Caulder is there a minute later. His eyes meet mine and fuck, I want to bend him over the bench right now. One corner of his lips curls as if he knows what I’m thinking. But again, before I can say anything, Ethan is on his other side and is talking about something.
Keeping my scowl contained, I focus on matching my pace with Caulder’s so I’m on my feet and following him out of the locker room by the time he’s finished. I don’t manage a seat with him on the bus, but when he sits, his eyes meet mine when I walk by.
I don’t pretend not to stare. I fucking stare. I’m at least partially confident he feels the same need I do, since his gazedoesn’t leave mine as I walk by until we’re forced to break eye contact. I end up a few rows back, but sit at the edge so I can still see him. I’m slightly irritated by how Ethan is keeping him engaged.
In the row beside me, a phone rings and I reflexively look over. Max is sitting at the window with Noah next to him. It’s Max’s phone and he pulls it out. A smile climbs his face as he answers on video.
“Hey,” Max greets.
“Hi. You won, Max. I’m so fucking proud of you.”
“You watched it all?” Max asks.
“Of course, I did. Come here, Ez. Tell Daddy you’re proud of him.”
There’s no answer. I’m not sure if that’s a kid or an animal Deryke’s putting on the screen. I’m not at the right angle to see.
“Hi, Ezzy. You haven’t grown, have you? You’re not allowed to grow when Daddy’s gone!” Max teases.
I find I’m smiling.
“Tell Daddy how proud of him we are,” Deryke says.
This time I hear a quick hum or something. Definitely human. I shift in my seat to try to peek at the screen. I’m not the only one being nosy, which is comforting. Behind them, Larson is leaning over the seat.
“You going back to the hotel?” Deryke asks.
Noah reaches over and pulls the phone toward him. “I’m taking him out to celebrate,” he says. “Ezloooo!” he coos, his voice morphing into that tone that adults use to speak to babies, further confirming this is a child and not a pet. “Hey, sweet baby. Tell your Dad that I’m taking your Daddy out to celebrate. They’re just going to have to dirty their screens later.”
“Inappropriate,” Max mutters, pulling his phone away. “Ugh. Ignore him, Ez.”
I can barely make out Deryke’s chuckle. “Have fun, Max. Be good.”
“I will,” Max promises.
“His days of crazy are over,” Noah says.
“Someone tied his ass down!” Larson says with a cackle.
Max sighs. “Love you. I’ll call you when I get back to the hotel.”
“Okay. Love you.”
The call ends and Max glares at Larson before looking at Noah.
“Why didn’t they come to the game?” Larson asks.
“Ezlo’s too little. In a couple years, it’d be fine, but this wouldn’t be fun for him,” Max explains.
“I didn’t know you had a kid,” Lamar comments from the seat in front of me. He’s half in the aisle now, leaning over.
Max nods, a smile splitting his face. He turns the phone around and shows us his home screen, a picture of him, Deryke, and a newborn. “This is from Christmas, just after bringing him home. He was just a couple weeks old.”
There’s a chorus of aww and I’m amused at how sweet it is when his phone gets passed around so everyone can look at his son.
“You going to get him on skates?” Larson asks.
“Yep. Probably early this summer. We’ll be working on his balance and core muscles with a bunch of toys when he’s a little older. Bouncy things that I swear should be made for adults, too. And sitting. Deryke’s already bought little rubber-bladed training skates that we’ll get on his feet once he starts toddling around.”
