Page 28 of The Home Game

“What if he’s scamming you?”

“He’s not scamming me,” Matty protested. “He’s just a guy kinda down on his luck! And would you slow down? There are probably kids playing around here!”

“Yeah, and how many guys like that have ever paid you back.” Dom clenched his jaw, hands tight on the wheel, though he did slow down a little.

“Not all of them, but some. And it’s not like I need the money. What if I don’t always want to be paid back?”

“Then you’re dumb.”

“Hey!” Matty rubbed at his chest. Dom knew he hated being called that. He’d heard it too many times in his life already.

“Shit.” Dom took his eyes off the wheel long enough to pat his thigh. “I’m sorry. You’re not dumb. You’re just … too trusting of people.”

“Well, I’d rather be too trusting than a suspicious asshole like you,” Matty shot back.

Dom laughed, his unhappy expression softening. “Yeah, fair enough.” He turned to face Matty. “Look. You’re such a good dude. You have the softest heart and we all love that about you. I just worry that people sometimes take advantage of that.”

“So what if they do?” Matty argued. “Look, so … maybe he steals my SUV. Or crashes it or whatever. It’s a sponsorship vehicle. I talk to the dealership about it and they get me a new one. Or, if they’re too pissed about me loaning it to someone, I buy one myself. It’s not like I can’t afford it.”

“Yeah.” Dom sighed. “But I don’t want you to get invested in this guy, you know? Get your heart broken.”

“I’m not—I’m not gonna get my heart broken, Dom.”

“You married the last person with a sob story!”

“I … Courtney wasn’t the last person I helped,” he argued, though he wasn’t sure if that really made his argument better or worse. “And she was … she was just going through some stuff.”

“They’re always going through some stuff,” Dom said. “Look, I think it’s admirable that you—”

“You should use smaller words,” Matty said snarkily. “Remember, I’m dumb.”

“I shouldn’t have said that.” Dom sighed. “I really, really shouldn’t have. That’s my mistake.”

They fell silent until Dom pulled into Matty’s driveway, punching in the code for the gates.

Dom turned to look at him but Matty spoke first. “Look, even if I am dumb, so what? I mean it. I’d rather be dumb and too trusting than not help people who need it.”

“I just hated the way Courtney worked you over.”

Matty shrugged. “She was a bad choice, okay? I get it now. She wanted my money and the status, or whatever. And she used the fact that her ex was a dick to her to get in with me. She duped me, is that what you want to hear? She duped me and we got married and we had that threesome and she made me feel like shit for being into guys too. She made me feel like less of a man. She was a horrible person and it was stupid of me to marry her. Is that what you want to hear?”

“No!” Dom said, closing his eyes and letting out a heavy sigh before he opened them again. “Look, Matty, I don’t want to make you feel bad. I don’t. I just want you to be aware that you’re the kind of guy who people sometimes … use to their advantage. It doesn’t mean you aren’t great. It just means they’re shitty and you have a hard time seeing that.”

“Antoni isn’t shitty!” Matty argued. “If you talked to him for two fucking minutes, you’d see that. He’s not like Courtney or the other guys who’ve borrowed money from me. This time it’s different.”

“I’ll believe that when I see it.”

“Yeah, thanks. You’ve made that perfectly clear!” Matty said. “Thanks for the fucking ride, man.”

“Don’t walk away!” Dom said but Matty stuck up his middle finger and went into his house, slamming the door behind him.

Fuck him.

Dom didn’t get it and he never would.

Even if it wasn’t different this time, even if Antoni was somehow conning him, at least Matty would know he was helping the kids.

CHAPTER SIX

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