With even more luck on our side, Benny’s coach walked over to the sidelines to greet the scout just as he was making his way over to us once again. “Dennis,” the coach called out, intercepting the scoutbefore he could get more than a few feet in front of us. “Good to see you here again.”
“Likewise, Thom. Good to be here again. Quite the wing you got out there. Would love to talk more,” Dennis said, moving his eyes between the coach and me.
Thom took the words of explanation from my mouth, saying, “I’m sure Chase, Benny’s older brother and guardian, would be more than happy to join us bothin a private conversation.”
“Nice to meet you,” Chase added, an air of confidence coloring his words. “Let’s wait for Benny to join.”
And as if he’d heard us from the sideline, Benny jogged over, eager to shake hands with his scout. “Great game out there, Hansen. You’ve got quite the future waiting for you. I’d love to meet with you, maybe later in the week. I have another game in a neighboringdistrict, but I’ll set something up with your athletic director and we’ll talk.”
Holding out his hand, Benny accepted the offer to talk more, saying, “Nothing would make me happier, sir.”
And with that, what could have been an awkward conversation was over. Taken care of, at least for the moment. I had a feeling what was at the root of it all for Chase. I’d have to get to that later. When allour passion and fury was out of the way, when we were left with nothing but our breathless whispers, that was when our truths were meant to surface. And I was more than happy to wait for then.
“Thanks for dinner, Noah.” Benny devoured the last of his double bacon cheeseburger before swiping a napkin across his mouth. “I feel like I haven’t eaten in days.”
When Iasked Chase about his plans for after the game, he said he had nothing in mind. And since I felt like having your first ever division one college come see your home opener was a big deal, I figured a burger at the local diner was the least I could do.
It was more than my parents had ever done.
“Guess your stomach is feeling better, huh?”
“Sure is,” he answered, shoving the last handful of friesinto his mouth.
“So what did you think of Mr. Duggan?” Chase asked, as he lifted a forkful of salad into his mouth.
“He’s an asshole,” Benny called out, surprising me. “I mean, don’t you think so?” he asked, innocence covering his words. “He treated you like shit.”
“Watch it,” Chase admonished for a brief second, before adding, “But yeah, douchebag is more like it.”
“I’ll still meet with him,though. To see what he has to offer.” There was a mature confidence to his words, further proof that the young boy had been forced to grow into a man far before he was ready. I’d heard it in Chase’s voice more than a few times. I looked over at Chase, his face beaming with pride and knew he’d heard the same thing.
In the same moment of shared eye contact between me and Chase, Benny looked downat his phone. “Hey,” he said, wiping his hands on his napkin. “I gotta run.” He shrugged before saying, “This girl I’ve been kinda seeing.” After standing and sliding his phone into his pocket, he dug his wallet out and began digging for a few bills. “Here, this should—”
Cutting him off, I said, “It’s on me.” It wasn’t lost on me that Benny looked over at Chase before letting me push his profferedmoney away from my hands. Chase nodded, giving him the go-ahead to let me pay for the meal.
“Thanks, Noah. And thanks for coming today,” he added, before clapping his hand onto his brother’s back. I’ll be back by midnight,” he promised, and then he was gone.
“Some girl, huh? Sounds serious.” I tried to make light of the situation since I could tell Chase seemed uneasy about me picking up thetab for dinner. “How long has that been going on?”
Chase shrugged, pushing his plate a few inches in front of him. “Not sure. First I’ve heard of it.” Clearly he was annoyed.
Tired of dealing with mood swings, both his and mine, I called it out. “What’s our deal?”
Maybe he was just as done as I was, because he instantly responded, “What’s my half?” Tearing the bill from my hand, he correctedhimself, “My two-thirds, actually.”
Fine. If this was the game he wanted to play, I was more than okay with taking part. He was more important to me than thirty bucks. Looking down at the bill in my hand, I added everything up, making sure not to underestimate his and Benny’s portion. I knew he’d take that at as an insult, and considering what I wanted to do to him later, the last thing I wantedto do was insult him over a few dollars. “It’s twenty-seven fifty.”
Chase dug into his wallet and dropped three tens on the table. “For the tip,” he added, a touch of anger in his words.
After I added my share to the pile of bills, and without any more words, we walked away from the table and out to the parking lot. “I guess I’ll see you later,” I said, fishing my keys from my pocket. I lovedthat he looked around the lot like a dejected puppy dog before returning his stare back to me.
“Yeah,” he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Sounds good,” he decided, turning away from me.
Unable to keep a straight face much longer, I laughed, reaching out for his shoulder when he was no more than a few steps away from me. “You’re an asshole, you know that?”
He turned around in my grasp,anger written clearly across his face. “What the hell is your problem?” he spat, sounding more like he was growling than anything.
“Mine?” I scoffed. Unable to come up with anything more intelligent, I said, “Mine?” again before huffing in his face. “You’re the one being an ungrateful douche knob.” And it was that moment that a Betty White-look a-like grandma literally clutched her pearls, gaspingas she walked up the steps to the diner on which we were standing, arguing over twenty fucking dollars.
