Brooks and Smith immediately started shaking their heads.
“No, man.”
“Bad, bad idea.”
The rookie held up his hands. “I’m just saying. I think you should go. More people usually means more dogs adopted.”
I stared at the kid. “You’re single, right?”
“Yeah,” he sighed. “My girlfriend dumped me right before the draft because she said I wouldn’t do shit.”
Brooks whistled. “She know you got drafted?”
Williams nodded. “Tried to call me the next day.”
Smith narrowed his eyes. “What’d you do?”
“Told her I was too busy spending my signing bonus to talk to her.”
The guys burst out laughing, shoving the rookie as he grinned.
I smiled, shaking my head.
“I can’t just show up if she told me no,” I said once they’d calmed down. “I know her well enough. It would piss her off.”
“Shit, I’d go down there and look at dogs, but I don’t want to make it crazy either,” Brooks said.
My gaze snapped to his, brain stumbling over a thought.
That was it.
“What are you guys doing tomorrow?” I asked.
“Nothing, why?”
When you’ve gone your entire life believing that asking for help made you weak, it was so fucking hard to force the words out.
Despite my upbringing, I was so far from perfect, we weren’t even circling the same orbit. But neither was I weak, no matter what my father might have said to the contrary.
I was trying.
“You know anyone else on the team who wants a dog?”
We all turned to my QB coach. He held his hands up. “I already have three, and my wife would murder me if I brought home another one.”
Williams laughed.
Smith held up a hand. “I heard Justice say something about it a couple weeks ago. He might be looking.”
“Good.” I sucked in a deep breath and fought through the instinct to shut down, pretend like I was fine. “I need your help. Will you guys come with me tomorrow?”
Chapter Sixteen
Remi
Ness pounced on me the moment I left my office.
“I’m going to find a new best friend,” I told her.