushed me sideways on the sofa, my back landing on the arm rest. She quickly climbed on top of me, pinning me down.
“Don’t you laugh at me mister. I will hurt you bad.”, she giggled.
“You promise ?”, I replied.
“I promise.”, she answered.
With those words she leaned down and kissed me once again, her hands on my chest. She tasted so good, her lips were soft, warm and moist. She was absolutely, hands down the most sensual woman I had ever been with. There was just something about her, she exuded sex, I was sure I could have an orgasm just kissing her. I could feel her body moving on the top of me, her hands began to move over my upper body. Soon she had positioned herself right above my rock hard cock as she had done once before. I felt her rub herself up and down on me several times, as her tongue danced inside of my mouth. The quite abruptly, with no warning, she stopped. I opened my eyes to find her staring into mine, a twinkle in her eye. She put both hands on my chest, pushing her body weight off of me, standing up in front of the sofa. She reached out with one hand, offering it to me.
“I just figured out the when, it’s right now.”, she said, her voice deep but soft.
“Alexis, you don’t have to….”, I started.
invited.
I reached up and took her small soft hand in mine, getting up from the large leather sofa. Without a word, she led me down the hall into her bedroom and over to the bed. She pulled the white ruffled comforter back to the foot of the bed, then turned back the covers. She climbed into bed extending her hand to me, wanting me to join her. I climbed in slowly behind her, my heart racing in anticipation. She pulled me down next to her, my lips found hers quickly in a deep passionate kiss. She responded slowly, her hands moving up and down my back softly, her nails lightly scratching my skin. I was trying to anticpate what she might want, but I was so afraid of doing the wrong thing. I had not yet even touched her in an intimate way, I felt like a teenager making out for the first time. I decided to just take it slow, make sure she was comfortable with what was going on.
I ran my hand down her back, over her shorts, my hand resting on her ass. I very gently began to squeeze her, my fingers massaging the firm, tight flesh. Without feeling any hesitation on her part, I gently worked my hand back up, until I felt the waist band of her shorts, easing slowly inside of them until I had my fingers inside. Without any protest, I slowly pulled the back of her shorts down, peeling them off of her waist easily, down her hips. She pulled way from me for a moment, reaching down pulling her shorts off. Then leaned up and slowly peeled off her tee shirt, exposing a beautiful white, lace bra and panty set. I leaned over and gently kissed her between her breasts, I felt her gasp as she caught her breath. I saw her stomach sink in quickly, as she held her breath in either anticipation or fear, I wasn’t sure. I kissed her once again softly, then taking my tongue, softly kissed and licked down her body, ever so slowly. As my lips came close to the waist band of her panties, I felt her hands touch my head softly. I stopped right there sensing perhaps she was having a change of heart. But after several seconds, I felt her fingers begin to slowly stroke the back of my head.
With perhaps another sign of approval, I decided to inch my way down a bit further, until I was kissing her softly through her white, laced panties. By now her touch on my head had become a bit more firm, almost like she was telling me she didn’t want me to pull away.
Once more I slowly eased down until my tongue was gently stroking the lips of her pussy, through the sheer silk material. I felt her moving her hips gently, her body moving against the pressure of my tongue.
Ever so gently I reached up with my right hand until my fingers and tongue were within inches of each other, both gently stroking her pussy. With little warning, I reached up gently, pulling her panties to one side by the leg band, exposing her soft, wet, pink lips to my gaze for the first time. She was clean shaven, two soft thick, light brown lips framing her wet, pink opening. I saw her tense up once again, not quite knowing what I was going to do.
I extended my tongue, placing it gently but firmly on the bottom of her opening. Then with one long, extremely slow stroke, I moved from bottom to top, resting on her clit for a second or two.
“Oh my Godddddddddddd.”, she moaned, her hips arching, slightly off the bed.
I repeated the motion once again, this time my tongue entering between her lips, getting my first taste of her sweet juices. Once again she arched her hips from the bed in gratitude.
“Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh.”, she moaned.
I raised my head slightly, looking up her body to her face. Her eyes were closed, her mouth slightly open, a vision of passion. She opened her eyes when she felt me pause, her eyes found mine quickly.
“Brian, that feels so God damn good.”, she whispered.
I reached down with both hands, grabbing the waist band of her panties, pulling them down her firm legs, tossing them over to the floor. I leaned down quickly, pushing my tongue deep inside of her wet thick folds, my hands holding her muscled thighs tightly. I pulled my tngue from her pussy slowly, savoring her taste on my tongue for a moment. I then moved up slightly, taking her hardening clit between my lips, sucking on it gently, then flicking my tongue across it several times.
Both of her hands gripped my head in response, her thighs squeezing the sides of my face. I knew what she wanted, I didn’t hesitate. I took her clit between my lips sucking on it harder, then released it, only to bathe it with my tongue as quickly as I could. After a half dozen repetitions of the same motion, I knew she was past the point of no returned. I felt a sudden release of warm, thick fluids, a much different tasting fluid. I held her thighs firmly driving my tongue deep inside of her, my lips buried against her pussy.
Her orgasm was very intense and very wet, I had never experienced anything like it. It lasted close to thirty seconds, when she was done, my face was literally covered in her orgasm. She finally relaxed, her body sinking into the mattress, her muscles relaxing. She looked down at me, her eyes wide and bright, a soft smile on her face.
“Oh my God, come here.”, she whispered, her face turning red.
She reached over next to her grabbing her tee shirt, then softly but gently wiped her orgasm off of my face.
“I’m so sorry, I forgot to warn you about that.”, she giggled.
I pushed the tee shirt away, tossing it to the floor. I looked deeply into her eyes, my face only inches from hers.
“I love it, you taste wonderful.”, I whispered, pressing my lips to hers.
She quickly responded to me, her tongue all over my lips and mouth. She was tasting her own orgasm, something which seem to get her motor running again. I pulled away from her slowly, sitting up over her body. I reached down and unfastened the center front hook of her bra, pulling back the cups to reveal two firm full breasts. Her nipples were rock hard and swollen, protruding from the soft firm globes. I leaned over taking her right nipple between my lips, gently sucking it into my mouth. She held my head softly as I licked and kissed her nipple, her breath warming my face as she looked down on me.
I moved back up, my lips finding hers in a long, slow gentle kiss. I held her close as my tongue explored the inside of her mouth, slowly and passionately. Within minutes she was aroused again her body pushing into mine with desire. I rolled over on my back, pulling her gently over me, my lips still pressed to hers. I was gently sucking on her tongue, as I felt her hand begin unbuttoning my shorts. She quickly had my erect cock between her fingers, her hand slowly pumping the shaft up and down. She released me for a second, pushing my shorts and boxers down my leg, then quickly straddled me. She reached down between her legs grasping my cock firmly in her right hand, leaning in, close to my face.
“I want to feel you inside of me, Brian. I have been waiting a long time.”, she whispered.
“Alexis, I don’t have a …………”, I started.
“Shhhhhhh, I have been on birth control for years, even though I didn’t need it.”, she answered.
She lifted her hips slowly, pushing the head of my cock to her warm, wet opening. She leaned forward, her hips still high in the air, her face moving towards mine. With her eyes riveted to mine, she began to ease herself onto my cock, inch by inch, taking me inside of her belly. I can’t describe the feeling, I was on the verge of an orgasm myself. I fought back the urge to release, as she finally had me bottomed out in her womb. She leaned forward, her lips right over mine, as she began to slowly slide her wet pussy up and down on me.
“Jesus Alexis, I’m on fire.”, I whispered, my hands on her hips.
I wanted to grab her hips and drive myself into her, I was aching for release. This had been building for a long time, I was finally inside of this beautiful, alluring woman. I knew though, I had to be gentle, it had been a long time for her. She maintained a steady pace, her eyes glued to mine, enjoying the ecstasy, chisled on my face.
