Page 10 of More Than A Game

Murphy

As the sun begins to set on the Sinclairs’ backyard, and the fireflies start to light up the night, we’ve eaten all the food and told every funny story that we’ve all amassed about Cooper Sinclair. And all things considered, we had a fun afternoon. We’re sitting around two teak tables that have been pushed together. The smell of the BBQ has begun to fade.

There’s been a ton of talk about the wedding, the bridesmaid dresses, and the fucking flowers. I had no idea how much chicks are into this shit. I think it helped keep everyone’s mind off the fact that Coop is flying out in a few hours, and it worked for a while.

The afternoon flew by, especially after Sabrina and I called a truce. I forget how much fun that girl can be when she isn’t a massive pain in my ass. It doesn’t hurt that she’s smokin’ hot too. She has long, thick hair—the color of my favorite chocolate candy—and big brown doe eyes to match. She’s not skinny, but she’s not heavy either. Her body is the result of years of playing soccer, and she has the sexiest legs and ass I’ve ever seen. They’re shapely and muscular.

Sabrina Cabot wouldn’t break while I fuck her. And I need to stop that train of thought right there.

I’ve got enough girl drama for now.

When Brady and I were in elementary school, Sabrina was in school with us, always trying to prove she could do anything the boys did but better. Competitive little shit. Then fifth grade hit, and her parents decided to send her to the all-girls Catholic school. She was always tight with Chloe, so we’ve all been around each other for years, but it wasn’t until we were fucking around in the pool today that I saw a different version of her.

Most girls would have freaked the fuck out if they got pushed in the pool. They would have been whining about their makeup or their hair, but not Sabrina. Nope. She just pulled me in with her.

Didn’t seem to care at all that we could all see through her wet, white t-shirt. When we both surfaced after we fell in, she just laughed and pushed my head down again as she swam toward the shallow end and proceeded to throw the ball around with the guys for a while before she got out of the pool and asked Nat if she could borrow some clothes.

I wasn’t thrilled when she reemerged from the house in a pair of Nat’s dry shorts and one of Cooper’s t-shirts. I mean, I guess her C cups don’t fit in one of Nattie’s tiny shirts. But still, seeing Coop’s shirt on her annoyed me.

Not sure I’m ready to dissect that just yet.

That brings us to now.

Cooper has his duffle thrown over his shoulder and is holding a crying Nattie. He asked to be allowed to say goodbye to everyone here. Coach is taking him to the airport alone, and Nat is struggling with saying goodbye.

Brady walks over and pulls her away from Cooper.

She goes from sad puppy dog eyes to pissed in a split second. “Cooper Sinclair, if you get yourself hurt, I’ll never forgive you. Don’t ever forget I’m your older sister, and I will kick your ass.”

Coop reaches out and grabs Natalie’s hand. “Love you, Nat.” He looks around at all of us—Nattie, Brady, Declan, Bash, Chloe, Annabelle, Tommy, Sabrina, Carys, his dad, my mom, and me. “I love all you guys. Take care of each other, and I expect care packages and letters all the time. I want to know everything that’s going on in Kroydon Hills.”

Annabelle’s brother, Tommy, steps forward, squeezing his stuffed dinosaur tightly. “I’ll send you letters, Cooper. I promise. I’ll tell you everything that’s happening and make sure you know all the scores of all the games.”

“You better, Tommy.” Cooper squats down to look in Tommy’s eyes. “I’m counting on you, buddy.”

Annabelle pulls Tommy back. “Be safe, Coop. We promise to send you those cookies you like.” She kisses him on the cheek and puts an arm around Tommy, who buries his head in her shoulder.

“Dad, promise me something.” Looking over at Coach, Coop wipes at the corner of his eye dramatically. “Promise me you won’t give my room away to this jerk-off if the Murphys move into our house.” Then he fist-bumps me. “Kidding, man. But you still can’t have my room.”

We hear the beep of his watch.

“Guess it’s time to go.” He kisses Nat’s head one last time, hugs Declan tight, and waves at the rest of us. “Love you, guys. See you at graduation.” With that, Cooper walks through the wrought iron gate to the driveway and is gone.

Coach kisses my mom. “I’ll be back in a bit.” He follows Cooper through the gate.

Declan reaches over and wraps his arms around Nattie. “He’d hate to know you were crying, Nat. It’s just two months. He’ll be okay.”

Nattie sniffs before looking up at him. “It’s the first two months of eight freaking years. We shared a womb. We’re not supposed to be apart for eight years.”

Declan looks over Nattie’s head to Brady as if to say help me.

Brady runs his hand down her arm and links their fingers. “Come with me, Nat. Let’s go inside.”

She turns to Brady, who wipes away her tears, before walking into the house.

The rest of us stand there with our feet stuck to the ground for what feels like hours but in reality is only minutes. Coop will have eight weeks of boot camp, then another few weeks of special ops training before he gets moved again to start the whole BUD/S process. We really won’t have much opportunity to see him during any of it before he’s sent to a different base. I’m gonna miss having my friend around.

Fuck this day.

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