3rd & Long

Chapter 12: Unsportsmanlike Conduct

There were 3 times in Nat's life when she felt so embarrassed she wanted to disappear. 

The first was in the 4th grade when she was at soccer practice. Her uniform was baggy on her since it was a hand-me-down. So, when she slid to reach the ball, her shorts had been pulled all the way to her ankles and when she stood up she had her pink underwear exposed to every single girl on the team. They laughed and laughed and Nat thought that she was going to spontaneously combust.

The second time was her experience in high school. To this day she wasn't sure why her teacher had put her on the spot or why she had just gone with the first adjective that came to her mind. All she knew was that when she said "Nasty" and everyone immediately burst out laughing, she wanted to drop out, transfer schools, and maybe even change her name for good measure.

This was definitely the third time.

Nat welcomed Mama Bosa inside and as soon as she could, she bolted back into Nick's bedroom and scrambled all over it until she found her missing bra. Once she put it on and lowered her heart rate, she began to brainstorm her next steps.

There's no way I can stay here. I have to leave. Maybe I can have Nick distract her and then just run out when no one's looking. She doesn't need to know my name, she doesn't need to know who I am, I can just pretend this never happened.

Nat's internal monologue was interrupted by Nick walking out of his bathroom in nothing but a towel. Under any other circumstance Nat would've started drooling, but unfortunately she had to keep her mind focused and a half naked football player was not very conducive to that end.

"Hey Nat, I was thinking, maybe after breakfast we could-"

Nat immediately went up to him and smacked his abs, trying to ignore the pain in her hand from how unexpectedly hard his six pack was.

"Why didn't you tell me your MOTHER was coming over?!" She said through gritted teeth.

Nick laughed briefly and looked at her, trying to make sense of this cryptic joke. But once he realized Nat's expression wasn't changing and that she was 100% serious, the color in his face drained and his eyes widened.

"No... don't tell me she's out there."

Nat moved her head up and down stiffly.

After a brief pause, all Nick could offer was a soft "Oh fuck."

Nat began to pace around the bedroom. "Yeah and if it isn't bad enough that she's here, I thought she was your chef and kept telling her to get started on the food."

"Oof" Nick winced, "Couldn't you tell she was my mom?"

"How the hell would I be able to tell that? You don't exactly look alike."

Nick shook his head and looked away from Nat. After he gathered some clothes he cleared his throat and began to speak again.

"Alright, here's the plan. You let me do the talking. My mom won't bother you or give you a hard time, I'll just clear the air and then you can go."

"And how exactly are you gonna clear the air? I don't want her to find out I work for the team and this somehow gets back to Callaghan or something."

Nick exhaled loudly and started scratching his head. "Look I'm just gonna wing it. I'm sorry but we don't really have time for a whole game plan right now."

Does he ever stop thinking about football???

Nick got dressed in another thin long sleeve and gym shorts and once he and Nat locked eyes again, he went forward and opened the door.