Chapter 74: Home in the Valley

Chapter update is here.

Find a quiet spot, turn the page, and let’s see what this story has been hiding 🌙

✦

"I can drive you home later," Penny said, forcing a smile. "You live around Beverly Hills, right?"

Whether she meant only that she would drive Nolan home, or whether "drive you home" carried another offer beneath it, Nolan did not bother to investigate.

He refused without hesitation.

He did not even leave a crack open.

When that last move failed, Penny had no choice but to give up.

After the reporters left, Nolan changed out of his uniform. Because the interviews had kept him behind, he could not leave on the bus with the rest of the team. He would go home on his own.

If Katherine did not have class, she should be waiting at the motel.

He shoved his gear and jersey into his bag, changed, and stepped out of the locker room.

Reese was waiting outside.

"You need to tell me what the hell is going on," Reese said. Disbelief sharpened every word.

"What is going on?"

Nolan looked as if he had no idea what Reese meant.

"My mom." Reese almost spat the words. "How did my mom get in touch with you?"

He had learned about the rumor from the Orange County Observer. During Nolan’s All-Star trip, Reese had asked other Normans players about it. Some defended Nolan. Others swore Nolan had definitely done something with Reese’s mother.

Everyone had a version.

"You do not actually believe that rumor, do you?" Nolan looked genuinely baffled. "I was in Orlando. Your mom was... wherever your mom was. How would that even work?"

He moved to leave.

Reese blocked him.

"Want to fight?"

Nolan was a full head taller. He looked down at Reese, then pushed him aside.

The size difference was too obvious. Reese clenched his teeth, but he did not dare move.

He could only watch Nolan go.

The moment Nolan left Canoga Park High, he called Lisa. It took two attempts before she picked up.

"What is it?" Lisa asked. "Miss me already?"

"I think you need to clear something up with your good son."

Nolan explained what had just happened. There was no point in him denying it. Reese needed to hear the cover from Lisa herself.

Reese had a temper. Who knew when he might snap, bring a gun, and turn a rumor into a tragedy? The problem needed to be solved quickly.

Not long after Nolan left the field, Reese walked toward the parking lot. His phone rang inside his bag.

"What happened with that thing from last time?" Lisa asked, getting straight to the point. That was exactly how Reese expected his mother to speak.

"It is handled."

"Good. I am busy today. We will talk later."

She sounded ready to hang up.

"Wait!"

"Need money again? Ask your father."

"I wanted to ask..." Reese hesitated. He was afraid of making her angry and did not know how to phrase it. "You and Nolan Callahan..."

"Nolan? I know him. What about him?"

Reese’s stomach dropped. His back went cold.

Other people guessing was one thing. His mother admitting she knew Nolan was different.

"How do you know him?"

"Through his mother, obviously. Mia is a screenwriter. She asked me to help sell a script. Mia and I get along, so we talked more. I have also been thinking about testing the sports-management business, so I contacted Nolan. Why are you asking?"

The explanation slid perfectly into place.

Mia’s script was real. Lisa’s interest in sports management was real. The timing covered everything.

Reese remembered what teammates had told him. Lisa had indeed appeared with Nolan’s mother. The details matched.

Only then did he relax. He let out a long breath and realized sweat had gathered on his forehead.

For one awful moment, he had even imagined grabbing a gun and trading his life for Nolan’s.

"Nothing," Reese said. "Never mind."

"Why did you ask about him?"

Lisa pressed him.

"The Orange County Observer piece... did you see it?"

"You believe trash from that kind of paper? Are you high again? Did flour get into your brain? You stupid idiot!"

Lisa’s anger exploded harder than it had when Reese caused actual trouble.

In front of Nolan, Lisa could be gentle, indulgent, and almost impossibly patient.

With everyone else, she was still Lisa Virgil. Her own son was not exempt.

Reese endured more than a minute of scolding without managing a reply.

