Page 17 of The Home Game

Colton and Jordan gave him confused looks and Dom narrowed his eyes, but nobody stopped Matty as he made a beeline for Dustin’s house, already dialing Antoni’s number. He slipped through the wide doors into the walk-out basement, shivering at the chill from the air-conditioning.

“Antoni?” he said when the call connected. But he was met with silence. “Uh, Antoni? It’s Matty. Are you there?”

“Oh, uh, hi,” Antoni said, clearing his throat. “You surprised me by calling. I figured you’d text back.”

“Just thought if it was an emergency talking on the phone might be faster. What’s going on? Are the kids okay?”

“Uh, yeah, kids are fine but it’s been kind of an awful day. My van is dead. Like … won’t even turn over, dead.”

“Oh no,” Matty said, concerned. “Do you need me to come take a look at it? Might be your battery or something easy.”

“Uh, well, the security officer here at the school already tried giving me a jump. No luck. There’s a tow truck on the way now but what I could really use is a ride. I’m supposed to be picking the kids up at my parents’ house in a bit and my mom has a doctor’s appointment so I really don’t want to be late and—”

“Say no more,” Matty said, already fishing his keys out of his pocket. “Where are you?”

“Thornhill Academy. It’s over on—”

“Yep, yep,” Matty said, jogging to his SUV. “I know where it is. I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

“Really? You don’t mind?”

“Buddy, I offered to let your family move in with me. Trust me, I’m happy to give you a ride.”

Antoni laughed softly. “Yeah, okay, I guess that’s a dumb question now that I think about it. I’ve just never met anyone who—who is that generous.”

“Well, now you have,” Matty said cheerfully. “See you in a few.”

“I’ll let Clancy, the security guard, know to allow you through the gates. Black Jeep, right?”

“Mmm, no, I have my SUV today. It’s blue.”

Antoni drew in a deep breath and Matty winced, wondering if it was rude to remind the guy whose van had just broken down that he had multiple working vehicles.

“I’ll let Clancy know.”

“See you soon.”

When Matty cruised up to Antoni’s dilapidated van, the window already down, Antoni lifted an eyebrow.

“Uhh, hey. That was fast.”

“I hit the lights just right,” Matty said with a wink and a grin. He’d actually blown through two yellow lights and one that was red, but who was counting? “Hop in.”

“Um, I’ve gotta wait for the tow truck. Should be any minute but I hope you don’t mind waiting for a few.”

“Nope. I’ve got nowhere I need to be today. Do we need to get anything from the van?”

“Oh fuck. Yeah, I almost forgot.” He shook his head. “Shit, I’m a mess. Sorry.”

Antoni did look sweaty and kind of frazzled but he didn’t really look like a mess to Matty. He was dressed more casually than he had been the other day, in snug jeans and a sweaty green T-shirt that molded to his torso. Matty wondered what he wore on school days.

“It’s all good,” Matty assured Antoni, hopping out of his SUV to help. “What needs to come with us?”

“Um, Reese’s car seat and the booster seats for River and Eli for sure. I can show you how to—”

“Reese is your littlest?” Matty asked, already unbuckling the car seat.

“Uh. Yeah. He’s six months old.”

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