“What’s the ultimate question?” I laugh, shaking my head at this amazing creature who talks to me like I’m his friend. Luke grins, drumming his hands against the kitchen island, drawing out the moment.
“Reese’s or Snickers?” He looks at me seriously, and it feels like being sucked into two brown orbs.
“What?” I squeak, his question so unexpected and yet so very Luke.
“If you could only eat one for the rest of your life, what would it be?”
“Reese’s orSnickers?” I repeat.
“Yes. Wars have been fought, dude, over this very question,” he nods solemnly.
“Wars?”
“Yes. LikeThe Great Peanut Feud of 1978orThe Boston Peanut Butter Battlethat lasted half a decade and made the price of peanuts skyrocket to an unprecedented high in 1921.”Is this guy for real? I blink a few times, considering my reply, but there can, of course, only ever be one.
“Reese’s obviously,” I speak with conviction, my voice steady as beat. Luke nods a few times, sighing audibly, mumbling something unintelligible. Then the smile of all smiles spreads across Luke’s face from ear to ear, his eyes turning positively golden.
“Hallelujah!” he hollers, tipping his head towards the ceiling. “This is gonna be epic, Mitchell! Best roommate situation ever, I tell ya.” Dabbing invisible tears exaggeratedly from his eyes, he sniffs a couple of times, and my entire chest spills over with happiness. “This is meant to be, man. This is meant to be.” He high-fives me before jumping down from the counter and opening the top drawer of the kitchen island. Rummaging through the drawer, the crinkling of paper fills the air. Then something comes flying at me, and I snatch it with my right hand. I already know what it is before opening my palm; the familiar size and wrapper making my mouth water. As I unwrap the orange paper, my heart does a happy dance while my mind drones on like a broken record.Meant to be, meant to be, meant to be.
At that moment, my phone decides to ring, Troye Sivan’s ‘One of Your Girls’ blasting from my back pocket. Great. Just what I need. My mom’s nagging to burst the pink bubble that I’m currently in. Sighing, I pull it out of my pocket and answer it without even looking at the screen.
“Hey Mom, what’s up?” I say, trying to put just a little pep into my voice.
“Mitchell?” A deep baritone booms from the other end. “Or is that you, Carrington, you asshat? Hand the phone over to Mitchell!”
Shit. I pull the phone away from my ear, looking back and forth between the screen that saysCoachand Luke, who’s raising his brows in question, mouthing, “What?” Shaking myself, I put the phone back against my right ear.
“Uhm, no, this is me, Coach Bassey.” I’m so lame. “It’s me, Mitchell, Coach,” I croak.
“Good,” Coach half-yells like he’s standing on a fishing boat in the middle of a storm, worried I can’t hear him. “Listen up, kid. I hope you’ve got your winning skates on,” I instinctively look down at my purple-socked feet, “because you’re starting tonight.”
What? My mind goes blank, zeroing in on the wordsstartingandtonight, but that can’t be right, can it? Buckhammer is first goalie. It’s my first day. So…what?It feels like my brain is short-circuiting.
“Mitchell?!” Coach yells. “You there, kid?” Luke reaches out across the island and squeezes my shoulder, a concerned frown between his dark brows. Shaking myself, I manage to murmur into the phone, “Yeah, I’m here. Sorry, Coach, I’m here.”
“Good, good,” he hums. “You’re ready, right, kid?”
“Yeah, I’m ready,” I say, my eyes locked on Luke’s.
“Because you came here to play, remember Mitchell? So just play tonight like you did this morning and you’ll do stellar.”
“I will, Coach. I will.” A smile tugs at my lips, a strange sensation bubbling in my stomach. A flutter, really. “Thank you, Coach.”
“You’ve got it, kid,” Coach says, his voice almost back to a normal level. “Yep, that’s good then. Gotta go, kid. Gotta call my missus back regarding some Caribbean cruise she’s got her eyes on or she’ll rip me a new one. Bye, kid.” And just like that, he’sgone, the phone beeping against my ear. Pulling it away, I place it on the island in front of me.
“Sooo?” Luke asks impatiently, pulling his hand away from my shoulder.
“That was Coach,” I croak.
“Yeah, yeah, I got that,” Luke beams, motioning with his hand for me to go on. “And…?”
“And… I’m starting tonight,” I smile carefully, still afraid that this is too good to be true and Coach meant to call someone else. But hedidsay ‘Mitchell.’
“Fuck yes!” Luke leaps in the air, fist-pumping, the smile of all smiles spreading across his face, lighting it up. “Woohoo!” he hollers, and I can’t help but laugh somewhat manically. “This is gonna be fucking great, man.” He beams at me as he bounces around the island. Holding up his right hand in front of me, he shakes his head, boyish excitement written all over his face. “You did it, Cody!” he laughs as I’m trying to wrap my head around the fact that all this happiness, all this excitement, is for me. “We’re playing tonight,” he breathes as he grabs the wrist of my right arm, holding up my hand between us, then slamming his palm against mine. “You fucking did it!” He high-fives me one more time. “Team Reese’s for the win, Mitchell.”
And I just nod stupidly because what can you do when all your dreams are suddenly starting to come true, and the most enthusiastic roommate ever is smiling at you like he just won a million dollars? What can you do except smile back like a loon too?
Chapter Eight
