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“Jesus fuck,” Rhodes said softly, taking another step back to give me space. “Take a minute to get dressed.”

“I don’t want to waste his time,” I told him breathlessly. Still, I righted my sweatshirt and adjusted the slight crookedness in my jeans. There wasn’t a damn thing I could do about the tongue of my shoe at this point.

“Believe me, he’s not going anywhere.” With a small gesture, he motioned for me to follow him down the hall. “Now, listen. This will be the first of many, especially if you keep playing like you did tonight.”

“Do you think so?” Maybe it was stupid to ask, but I did anyway. It was still an idea my mind couldn’t wrap around.

“Yeah, I do,” he replied. Stopping, he faced me. He kept some distance between us, but he was still too close for comfort. I didn’t back up, however, because I wanted to hear every word he was saying. “You’re about to meet Walter Burns. He’s a scout for the Tampa Bay Barracudas. Coach Mason talked to him at the end of last year, and I reached out to chat with him when I took over. He knows everything about you, and he’s going to keep poking around your life from here on out.”

“Oh.”

“It’s not a bad thing, but scouts are thorough. He might comment on the play today; he might not. He’s not here to praise your every move, okay? Today’s just about touching base and establishing a relationship. I just don’t want you to get your hopes up about what this might look like and have it fall short.”

“To be honest, I don’t know what to expect,” I said with a shrug. “This whole thing is kind of overwhelming, you know? I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

I blew out a slow breath as I ran a hand through my hair. A soft smile turned his lips with the kind of gentleness that made my stomach turn.

“Just be yourself, Theo,” Rhodes whispered. “He’s already impressed by you. Your playing speaks for itself. He wants to meet the man in the helmet.”

“I can do that.” I nodded slightly.

“Let yourself enjoy this moment, Theo,” he continued. “This is the start of something great. I promise.”

“Okay,” I said. I trusted him, and I knew he wouldn’t steer me wrong. Not with this. Not when my whole future was on the line.

Rhodes squeezed my shoulder once for reassurance before leading me down the hall and around a corner to where an older man stood waiting with his hands in his pockets. He was dressed comfortably in an athletic pullover and jeans, which instantly made me feel more comfortable with my choice of clothes. His face lit up when he saw me, and I threw on my best game face, pretending my nerves weren’t misfiring like crazy.

“Walter Burns, East Coast regional scout with the Tampa Bay Barracudas,” he said, striding right up to me. I accepted his outstretched hand. “It’s great to meet you, Theo.”

“It’s nice to meet you too,” I replied. I shoved my hands into my hoodie pockets to keep from fidgeting.

“Congratulations on the win tonight.”

“Thank you. It was a team effort.”

“It was.” He nodded, his approval written all over his face. Point one for me. “You’ve given us plenty to talk about tonight.”

“Hopefully in a good way.” I chuckled awkwardly.

“Oh, definitely. There’s a lot of buzz about you, kid,” Walter told me. “And we’ve all seen the footage, but to see you actually run? Woo! It’s no wonder they’ve nicknamed you Road Runner.”

“They did?” I blurted out, completely bewildered by the name. Were they calling me a bird?

“Yeah, because once you get going, there’s no catching you,” he explained with a chuckle. I glanced at Rhodes for help. I had no clue what he was talking about.

“Looney Tunes,” Rhodes told me. “Road Runner and Wiley E. Coyote had a whole bit—you know what? I’ll just show you later.”

I was about to make Jude and Wyatt binge this with me so I could figure out how I’d gained this nickname.

“That’s a lot of pressure,” Walter continued, “living up to a name like that.”

“I like to think I can handle the pressure,” I said.

“That’s what Coach Kennedy was telling me,” he replied. I just nodded and did my best to avoid looking at Rhodes. I didn’t need any additional emotions betraying me during this conversation. “He was also telling me that you’re a hell of a team leader. First one in the building, last one to leave.”

“I try to be,” I said. “The team’s always there for me, and I try to be there for them.”

“And he says you’re quick to pivot when you need to… from training to on the field, he says you’re not afraid to try something new and see where it takes you.”