“You’re gonna make me cum again.”, Alexis whispered, with a smile.
With those words still ringing in my ear, she pushed down hard on me driving her clit into my pubic bone. She began rocking her hips back and forth violently, her breathing erratic and shallow. I couldn’t hold back any longer, I lifted my hips off the bed driving my cock deep inside of her belly.
My orgasm exploded deep inside of her womb, long deep throbbing sensations of ecstasy, hot cum coating her walls. I was looking directly at her, my eyes locked into hers, the feeling was intense.
The moment she felt my hot cum washing her insides, she exploded into her second orgasm.
“Oh God…….. Oh………God damn, it feels good.”, she wailed.
She continued rocking back and forth on me, her eyes closed in bliss. Once again her orgasm was powerful and very wet, our combined juices running down my cock, coating my balls. She fell on top of me, breathless for a second, as she tried to regain her composure. I reached up and softly stroked her hair, I kissed the top of her head. She leaned up to face me, her lips kissing me softly.
“I never knew a man could be so gentle. I have never felt this good in my life, thank you so much.”, she whispered.
About an hour later we were in the shower together, our bodies entwined once again in a passionate kiss. I couldn’t get enough of her, I had never been so powerless with a woman, but Alexis had me in the palm of her hand. We finished cleaning up, dried off and dressed, heading into the kitchen.
“I’m starving, how about you ?”, she asked.
“Yea, me too.”, I answered.
“Let’s get a pizza.”, she suggested.
“Sounds good.”, I replied.
About thirty minutes later we were sitting on the sofa side by side eating, talking and laughing. We finished the pizza, cleaned up and were sitting back on the sofa just talking about all kinds of things. Out of the blue, Alexis changed the topic quickly.
“You ever… I mean I know you have but…….Have you ever made yourself cum for a woman, while she watched ?”, she asked, her face turning somewhat red.
“You know I did, I told you about that night with Ashley…”, I replied.
“Oh yea, you did.”, she responded.
“I used to…..I sometimes when I am really worked up…I go on this web site…I like to watch guys do that…..I always cum hard afterwards.”, she admitted.
“Really ? So you’re a naughty girl ?”, I asked her.
“Oh if you only knew.”, she giggled.
“Know what ?”, I asked.
I could see she perhaps said a little more than perhaps she had been meaning to say, but it was too late. She hesitated slightly, but the look on my face told her I wanted an answer.
“I have gotten myself…made myself cum many times, watching people online. I never had the nerve to get on camera, but I used to watch a lot, men and women.”, she admitted.
“Wow, that’s very interesting.”, I laughed.
She began to rub the inside of my thigh softly, the twinkle coming back to those incredible eyes. I could tell she wanted something, I had been around her enough to pick up on a few things. She leaned over and kissed me softly, her tongue quickly brushing my upper lip.
“Would you do it for me….you know, let me watch ?”, she asked, nervously.
“Now ?”, I asked.
“Uh huh.”, she replied, biting her upper lip.
She was too God damned beautiful to refuse, even if I had wanted to, which I don’t think I did. She batted her eyes at me several times, then giggled, like I wasn’t already sold.
“It’s no problem, but this goes both ways. You will have to do it for me as well.”, I demanded.
“No, no, no. That’s not the deal, I asked first.”, she pouted.
“That’s the only deal, I’m making. Take it or leave it.”, I replied.
She thought hard for a moment, once again biting her upper lip. I’m not sure who she thought she was fooling, definitely not me.
“Okay, deal.”, she finally answered.
She pushed herself back about a foot, then turned sideways on the sofa, tucking her legs up under her. I stood up, pulling my boxers down to the floor. She instructed me to turn sideways and face her, which was difficult on this sofa. I placed one leg on the floor, the other I pushed against the back rest of the sofa. My cock was already beginning to swell, the sight of jerking off for this gorgeous woman embedded in my brain. I leaned back against the arm rest of the sofa, my right hand moving between my legs. Her eyes were riveted on my cock, widening and blinking several times when I wrapped my hand around my shaft. She looked back up at me quickly, a smile on her face. I began to slowly stroke myself up and down, my cock swelling once again. She kept moving her eyes back and forth from my hand, then to my eyes. I was now rock hard, the head of my cock swollen, my fist wrapped around it. Without any encouragement from me, her right hand moved down quickly between her legs. She slid her hand inside of her panties, arched her palm, then began to rub her pussy back and forth.
“I love watching you do that, God I’m so wet.”, she whispered.
“Show me.”, I urged.
Without hesiatation she stood up, pushing her panties down to the floor. She sat back down on the sofa, right across from me, her fingers once again buried inside of her. She was now using two fingers on her clit, moving them in a rapid circular motion. The sight was incredible, this beautiful woman, with this amazing body, another orgasm pending in her fingertips.
“You gonna cum for me ?”, she asked.
“Whenever you want.”, I answered.
“Mmmmmmmm, not yet though, just a little longer.”, she replied, her fingers flying over her clit.
I continued pumping my cock for her, maintaining a steady pace, knowing I only had to increase speed when she signaled me. I could feel the cum boiling inside of my balls, my cock was once again aching for release.
“Ok, I want you to cum for me.”, she whispered, leaning over kissing me softly.
I leaned back against the arm rest, my right hand tightening it’s grip on my shaft. I quickly reached that familiar rythme I had used so many times before in my life, I was just a few seconds away. She had completely stopped rubbing herself, her eyes were glued to my hand.
She looked up at me, our eyes met, her tongue ran over her upper lip.
“I love watching you do this. Cum for me baby, cum for me.”, she whispered looking directly into my eyes.
The words were so passionate, so intense, I went hurtling over the edge. I felt the cum race up my shaft exploding from the head, landing on my chest. Several more thick ropes of cum shot from my cock, coating my stomach. I frantically pumped my cock, milking what was left of a mind numbing orgasm between my fingers. I leaned back exhausted, my cock still throbbing from the intense ordeal. I finally opened my eyes, to see her reach down on the floor, pick up her panties, then gently clean the fluids from my body. She tossed the panties on the floor, then leaned over me, pressing her lips to mine. She kissed me passionately, her tongue eager, the desire was once again there.
“Thank you, that was incredible.”, she whispered, between kisses.
She laid on top of me for several minutes, her tongue inside of my mouth, her lips hungry. She soon had my cock between her fingers trying to once again bring me back to life. Within minutes she had my cock swelling again beneath her talented touch, her whispers of desire in my ear.
“I want to show you something.”, she told me.
“What ?”, I asked.
“Come with me.”, she urged, getting up, pulling me by the hand.
I followed her to the bedroom, where she motioned to the bed. I moved over and got in, she was right behind me. She propped a few pillows under her head, then laid back down on her back. She lowered her hands down between her legs, her eyes were glued to mine.
“I want to show you something, I don’t think you have ever seen this before.”, she stated softly, “Get between my legs.”
I did as I was told, she motioned for me to get as close to her as possible. She asked for my hand, taking my middle finger and extending it. She took my hand and guided it to her pussy, instructing me to slide my finger in as deep as possible. I followed her instructions, until my finger was as far inside of her as I could manage. She then told me to slightly curve my finger and move upwards toward her stomach. I did as I was told, then with some slight direction and adjustment, I seemed to hit the right spot.
“That’s it, right there. You feel that ?”, she asked.
“I feel something.”, I replied.
“Ok start to rub that back and forth, slowly at first. I will tell you what to do.”, she instructed.
I began to slowly move my fingertip back and forth over the area, it wasn’t easy. As big as my hands were, my fingertip just barely reached the spot she identified. After about thirty seconds, I could see her face getting flushed, her breathing became a bit shallow.
