Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 121095 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121095 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
The defensive coordinator—a strategic, no-nonsense guy who’s worked under Dad for the past ten years—snickers. “Walker, if you think Jack Parker would allow that last name on his fifty-three-man roster, you don’t know him at all.”
Coach Martinez, the linebacker coach, adds, “Add the fact that Luca’s a class clown, which isn’t Jack’s favorite personality type, and I’d say Luca’s got his work cut out for him to make it through the first week of training camp, let alone all three.”
“Yep,” the defensive coordinator agrees. “All things considered, I’m betting this kid’s got less than a snowball’s chance in hell of making it to the first preseason game, let alone to the regular season.”
I feel kind of bad for Luca, if that’s the case. But admittedly, my panic about him coming here and destroying my reputation and career goals is more important to me in this moment than hoping Luca performs miracles at his third NFL team in four years.
I’ve been following Luca’s career every step of the way, so I know enough to agree he’s a head case now. Probably a lost cause, honestly, despite what Raul said. So, it’s not like his failure here and the rapid exit that will follow will be out of the blue or unfair to him. On the contrary, the fact that my father is allowing him to come here at all, no matter the reason, is a massively generous thing. And once Luca’s here, it sounds like all I have to do is avoid him till Moriarty signs his new deal, which should be in a week at most, given the stats on holdouts, and I’ll come out of this unscathed.
“All I’m saying,” Bellamy says, “is that all things being equal, I’m glad to have a Maguire here to light a fire under Moriarty’s ass. Especially the one who everyone said was even better than him in college. And, hey, if by some miracle, Luca eventually proves himself worthy of a roster spot, my marketing team will be able to capitalize on his last name like gangbusters.”
Scattered replies erupt, but Dad’s voice rises up from the din.
“You’re all underestimating me. I don’t have any beef with Luca Maguire. I’m a professional, guys. All that matters to me is turning the Mastodons into a winner, through any means necessary. Which is why I told Walker last night, yes, I’m open to bringing Luca here, if only briefly. If Luca proves he’s exactly the guy I think he is, or if he becomes too big a distraction with his showy personality, I’ll cut his ass, no matter how marketable his last name might be. Likewise, if he earns a spot, I’ll put him through, just like anyone else.” He shrugs. “All I care about is winning football games. Period.”
It’s a lovely speech. And mostly true. But I know in my heart the part about Dad not caring that Luca’s a Maguire is total bullshit. Dad despises the Maguire name as much as I do. In fact, I think it’s fair to say hearing that name gives him mild PTSD-like symptoms, every time. But what else can he possibly say in this moment, when his star edge rusher is holding out and his boss clearly thinks bringing Luca here will shake things up?
My mind is racing.
Luca, Luca, Luca.
I can’t believe I’m going to see him again. Albeit from a distance. Obviously, I can’t get close to Luca and let him see me and then quite possibly recognize me and blab about what we did.
Shoot.
I just realized Luca, a linebacker, coming to camp means I can’t help Coach Martinez, the linebacker coach, like I’ve been begging Dad and Raul to let me do. Although the good news is it sounds like Luca will exit quickly, so hopefully, by the time Dad and Raul let me shift into that role, assuming they do, Luca will almost certainly be long gone by then.
But what about my other problem? Namely, the fact that I’m going to be one of five player liaisons at camp. In that role, I’ll be staying at the players’ hotel across the street from the facility, which means I could very well bump into Luca in a hotel hallway or in the lobby if I’m not extremely careful. I’ll definitely need to find out Luca’s room assignment so I can request a room on a different floor. Also, while Luca’s still here, I’ll make sure to go to and from the players’ hotel at odd hours so there’s little chance of me running into him.
I sigh with relief.
Yes.
That should work out okay.
Surely I can finagle this unexpected curveball without one day and night of extremely bad decision-making as a teenager coming back to ruin everything for me here.
What a bummer. In another world, I would have loved to see Luca again and at least chat with him. Chatting with him was so much fun way back when. Man, could that boy make me laugh. In fact, back then, I enjoyed my conversations with Luca so much, I couldn’t stop googling his name for updates on his stats and photos of his personal life when I returned to Northwestern. Of course, once Luca’s personal photos made it clear he was an even bigger player off the field than on, that made it easier to stop fantasizing about meeting up with him again at the upcoming Nebraska/Northwestern game and begging him to pretty-please do that thing he’d offered to do to me after all, the thing I’d been kicking myself for refusing at the time. On the contrary, I ordered myself to stop thinking about Luca Maguire at all. Ever again. I told myself thoughts of him were completely off-limits.