Page 78 of Let It Be Me

Ant eyes the fridge warily, then looks away. I try not to notice how bloodshot his eyes are. “I should get going. I work at noon.”

“You can’t hang out for ten minutes?”

“What for?”

I swing the fridge closed. Hard. “Shoot the shit. I’ve barely seen you since Christmas.”

He smiles bitterly. “We don’t need ten minutes, Lorenzo. Let’s see ... I’m poor, I’m bored, and I don’t have a girl, so not much has changed since Christmas. The big update is I work at the grocery store instead of slinging dope. There, we’re all caught up now.” He turns and heads toward the front door.

I follow, determined not to give him the pity he wants. “So you’re not going to ask for my life update?” It’s an obnoxious question, but that’s the point.

“I don’t need to. I get the weekly recaps from my parents and Aunt Gina and Uncle Joe, complete with stats on your tackles.”

“I don’t have any stats. I haven’t played a game since January. See? You don’t know shit. Get back in here and talk to me.” I return to the kitchen, gambling on Ant deciding to be a little less of an asshole and follow me. After a minute, he does.

“All right.” He pulls out a chair from the kitchen table and sits like he expects to be entertained. “So what’s new with you? You look like you’re getting around okay.”

“No guarantees I play this season, but the shoulder’s healing. That’s about all there is to know about my football career.”

“What else? You promised me an exciting update.”

I sit across from him. “Did I say exciting? I never promised exciting. I’m bored, I’m poor, and I haven’t had a girl since Alli and I broke up.”

“That’s your own fault, man. You’ve got the life and you’re wasting it.”

“Yeah?”

“No girl? That’s a choice. You’re pretending not to be swimming in pussy.”

I smile and take a sip of sparkling water.

“What?” Ant eyes me. “Tell me.”

How can I not? “Keep it to yourself?”

“Who the fuck would I tell?”

“All right.” I drum my knuckles on the table. “Ruby and I have ...”

Ant hoots and stomps his foot. “You ain’t fucking serious! How long have I been waiting for this?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Since when?”

“Few weeks. And I don’t know where it’s going, so don’t say anything to my parents.”

He nods. “Good for you. Guess it had to be one of us. You know I had a crush on her in middle school?”

“You had a crush on everyone in middle school.”

“So you lied about not having a girl. What about the other shit? Your jerk-off arm still works, so how bored could you be?”

“Definitely bored. Definitely poor.”

“That last one’s on you.”

“Can’t pull money out of nowhere.”

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