“Ok faster now.”, she urged.
I picked up the pace, moving my finger and hand as quickly as I could, trying my best to keep a steady pace. She instructed me to take my left hand, and push down on her lower stomach, just above her pubic bone. I did as she asked, this allowing me to get my finger a little deeper inside of her.
“That’s it, faster. Press down a little harder.”, she instructed.
I did my best to follow her requests, I was moving my hand as quickly as I could under the circumstances. Another half minute passed, I knew she was getting close to an orgasm.
“Pull your finger out of me when I tell you.”, she panted.
I continued to push down on her lower stomach, my finger massaging the area she had instructed me to with all the speed and pressure I could muster. She was moaning incoherently by now, her body shaking under my touch. She arched her back suddenly, her finger reaching the top of her pussy, lifting her lips slightly upward.
“Now pull out, pull out.”, she cried out.
I pulled my finger out quickly, it took just a few seconds until she became to scream in pleasure. Without warning, a powerful stream of clear liquid arched high from inside of her, soaking my chest, running down my body. As the liquid continued to splatter against me, her body shook violently, almost as if she were having a mild seizure. She tossed her head from side to side, her legs thrashed about wildly. It took perhaps twenty seconds before she regained control, by then both the bed and myself were literally soaked. She finally opened her eyes, looking up at me, still barely able to catch her breath, a smile on her face. I had no idea what to say, I wasn’t sure I even knew what had just happened.
“You ok Alexis ?”, I asked.
“Oh yeaaaa, I’m very ok.”, she purred.
I moved from between her legs, to her left, laying down beside her. I pressed my lips to hers, she was ready and eager. After a very long passionate kiss, she pulled away from me, her breathing back to normal.
“Ever see that kind of orgasm before ?”, she asked.
“Um…no, can’t say that I have.”, I replied.
“A girlfriend taught me that in college, I can’t do it to myself, I can’t get deep enough. This is the first wet orgasm I have had since college.”, she informed me.
“So uh…what you’re saying is, this girl…she did this to you ?”, I asked, smiling.
“Yes she did, I did the same for her. It wasn’t a regular thing, maybe four or five times total.”, she answered, now slightly embarrased.
“Is it better than a normal orgasm ?”, I asked.
“I wouldn’t say better, just different. Besides, if I am really turned on, I squirt quite a bit during a normal orgasm, as I think you know.”, she giggled.
“Yea, you about drowned me last night.”, I laughed.
We laid there for a while, then got up, showered once again, making our way back to the bedroom. It was after three in the morning, I fell into bed exhausted. Alexis slid in next to me, laying her head on my chest, her left arm across my body. This felt so right, I’m not sure I had ever been this content in my entire life. I softly stroked her head with my left hand, my fingers running through her hair. I awoke in the morning, she was still in arms, I’m not sure either of us had even moved during the night. I carefully lifted my head and glanced over at the clock, it was close to nine o’clock, I had to get moving. I gently slid my arm from under her, she briefly stirred, but remained asleep. I eased out of the bed, moving into the main room to get dressed. I left her a note on the kitchen counter telling her I would be down at my place finishing up my packing. About an hour later, Alexis called, I promised to stop in and say goodbye before I left. Around noon I loaded my bags in the trunk, then made my way back up to Alexis’ unit. I spent about thirty minutes with her mostly talking about the upcoming week, how much we were both looking forward to it.
I pulled into the practice facility right at two o’clock, the place was literally jammed wall to wall with fans. All wishing us well on the upcoming trip. I loaded my bags one of the large custom buses that would take us to the airport. I joined some of my team mates who were lined up along the fence thanking the fans for coming out to see us off. I was signing autographs, taking a few pictures, or just shaking hands with the fans.
The bus pulled out right at three o’clock, we drove straight to the airport and boarded the plane which was ready when we arrived. I sat next to Josh on the plane, which was what I did for just about every flight we had ever made together. Sometime shortly after takeoff, he turned to me.
“Who do you have coming to the game ?”, he asked.
“My stepmother, her boyfriend, the little guy from the hospital, Bryan and his family and my agent.”, I answered.
“Your agent ? You gave your agent a ticket to the game ?”, he asked, surprised.
“Yes, I did.”, I responded, “What about you ?”
“My mom and dad, my girlfriend and her sister. I’m gonna fix you up with Angie’s sister. Dude she is some kind of fucking hot.”, he laughed.
I didn’t reply, I just turned and went back to watching the movie that was playing on the large screen at the front of the cabin. We landed in New Orleans sometime around ten that night, boarded two more buses and were driven directly to our hotel. The security was tight everywhere, the entrance to the hotel had been barricaded to allow guests only to pass through. Even though it was close to midnight when we arrived, there were still several hundred people in front of the hotel hoping to get pictures and autographs. The hotel staff was ready for us, they took us in groups up to our rooms. The team, coaches and staff occupied the top three floors of the hotel, each person having his own room which was nice. I was given my room key card, I was on the middle of the three floors the team occupied. We were issued lanyards with photo identification that we had to wear at all times inside the hotel. At every elevator on each of the floors we occupied, there stood two police officers making sure only team personnel exited on those floors.
On Monday morning, the bus took us to the Superdome for our morning practice, it was basically just shorts and helmets, no contact of any kind. After practice we were given a tour of the facility, then taken to lunch at a local restaurant. That evening we were given four hours of freedom to explore the city as we saw fit, but we had to be back in the hotel for nine o’clock that night. I decided to stay in for the evening, I was still exhausted from the trip.
The following day we flipped schedules with our opponents, they had the early practice, we got the afternoon session. We arrived at the Superdome at two o’clock in the afternnon and practiced until five. We showered, changed then were taken to another restaurant for dinner. We arrived back at the hotel close to seventy thirty in the evening, I went directly to the courtesy desk.
“Has Ashley Thompson checked in yet ?”, I asked.
The lady behind the desk, quickly typed a few words into her computer, then turned back towards me.
“Yes sir she has. She’s in room 621. Would you like me to ring her, tell her you’re in the lobby ?”, she offered.
“No ma’am, I want to surprise her.”, I replied.
I walked to the elevator, pushed the button for the upper floor and waited for several seconds. The doors opened, I rode up to the sixth floor, then walked down the hall until I found Ashley’s room. I knocked gently on the door, I heard voices from inside. I heard the latch being released on the door, then the door swung open.
“Briannnnnnnn.”, Ashley squealed, jumping into my arms.
“Ashley, it’s so good to see you.”, I whispered, softly kissing her cheek.
I set her back down, she pulled me into the room, closing the door behind me. She looked as beautiful as ever, tight blue jeans, tee shirt and boots. She pulled me by the hand leading me over to a very well dressed man, who was sitting in one of the two chairs near the window. He stood up, a slight nervous look on his face.
“Brian, this is Jeff Constant, the guy I told you about. Jeff, this is my step son Brian Stevens.”, Ashley stated.
“It’s very nice to meet you Jeff.”, I said, shaking his hand.
For the next hour or so, we basically caught up on everything that had been happening to the two of us. Although Jeff sat rather quietly in his chair, he did seem to be an extremely nice man. I could tell the both of them cared for each other a great deal, they way they interacted, it was obvious. Apparently he was a huge football fan, this was the trip of a lifetime. As we were talking, my cell phone rang, it was Josh.
“Hey, what’s up ?”, I answered.
“Where are you at ?”, he asked.
“Down stairs in my step mother’s room.”, I replied.
He asked me the room number telling me he wanted to meet her. I gave him the room number, hanging up the phone. I informed them that Josh was coming down in a few minutes, Jeff appeared overwhelmed. Within minutes there wa a knock at the door, I got up and opened it. I invited Josh in, introducing him to both Ashley and Jeff.
