“He looks like he stepped out of one of those Ralph Lauren ads you used to put up on your wall.”
“I put those up because they were tennis-related. They were the Wimbledon ones.”
“Okay, sure. And you never wanked over them? Not even once?”
I splutter when trying to protest. Of course I did. Those men were sexy as fuck, and I was a teenager. I once wanked over the men’s underwear section in one of Mama’s clothing catalogues … It wasY-fronts.
“Wait a minute, how do you know about Ben?”
“One—I’m your brother and I care about your life, so I checked out the college roster. He’s the captain, right? Cute as fuck. Two—you guys have been tearing it up. Princeton posted a video of you guys wiping the floor with Harvard.”
I don’t know what to say.
“Eli, I saw the way you looked at him. You like him, it’s obvious. And he likes you.”
I sigh, running a hand over my face. “What’s the point? I’m leaving as soon as I can get a coach.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why? For the same reason you’re playing in the Premier League and not some second divisionteam. I want to be the best. I want to win trophies and be number one.”
“Yeah, but, why?”
“Because … because….”
“Because it’ll make you happy?”
“Yes.”
“It won’t.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t get me wrong, I love playing football and I love playing for a Premier League team. The money isn’t bad, either. But it doesn’t make me happy, at least, not that alone. You know what makes me happy?”
“What?”
“Marrying the woman I love. Coming home at night, whether I win or lose, and curling up on the couch with her and watching whatever stupid reality TV show she’s obsessed with right now.”
“Noah, I?—”
“Listen, I know. I get it, okay? I’m not saying I’d quit playing football for love or anything like that, because I don’t think someone who loves you would ask you to give up your dream for them. And … ”
I think about something I was too in my own head to notice at the time. Ben telling me he mentioned me to Kingsley. During his meeting with a tennis great, he mentionedme.
“Are you still there, Elias?”
“Yes, I just … I don’t know what to do. I think I had something kind of special with Ben.”
Noah makes a weird noise. Something between a squeal and ‘aww.’
“So, go get him. Aren’t you about to go to the airport? That’s always a cool place to winsomeone back.”
“That’s not going to work the way you think it is. We’re getting on the same plane.”
“Even better, you can corner him fifteen thousand feet in the air where he can’t escape.”
That sounds like Ben’s worst nightmare.
