Fuck, yeah!

It was Draft pick day and I was so stoked!

We had the TV tuned to the station airing the NFL Draft pick announcements. Soon I would know my destiny. My pulse was racing. I was flying high on adrenaline and nerves. This was it. This was what I’d been waiting for my entire life.

AJ and I were standing at the cupboards in the kitchen of the apartment.

I had one hand on the door as I rooted around where we kept drinking glasses, most of which were plastic tumblers with some faded logo on the front. “I hope Allie gets some plastic champagne glasses at the store. I don’t see any in here.”

“I hope she doesn’t crash my car,” he said.

I pulled my head out of the cupboard, unable to focus. Allie had borrowed AJ’s car and made a beer run, but for today, it was a champagne run.

AJ clapped me on the back. “Man, are you excited, or what? Today’s the big day!”

“I know, I know. I’m so antsy, my stomach is in knots.”

AJ opened the fridge, retrieved a bottle of my cheap beer and twisted off the cap. “Here, alcohol will help.”

“Shit, I need more than beer. A stiff shot of whiskey maybe.”

“Sorry, beer is all that’s in the fridge. Besides, Allie will be back soon with the rich man’s drink.” He pulled out a bottle for himself and made a long shot with the cap into the corner trash can. “Hey, speaking of Allie, what’s the status of you two love birds? I mean, you kicked me the fuck out of my own crib. It’d better be good, like stars and bells ringing good.”

I downed half the contents in one big gulp and plopped the bottle on the counter with a thud. “AJ, I’m tellin you, man. I never expected this. I’m hooked. And I mean big time.”

“Oh shit, man. You mean, big like the big L-word?”

I nodded and pursed my lips. “Yep, I’m in love.”

“What happened to your rule? No chicks. No relationships.” He raised a brow. He knew how I felt about Allie, but he just had to give me a hard time.

“Well, the best laid plans, yadda yadda yadda. Who knows when love will strike? Love has no rhyme or reason, it just happens. And when you least expect it.”

“Well, I’m happy for you, man. Everything's coming together for you. Allie is a great lady and beautiful too.”

“She is,” My eyes glazed over just thinking about her. Her hair, her ocean blue eyes and how the lured me in, every time I got near her. “She’s amazing, AJ, and banging hot!”

“She could be a model.”

“Yes, she could.”

“Hey…” He cut me off, and nearly spit out his beer trying to talk before he swallowed. “I just remembered...I forgot to tell you.” He wiped the drops from his chin that’d escaped.

“Swallow much?”

“Shut up. No, seriously, man, I just remembered something I wanted to tell you about my dad’s company.”

“Gloria’s Secret?”

“Yeah, they’re doing this big promotional thing, like a contest, and they’re looking for college girl models.”

“What’s that got to do with me? Are you saying I look like a girl and should model?”

“No, douche. The company is starting a new line of sleepwear; you know t-shirts and pajama pants, all that shit college girls run around in to tease us guys. You remember, freshman year in the dorms, how the girls wore that stuff? Well, Gloria’s Secret wants real college girls from Big Twelve Conference schools like The University of Texas and stuff to be in the ads. Then they’ll run a big promotion when they launch the line using these girls as the models.”

“Yeah right. I don’t know anyone.”

“What about Allie?”

“She’s kind of not in class here at the UT.”

“But she’s still officially registered for class at Northern Arizona, right? The semester isn't over yet, so she’s still on the roster. Why not? My dad’s promotion’s manager won’t care. It’s a technicality. No one’ll care she’s not in a Big Twelve Conference school. I’ll make sure of it. I promise. Don’t sweat the load.”

“You’re right. She’d be perfect. I’ll tell her about it.”

“Cool, I’ll find out how she can apply.”

Just then Allie burst in the door, her arms loaded with grocery bags. “Is it time? Has it started? Wouldn’t you know the lines were long and everyone and their mother was driving slow. I hurried as fast as I could.”

