Page 49 of Game Misconduct

“Mike?”

“I didn’t mean to, but she was just right there and I had to—please, Danny, would you?”

Two things were happening in Danny’s head. One of them was a cold kind of fury and panic that this was how it had unfolded, that the two sides of his life had intersected in a way he couldn’t control, and the other thing was how stupidly proud he was of Mike for actually wanting something and asking for it, something so big, something so potentially awful for both of them. He couldn’t even be really angry, not at Mike, anyway. Mike had tried, in his own clumsy way, to do something good for Danny.

Danny’s fury was mostly at himself. Because he still was terrified of seeing his sister, because the idea of staying with Mike for a few nights was something he wanted more than he should have. Something he wanted so much he almost said no on reflex because it scared the shit out of him.

Jesus, he was a mess.

“Danny? Say something.”

He thought a lot of things. First: how the hell had Mike pulled this off? When had he even managed to track Celi down? It felt, a little, like a collision of his two worlds, claustrophobic and terrifying.

Second: what the hell was he going to do? He wanted to go; he didn’t want to go. It would be easy to use this as an excuse—to see Mike—and it would be easy to try to talk him out of it once he got there. Or he could man up and just get it over with. Maybe if he saw Celi and Chris they’d tell his parents he was okay, and everyone would let up and leave him the fuck alone to finish out his seasons the best way he could. Maybe it would...maybe it would be a good thing?

“I—this is just a lot at once, Mike.”

“I know, I just didn’t know how to tell you when it happened.”

“Well. You certainly told me now.”

“Yeah, well. Hey, you know, your sister’s pretty cool. Hard to tell how you’re related, like, at all.”

“I know you’re trying to distract me with insults, you little shit, and it’s not going to work.”

“Can’t blame me for trying. So will you? Come?”

“I’ll—I’ll come.”

“Why the fuck not—I didn’t—shit, sorry, I was just expecting you to say no. I mean, awesome.”

“I can always change my mind,” Danny said. His heart was still pounding and his undershirt stuck sweaty to his back.

“No! Don’t do that. Buy your ticketnow.”

“Huh, you really miss me,” he said, trying to make a joke out of it.

“Yeah, I fucking do, so the fuck what?” Mike said, like he was spoiling for a fight, and Danny felt his chest constrict. When he’d run into Mike in that alley all the way back in July he never would have...

“Mike...you didn’t have to do all this.”

“Yeah, I did. And you’re gonna come, and you’re gonna like it. So fuck you.”

“Wow. So romantic. Sweep me off my feet, why don’t you.”

“What, you want flowers or something?” Mike asked, although he was teasing now. The kind of flirtatious drawl that Danny liked so much and found so hard to resist.

“Sure. Buy me flowers, buy me dinner, the whole nine yards.”

Mike snorted, but Danny could hear the smile in his voice. “Okay, well. I probably shouldn’t pick you up at the airport, just in case, but I’ll text you my address. Araceli said they have dinner on Christmas Eve, and we have a game in New York the night before, but I’ll be home late if you wanna come Monday night instead?”

“We don’t have a game so...okay.”

“If you back out on me now, Daniel Garcia, I’m going to come to Pittsburgh andmurder you.”

“You don’t know where I live.”

“I’ll find you. I’ll track you down.”

---