That Wedding (9 page)

But Mrs. Mac will not be deterred. She gets up and grabs a large stack of the thickest magazines known to man.

Bridal magazines.

They practically break through the wooden table when she slams the stack down in front of me. Thankfully, I got my hands out of the way.

"I went through and marked everything I like in yellow," she tells me.

"And I marked everything I like in blue," Ashley adds.

When do these people find time to go through these monstrosities? If I tried to sit on the couch at home and flip through these, I'd make it all of about twelve pages before Phillip would be attacking me. Sex takes up a lot of our time lately.

Mrs. Mac continues in her sweet,
If you do this for me, I will bake you cookies
, voice. "So just flip through all the magazines and mark stuff you like. Then we'll help you figure out a theme. So what are you thinking for a date?"

"We haven't discussed dates yet, but I'm pretty sure we're going to have a very long, lengthy engagement. Like maybe a couple years. We really don't need to start planning yet."

She gives me a little sigh. I see my opportunity to get away, so I grab the magazines and go sit in the family room. She's still staring at me, so I pretend to look interested and flip through a few pages. But really, I'm looking at Phillip, who's sitting in his favorite chair finishing his second piece of pie. He looks so adorable that I almost wish I had two of him.

Which reminds me.

I grab my phone and look up the word trigamy. And I'm right!! There is a word that means married to three people.

I glance over to Phillip and say, "It's trigamous."

"Cool," he says, not really listening because he's very into the game and his pie. He practically licks the plate off then turns to me with a grin. "So you were wrong?"

"I was closer to right than you were. That's all I care about." I give him a sassy little smile.

He grabs me off the couch, pulls me onto his lap, and starts kissing me.

Why is it kinda funny that this boy, who managed to keep his hands off me for years, cannot seem to control those hands anymore? I'm a little embarrassed by this. We're in the middle of his family room, and everyone can see us!! I cut the kiss short, but he won't let me get off his lap, so I get cozy, watch the game, and forget all about wedding planning.

My cell buzzes on the side table. Phillip grabs it, says, "Danny," and hands me it.

"Hey, what's up?"

"How bout tomorrow will be my first start as a freaking NFL quarterback? Can you believe it?"

One of the first things Danny told me, when he moved next door in fifth grade, was that he was a great quarterback. I remember telling him he was a bragger. He told me that he wasn't bragging, he was just confident in his skills. Turns out he was right about that, since he went on to be a state champion in high school, got recruited to play for Nebraska, won the national championship his senior year, came in second in the Heisman race, and won every quarterback award there was. He went on to be the second pick in the NFL draft. Last week, the starting quarterback got a concussion, so Danny finished the game. With his blonde hair, dreamy blue eyes, killer body, and good old boy attitude, he's also quickly becoming the poster boy for hot quarterbacks everywhere. His Chiefs jersey, with Diamond across the back, became their hottest selling jersey before he ever stepped foot on their field. He's making his first professional start tomorrow in a Monday Night Football game.

"Yeah, I can believe it. I've always believed in you, and I'm so excited I get to be there!!!"

"Jay, you have always believed in me. I should probably thank you for that."

"Yeah, you should!"

"Remember my freshman year in college?"

I laugh. "I do. You thought it sucked."

"Well, it did! I was the big man in high school. State Champion Winner. MVP. First Team, All-State. Five-Star Recruit. Then I go to college and NOTHING. I got freaking redshirted. I guess I just figured it would stay easy, be like high school."

"Danny, you know as well as I do that it didn't come easy in high school. Yeah, you were better than most kids, so it looked easy, but those of us who know you knew how much time you devoted to working out, how many freaking passes Phillip and I caught for you, all the times you stayed after practice, the camps, all of it. You've always worked for it. Are you nervous? Are you comparing this to your freshman year?"

"I might be a little nervous. I've moved up a level. What if I can't compete?"

"You already competed on that level when you finished the game last week. You did awesome. You'll do awesome."

"You know, I still visualize us playing in the empty lot between our houses before every game, and that pic of you two is hanging in my locker."

"That's so cool."

"My priorities are different now. I have an amazing wife, and pretty soon, we'll have a baby. But when I'm out there in a game, I play because it's fun. Because I love it."

"I know, Danny."