I grabbed the bags from her and kissed her smiling face. “Almost time.” I glanced at the clock on the microwave as I pulled packages of chips and snacks from the grocery bags. I’d been checking the clock every two seconds.

“Allie, take this into the living room. It’s time, it’s time!” I was so nervous and excited I was rambling. “Go! I’ll put the champagne in the fridge.”

Catching my excitement, AJ intercepted the bottle of champagne and said, “No, you go, I’ll handle this, just get in there, man.”

I hustled Allie into the living room to the couch and tossed the bag of chips on the coffee table.

“Oh, Cam I’m so nervous for you. You must be dying, baby.” She reached up on tiptoes and kissed me. I was too nervous to sit at all so I remained standing. She started to sit on the couch then popped back up.

“Oh, wait...I wanted to make cheese and crackers.” she said. “I’ll go get them and put it together in here. I don’t want to miss a thing.”

I watched her disappear around the corner into the kitchen. She was as excited as me, and she should be because this would affect her life, too. I wanted her with me wherever I would be assigned. AJ was right. She was as beautiful as any model out there, and I was damned lucky to have her. Who wouldn’t love that smile…and those perfect tits? I was lost for a moment, fantasizing Allie in a bikini on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, but then I remembered AJ said this promotion would be for pajamas. I wrinkled my nose. She was definitely swimsuit material, not pajamas. Then I remembered what she’d said to me in bed, about how she seemed reluctant to come with me to training camp. But I only had a moment to dwell on that before the announcer on the TV was making the introduction to the beginning of the show.

AJ already had the remote in his hand, turning up the volume.

Allie came back with the cheese and crackers, sat on the couch, and began preparing the snacks, her eyes glued to the TV screen while her hands worked.

“Here we go!” AJ said and returned the remote to the coffee table. “Woo! It’s starting.”

I ran my hands through my hair and began pacing the carpet. “Arrgh! I don’t know if I can watch.” I closed my eyes and tucked my hands into my armpits, to keep from pulling out my hair. “It’s too much suspense!”

“How long will it take to announce all the winners?” Allie asked.

“They have seven rounds, and today is only the first day. There are three days total,” AJ explained. Then, turning to me, he said, “I'll be surprised if you don’t lock up a first-round slot. With your strong arm and tight spiral, you’ll be an asset to any team.”

Wanting to be the cheerleader, Allie chimed in, “Yeah, what he said. I don’t know much about football, but I know you’ll make it, Cam.”

God, I hoped she was right. I wanted this more than anything in the world. My injuries had pretty much healed, despite everything that had happened, and I’d performed well at the Scouting Combine back at the end of February. The competition was tough, to say the least. AJ and I had been keeping track of the progress of all the prospects on the NFL Network’s official website.

NFL Network provided an up-close look at the more than three hundred prospects looking to take the next step in their football careers. There was a web page devoted specifically to the players who participated in the Scouting Combine. It listed all of our stats: our times in the 40-yard-dash, the bench press, the long jump, and all the workout drills we were tested on. There were even video clips of several workout drills for eager fans to watch and make their own fantasy predictions about who’d get picked where, who was the number one draft choice, and so on. I had a profile created by the NFL Network on their website with all of my stats. It was heady stuff, made me feel like I was a celebrity even before anything had been decided. But now, it was all out of my hands, and it was going to be a long, three-day wait if AJ was wrong about me being a first round pick.

The NFL Network announcers were talking on the TV, it was happening, and I was almost sick to my stomach. The first round started with the San Francisco Knights shopping for their team’s needs. They were first because their team had openings across the board, needing several positions to be filled. So the best way to do that was to start with finding a quarterback to build around. That made this a Round One focus.

I was tense. I played quarterback, but just as AJ and I predicted, North Carolina’s quarterback, Bryce Freylack was the number one overall draft choice, so he beat me on that one. Having read the predictions on the NFL website, I was not really surprised. I was happy for him.

