1
Jesse
Kelly servesthe ball from the other side of the net, and as it descends on our side, Ty hollers, “I’ve gotit!”
Closest to the net, Ty backs up toward Ben, who guards the center of the court while I defend in back. We’re spaced out so we can cover the maximum amount of territory on the park’s volleyballcourt.
Ty moves with that speed and agility he’s known for, making an impressive jump and slamming the heel of his palm against the volleyball, delivering it back to the opposing team’sside.
The ball goes right over Kelly’s head, slipping past Ash behind him, but Xavier, in the back on their side, manages to reach it, sand kicking up around his bare feet as he slides to hit it in time. He sends it back in a perfect arc that gives me plenty of time to head under it before I returnit.
Our volleyball league season is almost over, but we wanted to have at least a few more practices before the final game in twoweeks.
The six of us met at Georgia Tech. With different majors and hobbies, the one thing that united us was our interest in playing sports at the rec center. Gradually those games morphed into meeting for study groups, activities on campus, and hanging at bars. But even after we all got busy with our individual careers, it’s nice that we’ve been able to make time to see each other every week for whatever league we’ve signed upfor.
Everyone’s on top of their game today, in part because of the realization that we don’t have much time left to show off our volleyball skills. This particular round lasts for a while. Everyone saves every near miss and conquers even the trickiest of plays. Ty finally breaks the streak as he gets a good hit in, the ball diving low quickly on the otherside.
Ash races from the side he’s on, but Kelly is closer to the ball. Both seem to anticipate the other will take it, so they bail, leaving the ball to hit theground.
A collective moan comes from both sides, as we are all a little disappointed we couldn’t keep it in the air for longer. Just as quickly, our side begins calling out with excitement, claiming victory, Ty proclaiming his enthusiasm the loudest of all ofus.
“Motherfucker!” Kelly pounds his fist in the air. “Dammit!” He and Ash catch each other’s gazes and startlaughing.
“That was totally mine,” Ash admits, putting his hands over his face, obviously embarrassed he didn’t go forit.
“Damn right it was,” Kelly adds with a laugh. “It’s fine, man. I should have grabbedit.”
“Can we cut it with the bromance over there?” Ben hollers from ourside.
“Don’t be jealous. You’re still my number-one guy,” Kelly calls back with awink.
Ben enjoys a laugh while Xavier fetches the ball and passes it back to ourside.
“Get ready to kiss your winning streak goodbye,” Ty says as he positions himself to serve the ball again. Kelly, Ash, and Xavier’s team is only ahead by a few points, but Ty’s not good at losing, even by a little bit, so he gets particularly competitive when our team’sbehind.
“Just throw it, and we’ll show you why we’re the best,” Kellyretorts.
Ty shakes his head beforeserving.
The game’s on onceagain.
I love these guys. They’re my people, my crew. We’ve had a lot of fun and shared a lot of drunken nights together. We’ve swapped secrets and traded grievances. We’ve seen each other through hospital visits, losses in each other’s families. We’ve been there through insecurities and worries and shared in one another’s triumphs in academia and the businessworld.
Even most recently, they were there for me for the fucked-up situation Ty and I are in: that his dad’s myboyfriend.
Boyfriend. Have we really come so far sofast?
With Eric, everything’s beenfast.
From the moment we met—hell, the moment we laid eyes on each other—it was like we were on a speeding train, heading straight for disaster and disregarding every warning as we grew more and more enamored with oneanother.
Despite how recklessly we found our way into the biggest shitstorm of my life, my buds have been incredible and done the best they can to navigate this with us. Yes, we’re always the first to rag on each other and give one another a hard time about trivial things, but they haven’t brought it up to make Ty or me feel uneasy. They know it’s a difficultsubject.
Maybe it shows how much we’ve all matured from when we used to slap each other’s asses with towels in the locker room at thegym.
Ben and Kelly have made the occasional teasing comment in private with me, but they always immediately follow it up with a clear statement of their support, which is more than Ideserve.
As we reach the middle of the match, Ty calls out, “Jess, Jess, Jess,” the way he sometimes does when he’s shouting too quickly to get that extra -eout of hismouth.
