Page 50 of Fair Catch

Kason remains quiet for a bit, and his silence sets me on edge more than this horror movie ever could.

“You do know who I’m talking about, right?’

“Phoenix,” is all he whispers, the name coming out shredded and raw.

I nod, despite him not being able to see it. “Kinda surprised you didn’t notice me sitting right next to him.”

“I’ve been trying to stay zoned into the game with all these NFL scouts starting to come around.” There’s another pause, and I can tell Kason wants to fish for information. Too bad for him, I’m not willing to spill tea without being asked to pour it first.

Eventually, he caves, murmuring, “What’d he say to you?”

“Not a whole lot. Like I said, he mostly taught me about football. Which is a lot harder to understand than hockey.” I give him another little nudge with my shoulder. “Don’t ever let Q know I said that, or it will be the end of my life.”

“Trust me, the last thing I’d ever want is to come between best friends.” The somberness in his tone almost has me regretting the mention of Phoenix, but he does his best to brush it off by clearing his throat and changing topics. “Did you have a good time at least? I know it wasn’t hockey, but…”

“Yeah, I had fun. Besides watching you get carted off the field.”

“I’m not always that dramatic, I promise.” I watch as he fiddles with the hem of his shirt, completely oblivious to the movie now when he adds, “I can prove it if you decide to come to another game.”

“You just want your own little cheering squad made up of me and Phoenix.”

Kason’s low chuckle reverberates against my arm, and it does something weird to my stomach. Makes it flip-flop like a damn fish out of water.

“Yeah, that’s it. Couldn’t possibly be that I just want my friend to come watch me play?”

“Friend?” I echo, looking down at him. “Is that what I am now?”

“Would you rather me call you my matchmaker?” His forest gaze lifts, meeting mine. “Which, by the way, I have a couple dates lined up this week, thanks to you.”

Fingers crossed they actually show up this go around.

“Maybe if you actually make a decent match with one of these ding-bats.”

“First they’re lint-lickers, now they’re ding-bats?” Kason laughs. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were jealous, Hazey.”

“Call me that again, and I’ll kick your bad ankle,” I mutter, but the threat comes out lacking the bite it would normally have. My mind is too stuck on his obscene jealousy comment.

But there’s absolutely no way.

Just the thought is crazy, considering I’m still trying to help him actually get out there—and more importantly—out of the house. The first failed attempt was just a one-off. A fluke.

Shoving thoughts of Kason and dating far,faraway, I circle back to our previous conversation.

“He’s nice. Phoenix, I mean,” I find myself admitting. I know it’s none of my concern, and definitely not my place to get involved, but apparently, that’s not enough to stop me, because my mouth keeps going. “He misses you. The same way I know you miss him.”

A long sigh leaves Kason, and he shakes his head. “I don’t want to miss him. Missing him feels too…needy.Codependent,or whatever.”

“Missing someone is normal. I miss Quinton sometimes too.”

“I guess,” he whispers, playing with his shirt hem again. “As much as I know we both need this, I also wish it never got to this. That he could’ve just talked to me about how he was feeling before it got this bad.”

Understandable, but…

“Would you have heard him, if he had?”

“That’s something I’ve talked about with my therapist too.” Kason sighs, his head leaning back against my shoulder. “And just like her, I know you’re right.”

The mention of a therapist takes me a bit by surprise; I wouldn’t have taken Kason for the type to put much stock into talking through his feelings with a stranger. Oddly enough, it makes me respect him. Having some way to cope with the pressure and stress of being a college studentandathlete would be the best way to maintain his mental health.

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