Projecting how the top quarterbacks go in the draft is a tricky business, but the NFL Scouting Combine helps sort out a pecking order with stats and film. In my case, NFL scouts had film from more than thirteen career starts to judge me on, so I was at least confident that all of my skills would be on display.

I had good height, a lean, athletic build for a quarterback, and above-average athleticism. I could operate from the shotgun or under center equally well, and I was very comfortable playing inside the pocket. One of my biggest assets was a very quick release and a nice, smooth throwing motion. I had the skills to drive the ball into a tight window, over linebackers and under safeties. The scouts were impressed with my poise in the pocket, but noted that I also ran the ball well; I have a sneaky quickness and enough strength to power through tacklers for extra yardage. Most importantly, those skills had resulted in an impressive number of rushing touchdowns over my career with the Longhorns. I wouldn’t say I was bragging. If asked I’d tell people how good I was. I knew I had the skill and the time on the field in play to back up my words, being as objective as possible, I knew I was a solid player that any team would be fortunate to sign.

“Sit down, Cam,” Allie said. “You’re making me nervous. You can’t spend the entire time on your feet.”

“Alright,” I groaned, moving next to Allie on the couch.

“I’ll get you another beer,” AJ said, and took off for the kitchen.

No sooner had my ass hit the cushion on the couch when the TV commentator moved on to the next team’s choices and I heard my name announced. I sprang to my feet with a whoop. “Yeeeaaah!” I grabbed Allie on my launch and pulled her up with me. “Yeeha! They said my name, my name! The Minutemen! I’m in! The Minutemen! The fucking New England Minutemen!”

AJ came running back into the room when he heard my outburst.

“What’d I miss? Who…”

Before he could finish his sentence, I danced over to him with my arm still around Allie and pulled him into a group hug.

“Congratulations, man!” AJ exclaimed.

“You did it, you did it!” Allie added as we all bounced up and down like excited little kids, my arms locked around the both of them. I was literally jumping for joy.

“Alright, alright,” AJ said. “Lemme go. You’re cutting off my circulation.”

I let him loose, but not before planting a big kiss on his hairy cheek. “Thanks for supporting me, bro, through all of this.” I was smiling so much my face hurt.

He swatted me away and shoved on my chest. “I get it, man, I feel the love, now get the fuck off me. I gotta get that champagne before this gets any creepier.”

We all laughed as AJ went to the kitchen. I turned to Allie, a big grin on my face. “I couldn’t have made it without you either, baby.”

She snorted a laugh. “Yeah, right. I don't think I did anything to help you with this. It was all you and your years of practice and hard work. If anything, I kept throwing a wrench into the works for you. You’re lucky you made it to today in one piece.”

She poked a finger at my now healed ribs.

AJ came into the living room with the champagne. Luckily, Allie had been smart enough to know college guys probably wouldn’t have wine or champagne glasses, so she had bought plastic ones at the store.

“I knew he’d get picked, too,” AJ said, beaming with pride.

I took the bottle from him. He handed out the plastic stemware and I poured.

We all held ‘em high in a salute, and AJ proclaimed, “Here’s to my buddy, Cameron Landsborough, the best quarterback in college football history and soon to be the best in the NFL! Every week, every year, Cam here did things other quarterbacks couldn’t do. Here’s to your future in the NFL!”

“Congratulations, baby! You’re a New England Minuteman!” Allie added.

“Thank you, guys. But I’m not officially a Minuteman until I sign a contract. And I have to go to training camp first.”

As if on cue, my phone chimed; from where I stood I could see Saul’s number light up the screen. “Well, speak of the devil. There’s my agent now. Get me an ink pen, AJ. I’m ready to sign.” We all laughed as I picked up my phone.

I knew Saul would call as soon as he heard the news. He was probably on the phone this entire time working deals with general managers and stroking the egos of teams, schmoozing them on my behalf.

“Congratulations, Cam! You’re an NFL player now,” he bellowed.

“Thank you, Saul. You’re the best agent. I’m sure it was all because of you.”

