“Call me Dev. And same.”
Vette watched her walk away. “Mmm-mmm. She issofine.”
“Don’t fuck with her, Vette,” Brody growled, acting like a big brother. “She’s had it rough.”
Vette’s eyes narrowed. “You think I didn’t talk to her? I’m not just tryin’ to get in her pants. She told me about those supposed grandparents of hers. And the guy who got her pregnant and ran. Bastards. All of ’em.”
Brody’s shoulders relaxed. “I just don’t want to see her hurt again. She’s a nice person who deserves good things.”
“Maybe that could be me.” He ran a hand over his tight braids. “Something about her makes me wanna protect her. She’s so sweet, and she has no one to care about her and Nicky.”
I grinned and exchanged a look with Brody, but he remained skeptical. “Are you saying you fell for her? In one day?”
He shrugged. “No reason why it can’t happen. Guess we’ll see how it goes.” We stood for a few, and I wondered why he lingered when Dora Lee and Nicky were waiting. Vette shifted nervously from foot to foot. Several people had entered the tent, and Vette pointed over to a spot under a tree, away from the noise. “Got a sec?”
Brody was as confused as I was. “Yeah, sure.”
I leaned against the tree, wondering what was going on.
Vette scratched his cheek and bit his lip. “Lemme ask y’all something.”
I was checking my phone. “Yeah? What’s up?”
“Are you two a couple? Like…together?”
The phone fell out of my hands and I lost my breath. I scrambled to pick it up and sputtered. “Wh-what? Why would you say that?” The unexpected and shocking question rattled me, and I shoved the phone into my pocket, hoping no one could see how my hands trembled.
Brody huffed. “What the hell, Vette?”
“Listen, I swear I’d never say nothing, but I remember that trip to Cancun and how you two shared a room. Y’all were different together than the rest of us. I don’t know how to explain it. I noticed, every off-season, y’all spend it together.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “I never seen you with girls or nothin’. Devil, in college…I know you never had a girl stay the night.” He placed his hands on our stiff-as-a-board shoulders and squeezed lightly. “Hey. I don’t care. Y’all are my best friends, and that ain’t never gonna change. Just want you to know that if it’s true, I got your backs. And now I’m gonna go find my lady. Talk to you later.”
Still frozen, we watched him leave toward the parking lot.
Brody shook his head. “Damn. I thought we were doing so well hidin’ it.”
“I guess not. Makes me wonder who else might be thinking the same thing.”
“You’re thinking where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”
Gazing at Brody’s dejected face, I wanted to hold him and say it was gonna be all right, but I didn’t know if that was true. If rumors started to spread, we’d have to deny it and prove them wrong by rejecting who we were inside. All to keep playing football. And that was a fucked-up way to live.
I toed the dirt with my sneaker, wishing I could kick the damn tree down. “Maybe you’re right and I should hold off on coming here to visit.” We left the shade of the tree and headed for the playground, where plenty of kids still took advantage of the swings and slide. “Are you still going to come out to your mother?”
Under his tan, Brody paled, but he set his jaw. “Yeah. Training camp begins soon, and I got tons of things to do. Get the stuff from my place in Texas to New York, find an apartment. Do you wanna leave with me? I can drop you off at home.”
“No, I’ll get a ride from someone.” It had never made sense for me to rent a car, as I always used Brody’s or we were together.
“We’re good, right?”
More serious than I’d ever seen him, he nodded. “Always.”
Relieved, I nodded. “Okay. Later.”
After he drove away, I wandered to the playground and sat on a bench, watching the kids run around. Janie appeared in front of me.
“Mind if I sit?”
“Be my guest.”
