CHAPTER 122

Finally the officials concluded their huddle, the referee stepped to the center of the field, turning on his microphone.

"We have pass interference on the defense, number thirty two. That penalty will be refused, Touchdown, San Diego.", he said, as the noise level rose to a fever pitch.

I walked over to Josh, he jumped into my arms, I was holding him up, his feet a good foot off the ground. I held him there for several seconds, finally setting him back down. I handed him the ball I had just caught, this one was his, it's worth had just skyrocketed with that call. It was priceless, a part of history, but it belonged to Josh. As the offense walked off the field, you could see the burden had been lifted off of our shoulders, the public address announcer spoke to the crowd.

"Ladies and Gentleman, Josh Henson had just set a new record for most passing yards in a single season with five thousand eighty two yards. Congratulations Josh.", he boomed over the speakers.

The crowd was on their feet, he was getting a seventy plus thousand person standing ovation. He trotted back on the field, stopping at the hash marks then turned in each direction waving to the crowd, thanking them for their applause. Coach Cullen left the offense in for the rest of the game, which we won. In the back of everyone's mind, we knew this was only going to be a slight window of happiness for us, we still had the playoffs looming. One loss in the playoffs and you were done, no one cared about your records. To the coaches credit, they allowed the team to celebrate with Josh , and we would get back to work on Monday.

I was seated in the media room at the table next to Josh, Coach Reed and Coach Cullen. Both the Coaches gave their standard post game talk about how we still had a lot of work to do, the season had really just started again for us, one loss and it was over. Several reporters were pretending to be interested, but everyone in the room wanted to talk to Josh, no one else. Finally Coach Reed opened the floor to questions. Everyone was yelling at once, Coach Reed finally pointed to one of the national media reporters in the front.

"Josh, can you tell us what it means to get the record? Considering how long it has stood, did you really think you would get it ?", he asked.

" Well first let me say I feel blessed. Blessed to play in this town, for this organization, this coaching staff and with these players. This is as much their record as mine, I didn't do this alone by any stretch of the imagination.", he answered.

"What was going on in your mind during that last pass, as you watched the ball leave your hand ?", asked another female reporter, in the front.

"I let it go too early in my release, I didn't follow through. I knew it was going to be really high. I guess the only thing I was thinking as I watched it was, thank God Stevens is six foot six.", he laughed, looking over at me.

She quickly followed up with another question, as the room burst into laughter.

"You two seem to have developed a real bond between each other, it's like you're both always on the same page. Is it just chemistry, or is it something you both work on ?", she asked.

"Last year, Coach Reed came to me and told me he was thinking of drafting a defensive end and converting him to offense. It seemed absurd at the time, but he never relented. This kid came to this team and busted his ass from day one. This is not chemistry as much as it is his hard work. He gives me another dimension that few teams have. We have a great receiving corps here, add this guy next to me, Scott Douglas the rookie, well it's tough to cover them all. I have so many options to go to.", he answered.

One of the other reporters jumped up in the back, directing his question in my direction.

"Who gets to keep the ball that broke the record, Brian ?", he asked.

"He thinks he has it, but I really swapped it out with a regular game ball. It will be in an online auction tomorrow, watch for it.", I replied.

The entire room burst out laughing, even the coaches, which was unusual.

"How did it feel to catch the ball that broke the record ?", he followed up.

"I'm happy for Josh, it's his pass, his ball, his record. I'm glad to be part of history, but you have to give him the credit. I just hope I am able to play with this guy for a long, long time.", I answered, pointing to Josh.

I got home sometime around eight that night, I didn't see Alexis' car in the parking lot. I got undressed and sat on the sofa to relax for a few minutes before going to bed. We had practice in the morning. I was there for maybe ten minutes when I got a text message on my phone from Alexis, she was still in Seattle. Apparently she now had to fly to New York, she would be gone another week. She promised to call me the following day after practice.

The next day she explained to me, she would be back on Thursday or Friday after wrapping up a new client's contract. I really missed her, hearing her voice made it worse, but I tried not to let her know it. We talked for a while, then I let her go, she had a flight to catch.

Almost all the key players rested during the last game of the season as best as they could. Although blessed that no one was injured, we lost the game which is something you never want to do going into the postseason. But we tried to put it behind us, one good thing we had a bye in the first round of the playoffs due to having the best record in the conference. That meant we had an extra four to five days off, which at this time of the season, is always a good thing.

We met Monday and Tuesday for meetings and to watch films, then released until the following Monday where we would know who our opponent would be. Alexis worked late the first three nights of the week, then took off Thursday and Friday, the agency rewarding her for all the traveling she had just done. I was looking forward to spending four days alone with her, I had really missed her. We had still only had one brief sexual encounter, although I knew better than to push it. I really felt Alexis trusted me at this point, I didn't want to do anything that would make her feel otherwise.

We laid around the pool all day Thursday, went out and had dinner and returned to her condo. We had just sat down, when there was a knock at the door. I could tell from Alexis' reaction she wasn't expecting anyone. Alexis opened the door to find her friend Paige standing there, she invited her in quickly. It was apparent immediately something was wrong, Paige was a mess. When her friend looked up and saw me, she quickly stopped in her tracks.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't know you had company. I'm just going to go.", she said, turning quickly.

"Nooooo Paige, wait.", Alexis urged, grabbing her friend's arm., "What's wrong sweetie."

Paige stopped short, hung her head and broke down crying. Alexis hugged her friend, holding her head close to her. Apparently from what I could tell between the sobs, Paige had caught her boyfriend cheating on her. I knew instantly, I was a third wheel in this conversation. I jumped up from the sofa, taking my cell phone off of the end table.

"Paige, come on in, I was just leaving anyway. I have team meetings in the morning, I need to get to bed.", I told her, lying to make her feel better.

I walked past both of them, putting my hand briefly on Alexis' shoulder, winking at her.

"I'll see you later in the week, when I can.", I said, walking past her.

"Ok Brian, thanks.", she replied.