"And stop watching Valley tapes," Lisa snapped before hanging up. "Maybe then you will stop inventing stories about your own mother."

Reese lowered the heavy portable phone and sat alone in his Acura NSX, embarrassed and relieved.

His mother clearly cared fiercely about her reputation. Now that the explanation was settled, he decided never to bring it up again.

He started the car.

By the time Reese pulled out of the parking lot, Nolan was walking along a street in the San Fernando Valley.

The area was famous in a very particular way, but in Nolan’s eyes, it did not look all that different from the rest of Los Angeles.

The Valley sat at the northwestern edge of the city, a flat basin surrounded by mountains. Burbank formed one of the important gateways in and out. Large residential neighborhoods spread across it, filled with people who worked in Los Angeles but lived away from the central city.

Behind private homes, warehouses, and small studios, the adult-video business had gathered here in staggering numbers. At its height, the Valley would host hundreds of companies and clubs.

It had become a kind of Silicon Valley for America.

Just a different kind of silicon.

The roots reached back to Playboy. Hugh Hefner, that old bastard, had helped set the pattern. In the 1960s and 1970s, the magazine had already been shooting in the area.

’Maybe I should live here.’

Nolan had sold Mia’s script for two hundred thousand dollars. It was time to leave the cramped motel.

What he valued was the pleasant environment, the convenient location, and the relatively low housing prices.

Absolutely nothing else.

While he was thinking, a red NSX pulled up beside him.

The window lowered.

It was Reese.

"Big star," Reese said, tilting his neck toward the passenger seat. "Need a ride?"

Lisa had moved fast. Reese’s doubts were clearly gone.

Nolan got in without guilt. Why worry? They were teammates.

The car sat lower than Amy’s convertible Porsche, and the cabin was tight. Nolan was tall enough that the seat felt awkward.

Uncomfortable.

Not buying one.

Reese chatted with Nolan here and there. He did not mention his mother again. Instead, he asked about training and about the details of several throws Nolan had made earlier.

"Want to learn?" Nolan smiled. "I can teach you."

When Nolan reached the motel, Katherine and Mia were both gone.

His phone rang before he could settle in. It was Murphy.

"One hundred and one thousand dollars," Murphy said. "After all fees. It has been wired into your account."

That was the final return from the wager.

Nolan had started with the ten thousand dollars Lisa gave him, added winnings from two games, then a few thousand left after the charity sale. After multiplying that across the last play, he had this.

It was more than two years of income for a normal American household.

He was making money too fast.

With Lisa’s extra card handling normal expenses, Nolan felt as if he had achieved the most elementary version of financial freedom.

Good news did not stop there.

Soon after, Allie called from Florida.

"How should I send you the trophies?"

"Keep them for now," Nolan said. "Whenever you come to California, bring them with you."

"Also, a lot of people wanted your contact information. They gave me a pile of business cards and said you could call them any time."

After asking for details, Nolan realized these were probably the middlemen Pat had mentioned. Behind them were high schools, colleges, sports-equipment companies, and private event organizers.

Nolan told Allie to hold on to the numbers. Then he called Pat Barrett to ask how to deal with middlemen.

"Of course you contact them," Pat said. "Take whatever benefits they offer, but do not make verbal promises. Definitely do not sign anything. It is best if a family member handles it. The player should stay clean and distant."

Pat gave him a long list of practical warnings.

After hanging up, Nolan thought it over and called Lisa.

It took three tries this time. She really was busy.

"I do not have time to handle these little things for you," Lisa said.

In her world, they really were little. She was used to negotiating star salaries.

"Give it to Susan," she suggested. "She can handle this easily. Tell her exactly what you want. I will brief her."

Lisa often had no time to spare. Susan was a perfect fit.

"Done," Nolan said.

✦

✦

✦

Ready for more?

The next Chapters are already waiting on my Patreon, along with early access, previews, and extra story updates 🗝️

/cw/TheBacklotFanfiction