Page 5 of Flagrant Foul
When Sev invited me to join them, Nate’s entire face changed. His brows shot up in delight and his lips dipped down at the corners as he held out a hand to me and pulled me into a loose embrace. I was jostled left and right between Sev and Nate as the three of us headed down the hall to the backyard.
My feet barely touched the ground.
We played ball until broad strokes of hot pink and orange lit up the sky.
I’d never, ever been happier.
It was the best day of my life.
They even let me bat once.
Despite being a professional athlete, I don’t think I’ve ever tried harder at anything than I did that day. I did my best. My very best. I left nothing in the tank. I ran and ran. I caught balls I didn’t think I could get to and returned them with strength I didn’t know I possessed. I fielded at top speed no matter how far Nate and Sev hit the ball. I didn’t complain once.
“Boys!” my mom called. “It’s getting dark. It’s time to come in.”
Nate and I were reluctant to go in, but Sev glanced at his wrist and said, “I should probably dip.”
“You can stay for dinner if you want,” I said. “We’re having burgers, and my mom always makes lots. I can go and ask her if you can stay if you want.”
“Nah, it’s okay.”
“Are you coming back tomorrow? Are we going to play again? Can I play too?”
Sev chuckled at my enthusiasm. He slung an arm over my shoulder. It was heavy. Meaty. But it didn’t weigh me down. Far from it. Instead, it made me feel like I was floating. Nathan was on the other side of me, and he put his arm around me too.
To this day, when anyone asks me to describe my happy place, I don’t need to think aboutmy answer. The place that comes to mind is Sev on my right, Nate on my left, and me in the middle, grinning like an idiot.
“Yeah,” Sev drawled. “It was a good time. We’ll play again tomorrow.”
As if that wasn’t enough, when we got to the backyard gate, Sev held out his fist for Nate to bump, and when he was done, he did the same thing to me. It was the first time anyone had offered me a fist bump, and I felt overly aware of myself and a little unsure whether I knew what to do. I did all right though. I must have because Sev smiled and said, “Your reflexes are fire, Teddy Bear.”
3
Teddy “T-Dog” O’Reilly
“Yo,Tee.Waitup.”
A honeyed voice hits me between the shoulders and trickles down my spine. I stop walking, though I’m in no mood for small talk. Practice was shit, Coach is a dick, and I want to get home to my fish.
I steady myself before turning around. We’re in the parking garage at the arena and no one else is around. We’re alone. Just Sev and me.
This Sev is different from the one who sits opposite me in restaurants and locker rooms. He talks quieter and looks at me longer.
This Sev is the one who fucks me up royally.
When people ask what made me decide to become a goalie, I usually say I can’t remember. If they press for more, I give them a little spiel about my agility, focus, and passion for the game. What I don’t ever tell them is the truth: an offhand comment by my brother’s best friend changed the trajectory of my life. I never tellanyone that when I was ten, I marched myself into the coach’s office at the start of the season and demanded to try out for goalie. I don’t say that when he asked why I wanted to do it, I answered, “My reflexes are fire, Coach,” with absolute certainty.
God, it would be embarrassing to say that aloud.
I don’t say that long before Sev started fucking me up, he was a family friend who had more influence on me than anyone else in my life. I don’t say that he’s the reason I’m stuck where I am, despite the fact that everything in my life screams at me to move on.
“Samir doesn’t mean it like you think he does, Teddy.” Samir is the new Blackeyes goalie coach, and he means itexactlylike I think he does. Believe me, that man thinks I’m on the team thanks to a heaping dose of luck and nothing else. “It’s just the way he talks. It’s his voice or his tone, or whatever. If you take a breath and listen to his words, you’ll see he’s saying all the same things Alonso used to say to you.”
“He’s not.”
“He is.”
I sweep my hand heavily across my forehead. I’m so not in the mood for Sev and his bullshit today, but I know what he’s like. He has that infuriatingly doggedlook in his eyes that lets me know there’s no way he’s backing down on this.