“This is your mother ?”, he asked, his eyes buldging from his head.
“Yep, that’s her.”, I answered.
“I’m sorry bro, but if I weren’t attached, I would definitely try to date your mom.”, he asked, “You are beautiful.”
“Thank you, but I’m his step mother.”, Ashley laughed.
Josh stayed with us for about an hour, he was infatuated with Ashley, as were most men the first time they met her. Josh and I left the room together, I promised Ashley I would be back later when Alexis checked in. I was laying in my bed about nine thirty, when my cell phone rang, it was Alexis.
“I am downstairs in the lobby, what room number am I in ?’, she asked.
“You’re in 623, right next to Ashley. Your keycard is at the desk, I ‘ll meet you at your room.”, I answered.
I went back down to the sixth floor, I was leaning against the wall when Alexis exited the elevator. The bell hop had her luggage with him, she ran up to me wrapping her arms around me tight. She gave me a quick kiss on the lips, as the bell hop opened the room. He carried her bags in placing them on the bed, I handed him a tip, he thanked me closing the door.
Alexis looked stunning, she was wearing a tight black skirt, stockings and black heels. She had on a cream colored silk blouse, her hair was perfect. You would have never known she had spent the last few hours traveling. She told me she wanted to freshen up a bit, I told her I was going next door to Ashley’s room, that she should come over when she was ready.
I had been sitting with Ashley and Jeff maybe thirty minutes when there was a knock on the door. I got up, walked over and opened the door, letting Alexis in. As I followed her into the room, I could see instantly both Ashley and Jeff were stunned.
“Ashley, Jeff this is Alexis Clarke.”, I told the two of them.
“It’s so nice to finally meet you Ashley, I have heard so much about you. Brian speaks very highly of you.”, she told Ashley.
“It’s nice to meet you as well Alexis.”, Ashley answered, shaking her hand.
We sat and talked for about fifteen minutes, when Alexis leaned over to me.
“I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m exhausted. Would you mind if I went back to my room, called it a night ?”, she asked.
“No, of course not.”, I replied.
She got up, leaned over and kissed me gently on the lips, then stroked my cheek, before walking out of the room. The door hadn’t even closed completely when Ashley leaned over, a huge smile on her face.
“Oh my God Brian, she is absolutely beautiful.”, she whispered.
“Yes she is.”, I answered, somewhat embarrassed.
“Are you two serious ?”, she asked.
“I’m not really sure Ashley, it’s a long story, but it’s been really good lately.”, I stated.
“I am so happy for you hot shot, you hang on to her, she’s a rare find.”, Ashley replied.
I went back up to my room, took a shower then fell asleep quickly. I woke up about six thirty the next morning, it was media day. We were scheduled to meet the press at one clock, then head to a huge reception for fans who had won passes to meet with both teams for autographs and pictures. Around eight o’clock Alexis called, asking me to come down to her room. I went to her room, she was till in her night clothes, she apparently had just woke up. She wanted to know what my schedule was, I told her about media day. Just about that time, there was knock on her door, she ran quickly into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. I opened the door to find Ashley standing there, Jeff right behind her.
“Hey Brian, I wanted to see if Alexis wanted to hang out with us today while you go with the team.”, she asked.
I stuck my head through the bathroom door, relaying the information to Alexis. She jumped at the chance, asking them to give her a few minutes to get ready. I told everyone I was headed back upstairs, the team was getting ready to leave for brunch. On my way back up to my room, my cell phone rang again, this time it was Mr. Butler. He informed me they had arrived in town and what hotel they were in. It seemed they were only around the corner, less than two blocks away. I had arranged through the foundation for Bryan and his parents to both be present at media day and the Fan Fest. I promised Mr. Butler, I would see him shortly.
We were taken to the Superdome and led to the main floor, where dozens of booths had been constructed for the local and national media. As soon as we walked in, runners for the different news organizations approached us trying to line up interviews for their respective services. I excused myself initially, making my way through the crowd, finally finding the Butlers. Bryan ran over to me, I snatched him up lifting him high in the air.
“How’s my number one fan ?”, I asked the small child.
“I am good.”, he squealed.
I set him down, then reached over my shoulder, taking off my back pack. I kneeled down and opened it, fishing out three of my tee shirts, all of which I had custom work done to. I handed the first one to Bryan, he held it up looking at the front.
“Hey I already got this one.”, he said, frowning.
“Turn it over.”, I answered.
On the back of the normal shirt, the words Hyper Dunk were across the top, the large number 89 on the back. On Bryan’s shirt, I had the words “LIL HYPER DUNK – HD2”, written across the top of the back. On each of his parents shirt, I had “LIL HYPER DUNK’S DAD” and then
“LIL HYPER DUNK’S MOM”, wrote on theirs respectively.
“This is like way cool. Am I really HD2 ?”, Bryan squealed.
“Yep you are buddy.”, I said, pulling the tee shirt over him.
I then took out three baseball caps handing each of the Butler’s one of them. I adjusted the little man’s hat, then stood up and took a good look at him. He looked absolutely adorable, he was grinning ear to ear.
“You ready to do some interviews HD2 ?”, I asked, trying to be serious.
“Let’s go.”, he shouted.
I scooped him up in my arms, the place was absolutely packed with people. I motioned for his mom and dad to follow us back toward the interviewing area. As I walked around to the first aisle, a national sports organization immediately hauled me onto their set. I sat down behind a large table, sitting Bryan on my lap. The news commentator quickly que’d his camera man, the red light came on, we were live.
“I have Brian Stevens, San Diego’s talented young tight end here with me, Brian thank you so much for stopping by.”, he started, smiling for the camera.
“Thank you for having me.”, I answered.
“And who is this with you. Is this your son ?”, he asked.
“No sir, this is Bryan Butler, my first true fan after arriving in San Diego. I met him in Children’s Hospital, he was the inspiration for my foundation, Courtney’s Kids, which treats young children who have been afflicted with cancer.”, I answered.
“Well it’s very nice to meet you Bryan.”, he said, shaking the little man’s hand.
Bryan didn’t reply, he seemed a bit overcome by all the people beginning to gather around the booth. I gently rubbed his back, assuring him everything would be ok.
“So Brian, how does it feel to be in a Superbowl in only your second season in the league ?”, he asked.
“It’s really difficult to wrap my head around to be honest. Some guys play a career and never get the chance, I feel very blessed.”
“You have had an All Pro season, despite being banged up a few times, tell us about that.”, he offered.
“I had a few bumps and bruises during the season, fortunately none being too serious. Other than being slightly leg weary, I feel pretty good going into this game.”
“New York has already said, they are going to play predominately both nickel and dime packages, trying to slow you guys down. They feel if they limit the passing game, they can win easily.”, he stated.
“Most people have tried to play us that way this year, very few have been effective. We feel we have a solid game plan going in, we will be fine.”
“And what is your prediction Bryan, what’s gonna happen.”, the anchor asked.
“He’s going to catch four touchdowns, we are gonna win.”, he replied with hestiation.
“Only four ?”, the anchor laughed.
“Uh huh.”, Bryan replied.
The camera cut off, they quickly removed both of our microphones, I stood up carrying Bryan off the set. We moved up and down the rows giving at least a dozen more interviews, before finally sitting down to our last. It was with a very young, pretty woman, a national co-anchor for a local sports channel.
“This is Lynn Davis, I am sitting here with Brian Stevens, tight end for San Diego, welcome Brian.”, she started.
“Thank you Lynn, it’s a pleasure to be here.”, I replied.
“And who do we have here ?”, she asked, smiling at little Bryan.
I once again recalled the story of how we had met, how much this little guy meant to me. We did the standard seriers of questions, most of which had already been asked. Just about the time I was wrapping up my last interview, the players were being escorted back to the locker room area. I quickly informed the Butlers to make their way across the street to the arena using the passes they had for Fan Fest.
