Chapter Eight: It all works out
"Can we take these blindfolds off now?" Alicia asked.
"Sure," I said as I finally got them onto the balcony of what was going to be our new house.
"What are we doing here?" Helen asked.
We were back at Carl's house.
"Where is Carl?" Alicia asked as she looked around.
"Carl is gone," I said. I didn't know if Carl took my offer, but I did know he had left the house. "And I bought the house."
"Are you serious?" Alicia asked.
"Yeah," I nodded.
I approached the bank with an offer. They were happy to give it to me.
"Thought we were going to buy in Louisiana?" Alicia asked.
"I can get a small place for myself, but both of you have lives here," I said.
"I don't want either of you to put any of that on hold for me."
Both Alicia and Helen smiled at me. "So, shall I close, or...." I started to ask before they both started nodding.
It was a good investment. They both had lives and businesses here. It would be easier for me to find a small place to live in than re-rooting themselves.
"You just wanted the man cave," Alicia said as she hugged me.
"Most definitely," I said as I pulled Helen into me.
"Well, what do you have planned for the third guest room?" Alicia asked as she looked at me.
"Nothing," I shrugged as I looked down at her. "You guys could make it anything you want," I said.
"How about a nursery?" Helen smiled.
"Sure," I nodded.
I knew we were already talking about starting a family even though most people had already condemned our relationship.
In multiple interviews I had been in, the question always came up about the two women who were always by my side. I had always answered that it was none of anyone's business, and I meant it.
"It's big enough," Alicia said.
"It definitely is," I agreed.
Then I noticed it, right in front of my eyes. Both of them were rubbing each other's stomachs. "Are you kidding?" I said.
"You finally noticed," Alicia said as she held her stomach.
"Both of you?" I said in shock as the two of them stood next to each other.
They both nodded. "What did you expect?" Helen smiled. "You have been injecting your baby batter into the both of us, on nearly a daily basis."
"I don't know what to say," I said, too excited to speak.
"Nothing to say," Alicia nodded. "We are just glad you are excited."
Things couldn't get any better for me.
"We should go back home and pack," Alicia said.
"I can hire someone for that," I said. "We should go out and celebrate."
"We could do that," Helen smiled.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pre-season came and went faster than I wanted. Tonight, was going to be our first game of the regular season.
I had done well in the pre-season games. No touchdowns, but I had caught a few good catches and did my fair share of blocking.
"You ready old man," the star running back said as he walked past me in the locker room.
"Yeah," I nodded.
The butterflies in my stomach were doing a number on me. I picked up my helmet and joined the rest of the team outside.
I could hear the crowd roaring, and in a few moments, we would rush out of the tunnel and onto the field. Our first game was at home in front of thousands of people.
'Just another day,' I thought as we stood ready to go.
The Quarterback was giving his usual team talk, but all I could think about was the crowd.
We rushed out of the tunnel to the loud cheer of the fans and the cameras.
Apart from a few running plays, I mostly sat on the bench. Then I went in for a play on the one-yard line. I knew the play was going away from me. All I had to do was stop the guy in front of me.
As I pushed and tussled with the linebacker, the running back changed direction and headed for my side. I lowered my shoulders and pushed as hard as I could. The running back saw the small opening I had created and ran through. I heard the crowd roar, and I let him go.
The running back was celebrating in the end zone. I slowly walked back to the sideline.
"Good block," the offensive coordinator said.
Others started patting me on the helmet and shoulders as I made my way to the bench. "Hey!" the running back shouted as he came over. "Next time, you do that, we are going to have problems!" he yelled at me as I sat down.
"What?" I asked as he sat near me.
"The next time we score like that, and you're not around for me to congratulate you," he smiled. "We are going to have problems."
"Oh, I don't do that celebrating and dancing," I said, shaking my head.
"That's right, you're old," he laughed.
"Old or not he is fucking two hot pieces of ass," One of the other men said as the defense took the field.
"Two pregnant pieces of asses," another said.
I looked at him, shocked. It had only been two months since they had told me. "What?" he said.
"You're part of the team, my wife talked to his wife, that talked to another wife, that talked to..." he started to say.
"The wife, girlfriend hotline, has already been fast at work," the Quarterback said as he held up his hand. "Congratulations."
"Thanks," I nodded.
It was a good three and out for our defense. We retook the field, and our running game was doing the most damage, just like before. Then they changed it up. It was going to be a play-action pass.
I faked like I was going to block, then leaked to the side. I was wide open. The Quarterback saw me and floated the ball out to me. I caught it and turned up field. With a good stiff arm, I had the linebacker on the ground.
My eyes widened as I saw nothing but an open field ahead of me. I took off running but went out of bounds as I saw the safety nearing me.
"Good catch," the coordinator said as I went to the sideline.
I caught some much-needed air and got some water before they called me back in. It was a run to my side. Again, I held my ground and pushed forward. It was a minimum gain, but we were in the red zone again.
Then the play came in. I knew this play. I looked over at the sideline at Jeff. He was staring right at me. As the ball was hiked, I ran my route perfectly.
Many years ago, I ran the same route and beat the guy in front of me to the corner of the end zone.
The ball was thrown. I did the same thing back then. I looked back for it, positioned myself for the catch, and then decided to drop it.
The signal went up for a touchdown. This time I didn't drop it. This time I caught it and kept both feet in as I went down.
"Spike it!" the running back said as I got up.
I spiked the ball and celebrated my first official NFL touchdown.
When I made it to the sideline, Jeff looked at me. "So, you can catch that pass," he nodded.
"Thank you," I nodded.
Jeff nodded his head back to me.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
We won the game. I finished it with ninety-six yards receiving yards and one touchdown. My team was celebrating the first win of the season. I stayed with them as long as possible and then retreated to my small condo.
'Good game,' Kevin sent a text to me.
'Thanks,' I sent back.
'First of many, enjoy the feeling,' he replied.
'I intend to,' I sent.
I laid back on the couch.
There was a knock on my door just as I was about to close my eyes.
"Coming," I said as I walked towards the door.
"What are you two doing here?" I asked as I opened the door.
"You didn't think we would let you be alone after your first big win, did you?" Alicia said as she walked inside.
"When did you get here?" I asked as I closed the door.
"Well, we left after the third touchdown," Helen said. "It was obvious it was going to be a blow out."
"So, how did it feel?" Alicia asked as we sat down on the couch.