“I’ll have you know, I’m actually pretty good at school,” Oakley retorted, grabbing the apple in front of me and stealing a bite with a loud crunch before I could pack it away. I watched his jaw work through his food and the steady bob of his Adam’s apple as he swallowed.

“Your major is Business, right?” I asked once we were outside. The Texas sun was setting, but it was still warm, and I smiled at the buzzing city.

“Yep. I’m going to take over the family business.”

“And what exactly is the family business? I still think it’s weird you don’t want to play professional football. Coach Howard mentioned that there are teams begging for meetings with you.”

Oakley ignored my comment about the scouts and smiled at a pedestrian walking by. “My mom owns fifty flower shops across the country,” he replied. My brows shot up in surprise. I wasn’t expecting that answer. “Mom started her first store here in Austin and just kept growing. My sister loved working with the flowers. Daisy was making arrangements when she was five. She wanted to expand the franchise with more stores and was going to school for Marketing…”

Oakley’s voice trailed off, and more puzzle pieces about this man started to click into place. Did he want to play ball? Was he self-sabotaging his career because he was trying to fulfill his sister’s dreams? I tried to imagine him working in a flower shop and couldn’t quite picture it. I wasn’t the most knowledgeable about football, but he looked so natural on the field.

“Do you know anything about flowers?” I continued lightly. I didn’t want to make it weird or ignore the fact that he was voluntarily talking about his sister. I also didn’t want him to think he couldn’t talk about his sister with me.

“Of course I do. I’m awesome at arranging flowers!” he said with that familiar cockiness I’d come to expect. “But I want to be on the business end of things,” he finished.

“Well, I expect a huge bouquet of the most beautifully arranged flowers when the semester is over. You know, for putting up with your shit,” I teased.