Page 21 of My Debacle with De Lorenzo

“Nothing much. Why weren’t you at practice on Friday?”

“Didn’t Pete tell you? I tore the muscle in my shoulder and the doctor says I can’t play for a while.”

“Geez, I leave for four days and when I get back, the captain’s not the captain anymore. How long are you gonna be out for?”

His eyes shift past me for a moment before he answers. “Uh...he said it’s probably going to be around three months.”

“Ah, shit. I’m sorry. That’s a really long time.”

His jaw clenches with annoyance. “Tell me about it.”

His focus shifts past me again, and I half-turn to see what keeps taking his attention. “What do you keep looking at?”

“Nothing, Dyl.”

“Why did you disappear for four days, anyway?” Peter asks from across the table. “Coach wasn’t happy about it. You know we have a game coming up in two weeks.”

“I was tired,” is my flippant response. “I just needed a break.”

“Dylan, you can’t keep doing that.” Scott starts his usual lecture, and I try to pretend I’m interested. “This is not the first time. The team is important and you’re important to the team.”

“Scott, you and I have different priorities. Money, status, image, popularity, andthe team—that’s important toyou. I don’t give a shit about all that. I play football for fun and because physical sports help me take the edge off, but I’m not here to win any trophies.”

“Shit,” comes Peter’s annoyed response from the other side. “You know, there’s no talking to you, Dyl. You’re like a fucking brick wall sometimes!”

“Gosh, Peter. Sounds like you need to get bigger panties. The one you’re wearing is cutting off circulation and making you moody as fuck. I got a number of a good seamstress if you want it. She custom makes mine.”

That breaks the tension and both of them laugh.

“How the hell are we friends with this guy?” Scott snickers.

Peter shrugs. “I don’t know. I’m honestly considering putting him in a box and leaving him on someone’s doorstep. Maybe they’ll take him off our hands.”

We eat lunch, and Peter tells us about this girl he’s been chasing for two weeks. He’ll try to sleep with anything that walks and after the challenge is over, he just dumps them. Even though Scott is in a long-term relationship, he always encourages this behavior, so I decide to speak up.

“You know you’re going to end up alone in the future if you keep treating girls like that?” I say to him.

“What makes you think I want a relationship?” Peter counters. “Girls come with too much baggage, too many issues. I just want to hit it and leave.”

Scott nods his head in agreement. “Girls are walking baskets of complications. Look at Steve over there.” We all look in the direction he’s pointing to see Steven and Shelby in a heated argument. “His girlfriend probably found out he’s been cheating, and he’s going to beg and plead, and she’ll still give him shit...because that’s how women are. If you wrong them, you’ll be paying for it for the rest of your life. You can beg and apologize, and shestillwon’t forgive you.”

Again, I notice his eyes have drifted and I can’t figure out what or who he keeps staring at, so I’m confused as hell. “Are you talking about Beth?”

His focus snaps back to me. “Uh...yeah, I’m talking about Beth.” He pauses for a second, as if thinking of what to say. “Why do you think she’s not here? I’m trying to better myself, grow as an individual. I can’t play for a while, so I started guitar lessons to do something productive until my shoulder heals. But then doesn’t she get all bitchy because we’re not spending enough time together, so now she just fights with me every morning then gives me the silent treatment for the rest of the day. Aren’t girlfriends supposed to be supportive?”

“Silent treatment still puts her at a level five crazy,” I point out. “If I were you, I’d try to work it out.”

Scott chuckles. “You and these levels.”

“They’re very accurate,” Peter states flatly. “Ever since he told us about them, I live by it. I hate gold diggers, so level six is already too high for me. I’m not taking anything over a five.”

I nod. “Five is my max, too.”

We leave the cafeteria ten minutes before the bell rings, and Steven and his girlfriend have taken their argument to the hallway.

“Baby, I never touched her, I promise,” I hear him say. “You know I love you. I would never do that to you.”

Shelby crosses her arms over her chest. “She told me you were begging for it. Why would she say that?”

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