Page 5 of Fair Play
“You like General Tso’s Chicken?” Bodi calls out.
“I eat almost anything,” I respond. “And get me an egg roll.”
He nods and types on his phone.
“Okay. Food’ll be here in twenty.”
“Excellent.” I put my book away and get out of bed, pulling on a T-shirt. I don’t think Bodi cares if I eat without a shirt on but I’m trying not to be a complete heathen.
I pad into the kitchen and pull a bottle of water out of the fridge.
I used to be a big soda drinker but now that I’m thirty-five, my body requires a lot more care to function at the level of a professional athlete. I put on some weight last summer and really had to work my ass off to lose it, get back in shape.
Now I’m in the best shape of my life, which makes the fact that my old team traded me that much more of a kick in the pants.
Bodi’s phone buzzes, and I hear him answer in a more lighthearted voice than usual. “Hey, kiddo, what’s—what?! What are you talking about?” There’s a stretch of silence and then another explosion of anger. “Are you fucking kidding me?! What the hell…yeah, of course, I’m coming. Pack up your shit—I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” He disconnects and stomps up the stairs to his room. A minute later he’s clomping back down the stairs, keys in his hand.
“Everything okay?” I ask, following him into the living room.
“No.” He looks pissed. “My sister’s in a situation with her roommates. I have to get her out of there.”
“What’s going on?”
“I’m not sure exactly. Something about the one roommate’s boyfriend trying to join her in the shower. All I know is, if he puts his hands on her, I’ll fucking end him.”
Stay out of it.
The devil on my shoulder is kind of a selfish ass.
“You need backup?” The words tumble out of my mouth anyway.
He doesn’t hesitate. “Stay tuned—you may be bailing me out of jail.”
So much for staying out of it.
“All the more reason to have back-up. Give me thirty seconds to get socks and shoes on.” I take the stairs two at a time and pull out a pair of socks. I yank them on, stuff my feet into my running shoes, grab my wallet and phone, and run back down.
Our Chinese food has just arrived and Bodi puts it on the coffee table without turning around.
“You ready?”
“Let’s go.” I follow him down to his SUV and jump into the passenger seat. “I didn’t know you had a sister. How old is she?”
“Twenty-two. She’s graduating in June. We moved here over the summer, and she lived with me the first semester but moved out over the Christmas break.” He doesn’t look happy about it.
“You brought her with you to L.A. when you got called up?”
He hesitates. “Yeah. She didn’t want to, but I kind of made her at least look into some schools here, and then she got this fellowship thing where she’s finishing her bachelor’s and starting her master’s—I don’t understand it completely but it was a great opportunity for her.”
“You made her go to school in the same city you’re playing in, even though you could get traded tomorrow?”
He grunts. “It’s not that simple. We were fifteen and eighteen when our parents were killed in a car accident. There was no one else to take her. If I hadn’t stepped up, she would’ve gone to foster care, so I’m responsible for her, you know? I worry. I couldn’t just leave her in Phoenix.”
“Were you in college when the accident happened?”
He hesitates. “I was supposed to be but I couldn’t take care of her if I went to college so when I got drafted that summer I went straight to the minors.”
“And you were drafted by Phoenix.”
