I roll my eyes at him and approach Coach. “Hey, Coach. What’s the update on Chandler?” Knots form in my stomach as I wait for his response.
“He’s pretty banged up, but he’s okay. He has a few brokenribs and fractured his clavicle, so he’s probably gonna be out of the rest of the season.”
The knots in my stomach loosen and I blow out a breath of relief. “It’s a bummer he won’t be with us for the playoffs, but I’m so glad he’s okay,” I say.
“Thank God he’s alive,” Elijah says. “Can we see him soon?”
“He’s still recovering from surgery but we should be able to see him soon,” Coach says.
“I’m so glad his injuries weren’t severe. I didn’t know what to expect when I saw the text,” Andrés says.
“Yeah, same. Driving is so scary. You never know if there will be a reckless driver on the road,” I say.
Elijah and I plop down on the couch next to Andrés.
“It’s gonna be tough without him on the court with us,” Elijah says.
“Yeah, it will be. This means Lucas will be a starter now.” I lean forward, rubbing my temples.
“Yeah. This fucking sucks,” Andrés says, shaking his head.
Our team has built up such good chemistry over the season. We’re familiar with each other’s moves, and our bond is strong. Lucas throws our balance out of whack, and with him being a starter now, I’m not sure how it’s going to work.
“So how was your weekend, Andrés?” Elijah asks.
“It was nice. Katie and I went to the orchestra and had a nice dinner after.”
Elijah puts his arms around both of our shoulders. “Aw, look at both of my boys going on dates this weekend.”
“I’m gonna fucking kill you,” I say through gritted teeth.
Andrés sits up straight. “What the hell? You haven’t taken any girls on dates since Annalise. Unless…”
Andrés has been out of the loop, so he doesn’t know that we kissed in the elevator, or that we almost kissed again at Chandler’s birthday. But I knew it wouldn’t take him long to figure itout. He knows I swore off relationships after Annalise and I broke up.
“You were on a date with Annalise, weren’t you?” he says, the puzzle coming together in his mind.
“He sure was!” Elijah blurts, grinning like an idiot.
I whack him on the back of his head.
“When did you two get back together?” Andrés asks. “Last time we talked about her, you said she hates your guts and you’d moved on.”
I know these guys won’t leave me alone until I tell them. I swear they can be so damn nosy sometimes. “Let’s grab lunch later. I’ll tell y’all everything then.”
“Okay, but it’ll be your treat since you wanna keep secrets from me,” Andrés scoffs. “I was there for you during the breakup. I’m kinda hurt you didn’t tell me.”
“I didn’t tell Elijah either,” I say with a shrug. “He just got it out of me.”
“There’s nothing you can keep from me.” Elijah smirks.
“You have a big fucking mouth,” I say with a groan, rolling my eyes.
“Look who just showed up,” Andrés says, and we follow his gaze. Lucas walks in alone, looking completely out of place.
I’m not sure why he showed up. I doubt Chandler would want to see him. They became friends when Lucas first joined the team, but that changed after the shit he pulled in the locker room. No one on the team cares for him. We just tolerate him. Which is why I’m worried about how things will be with him as a starter. He doesn’t share the camaraderie that we all have with each other.
He speaks to Coach for a minute before approaching me. “Hey, Kamado. Can we talk?” Shoving his hands in his pockets, he fixes his gaze on the wall behind me.
