Chapter One

Sitting in the stands, Tony Ramos was dying for a toke or even a smoke. He wasn’t the one graduating today, but the coaches made it mandatory for the entire team to attend the ceremony. They seemed to take sadistic pleasure in finding ways to punish Tony, and being forced to sit through these bullshit speeches was a new kind of torture.

“An athlete is judged not only for his talent on the field, but also by the way he handles stress and adversity.” Philip Mason’s voice reverberated through the loudspeakers of Eastern Florida University’s football stadium. “That’s true for every one of us—athletes and civilians alike. How we behave in life is as important as our achievements.”

What the hell was the commencement committee smoking lately, Tony wondered. Did they really think the graduation ceremony would be any less dull with the school’s star quarterback delivering the keynote address? Because if that’s what they thought, they were wrong. It was still boring. Nothing Philip Mason said in his speech was even relevant to Tony. The only thing the two men had in common was the position they played.

Philip had been the Barracudas’ beloved quarterback for four years. The golden child who could do no wrong. After more than a year at backup, Tony finally got his shot in his sophomore year when Philip got injured partway through the season, and the team won every game he quarterbacked—except for the big championship game and sadly, that’s all anyone remembered. As usual, Tony’s failure loomed way larger than his successes.

Tony stuck a finger inside his collar. It didn’t help that the late-May sun was hotter than hell and he was trapped inside a button-down shirt and tie. He shifted in his seat and tried to distract himself from his physical discomfort by imagining the faculty asking him—the Barracudas’ resident bad boy—to deliver the commencement speech at his own graduation in two years. That was one effing hilarious thought. Hell, he’d be lucky if he even graduates on time.

“You are your brand,” Mason’s speech continued. “Everything you do, all your actions and all your words add up to the total package that is you.”

Tony came off a month-long suspension last winter just in time for the championship games. He was suspended because he’d been accused of date-rape and even though he didn’t do it, the faculty and coaches immediately presumed Tony was guilty, yielded to political pressure, and suspended him.

He shook his head and cursed under his breath. He never forced himself on a girl in his life. In fact, girls threw themselves at football players like Tony, with his Latin heritage, olive complexion, bedroom eyes, and effortless sex appeal. At six feet three, he could tell by the way women eyed him up and down that they admired all two hundred and fifteen pounds of his lean muscular build. He never needed to coerce anyone to have sex with him, so he still didn’t get that girl’s motives for the false accusation. His teammates said it was probably because he never called her after that one night. Well, he never intended to, and he never said he would. Tony preferred one-night stands. Relationships were for guys like Mason.

Tony leaned forward to get a better view of Philip’s family a few rows up—his mother, father, sister and brother-in-law with their twin boys, and that girl Sara, the one who tutored Mason and wound up in his bed. He had a picture-perfect family. And for the icing on the cake, Philip got drafted into the big leagues by Miami where he was expected to be their franchise player.

Tony leaned back in his seat and rolled his eyes. Mason can bitch and moan about adversity and stress all he wants, but if anyone knew about hardship, it was Tony, not Philip. Tony was the illegitimate son of a Cuban father who got deported before Tony was born and an Italian-American mother who split when he was four. He ended up being raised by his Italian grandmother in a trailer home in Bradenton, Florida. So compared to Tony’s existence, Philip’s life looked charmed.

“What you did yesterday affects today,” Mason continued. “And what you do today affects tomorrow. You never know if you’re gonna get to replay the down. Sometimes you only get one shot, so make it count.”

»»•««

After the ceremony, Head Coach Fairchild lined up the Barracudas to congratulate the graduating players. When Philip came over, he shook Tony’s hand and patted his shoulder. “I hope you take my words to heart,” Philip told him. Tony looked at him quizzically. “A lot of that speech was meant for you.”

Tony stood up straighter. “Wha—” Now he felt guilty for not listening and for sitting there judging Philip harshly when Philip was trying to encourage his teammate.

He flashed to the time Mason came to his dorm room in a wheelchair while Tony was on suspension. Tony was depressed and high on drugs, but he’ll never forget the pep talk Philip gave him. It was one of the few times in Tony’s life when he felt like someone was really in his corner. He wasn’t used to people giving a damn about him, but he believed Philip really did.

“I want to hear great things from you,” Philip continued, pointing a finger at his protégé. “I know you have it in you.” He smiled broadly and fist-bumped Tony. “Don’t let me down.”

Tony swallowed hard and nodded. “Thanks for caring, man. Good luck in Miami.”

Philip gave Tony a quick guy hug before moving down the line.