Going Long Read Online Free PDF Page B

understood. “Ah, I bet this is his
latest girlfriend,” I thought.
    “Hey, Kid. You said you were
ready. You don’t look it to me, you look lazy,” my dad kidded, but with a bite
of truth. “Do I need to have a talk with Toms? Is he letting you slack off?”
    My dad’s belly laugh was iconic.
I watched him nod to Coach Toms across the room, who acknowledged my
game-readiness with a smile and thumbs up. “Kid’s always ready, Buck. Born
ready,” he yelled over his shoulder as he headed into the front office to choke
down some dinner.
    “Yeah, he sure was,” my dad
said, reaching over to give me a hug now. My eyes finally found the spectacle
standing behind him—her blue eyes crystal and perfect, not a hair out of
place. Her silk blouse was so tight over her chest, leaving little to my
imagination, though what my imagination was doing needed to be stopped,
immediately. This was difficult because she was smiling now, and it was the
kind of smile that reeked of whatever that thing was that kept heroin addicts
coming back for more. Trouble . It was trouble.
    “Dylan Nichols,” she said,
holding her perfectly manicured fingers out for me to touch, her eyes drilling
into mine, and her shiny lips stretching into a smile that showed off her very
expensive teeth. Shit! This…is Dylan?
    I reached out and shook her
hand, removing the grin from my face and pulling out my best indifference
despite the worry that now consumed the pit of my stomach. “Nice to meet you,”
I said—friendly, but nothing more.
    “We made good time,” my dad
piped in. “Thought I’d get the introductions out of the way, before we meet up
with your mom tomorrow.”
    Mom. That’s what it was about
Dylan. She was, in so very many ways, Millie Johnson-Snyder. No wonder my mom
liked the Nichols family so much.
    “My dad’s told me a lot about
you, Reed. He’s a big fan,” she said with a certain air of confidence.
    Okay, flattering, but she wasn’t
flirting. This was good.
    “Your numbers look
good—impressive, in fact. You could go higher than Patricks did last
year, but only if the timing’s right.”
    Dylan Nichols knew her way
around the business of football . “Thanks,” I said. One-word answers were
safe.
    “We’ll talk more tomorrow,
sorry. I didn’t mean to let business creep in before your game. Habit, blame my
dad,” she giggled, but not in a girly way. She was Millie…and Nolan was
going to flip the fuck out at lunch tomorrow.   
    “I gotta go get ready,” I said,
slinging my jersey over my shoulder to take her hand one more time in a
business-like shake. “It was nice to meet you, Dylan. My girlfriend’s excited
to meet you, too,” I said, forcing the words from my mouth and putting them
where they didn’t belong, but wanting to make my relationship
clear—probably wanting to clear my own conscience a bit, too. The part
about Nolan being excited, however, was overkill. All I had going for me now
was playing up the humor in the misunderstanding of gender-neutral names,
something Nolan could relate to. But I knew even that wouldn’t soothe the
discomfort she was sure to feel when she was sandwiched at a table between the
young and seasoned versions of my mother.
     
    Dylan left my mind the second I
stepped through the tunnel. Truth was there wasn’t much room for anything other
than winning when I was on the field. I always had the gift of concentration.
It was my edge, and it’d taken me pretty far.
    We ended up defeating Oregon
14-21. Their defense was everything I’d expected it to be, punishing, tough,
brutal and strong. But they didn’t break me. I’d made it through one more game
with my wits still with me.
    “You comin’ out with us tonight,
Johnson?” Trig said as he walked by on his way to the showers, smacking my head
with his rolled-up towel, “Or your girlfriend got you on a leash tonight?”
    I knew he was only teasing, but
it pissed me off. “Fuck off,” I said, shoving him a