The Guy Named Harrison: Book One

34

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see. We're almost there."

Carrie held onto his hand as he continued to lead her. "Now watch your step."

She stepped over whatever Harrison told her to avoid. By the sound of their shoes on the cement, and the way his voice echoed as he led her along, she guessed they were in some sort of locker room.

He stopped for a second and let go of her hand. "Harrison?"

There was a clank of a gate opening. "I'm right here."

His fingers curled around hers once again. "We're almost there. I promise."

Carrie hated being blindfolded. She always thought she would trip over something or run right smack into something. He opened a door and continued to lead her outside.

"Where are you taking me?"

"You said you wanted to know where I went to college. So I decided to surprise you."

He moved around her and untied the blindfold. Carrie found herself standing at midfield on a football field. Harrison now stood in front of her, wearing a burgundy jersey with his number 59 in gold.

"Boston College?"

"Yep."

Truthfully, Carrie was expecting him to say Alabama, Oklahoma, or Wisconsin, not Boston College.

"You're probably wondering, how did I end up here instead of Oklahoma, or Texas A&M? I was underrated by a lot of college scouts. They didn't pay much attention to me because I wasn't as big as the other guys."

"Well that sucks for them because you were Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and led the league in tackles, twice."

He flipped a football around in his right hand. "That's why I always wanted to play for the Patriots at first."

"You wanted to play for the Patriots?"

He nodded. "Everyone has the team they wanted to play for. But after home games and the Patriots were in town, a few of us would go watch the Patriots games."

Harrison threw her the ball. "And that's where I met Tom Brady."

Her jaw dropped. "You know Brady and you didn't tell me until now?"

"Before the Patriots started their season, he would come and help out at a few practices. I leaned a lot about reading the offense from him."

Carrie threw the ball back. "So tomorrow's going to be a reunion?"

"I guess. It's rare that we play the Patriots."

She caught a pass back from him. Carrie spun and threw it to his right, forcing him to reach out and catch it with one hand.

Then she noticed the Under Amour logo on his jersey. "Under Amour?"

He smiled. "This is the only exception from Nike."

The ball almost sailed over her head. Carrie timed her jump perfectly and caught it. "Nice catch."

"Thanks."

"Did you know Luke played here too?"

"No."

"We played three years together. Carolina drafted me in 2011, and him in 2012."

That was pretty cool. Harrison and Luke were very close friends, and to find out their friendship went all the way back to college.

"Were you intimidated when they drafted Luke a year after you?"

His smiled stretched even wider. "At first a little. Now we're the best linebacker duo in the league."