Page 36 of The Blame Game

“How was your day?” Shea asked as they stepped out into the bright, February sunshine.

“Ugh, alright, I guess.” Myles squinted, rummaging in his backpack for a moment before pulling out sunglasses. “Long.”

“Yeah, some days are like that,” Shea agreed. “See you tomorrow?”

“See you, man.”

“Have a good one!” Shea called out as they went their separate ways toward their vehicles.

Shea had just tossed his bag on the seat beside him when his phone rang. He pulled it out, half-expecting it to be Dom with suggestions for their ‘bro date’ but the screen flashed with the name Travis Rogers.

“Hey, man, what’s up?” Shea answered, surprised to hear from the point guard for the Toronto Titans, the city’s pro basketball team. “What’d you do? Bust your knee up again and come crawling back for more torture from me?”

Travis laughed. “No. Knee’s feeling good. Just wanted to see if you had plans for your birthday.”

“Fuck.” Shea laughed. “Honestly, I forgot it was coming up.”

There had been so much going on lately, it had completely slipped his mind.

“Shit, dude, you need to have more fun. You’ve forgotten what it’s like.”

“I guess so.” Shea grinned. He’d always liked Travis. “And no, I don’t have anything going on so far.”

“Perfect. Because I’ve got four courtside seats with your name on it this Friday if you want them.”

“Hell yeah,” Shea said, grinning. “You know I’d love to see you play again.”

He went on his own dime sometimes but it had been a while and although he was doing well, courtside seats were definitely not within his budget.

“Perfect. Tickets will be at will-call for you to pick up. Bring some friends, enjoy the game, and maybe we can grab drinks after or something.”

“I’d love that. Thanks for thinking of me. Shit, I can’t believe you remembered my birthday when I didn’t.” Shea laughed.

“Pfft.” Travis made a disparaging noise. “Like I’m gonna forget the guy who got me playing again.”

“Nah, I didn’t do that much,” Shea protested.

They bantered for a few more minutes before Travis excused himself. “Sorry. Gotta go, man. It was good talking though. See you Friday.”

“Yeah, definitely. Thanks for calling!”

After Shea hung up, he texted Dom. Got a minute to talk on the phone?

There was no immediate answer, so Shea started the vehicle and was halfway home before his phone rang.

“Hey,” Dom said when the call connected.

“Hey. So, I have an idea for our bro date.” Shea glanced to the left, then merged into the lane.

Dom chuckled. “Sure. What are you thinking?”

“Are you free on Friday?”

“Yeah. No game.”

That much Shea knew. The Toronto Titans played in the same arena where hockey games were held so unless they were about to start combining basketball and ice hockey into one sport …

“Perfect. You want to catch a Titans game with me and a couple of my buddies? They’re straight, so it should fit with what Kate was looking for.”

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