“Yeah.”
“What did Coach Steiner say?”
“I don’t know. Chip hasn’t come back yet.”
Coach Bentley’s nostrils flared.
Coach Steiner was supposed to be available to all the teams equally, but he always seemed to be with the football team, monitoring for potential concussions.
“I swear...” Coach Bentley began, but the door opened and Chip trudged back inside.
“Sorry. Coach Winfield was there, and he got on me about ‘abandoning the sport’ again. You know how he is.”
Coach Bentley cocked her eyebrows. “Hmm. What about Coach Steiner?”
Chip glanced at me, his cheeks turning pink.
“He said if there was no, uh, blood, to ice the, uh, affected area.”
Coach shook her head. “Darius, what do you want? Should we call a doctor?”
I shifted in my seat.
“I think I’m okay. Really.”
I did not want to discuss my testicles with Coach Bentley any more than was absolutely necessary.
“You have a ride home?”
I had not considered my return home.
The thought of riding my bicycle caused a little twinge of pain.
“No...”
“Why don’t you walk back to my place?” Chip said. “Your parents can pick you up from there?”
“You sure?”
Chip nodded.
“Thanks.”
Chip and I walked our bikes down The Big Hill. He insisted on carrying my messenger bag for me, so he had his and mine slungover each shoulder, the straps making an X across his chest like some sort of animé hero.
The afternoon light caught the fine hairs on the back of his neck, where his fade had started to grow out, and painted his skin gold.
Cyprian Cusumano was a beautiful guy. It was impossible to ignore that about him, even though I was with Landon.
That’s normal.
Right?
We didn’t talk much on our walk, just trudged down the hill. Sometimes Chip would glance at me and give me one of his grins.
I didn’t know what to make of Cyprian Cusumano.
And my chest felt tight, walking alone with him in a loaded silence, knowing he had seen me naked earlier, when my own boyfriend hadn’t seen me naked.
