Kitty and I had been chatting with Sorrento’s wife, Jeanine, when I decided to check back in with Mikey. He had a twinkle in his eye as I walked his way, reaching for me as soon as I was in range.
“You having fun, hon?”
I nestled into his side where he sat on a barstool. “Yeah. You didn’t tell me Jeanine was cool. I’m offended.”
“Yeah, well. She puts up with Sorrento, so she has to be cool.” Ben shook hot sauce onto a potato skin and shoved the whole thing in his mouth. “Thanks for being here, Jessie. I know you’re tired. You’re a good sport.”
I gently kissed his bacon bit and jalapeño-flavored upper lip. “How are you eating spicy stuff with your lip like that? You gonna tell me what happened out there?”
A muscle in his jaw ticked and his eyes went dark. “They were fucking with Obi. Not only is he our goalie, but it’s his birthday.”
The way he wouldn’t meet my eyes had me thinking that wasn’t all, but I let it go. On cue, Ben’s youngest teammate stumbled into him. “Mikey, buy me a shot.”
“Whaddya want, birthday boy? You gonna be able to skate tomorrow?”
“I’m fine,” he grinned, turning to me. “I’m Obi. I’m twenty-one today. Can I have a hug?”
I chuckled at the slurring mess of a man in front of me. He seemed to have forgotten that we met when I shut down Ben’s party. “Sure.” Obi hummed into my hair and gave my cheek an exaggerated kiss.
“Mikey, you have the best girlfriend. She’s pretty and she smells good. And she gives good hugs,” Obi said, pulling out of the hug but staying close to me. “I used to have a hot older babysitter and she looked just like you.”
“Okay, kid, take it easy,” Ben said, handing each of us shot glasses. “To you, wise Obi-Wan Kenobi.”
“To me!” he giggled. Obi tossed back the shot, wiping a dribble of it from his chin. “You think I can get that bartender to give me a birthday whooping?”
The woman behind the bar looked like she wouldn’t be taking any shit from anyone, much less a twenty-one-year-old punk.
“Good luck trying,” I said. “Is someone looking after you tonight, Obi?”
With dreamy eyes, he turned to me. “You could be my mommy.”
“Alright, that’s it. You got your shot. Get out of here.”
Obi staggered back to a table with some other players and their wives. “Someone should really look after him.”
Ben gave out a heavy sigh. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had to deal with that level of stupid.”
“Liar. I saw you on your own birthday, and you’re how old? Twenty-eight?”
“Okay, I was a little high, too. I got these really good gummies.”
“And that makes it better, how?”
Ben chuckled. “I guess it doesn’t.”
Obi’s hyena laughter rang out at that moment. A blonde woman sitting next to him looked like she was being tortured. Sorrento swooped in and scooped him up to make him play Golden Tee.
“It looks like he’s in good hands. Does that mean we can go home?” I asked.
Ben was quiet as we got ready for bed, just a few soft touches while we brushed our teeth. We lay facing each other in bed, my hand stroking his arm.
“What happened out there, Benny?”
He gave a weak attempt at a smile. “You know I get in fights.”
“Yeah, but this one was different.”
He took a deep breath. “I don’t want you to worry.”
