I snap off my sunglasses and force a smile. “Love that show.”
“You enjoy them talking shit about you?” He hooks his thumbs in his belt.
My knuckles turn white on the steering wheel. “It’s all for attention.”
He nods. “Have you been drinking, Mr.Avery?”
I snort. Fuck this guy. I don’t drink and drive. “Have you?”
The trooper narrows his eyes. “Do we have a problem here, Mr.Avery?”
Jasper leans over. “Him? Hell nah. He’s cool, right? You’re cool, right, Big T?”
The trooper shifts around, and Jasper gulps when he sees his firearm.
“I watched the Houston game,” the cop says. “You really sucked. I’m guessing it still stings a bit.”
I grunt.
“Anyway, I’m supposed to ask you why I pulled you over, but we both know why I stopped you, right?”
“I was speeding, Officer. No excuse,” I snap.
“You passed several cars. You endangered the lives of others.” He peers in to see who is sitting next to me. “Is that Jasper Janich?”
Jasper swallows. “How are you today, Officer? We are, like, super sorry. I’m an upright citizen, and so is Tuck. I come from Utah. We never speed.”
The trooper nods, then pats the Ferrari. “My boys will never believe I pulled you two over.”
Digging deep, I wrangle my anger. It’s not at him anyway. I force a smile. “Let’s prove it with a selfie. Bet they’d believe it then, am I right?”
He looks down at his ticket pad, then looks back at us. He closes it, puts it into his belt, and then points to the area in front of the Ferrari. “Can we do it from there? That way we will get your car and my squad car in the picture.”
“Of course,” I say as I get out of the car.
We take a couple of shots. I take one of him pretending to catch a pass from Jasper and another where he pretends to handcuff me. Finally, he records a video of Jasper and me saying Merry Christmas to his two boys.
He tells us that he didn’t notice us speeding, really, and it was just a safety stop. “But between us, slow the fuck down.”
We get back in the car and sit in silence.
Jasper clears his throat. “Big T, I gotta say, you scared this kid. I’ve never been pulled over before.”
A rough laugh comes from me. “Live a little longer. This is my third time this year.”
“Did you get tickets?”
“Nah. I just smile, and it all goes away. I need some air.” I get out of the car, slam the door, and walk off into a field. My head churns with what the future holds for me.
What is there after football?
What the fuck is there?
I hadn’t realized he’d followed me, but Jasper appears and steps with me as I walk.
“Where are we going?”
“Nowhere. No destination. No goal. No plan. No fucking idea,” I say as I tuck my hands in my joggers.