About thirty minutes later we arrived in the arena, the place was sheer chaos. They were trying to get all the players seated at rows of tables where fans could move along, getting the autographs they so desired. After much confusion, it finally worked out, order was restored. After ther line had thinned down some, I got up moving across the floor to find Bryan. He was sitting with his parents along the back wall,trying to stay out of the congestion. I once again scooped him up where we moved from player to player, making sure each signed his regulation game ball which I had given him. I introduced him to each player, everyone received him warmly. By the time we were done, Bryan had all the players and coaches signatures on the same ball.
I returned him to his parents, he seemed very tired, I’m sure it had been a long day for him. I told them the team was allowing the players to spend time with their families this evening, I told his father I would call him letting him know where we would be having dinner at. I wanted the three of them there with us. They told me they would enjoy that, they would take Bryan back to the hotel for a quick nap.
We returned back to the hotel about five o’clock, I quickly showered and changed for dinner. I called down to Ashley who informed me where they had made reservations at. I called Mr. Butler, informing him of the time and place. He told me they would meet me there.
We all met at a very nice restaurant a few blocks from the hotel. We were seated in a relatively private room, the Butlers, Ashley and Jeff, Alexis and I. We had a great meal, we must have been in there for close to two hours. Bryan had us all in stitches recalling all of the interviews we had given earlier in the day. There was no doubt, he was having the time of his life. We said our goodnight’s to the Butlers, the four of us heading back to our hotel. Before getting back inside, I had to sign at least a dozen autographs for people milling around the hotel entrance. Ashley and Jeff went back up to their room, Alexis waited downstairs for me. Just about the time I rejoined her in the lobby, Josh was leaving to meet his girlfriend and his parents at a restaurant. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Alexis, he walked over to us slowly.
“Brian, who is this gorgeous creature you’re with ?”, he asked.
“Josh, this is Alexis Clarke. Alexis, this is Josh.”, I stated.
“Where on earth have you been keeping her ?”, he inquired.
“She lives in the same complex that I do.”, I told him.
“So you two met there ?”, he asked.
“No, not really. I’m also Brian’s agent. I work for PSA.”, Alexis said softly.
Josh basically stood there with his mouth hanging for a second, it was pretty comical to say the least.
“Apparently, I am with the wrong agent.”, he laughed.
We talked for a few minutes, he never took his eyes off of Alexis, I couldn’t be angry at him, she still did the same thing to me. We went up in the elevator, Alexis got off on her floor, I went up to my room. I took a long hot shower, threw on some shorts and a tee shirt, then went back down to the sixth floor. When I passed Ashley’s room, I saw the door was halfway open, I stuck my head in and knocked.
“Come in, Brian.”, Ashley said, from her seat on the bed.
“Where’s Jeff ?”, I asked.
“He went down to the vending machines to grab a few soft drinks.”, she answered.
“Oh ok, I was just heading to Alexis’ room.”, I told her.
“Brian, she is an absolute sweetheart, I love her to death. We had the most wonderful time today together.”, she admitted.
“Good I’m glad you two had a good time.”, I answered.
“Only one thing Brian, I need to ask you something.”, she whispered, moving over to close the door to the room.
I could tell this was not going to be good, I had a sneaking suspicion what the question was going to be. Ashley took a deep breath, looking down at the floor.
“Brian, I couldn’t help but notice several times today, Alexis was looking at me in a strange way. It’s hard to describe to a man, but I have seen that look before.”, she started.
“What I guess I am trying to ask you here…….Did you say anything to Alexis about…you know, what we did ?”, she asked.
I was right on target, this is the question I thought might be coming. I knew better than to try and lie to Ashley, I was never capable of pulling it off.
“Yes, I told her everything.”, I admitted.
“Brian, do you really think that was a good idea ?”, she inquired, obviously distressed.
“I don’t know Ashley, but I care for Alexis a great deal, I’m not going to start out lying to her.”, I answered, “Ashley, she is fine with it.
Just about that time Jeff came back into the room, so we had to put the conversation on hold for the time being. Ashley quickly changed the subject.
“So Brian, just how serious are you and Alexis ?”, she asked.
“I’m not sure how she really feels, but I really care for her a great deal.”, I responded.
“Well hot shot, I’m not the sharpest tool in the wood shed, but unless I am way off base, that girl is in love with you.”, she whispered.
“You really think so ?”, I asked, very surprised.
“I’m a woman hot shot, I know these things.”, she laughed.
I excused myself from the room, stepping next door and knocking on Alexis’ door. She opened the door quickly, I stepped inside. I walked across the room sitting down in one of the two chairs near the window. She got back into the bed, leaning back against the head board. She was wearing a very short, red silk robe that stopped about mid thigh. She started telling me about how much fun she had with Ashley, the two of them really hit it off well. I told her Ashley had just told me the exact same thing just seconds ago.
“So you gonna sit way over there all night, or you going to come over here and hold me ?”, she asked, softly.
I didn’t have to be asked twice, much less once. I got up and quickly found myself wrapped in Alexis’ arms. Her soft lips were against mine, sending that familiar tingling feeling up my spine. I slid my hand down her side until I was holding the back of her thigh in my hand. I slowly inched my hand up her leg until I could feel the satin smooth fabric of her panties. I felt her hand move down my body, her hand soon inside of my shorts, squeezing my growing erection. I pulled my lips from hers, looked down and untied the silk belt of her robe, the fabric falling away to reveal her amazing body. She was wearing a pair of white silk panties that were cut very high up on the leg. I leaned down softly kissing her breast, my tongue flicking across the hardening nipple. I slowly eased one hand inside of her panties, my fingers gently stroking the lips of her pussy.
I slowly kissed her smooth, flat stomach as I gently eased her panties off of her legs, tossing them to the floor. I positioned myself between her long, firm legs, extending my tongue. I slowly ran my tongue up her pussy, pressing the flat portion hard against her, her sighs signaling her approval. As I pushed the tip of my tongue inside of her,
I softly caressed her thighs with my hands. Her fluids were already pouring from her, coating my lips and tongue, her hips being to move in unison with my tongue.
Once again I had this beautiful woman balanced on the end of my tongue, her desire mounting to a fever pitch. I slowly took her clit between my lips, nibbling and sucking on it, then flicking my tongue across it rapidly. Within a matter of moments she had moved both of her hands down to my head, holding me firmly against her, both eyes closed in ecstasy.
Suddenly without any warning, she exploded into orgasm, my mouth not able to swallow the torrent of fluids that ran from her. She cried out in pleasure, as her body shook, her hands holding my head firmly. She slowly relaxed, her breathing become normal, as I continued to softly and gently lick and kiss her hard clit. I pulled my mouth from her, easing myself back up the bed, until I was lying next to her. I leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips, my tongue brushing her upper lip.
“My God Brian, I’m sorry, I just can’t hold out very long when you’re down there. It feels so damn good.”, she whispered.
“It’s ok Alexis, I love to make you feel good.”, I answered, kissing her cheek.
She leaned over and kissed me again, her tongue slipping inside of my mouth. She kissed me passionately as her hands explored my body. She finally lifted her lips from mine, a serious look on her face.
“Brian, I want to take you inside of my mouth….. But I uh…well I have never did that before…..I don’t want to…., she started.
“Alexis, it’s ok. You don’t have to do anything you feel uneasy about.”, I whispered.
“No, that’s not what I am saying…..I mean I don’t want you to be disappointed, if I’m bad at it.”, she said, somewhat embarrassed.
“Alexis, I doubt seriously you could be bad at anything in bed.”, I softly laughed.
“Don’t say that yet.”, she smiled, as she softly kissed down my chest.
