“Mr. Summers, this is Phoenix Carter. We go to the same college.”
His brow wrinkled. "Have we met before? You look familiar to me," he replied as he dropped his hand to his side.
“He’s friends with Storm, so probably,” Courtney suggested, looking back and forth between us. Friends with Storm? Yeah, that was pushing it.
“I don’t think so, sir,” I explained honestly, dashing a hand down my face.
Clearing his throat, Summers rocked back on his heels. “So, you’re at Epic Heights? Considering your size, I assume you play?”
“I do.”
He raised a hand in a finger gun gesture and pointed at me. “Let me guess, linebacker, right?”
The man clearly knew his sport as he guessed my position correctly. “Yes, sir.”
He chuckled to himself and scratched his chest. Summers was wearing one of those pompous polo shirts that put him on a golf course rather than a party. He was probably one of those types who clapped when the plane landed.
Courtney pointed her glass at the mayor, stating, “Mr. Summers went to both Harbor and Epic Heights, too, Nix, and was captain of the team in his heyday.”
Hmm, maybe I’d misread his flavor. Interesting, I scratched my jaw. “I see. So, I guess you were an Eagle too?”
“Damn straight. I still have my Epic Eagles jersey.”
“Cool,” I said with a thoughtful nod. Wowzer, I had something in common with Storm’s father. Weird.
“They used to call me The Butcher.” And of course, everyone had heard of The Butcher. My assumptions about him abruptly about-faced.
"Nix is known as Brutal by the team. He’s the toughest linebacker this side of the state."
"You're biased," I said with a friendly eyeroll.
“No such thing, my boy. Give credit where credit is due, I say. And it’s a tough position to play, son. I was a strongside linebacker at Epic until I tore up my knee. It's never been the same since. Is that butthead Stilinski still there?” The mayor chuckled to himself as he shook his head. I hid my smile; the Mayor of Newport just used the word butthead. “He was a mean old bastard.”
“No, sir. But there’s a tribute to him in one of the trophy cabinets in the hallway.”
Summers digested that information and shoved his hands into the pockets of his fancy slacks. “Really? I may have to swing by the next time I’m out that way. I’ve been clearing out my office. Had a few nostalgia moments, I can tell you.”
“Sir,” a tall bald man interrupted with a hand on the mayor’s shoulder. We all turned to focus on him as he leaned to whisper something in Mr. Summers’ ear. Courtney and I exchanged a smile as we waited patiently for them to finish their chat. Frustration bloomed in my chest; I so needed a drink.
“Great, thanks, David,” Summers said as he nodded and took a sealed envelope from his buddy’s hand. I watched as he slid it into his pants pocket and then invited the stranger to join us.
“Courtney, Phoenix, this is David Burns, my Press Secretary.”
We all shook hands. “Pleasure. You’re a big fellow,” Mr. Burns said with a warm smile. Odd, considering I was a similar size to his boss. Mr. Summers then explained how David was employed to ‘keep him out of trouble.’ I hid another smile. I couldn’t imagine he ever got into trouble with his squeaky-clean white-collar life. Mayor Summers wasn’t an asshole like I had assumed he would be, but I imagined his life was still as dull as shit.
“Phoenix here plays for our old team, David.”
Pointing a finger, he guessed my position correctly. “Ah, let me guess, linebacker, right?”
“Right.”
“And you, young lady. Let me guess. Cheer squad?” He turned to Courtney, giving her an appreciative once-over without the usual leer that boys my age afforded the girl. And of course, she lapped that shit up. She was one of those types of girls who loved attention, even if that came from a man who could easily be her father.
We then went all out talking shop, and my earlier annoyance about Harper and Cash faded slightly. I felt relieved that I had a distraction, as I liked talking about football. Both the mayor and his associate were OK. They made me feel like an adult. Without any of that patronizing bullshit you got from the staff at college. And he was Storm’s flesh and blood. How was that even possible?
My surprise that I liked him continued to grow. I thought he'd be a charity-function attending motherfucker that didn’t give a flying fuck about any genuine political causes. And then there was his waste of space, spoiled to shit daughter. Maybe his wife was the handful?
Eventually, we were interrupted by an uptight-looking couple that butted in to pay their respects. From what they said, the mayor and his wife were also celebrating their silver wedding that day. I hadn’t a clue how many years that was. I’d seen Storm’s mother once at our High School graduation; she wasn’t glamorous like her daughter and wasn’t anything special to look at either. You wouldn’t have put Summers and her together. Maybe she was fantastic in the sack.
