“I love you too, baby. So much.” I stroked her hair and kissed her head. I stood strong in my convictions that I’d defend Ellison with my life. Nothing would touch her as long as I was breathing. She was all I wanted out of life—the rest was a distraction. Ellison Kraft was my reason, my future, and I would do what it took to protect her.
If I asked either my mom or dad to keep club members out of the house homecoming weekend, I was setting myself up for a trap. If my father knew how important it was to me, he would sabotage it on purpose—it’s the way he’s built and how he always reacted to me. If I’d complained to my mother, she’d get nervous and give it away. I was damned if I do and damned if I don’t, seriously screwed either way. I decided to speak to Fox about it because he’s my only real hope. He might be a member of the club, but he would never disrespect me. He’s always got my back and he knew how much Ellison meant to me.
He was downstairs in the basement lifting weights. I headed down with my hamper full of laundry. Usually, I stayed far away from the unofficial hangout. I didn’t hate all of the members, some of the guys had known me since I was born and are like an extended bunch of rowdy inappropriate uncles. It was always my father who pushed me over the top, trying to hook me up with club whores or shoving liquor in my face. But the worst of it all was to watch him disrespect my mom, I had zero tolerance whenever he mistreated her. She tried to be a great mom and the perfect wife, a feat that’s near impossible with the shit she had to deal with.
“Fox, did Mom tell you Ellison is spending the weekend here? Her parents have to go to some cop function, and I’ve got a game on Friday.”
Fox breathed in air around his teeth as he neared his twenty-fifth pull-up. I waited for him to finish without saying more. He got more ripped every year, the bastard, it’s hard to keep up with him.
“Your girl is gonna spend the weekend with us? Did her parents agree to that or are they in the dark?”
“Her dad is talking to Dad, her mom talked him into it.”
“No shit, huh?” Fox said. He grabbed a small towel to wipe the sweat off his brow then dropped down to the floor to continue with doing push-ups in rapid succession. “You’re fucked,” he spat out casually, counting yet winded.
“Help a guy out, would you? I’d do it for you.”
“I know you would. I just don’t know how you’re going to keep a load of filter-less horny assholes to keep their eyes to themselves. Even if by some miracle they manage, they’re gonna say shit in front of her just to fuck with you.”
Fox was right and my blood boiled just imagining club members undressing Ellison with their eyes.
“You guys can hide upstairs.” Fox shrugged.
“Yeah, but we still have to come and go for all the events. Dad will see me with her and he’s gonna ask in front of everyone if she’s sucked my dick.”
Fox reclined on the bench on his back, he’s bench-pressing huge weights and I realized I needed to start working out.
“Has she?” Fox asked, without missing a beat.
“Fuck off.”
“I got you, little man. Try not to worry. I’ll try to hang around the house and you two can text me when you’re walking in and out. Make sure she changes out of that cheerleading outfit before she comes near this place.”
I felt like I could breathe deeply for the first time since Ellison made this crazy plan. Forget about the game or the dance, if I could make it through the weekend without killing anyone, I’d call it a success. Not getting into it with my father would be nothing short of a miracle.
The band striking up was our cue to run onto the field. A lot of the students chant “Monty, Monty,” as I run out because they’re depending on me to make a couple of touchdowns. We’re up against Mountview, our biggest rivals. I was probably one of the strongest players on the team, or at least that’s what Coach always told me. I was offense, quarterback, but I also played receiving. I was number twenty-two, just like Fox was before me. Our number was handed down from my dad when he played here in high school. The Montgomery legacy follows me everywhere I go, whether I wanted it to or not.
I loved running onto the field and hearing the crowd roar. The loud music from the band coupled with the energy under the lights at a home game was unlike anything else. My only complaint was that although I loved the game, I didn’t really fit in on the team. I was friendly with the guys, they invited me to their parties, we hung out in the hallways at school in between classes. I guess I was just more serious than they were. I tried to be present and accommodating for the sake of team spirit, but, unlike them, making it to the NFL wasn’t my wet dream. Ellison was.