The anticipation was absolutely intense, although it probably wasn’t more than ten seconds at the most. I could feel her warm breath on my thighs, as her hand was wrapped around the base of my rigid cock. I let out a long slow groan as I felt her lips circle my head, then ease down until half of my cock was inside of her wet, warm mouth. I could feel her tongue softly caressing my shaft, her hands lovingly stroking my thigh. In less than a minute she had me on the verge of orgasm, I wanted to warn her.
“Alexis, I’m gonna cum if you don’t stop.”, I warned.
She pulled her mouth from me gently, her eyes looking up in my direction, a smile on her lips.
“Already ?”, she whispered.
“Uh huh.”, I nodded.
She moved her body back over mine, until she was straddling me, her long silky hair dangling in my face. I felt her hand reach down and grasp my cock, guiding it to her warm, wet pussy. She eased herself down onto me slowly, until I was deep inside of her. I could tell from the look on her face she was extremely aroused again, her cheeks flushed with excitement.
She began to move her hips back and forth, her hands on my chest, supporting her upper body. I reached down and grabbed her hips, gripping them firmly as she swayed back and forth. I could feel the cum boiling in my balls, I was ready to explode. I urged her to increase her pace with my hands, which she immediately did. It didn’t take very long, maybe thirty seconds, until we both exploded into a mutual orgasm. She fell on top of me exhausted, I held her close, kissing her neck and cheeks softly, my hands stroking up and down her back.
I could have laid there all night, unfortunately I was already fifteen minutes late for bed check, something I knew I would be fined for. I got up, dressed, them headed back up to my floor. As soon as I exited the elevator, I ran into one of the assistant coaches, I was busted.
“Stevens, why the fuck aren’t you in your room ?”, he asked.
“Sorry Coach, I was downstairs with my girlfriend and family.”, I replied.
“Yea well, that’ll cost you fifteen hundred bucks, you’re on report.”, he growled.
I went back to my room, I wasn’t worried, this was the first time I had ever violated a single team policy, plus I was still in the hotel. I showered and got into bed falling asleep quickly. I was wakened early the next morning by a pounding on the door, I looked at the clock it was just after seven in the morning. I got up and walked slowly to the door, arriving just as the knock was repeated. I opened the door to find Coach Reed standing there, a scowl on his face.
“I was told you violated curfew last night ?”, he stated.
“Yes, I was about fifteen minutes late, I was down on the sixth floor with my girlfriend and family.”, I answered.
“They don’t have clocks on the sixth floor ?”, he inquired.
“Sorry Coach, I fucked up.”, I answered.
He turned and walked away without saying a word, I knew I was in the dog house. That afternoon at practice, Billy Huber took reps with the starting offense, something everyone noticed immediately. I must have been asked a couple of dozen times what was going on, I just simply shrugged it off, saying I had no idea.
I explained what had happened to Alexis and Ashley, deciding to stay on my own floor for the duration of the trip, I could not afford another screw up. At our final offensive situational meeting Saturday night, Coach Cullen announced the starting lineup, I wasn’t in it. Josh immediately stood up, he wasn’t very happy.
“Coach, what the fuck is going on ? This is bullshit and you know it.”, he said, loudly.
“You just throw the ball Henson, I’ll tell you who to throw it to.”, he said, never looking up from his chart.
“Fuck that, I’m here to win. I need that kid in the lineup, no offense to Billy.”, he said, pointing at me.
“Well if the kid would follow rules, he would be starting.”, he said, calmly.
“Fucking fifteen minutes late, for Christ’s sake he was in the fucking hotel.”, Josh growled.
Coach Cullen had heard just about enough of Josh’s excuses, he slammed his folder of papers on the table, the room got deathly quiet.
“I don’t give a fuck if he was in the chapel next to his room, he wasn’t where he was supposed to be, so it’s over.”, he screamed at Josh.
Josh stood there for a moment, sizing up his offensive coordinator, this was the first time this had ever occurred. There was an awkward pause for close to fifteen seconds, then Josh reached down, picked up his books, then turned for the door of the meeting room.
“You can fucking start somebody in my place too, if we’re not here to win this fucking thing, I’m out.”, he shouted, storming out of the room.
I could tell he caught everyone by surprise, especially Coach Cullen, who for the first time since I had met him, seemed unsure of himself.
He looked over at me with a look that could have killed, apparently my violation was starting to have a snowball effect on the team. Without saying a word, I got up and headed out of the room, I had to talk some sense into Josh. I caught up with him at the elevators, he was still out of control.
“Hey man, I appreciate the support, but let it go. You can win without me out there, we can’t win without you.”, I said calmly, my hand on his shoulder.
“Fuck Reed, and fuck Cullen. This is bullshit and they know it. They want to reprimand you that’s fine, do it with money, something else when we get back, just not now.”, he shouted.
“It’s ok Josh, let it go. It will work itself out.”, I urged.
By the next morning, the news was all over the hotel, in fact apparently the media had gotten a hold of it as well. As these things usually do, the story seem to get more outrageous every time it was told. By Saturday night, I was hearing at least a half dozen starters were out for the game due to curfew violations. I give the coaches a lot of credit, they held everything together, nothing much was made of it.
I was in my room Saturday night, my cell phone rang, it was close to ten o’clock. It was Mr. Timmons telling me he had arrived in town a few hours ago, he would see me at the game tomorrow.
The game was scheduled for a five thirty kickoff, we would be taken to the Superdome sometime around noon. I was up the following morning early, I barely slept at all. I laid around until the trainer knocked on the door telling me it was time to get on the bus. When I exited the hotel lobby to get on the bus, the street was absolutely jammed pack full of fans screaming and yelling for autographs. I signed a couple but we were being pushed into the bus by the staff, they didn’t want us lingering around.
We arrived several minutes later at the Superdome and ushered inside the huge facility by the local police, security was everywhere. We arrived in the locker room to find brand new uniforms hanging in our lockers, the Superbowl patch on the upper right shoulder of the jersey.
I began to change into warm up gear, compression shorts and a long sleeved tee shirt, slipping a stocking cap on my head. I strung up a pair of turf shoes, I had a few hours to make sure I had the right shoes on. I headed out on to the floor of the dome, there were already a few dozen people in the seats around the facility, along with hundreds of workers trying to get the facility ready.
I took my time stretching, I wanted to make sure I was ready to go. I started runing slowly up and down the field, taking firm cuts on the turf, testing the shoes. After twenty minutes or so, I decided to go back in to the locker room and change shoes, I didn’t like the plant I was getting with the ones I was wearing.
I went to another shoe with a slightly longer cleat, hoping to get a better footing. I went back out to the field and resumed my workout, the second pair of shoes being much better on the surface. I caught balls from an automatic machine for close to forty five minutes, then finished up by running a few routes. By the time I was finshing up, most of our team was on the field, everyone going through their own pregame rituals. I headed back to the locker room, it was close to two o’clock. I laid down on the bench in front of my locker, my mind trying to sort out what would be the biggest game of my career.
About forty five minutes later, I got out and went back out to the field, it was time to run a few routes with live balls. I positioned myself with the receivers, we went through our packages and our routes, mostly vanilla in appearance, it was simply to get timing down on the synthetic floor. It was apparent Josh was extremely tight, he was not as accurate as he normally was. I could see Coach Cullen dropping his head when a ball was off target.
As I scanned the seats, I noticed the Butlers were already in their seats in the North End Zone, second row middle. I jogged over to where they were seated, Bryan was hanging over the rail.
“Hey buddy, how are you ?”, I asked.
“Good, is the game about to start ?”, he responded.
“No, not for a while yet.”, I laughed, “You wanna come down on the field ?”
