* * *
Kelly passesthe ball to Sam, who catches it. There’s far more ease in his expression than usual as he takes off, racing across the field to the designated goal. Ty and Kelly cheer him on as he reaches the goal and throws the ball down. As he whirls around, pushing his arms up over his head in victory, he appears so much more confident and self-assured than he used to, especially when he first started playing withus.
He races back toward us, and as he nears, Ty scoops him up off the ground and spins him around in celebration of his first touchdown during agame.
“Sam, Sam, Sam,” Kelly, Ben, and I chant as we rush Ty and celebrate with the praise he deserves. He’s all smiles as he glances around while the other members of our team join us in the much-deserved ceremony. All the guys on our team have seen how far he’s come. How Sam’s worked his ass off to improve his game with Ty and Kelly’s help, surely overcoming a lot of mental barriers thrown in his way by his shittyfather.
Ty continues spinning him around for a minute before saying, “Okay, much more and I’m gonna blow chunks.” He sets the still laughing Sam on theground.
Kelly rubs his hand through Sam’s hair. “That was good,kid.”
Sam’s face is bright red, probably in part from the energy he expended and in part from how everyone’s made such a spectacle of his success. However, even if he’s a tad embarrassed, he’s also giddy as shit over it, which he shouldbe.
I glance out at the crowd that’s gathered for the game and notice Eric laughing his ass off over the way we’ve made such an overdramatic deal about Sam’s score, but it was welldeserved.
When the frenzy settles, we continue our game, our side claiming victory in the end, which is good since we haven’t fared well the past fewgames.
Afterward, Eric joins us at a nearby pub, where we’ve grabbed dinner a fewtimes.
“You nailed that play in the second half, Sam,” Kelly notes as he bumps shoulders withhim.
After Sam scored his touchdown, his confidence saw him through the rest of the game. He didn’t hesitate or flinch as he might have when he first started, and while that had already become far less frequent, it was even less apparent today. In the lightness in his eyes and the smile across his face, I don’t see the oppression of those worries that must have been embedded into his mind by hisfather.
Reminds me of Eric. How something from the past can haunt a person throughout their lives. How those who inflict pain on others don’t realize that a little commentary here and there, even disapproval, can affect a person…let alone what happened toEric.
“And this guy was telling us he couldn’t play,” Tyteases.
“You guys, stop,” Sam insists. “No, wait, go on.” Despite his arrogant remark, he blushes, as though he still can’t fully accept thepraise.
I’m glad he’s been playing with us, especially since I’ve heard a lot less about his desperate Grindr hookups. It would have been one thing if he’d been having fun in the process, but the way he talked about it, it was stressful andfruitless.
We chat about the game some while stuffing our faces, then headout.
“You were real good out there tonight,” Eric tells Ty as we head into the parkinglot.
“Aw, well, I did my best.” Around Eric is nearly the only time I hear Ty claiming any amount of modesty, and refreshing as it is, it’s kind of alarmingtoo.
“I’m gonna head out. See you this weekend, Ty. And I’ll see you at home, Jesse?” He winks, knowing perfectly well that hewill.
We part ways, and Ty and I head to my car, since I offered him a ride. “I’m glad you brought Sam out to play with us. He’s a goodguy.”
“Yeah, he is. I can tell it’s been good forhim.”
“What do youmean?”
“Eh, he had a shit dad…and before he came out with us, he was always complaining about guys he was meeting on datingapps.”
“Hey, now. Don’t knock ’em. I’ve been using Tinderrecently.”
“Really?” As we approach my car, I stop and turn tohim.
“Does that surprise you? That’s where I met that girl I went on that date with the otherweek.”
“Tinder doesn’t seem like a hookup thing. Morelike…”
“I’m interested in something a little more thesedays.”
“Oh, wow. We are turning into a bunch of adults, aren’twe?”
