His Proposal

His Proposal - 110

Nate opens the door to my condo and he walks over to the lounge. He places his feet on the table and he looks at Jai. "Are you driving me to the campus for weight training?"

Jai shuts off the TV. "Yes, what time do you need to be there?"

"Now," Nate rises. "Coach wants me to do it with someone I trust. I don't know many guys from the team and I'm not sure if I should trust them when it comes to training. You, I can trust. Since you won't try to take my spot on the team."

Jai picks up his keys and he kisses me. "I will see you at the game, beautiful." He walks to the door.

Nate kisses my cheek. "Teresa will drive you to the game. You can let yourself into the apartment and talk to her if you want."

No, I think I will enjoy the house to myself.

"You better score a touchdown for me tonight, little brother."

A smile spreads across his face. "I'll go for two." He follows Jai out.

The door shuts and I'm alone. I walk over to the couch and I sit. I flip through a few magazines before I lie down on the couch.

I forgot how lonely it can be without a house full of people.

"Chloe, are you in there? It's Teresa."

I rise and move over to the door. I open and see Teresa there.

She's wearing one of my brother's jersey and it's signed. "Do you like the shirt?"

"I love it. You're lucky to have it signed by the one and only Nate Knight,"

She laughs. "How many people can say they got to keep Nate's jersey and he signed it for you?"

"No one at all." I open the door wider and invite her in. "My parents kept the first jersey Nate ever wore and they put it in a display case. It has a scribble on it and he told us that it was his autograph." I show her to the room that I made into a trophy room for my brother. I open the door and see all the trophies my brother got since he started playing this sport. I'm a proud big sister.

She walks over to the case and a smile spreads across her face. "I love it." Underneath the jersey is a picture of Nate and he's smiling with another boy next to him.

I forget who the kid is, but I remember he used to come around to the house all time. Then one day he moved away and Nate never saw him again.

I would love to know if the kid still plays ball. I'll have to ask Nate if he remembers the guy's name.

Teresa touches the picture next. "Is that Nate?"

A smile spreads across my face. "Yes, it is. It was taken after his first game. The referees didn't keep count at that age. The older Nate got the rules changed and that's when Nate became more interested in it. Dad was a huge influence when it came to football. He never played it when he was younger. When I was growing up he spent time playing with a few guys from work on Sundays. It was a good way for us to meet the kids of the other parents playing ball."

She turns towards me. "Does Nate know about this room?"

I shake my head. "I haven't mentioned it to him. I was thinking about showing him after his game. He's come a long way since he first started playing football and I'm glad I was there to see most of his games." I look at one of the pictures for the last time. "We should go."

***

Teresa parks the car close to the gate of the football field. She steps out and waits for me to join her in front of the car. "Are you going to sit in the booth or do you want to sit with the families?"

"I want to sit with the families. I hope they're sitting close to us." I walk through the gates and head straight to the family area. There are two seats at the front in the middle and I see tags on them. 'Teresa and Chloe'

One of the women close to me whispers. "You're not supposed to reserve the seats. It's first dressed, first-served and you were late to do that."

I point to the field that Jai and Nate are walking on. "Those two are mine. Do you know why I got these seats?"

She shakes her head. "My fiancé is the assistant coach and my brother is the new fullback."

"Didn't the kid dislocate his shoulder a couple of months ago?"

"Yes, he did and now he's back. He got the all-clear from the sports doctor that the school hired."

Jai walks over to the fence. "Hey, firecracker. Are these people giving you a hard time?" He places his hand on the fence and I place my hand over his.

"No, they're not."

"Good," he whispers. "I was thinking after the game we should go to a pool hall and listen to some music. I'm sure, Teresa and Nate would like that."

"Please," Teresa begs.

"Sure, but you'll be sticking to water Jai. If I can't drink you can't drink."

Jai laughs. "You hardly ever drink, firecracker." He whispers. "That's unfair that you're banning me." Jai makes me lose track of time and the teams run onto the field. "I should get back to the coach." He runs over to the coach and they start talking."

Nate is standing in the middle of the guys and they look happy to have my brother back on their side.

Over the last two months, the team have won, but only by two points. I was surprised when I got a phone call saying that the team won even without my brother, but the small amount made me realise how much my brother puts into the game.

I hope they cream this team.

Nate has the ball and he runs down the field, he passes the ball to another guy. The third person to have the ball is Nate and he scores a touchdown.

The crowd goes wild.

He promised me two touchdowns. One more to go. I'm looking forward to seeing what else my brother has up his sleeves.

Every time Nate goes onto the field he figures out some plays he wants to do and he will execute it. Some people are able to catch on to what he's doing while others try to figure it out before it's too late.

I look at the clock and see that there are three minutes left until the game is over.

I should go to the bathroom now, if I wait any longer there will be a huge crowd and I can't be around that many people.

"Teresa, I'm going to the bathroom and then to the concession store. Do you want anything?"

"I'll come with you, Chloe." She rises and follows me out of the stand.

On the way to restrooms, we pass three concession stores. I stop at the third one and get a bottle of water.

***