Mr. Butler gently lifted his son over the rail, lowering him down to me. With Bryan securely in my arms, he removed his hands and went back to his seat. I walked back in the direction of the team, still carrying the small boy. I finally set him down on the sidelines closest to where we were working out. He was completely decked out with his HD2 shirt, his cap and receiving gloves. He was an immediate hit with all of the players, they kept coming over and kneeling down, talking and joking with him. After thirty minutes or so, I walked him back to the end zone and handed him back up to his father, we were about to go back into the locker room. I saw Mr. Timmons and a friend whom I recognized, sitting three rows higher than the Butlers. He waved to me then ran down, both of them thanking me for the tickets, wishing me good luck.
As I took off across the field for the South End Zone, I heard my name being called out. I looked up towards the side line seating, and right about at the forty yard line, there was Alexis, Ashley and Jeff all seated together. I walked over and told everyone hello, then made my way back to the locker room.
I made my way to the training table, my ankles, knees and wrists taped up, I was ready to suit up. By four thirty I was dressed and ready to hit the field, the locker room was deathly quiet. I found a corner that was somewhat secluded, sitting down on the floor alone. So many things were going through my mind. My Dad, what would it mean to him if he could be here ? I thought of Courtney, something that always left my heart heavy, I still missed her. I was wrapped up in my own little world, my head between my knees when I felt a slight tap on the shoulder. I looked up, it was Coach Reed.
“Just so you know, you’re not getting the start today, but you will play.” he said, no emotion in his voice.
“Thanks Coach.”, I replied.
The game started right on time, we lost the flip of the coin, they took the ball first. As I sat on the end of the bench, they methodically drove the ball down the field and with barely three minutes off the clock scored first on a ten yard run. They converted the extra point, then kicked the ball off, the ball going out of the end zone.
On our first possession from our twenty yard line, Josh completed three straight passes, getting the ball close to mid field. After a short run, Josh again went to the air on an out pattern to Billy Huber. The ball hit his hands, exactly as the defender slammed into him from behind, the ball popped up, then was snatched from the air by a defensive player. Fifty yards later he crossed the goal line, we were now down 13-0, an extra point still to come.
On our second possession, we bogged down quickly, having to punt the ball back to them. Once again they methodically began a drive, but our defense stiffened, forcing them to punt the ball back. As we prepared to come out on offense for our third possession, Coach Cullen signaled me into the lineup. I trotted into the huddle just as the television time out was over. Josh knelt down, smiling when he saw my face.
“Blue fifty, X Slant, Power Fade, Y Hook on three.”, he shouted.
I lined up in the slot, I was running a twenty yard hook pattern, straight up the field. I was the second option, unless they went zone, I would then be the third. I looked over the field, I recognized a Tampa Two coverage. I would have to find the soft spot in the zone about fifteen yards down field. I came off the ball hard, I saw an area between the two safties that appeared open, I hooked behind the Sam linebacker, sitting down in the zone. Josh read his options, finally seeing me in the middle of the field. He threw a dart my way, waist high and dropping. I fell to one knee pulling in the ball safely, I was tackled immediately.
“Flip right, double – X, Jet, 36 Counter, Waggle, Power Left Cross.”, Josh called in the huddle, “HD1, check with Sam, then to me.
The play never materialized properly, Josh was out of the pocket running for his life. He finally flipped the ball out to Scott in the flat, the rookie just did the rest. He cut hard back to the middle of the field, then feigned the strong safety at the forty, the guy had no chance. He shifted gears and ran the ball down the sidelines for our first score of the day. After the extra point, we had cut the lead to seven.
They scored on a long field goal on their next possession, bringing the lead to 17-7. We started out on our own twenty once again, this time attacking the defense quickly, six straight passes in a row. They were having trouble substituting, their lineman were being asked to rush the quarterback on every down. After a thirty one yard run by Scott, we were in the red zone, the ball on the fourteen yard line.
“Split right, Scat Right, 639 Y, Power Right Angle”, Josh called, “It’s Hyper Dunk time baby.”
This play was designed as a simple corner fade, I would simply hold the block on the linebacker for a second or two, then head right to the back right hand corner of the end zone. Josh would just throw the ball up, depending on the coverage, either to the pylon, or my back shoulder. It was the perfect call, I was matched up against a linebacker, the ball was spot on. I went up pulled it down, tapped both feet before I was driven out of bounds by my opponent. I quickly got up, met Josh at the goal line, then accelerated to the posts, slamming the ball over the cross bar. I then quickly retrieved the ball, moving back slightly from the wall and looking up. I saw Bryan on his dad’s shoulders, he was cheering like mad. I motioned for his dad to come down, I handed him the ball. When I arrived on the sidelines, Coach Reed grabbed me by the jersey, pulling me in front of him.
“You started the game with a fifteen hundred dollar fine, that just cost you five grand, I hope the kid was worth it.”, he laughed.
“Every penny Coach.”, I answered.
We got the ball back with maybe two minutes to play in the half, we were on our own thirty two yard line. While most teams only down by three in a game this huge, the play calling would have been somewhat conservative. But we always attacked, we never relented, it was not our style. We would live with the pass, or die with it. Four plays later we were again in their red zone, this time just inside the twenty.
We ran the ball once, then Josh called a quick hitting post to one of our wide outs, trying to get the score. The ball was thrown perfectly, Jaxon caught it, then turned to the goal line. As he turned, the linebacker reached in and knocked the ball loose, it was skipping across the turf heading right at me. I went in head first, my hands and arms extended reaching for the ball. There was a massive collision at the five yard line, I had the ball, but only for a second. I’m not sure what hit my left hand, but I immediately felt a searing pain, run up my left arm. It took several seconds before they could sort out the bodies, I was trapped on the bottom of the pile. When I was finally able to get up, I saw we had lost the fight for the ball. I looked down at my hand, it was throbbing in pain. I got up and trotted off of the field, holding my left hand against my body. The trainer met me at the sidelines, walking me back to the bench. By the time I sat down, the team doctor had arrived as well. The trainer cut my glove off of my hand, removing it in pieces. After a quick exam, the doctor sent me to the locker room for x rays. My left hand and lower arm were once again examined, then a series of film run at several different angles. Within minutes it was confirmed, I had broken both the Middle Phalanges in my small finger and the Metacarpal behind it. The doctor came back to the table that I was sitting on, the film in his hands.
“Brian, it’s going to have to be casted but we can’t do that for at least a few days. We can splint it, anchor it to the finger next to it, make shift you a glove, it’s up to you.”, he advised.
“Do it.”, I quickly answered.
After several medications, close to twenty minutes with the trainer, I was back with the team, my left hand securely bandaged. As soon as we hit the sidelines, I immediately began to try and catch the ball, trying to adjust my grip. Everytime the ball hit my hands, I felt a sharp pain run up my arm. Finally I was able to basically open my left hand up, using my palm to help stop the ball. It hurt like hell, but I was going to give it a try.
We opened up the second half with a long drive, capped off by a three yard run for a touchdown, we finally had a 21-17 lead. It lasted exactly two minutes, when one of their receivers beat our left corner for a sixty five yard touchdown. Before I could really catch my breath, we were back out on offense.
On the first play of the series, one of the safeties blew his coverage, I was running up the left side of the field uncovered. Just as Josh released the ball, I broke to the middle, which was a mistake. Josh had thrown the ball to the hash marks leading me on a straight line. I quickly had to turn my body and adjust barely getting my hands on the ball before falling. I was quickly downed by a defensive player, not able to get back to my feet. I was livid with myself, I had made the wrong choice. Had I stayed on the go pattern, it might have been a touchdown instead of a thirty yard gain. We drove the ball down to their twenty two, it was third and six.
“Screen right , 89 Thief, Middle Blast on three.”, Josh called.