"The guys have been giving me all kinds of shit about the picture though. They want to meet this flag bikini girl. They've also been making up funny stories about you two. Like Phillip's my gay lover. You're my mistress. You're the one that got away. You're a Vegas hooker. Some think I don't even know you. Like I found the pic of you both going up for a pass on the internet or something. One of these days, I might tell them the truth, but for now, their wild guesses are kinda fun."

"So.......Dannyyyyy Diammmonnndddd!!! Are you ready for some football, a Monday night partyyyyy???" I exaggeratedly sing the Monday Night Football anthem.

"We'll see," he tells me. "We'll see."

We're driving to Kansas City for the game and listening to sports radio. There's a lot of speculation that Mark Conway's football career is over, due to concussions, and that he's going to retire soon.

If it's true, I'll be happy for Danny, but I feel bad too. I wouldn't want Danny to go out that way, having a concussion end his career. I want him to go out in a blaze of glory. He needs confetti raining down on him, fans cheering him, raising the Super Bowl trophy over his head for the third time when he announces his retirement.

Danny calls me. He must really be nervous. "Hey, what's up?"

"Do you remember that day after prom, how we talked in the hammock?" he asks.

"Of course, that was the day you told me if we dated it would ruin our friendship."

"Do you remember what you told me?"

"Not really." I don't remember exactly what all I said that day.

"You told me that I have greatness in me. That I was doing what I always wanted and what I was meant to do."

"Oh yeah, the football talk. I remember that. I thought you were talking about what you said about us. You know, when you broke my heart."

Danny laughs. "We both know I did not break your heart."

"I still say you did. Ahhh, the one that got away." I giggle and wink at Phillip. He rolls his eyes at me.

"Jay. Back to football."

"Oh, sorry."

"Do you remember after we lost the Texas game? I had those two interceptions, and the press, who the week before thought I was the second coming of Christ himself, threw me under the bus and decided I was overrated?"

"Yeah, I remember. It sucked."

"You told me that it didn't look like I was having fun out there. That when I stopped having fun, the whole team did too. I remember yelling at you,
NO SHIT!
Because how could I have had fun when I was either getting sacked or running for my life? But when I watched the game film, I realized you were right. When I started falling apart, the team came with me. You told me I was like the captain of a sinking ship. That if I let the water get to me, it would get to my crew too. That I needed to be the leader. Tell them it didn't matter, that the water was good for the boat, and we were gonna make it to land. You told me I had to lead my offense, be the calm in the storm. That if I wasn't confident, they wouldn't be either."

"Wow! I was really supportive, and apparently, I'm quite brilliant at motivational sports analogies. I should totally be on ESPN."

Phillip chuckles in the seat next to me.

Danny laughs too. "Don't get too puffed up. You also used to say,
Fuck it. It's just a game.
Tell Phillip he gets points for making me go in the backyard and toss around the football."

"I'll tell him, but only if I get bonus points for taking you to the bar."

"I'm not sure that was the smartest thing."

"So why are you calling? You need a little pre-game pep talk?"

"Maybe."

"Hhmmmm, okay. I still believe what I said back then. You were born for this, and you're exactly where you belong. You can perform under pressure like no one else can."

Phillip bursts out laughing, but that's because his mind's in the gutter.

Danny says, "I like it so far," but then he bursts out laughing too and is like, "although that last part sounded a bit sexual. Has Lori been telling you how amazing I am in bed?"

"Uh, no," I say, but then I laugh again. "Well, maybe I've heard a little, but you know what I mean. I'm talking defensive pressure, which I don't think you'll have much of tonight because you have an offensive line most quarterbacks would give their left nut for."

"True."

"So Daniel-son," I tease.

"Oh boy, movie references. You aren't gonna start telling me wax on, wax off, are you?"

"No, I have a better one. Remember the old movie,
Iron Eagle
? Where that kid flies a fighter plane to go rescue his dad?"

"Yeahhh."

"Your offensive line is like his plane. They're going to protect you. You're the iron eagle that can't be brought down, can't be stopped. You'll hold your ground. You'll scramble. You will not take a sack."

"That's pretty good. I like it."

"Good, cuz after you win tonight, and the reporters are all like,
Oh, Dannnnyyyy, you're so ahh--maaazzinggg
, I expect you to say,
I owe it all to Jay
."

Danny chuckles. "That's why I love you. See ya after the game."