“Ho, ho, well, actually, I think you had a little part in it too, my boy. You had a part in it, too.” He chuckled.

Saul had a couple of peculiar quirks. One was his annoying flop of hair that was always coming loose and falling out of place. On a young man it would make him look like a tough guy, but with Saul’s receding hairline, it just looked odd. The other quirk was his tendency to repeat a sentence, or part of a sentence, twice. I wasn't sure if he did it because he thought I was hard of hearing, or if it was just a nervous habit. Whatever it was, he was definitely excited for me. And why wouldn't he be? He’d be getting a percentage of my signing deal.

“It’s exciting news, exciting news. Have you called your mom? Call your mom. She’ll be excited.”

“No, I haven’t had time to settle. My head is still in outer space. I can hardly believe it myself.”

“Well, you won’t have much time now. Here’s what happens next. I work on negotiating your deal, you see, negotiating, and then you go to minicamp.”

“Wait, what? How long will that take. And what’s minicamp? I have to finish school.”

“Next week. You go next week and you go to mini training camp first before the regular one starts in mid-July, in July. I thought you knew that.”

“Next week? I have final exams. I’m confused. I thought I’d have until July to go to training camp. Now you’re telling me I go sooner?”

Wondering where this minicamp was, I suddenly realized that Allie and I would need to pack and organize things fast if we had to move next week. This kind of threw me for a loop, but considering it was all good news, I figured I could roll with the punches.

“Finals? What finals? You don’t have time for finals. You're in the pros now. They own your time, son. They own every part of you. They own every part! You're a commodity now.”

“Saul, I can do it. I only have two finals and they’re both on the first day of finals week. That’s Monday. Today is Friday. I won’t be flying out to minicamp on Monday will I?”

He laughed at my naiveté. “You sure are green, just like the others. Just like all the others. Don't worry, old Saul with walk you through all of it. Training camp for the New England Minutemen will be in Foxborough, Massachusetts. It starts around mid-July. I’ll get you a schedule for everything and book your flight to minicamp as soon as we put ink to paper on that contract.”

“Wow, everything’s happening so fast. It’s exciting, new places, new people to meet. Me and Allie are so ready for this. We’re gonna love it.”

“Wait a minute there, son. What do you mean we, what do you mean? There’s no we involved in this move. The NFL doesn’t pay for plane tickets and hotels for anyone but you. Just you. The Minutemen don’t pay for a girlfriend. Don’t pay to move a girlfriend or for her plane ticket.”

“But I just assumed…”

“Well, you assumed wrong, my friend. No girlfriends.”

“What if she pays her own way, gets her own apartment.”

“Apartment? You’ll be living in a hotel for minicamp in one city, then go to another for fall training camp, which technically isn’t even in the fall, it’s July through August, so six weeks there in a hotel and then...well, it just can’t be done. Sorry, pal.”

Allie would be crushed if she couldn’t go with me. We’d been planning it. I just didn’t understand how it all worked and I felt like an idiot for it. Maybe Saul had said that because he didn’t want me to have the distraction of a girlfriend hanging around all the time. After all, he had something at stake here, too.

“But…but…”

“But nothing. Plus, you’ll be on lockdown part of the time, spend every day training. Every day. And there’re no weekends off in this job. You’ll have training from seven in the morning until seven or eight at night; plus, you’ll be expected to attend extra rookie activities after hours, and then fall into bed exhausted. I tell you, you’ll be exhausted. Hell, veteran players who’re married only get about ten to fifteen minutes to text their wives during training camp. You’ll barely have time to take a piss, let alone see a girlfriend.”

I didn’t hear half of the rest of Saul’s conversation. My mind was buzzing with thoughts. How the hell would I tell Allie she wasn’t going with me after all.

Fuck.

Allie had nowhere to go. It was the end of the school year, and if I wasn't here in the apartment, AJ would move back in and she would have nowhere to go except back to Flagstaff, back to Jade’s home territory.

Fuck!

I wouldn’t tell her just yet. But I needed to think of a solution and fast.