PLAYING AROUND

Chapter 1

(THIS BOOK HAS BEEN PUBLISHED SO ONLY 3 CHAPTERS  WILL BE POSTED HERE)

Jed's blood roared in his ears as the tunnel vision set in. The only thing in sight, and on his mind was the touchdown. Jed needed it just as badly as he needed his next breath. There was no way the defense wouldn't have his back, or so he thought. Before the air was forced out of his lungs, as the floor was pulled him from under.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. His hand extended out with the ball clutched tightly. He heard the screams of the crowd just before he heard the pop from his knee. It took all the strength he had not to scream. "Get the fuck off me Conner."

"Sorry man, I had to stop you. Sounds like I was a little too late." Once on his feet, Conner Langley extended his hand towards him. "Sorry about the knee bro, I heard the pop. Like coach says, all's fair in love and war." By then, his teammates had come to celebrate and Conner was lost in the crowd.

"Get the fuck up you attention whore." His best friend Teddy called down to him. Jed shot him a sneer. Did he really think he was down here for attention? Maybe all those concussions had finally made the boy stupid. "Oh damn, you're hurt?" It felt like an eternity before he was carted off to the team doctor.

Three days later....

Jed Diaz found himself walking to the Jukebox at the end of the bar. There was so much on his mind, it seemed like it was pounding harder than the knee was. After browsing through the list, he found the song that had become his mantra these last few days. "243" those buttons allowed the melody to reverberate throughout the room. Jed closed his eyes as truer words had never been spoken. "I have 99 problems and a bitch sure as hell ain't one."

A smirk appeared when the ladies that had just seconds ago been fawning all over him, registered the words. Yes, Jed truly did have a hell of a problem on his hands. It took great effort to sit on the stool without bending the knee too much. Damn all the bad luck and the fucking monster that landed on his knee. The swelling had lessened, but there was enough to cause great pain if he bent it even slightly.

"Can I get you anything else?" the bartender asked making sure to bend down enough to display her overly plump breasts. Not even that helped to ease his mood. After a great mournful sigh and one last look, they made eye contact.

"Unless you can rewind time sweet cheeks. Then there's nothing you can do for me." The look of disbelief on her face told Jed she wasn't accustomed to being turned down.

His leg always hurt after sitting with it bent for too long. So after visiting the men's room, it was time to leave.

Once outside Jed stood before his prized Harley and after taking a deep breath, swung his bad leg over the seat. It was time to go home and nurse his aching body. In hindsight, the injury couldn't have come at a better time. Tomorrow was his mother's birthday. What better gift than to allow her to do all the fawning she wanted. If there was one thing Jed loved more than playing the game, it was his mother and father. God only knew what life would have been without them.

The wind swirled around as his brother Sergio popped into his head. Sergio always knew how to calm him, maybe it was because of the twin thing. The plan was for them all to gather tomorrow. It had been ages since they last went home at the same time. "Family, that's what this old boy needs." What a family it was indeed. It consisted of his two Mexican parents, two Latino sons and 3 white sons. A laugh made its way up his chest as Jed remembered all the strange looks people gave them while growing up.