Long: A Secret Baby Sports Romance(22)

At least I had the afternoon off.



Coach was clearly still pissed about the tutoring thing, because he did not take it easy all morning. Usually Sundays were pretty light, but this week he had me throwing reps over and over again before he put me in a game room to study tape.

The hours slowly rolled by, and finally it was eleven in the morning and we were done for the day. After showering off, I walked toward campus with Hynes and Drinkwater.

“You fucking hyped for next week?” Drinkwater asked me.

“Sure,” I said. “It’s just Mountain.”

“Still, man,” Hynes said. “First game of the season. I can’t wait for that first fucking run. I’m going to lay some pussy boy out.”

I laughed. “I don’t know, Hynes. You always end up taking it as much as you give it.”

“Hell yeah you do,” Drinkwater said. “I’m the only one here that spends more time on my feet than on my ass.”

“Not sure,” I said. “The offensive line is looking good this year. I don’t think I’m going to have to scramble as much.”

“Whatever, man. I’m just excited to get back out there, hear the roar of the crowd. You know?”

I knew exactly what he meant. There was nothing better than standing in the middle of that field while thousands of fans screamed and cheered for you. There was an energy that I could barely describe flowing through those people, like some sort of weird magic ritual or some shit. All of those people so focused on me; it felt insane and amazing.

We were headed to get some lunch at Dom’s, but my phone started ringing before we got there. “I’ll meet up with you two,” I said, pulling it out of my pocket.

They waved and headed on. I didn’t recognize the number, but I answered it anyway.

I was glad I did.

“Gibson Evans?” the man asked.

“Yeah. That’s me. Who’s this?”

“My name is Vincenzo Nicastro. You can call me Vin.”

“Okay, Vin,” I said. “What can I do for you?”

“Actually, this is about what I can do for you. A man reached out to me and my people, a man you know named Johnny. Do you remember why this man reached out to me?”

I blinked, surprised. I hadn’t expected to hear back from them so quickly.

“I do,” I said.

“Good. Are you interested in meeting with us?”

“I am,” I said.

“Good. We’re interested in meeting with you. Can you come to Chicago today? Possibly by five in the afternoon?”

“Yeah,” I said, checking my watch. “I can be there. No problem.”

“Good. You come and meet us. I’ll text you an address. We’ll talk about your problem.”

“Thank you, Vin,” I said.

“See you later, kid.” He hung up the phone.

I stared out across campus for a second. I thought I’d feel excited, but really I felt more anxious than anything else. These were dangerous men, very dangerous men, and if I took money from them, they’d expect to get paid back and then some.

But I couldn’t go through anyone legitimate. The media would find out somehow and have a fucking field day with it. No, this was my best choice.

I swallowed my bad feeling and headed toward Dom’s. I had enough time to eat real quick, get changed, and then grab a bus out there.



I got off the bus in Chicago and checked the time on my phone. I had fifteen minutes to walk ten blocks, which was plenty of time. I didn’t rush, just tried to enjoy the trip.

I hadn’t been in Chicago much since coming out to MD, and that was a shame. It was an awesome city, though I wasn’t much of a city guy. Still, I could appreciate the excitement, the people, the food, all that shit.

I was more worried about this meeting, though. I’d never really met with mob guys before, and I had no clue how this was going to work. I made my way down the street, keeping my head down to avoid getting recognized. I didn’t get spotted on the street very often, but I’d been on TV enough that a diehard MD fan could potentially spot me.

Finally I got to the place. It was a little corner deli in the middle of a decent neighborhood. I walked inside, not sure at all what to expect.

It seemed clean and nice. The girl behind the counter smiled at me. “What can I get you, sweetie?” she asked.

“Uh, is Vin here?”

She instantly frowned. “You here to meet with Vin?”

“Yeah,” I said.

“You sure?”

“Yeah,” I said again.

“All right. Wait.”

She disappeared into the back.

I crossed my arms, annoyed. I was well over six feet tall and covered in muscles, and nothing annoyed me more than when people tried treating me like a fucking kid.