Page 51 of Still Bruised
Who else had he wronged, though? Who else would’ve known who he was and cold-cocked him after sex? No one that Foster could think of, and it was driving him batty.
Hopefully he’d figure it out before something worse than a fist came his way.
The late summerair was as thick as pudding. Even on the shadiest court, heat rose up from the blacktop, making Jude sweat even harder. He bounced the ball toward Anton before pushing past the guy covering him and rushing closer to the basket. Anton threw it back to him seconds before he laid it up and took the two points. Not like it was enough to help them win. The other guys were destroying them.
Staying up until nearly two hadn’t been a great idea, either. Both he and Anton were running in slow motion.
“Fuck,”one of the younger guys they were playing against yelled, bending over with his hands on his knees. “Sorry but it’s too hot for this shit.” He stood up and shook his head. “I’ll take the L. I’m outie.”
“You’re giving up against these old guys?” one of his trio asked before the leftover pair jogged over to convince their friend to stay.
Old?Roan mouthed to Jude and Anton.
Jude snickered, all while hoping the two guys would lose their fight. When the traitor kept on walking, he sighed with relief.
“Thank god,”Jude muttered to himself before lifting his t-shirt to wipe the sweat from his face. He walked closer to the other two young guys and shook their hand. “Good game.”
“Wanna do two on three?” one of the guys asked.
“Nah,”Jude said. “Your friend was right. It’s too hot for this shit.”
“Then you guys take the loss,” the other guy said. “We’re still ready to battle.”
Jude groaned. “Let’s just call it a tie and be done, hmm?”
The leftover pair scoffed at him and muttered“old man”before they all headed for their respective benches to chug water. Jude gulped his down, his limbs feeling rubbery.
Anton dropped to the bench and groaned. “It’s almost September. Shouldn’t it be cooling down by now?”
“I told you we should’ve gone to the community center for a game,” Jude said before wiping his face again. He hadn’t shaved, so the beard growth wasn’t making him any cooler, either.
“The old guys go to the community center to play,” Anton complained.
“Apparently wearethe old guys now.” Jude eyed Anton and Roan. “I’d rather play against a fifty or sixty-year-old in a cool gym than have three eighteen-year-olds dance circles around me in the gaping fires of Hell.”
“Agreed,”Roan said. He snatched his gym bag. “At least we won’t have to endure this heat next Sunday.”
“Why not?” Jude asked.
“Mia’s baby shower.Remember?”Roan asked. He glanced at them. “You’re both coming, right?”
Jude winced. He’d forgotten. A co-ed baby shower was not his scene, even if it was Roan’s first child. Plus, Mia didn’t really want him there, so why make her life hell? “Let her enjoy her day without me hovering around. You know how she gets.”
Roan sighed. “I miss you, Jude.”
“I miss you, too,” Jude murmured.
“I wish the two of you could sit down and iron shit out,” Roan said. “You never come to anything anymore. Ihateit.”
Jude hated it, too. He, Roan, and Anton had been thick as thieves since forever. They’d all hung out nearly every day since their teens. Once Roan becameRoan and Mia,it had left Jude out in the cold.
Mia had claimed Jude was her first true love. He’d broken her heart when he’d admitted he was gay. She hadn’t spoken to him for years after that. When Roan had cautiously approached him, asking if it was okay if he and Mia went on a date, Judeimmediately sensed he was about to lose one of his best friends. That was becoming truer and truer as the years passed. All they had left was Sunday basketball.
Now he was losing that, too. Hopefully for only one week, but with the baby coming, who knew?
“Maybe wecantalk it out,” Jude said. “But her baby shower isn’t the time to do that.”
“Maybe not,” Roan muttered. He looked at Anton. “Areyoucoming?”