This was a play that had been designed especially for this game, we had never ran it against an opponent. The play basically looked like our power running formation, with two wide outs, and a full backfield.
I would line up next to the right tackle, and drop back to pass block. Both running backs would run loop routes out of the back field. The offense line would stay with their blocks for a count of three, then release them forming a wall in the middle of the field. I would then slide across behind them catching the ball, then turn up field behind their blocking. The play went off as called, I stayed in tight blocking, then slipped to the center of the field. Josh back peddled from the rush just long enough to get us all in position. He lofted the ball over the out stretch arms, it fell into my hands. I turned to look up field, I had three lineman in front of me. I moved left getting behind our center and tackle, I was inside of the fifteen. When my last block was gone, I knew I was going to be close to scoring. At about the three I went airborne, the ball extended out in front of me. I was hit right at the goal line, my body spun around in mid air, then hit again driving me to the ground. I’m not sure how, but somehow I held on to the ball, the official signaling touchdown.
I got up slowly, I had taken a pretty good shot, in fact two of them. I could feel a slight tingling in my shoulder, the one I had eventually landed on. My left hand was throbbing, I could feel the pulse beating like a bass drum. I trotted off slowly , we had once again taken the lead. As they continued to show the play over and over on the big screen, it became apparent it was questionable whether or not the ball had indeed crossed the goal line. The officials went under the hood to review the play as was the rule on every score. I moved to the end of the bench and sat down, summoning for the trainer to come over. I asked him for something to dull the pain in my hand, it was getting really bad. He returned quickly with two tablets, placing them in my palm. I swallowed the tablets then leaned back on the bench, trying my best to block out the pain. I heard the crowd noise subside quickly, a sure sign the referee was returning with his verdict. I leaned forward my head down, my eyes closed.
“After further review, the receiver had control of the ball through the plane of the goal. He retained possession through the ground, therefore the ruling on the field stands, touchdown San Diego.”, he stated.
A few players came by patting my back, shaking my hand, we had just regained the lead 28-24, with just three minutes left in the third quarter, there was still a lot of football to play. Our defense took the field, Josh quickly went over to Coach Cullen, they were reviewing over head film of the defense. New York managed a couple of first downs but had to punt the ball back to us to open up the fourth quarter. Josh took us on another methodical drive down the field, this time having to settle for a thirty two yard field goal, extending the lead to 31-24.
Our defense took the field with ten minutes left in the game. We knew this would be a huge drive, a stop here might be the ball game. With a little over eight minutes to play they crossed over mid field, getting to our forty five yard line, another first down. After an incomplete pass, they ran a quick hitter off tackle, their back breaking into the open field. As he tried to elude our strong safety in the open field, he didn’t see our defensive end behind him. As he cut back to his right, our end reached in from behind stripping the ball from his grasp. The ball rolled toward the middle of the field, one of our corners finally recovering it at our own twenty seven yard line. This was their first turn over of the day, it came at just the right time.
Our offense took the field, I looked at the clock noting there were exactly seven minutes fifty five seconds left to play in the game. Their defense would definitely be on the attack, a long sustained drive would be fatal to them. We knew as the clock wound down, they would have to start taking some risks, time was their mortal enemy.
After two quick first downs, we had had third down and five from our own forty seven yard line, five minutes forty six seconds left on the clock. Josh called a short play action pass in the flat, we lined up slowly, milking the clock for every second. The defense shifted twice, then showed an all blitz, the primary reciever covered up at the line of scrimmage. Josh had no choice but to burn a time out, we still had two left. He trotted off the field to meet with Coach Cullen, making sure they were both on the same page.
After a lengthy discussion, Josh trotted back to the huddle, leaned over and took his usual knee. He looked up into our eyes, that confident smile on his face.
“Let’s put the women and children to bed, then go look for dinner.”, he shouted.
“Overload right, Y Weak Cross, Double Post Right, 89 Wheel Left, Waggle on two.”, he shouted.
This was another play that had been put in specifically for this game, it had never been run during the regular season. I guess Coach Cullen figured they would never be looking for something unusual with the game on the line. We basically lined up with two receivers to the right, I was next to the right tackle, one running back and a third reciever wide to the left. Both receivers on the right side would run go patterns, one of them long down the sideline, the second breaking off into a hook route at about twenty yards. The receiver on the left ran a ten yard post pattern across the field, taking his defender to the right as well. During the cadence, I would shift from my spot next to the right tackle over to the left tackle, then resume a blocking stance. What Josh was looking for was to see who rotated to me when I shifted, or if no one moved, who signaled that he had me covered up. I then would stay in and help block counting off three in my head, then releasing into the left flat. If the play was successful, the defense would react strong right, I might have only one defender on my side.
The ball was snapped, I stepped toward my left tackle helping him pinch the defensive end, then looking outside to see if I had anyone coming on a blitz. The outside linebacker was holding, so I released the end and moved to the left sideline in a long slow arc. The linebacker immediately moved to cover me, breaking hard in a straight line in my direction. As I crossed the their forty five, he was close but he taken a bad angle. I had him beat by two steps and he had still not opened up to the play. By the time he rotated his upper body back toward Josh, I was four yards ahead of him, the ball was in the air. For a split second, I looked up the field, there was no one near me. I quickly locked back on the ball, I knew it was going to be a bit long. I accelerated and reached out, barely able to get the ball on my finger tips. As I concentrated to pull the ball in, I slowed just a bit, giving my defender an opportunity to close the gap. By the time I had secured the ball, I felt him lunge for my legs, one hand slapped the back of my right shoe. I stumbled forward for a couple of steps, but I was able to maintain my balance, taking the ball down the sidelines untouched into the end zone. Every offense player on the team was running toward me in the end zone, it was sheer pandemonium. After a quick celebration, I sprinted to the goal post slamming the ball over, then hanging on the post for several seconds. Before my feet even touched the ground, there were three yellow flags on the ground. I knew I was gonna get some shit from the coaches, but I really didn’t care at this point. The referee stepped to the middle of the goal line, flipping on his microphone.
“Personal Foul, Unsportsman like Conduct, Excessive Celebration on the offense, number 89. The penalty will be marked off during the kick off.”, he finished, turning off his microphone.
I picked up the ball and trotted off the field, I didn’t feel a thing. I had just scored my third touchdown of the day, in my first Superbowl no less. We now had a 38-24 lead, with less than three minutes to play. As expected, Coach Reed was waiting for me.
“Hey Fuckwad, that’s twice this fucking year, it’s getting old.”, he snapped.
“Yeah, but I know you love me Coach.”, I told him, everyone around laughing.
We kicked off, they were able to run the ball back to their forty, to which I was reminded of again by Coach Reed. Everyone was off the bench on the sidelines, encouraging our defense to make a stand. We were in a dime package, six defensive backs on the field, making sure we kept the play underneath. They completed a couple of short passes getting the ball down to our thirty eight yard line, just as the two minute warning occurred.
During the lengthy television time out, Coach Reed instructed his defense on just what he was expecting from them. It was not the end of the world if they scored, just make sure it wasn’t a quick hitter, run time off the clock. The referee blew the whistle, the players returned to the huddle. After an incomplete pass, a short gain on another pass, they were facing third and six from our thirty four.
The ball was snapped to their quarterback in the shotgun, he set his feet, then stepped up in the pocket throwing to the middle of the field. One of our reserve cornerbacks, Kevin Mitchell read the play brilliantly, stepping in front of the defender, snatching the ball from his hands then racing up field. He simply had to out run the quarterback which he did easily for a sixty six yard touchdown, sealing the game for us. Our bench erupted in chaos, everyone hugging and screaming, we were the World Champions. I sat down on the bench, the emotions of the moment overwhelming me.
Via: https://sexstories.com/story/43726/a_game_of_inches_-_part_twelve