Page 113 of Saving the Halfback

He stopped and stared at me for a moment. “Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “Yes. If we have a good storm, we should hang out at the pitts later today.”

“I’ll be there. Text me if you’re going.”

“I will. See you.”

Still, something didn’t feel right.

40

Lachlan

Chase was already at the ice cream parlor when I walked in. He stood up, slapping his hand on mine and bringing me in for a partial hug. “Greyseeker,” I greeted him with a chuckle.

Chase laughed. “How messed up is it that we both knew who one another was, yet still said nothing?”

“Yeah, and you got me in so much shit with Bailey. She thinks I’m as bad as Beth with the gossiping.” Though, to be fair, she had a point. Gossiping about Bailey to Chase, even while believing I’d managed to hide my identity, still counted as gossip.

He winced, then looked down at the menu under the glass tabletop. “It’s been so long since I was here last.” It was the same menu it had been since before we were born, though, so I knew exactly what he was going to get. “Do you still get the strawberry shake?” he asked.

“Yes.” I let him order for us and then he sat back down. “So, what’s this all about? Why the change?”

Chase’s eyes wandered around the parlor. Outside, it had begun to rain, so the store had darkened some. “Tying up looseends. I feel like shit, you know? Like, all this time I was angry with all of you, and you all had your own stuff to work through.”

Very true. “How close had we been online, but in real life, so far away, hurting so hard.”

Chase nodded. “Exactly. I didn’t want to bother you guys with it, though. Maybe you were thinking the same thing, I don’t know. But I didn’t want to hash it out. I didn’t want to recount all that happened. I just…it was like I just wanted to play football. I don’t think Coach knew how much of a relief, or an out, he gave us. All the bullshit wasn’t allowed on the field, and we could play.”

I kept bouncing my head, knowing exactly what he was saying. I felt the same. We could connect without being lost in the shit storm we were living in. “It was the same with the video game,” I added.

“Exactly. Maybe that’s why we didn’t want to out ourselves.”

Our milkshakes were delivered.

“Chocolate shake,” I said with a small grin.

“I don’t know why I even looked at the menu.” He grinned back. “Hard to believe some things don’t change, but the familiarity is nice.”

“So, what are your plans?” I asked.

“Nothing,” he said, as if he had resigned himself to that truth. I knew he was being kicked out of his place.

“Who are you staying with? Do you have to be out of the house right away?” I was sure my parents would let him stay with us if he needed to.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Chase, man, let’s get past this. Do you need a place?”

“No. I have something lined up. I’ll be good.” He looked me in the eye as he said it, but I felt some sort of unspoken meaning behind the words. His eyes shifted to outside, and I didn’t haveto look to see. I could hear the torrential downpour that was happening behind me. “What do you think? Pitts tonight?”

I smiled but didn’t say anything, thinking it over.

“For my birthday,” he added.

“Okay, fine. Want me to round up the troops? This will be Nolan’s first time.”

“Sure. You have to call Bailey, though. I don’t have her number.”

“But she has yours.”

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