one thing led to another…” I decide to leave out any details about the Vice family or her PR job or any of that. I definitely don’t think I should give anyone any clue about who she is. Especially considering her insanely powerful father essentially controls my entire future right now.
Chase raises his brows, waiting in anticipation for the absolute bomb I’m about to drop.
“I found out she’s pregnant.” I practically whisper the words through gritted teeth, my throat tightening.
Chase’s jaw falls slack as his eyes widen, and he draws back in total shock. “Oh fuck.”
“Yeah. ‘Oh fuck’ is right.”
“What are you… How is she…” He shakes his head, trying to process the information. “Do you have a game plan?”
“Sort of. If you count ‘we’ll figure it out in the next nine months’ as a game plan.”
“Shit, bro.”
“I mean, I know I want to be involved and everything, you know? It’s my kid, too. But at first, she was saying that I’m completely off the hook and she can handle it all on her own.”
Chase blows out a puff of air. “You didn’t take that offer? Seems like every accidental baby daddy’s dream.”
“No, dude. I want to be a good dad. I don’t wanna just be some nonexistent jerk who the kid grows up having no relationship with. It’s what happened to me, and I’m not repeating that fucked-up cycle.”
Chase is silent for a minute, nodding slowly. “I get that, man. I just…have to ask. There’s no chance this…” He holds up air quotes. “‘Accidental’ pregnancy was a little bit…not an accident, is there?”
“Huh?” I draw back.
“Look, man, I get that you’re the type to see the good in everyone. But there’s some chicks out there who would do some crazy shit. You’re on the rise right now. It would be a prime time to lock you down…you know…financially, if nothing else.”
I almost choke on a laugh. “Yeah, man. This girl…she doesn’t need my paycheck. Trust me. It’s nothing like that at all.”
“All right, all right. Well, hey, if you’re figuring it out as you go, then that’s really all you can ask for, right?”
I take in a sigh of relief and let a little bit of the weight of this secret lift off my chest. “Exactly.” I rub my temples and try to fight the feeling of being totally overwhelmed by everything.
I turn to him. “What would you do? In my situation.”
Chase chews his lip and stares forward, thinking hard. “You’re younger than me, career fucking skyrocketing, single and killing it…” He glances at me. “I don’t know what I would do. I’m not exactly proud of every decision I made in my early twenties. It took realizing I was completely in love with my best friend to get me to stop acting like a selfish ass.”
I laugh a little, and my tension eases.
“So, yeah,” he continues. “I don’t know what I would do.” He stands up and holds out his hand, giving me a high five and a firm bro hug. “But it doesn’t matter.”
“What do you mean? Why not? You’re the best advice-giver, right?”
Chase rolls his eyes at himself. “Come on, Junior. You know damn well that you’re twice the man I was when I was your age.”
“So you think I’m doing the right thing?” I ask, furrowing my brow in question.
“Of course you’re doing the right thing.” He laughs and lifts a shoulder. “You’re always trying to be like me. Which I get. I was a legend. Still am.”
I glare at him and chuckle.
“But, dude, the reality is, I should have been more like you. Maybe I would have been as happy as I am now a hell of a lot sooner.”
I lean back against the locker and hear some faint voices echoing down the hall as a bunch of other guys are starting to pile in after practice.
“Well?” I wipe my palms on my pants. “Any brilliant advice?”
He arches a brow. “You want my advice, McKenzie? Worry about this, all of this—the girl, the kid, the logistics, the whole fatherhood shit—worry about all of it the day the fucking Super Bowl is over. Right now, your head has to be in the game. You’ve got to take that hot mess of a personal life and shove it in the back of your locker. Don’t even look at it until after the Super Bowl.”
I lean back on my palms and nod slowly, knowing he’s right. He’s a little aggressive in his thought process, but he’s right.