Page 101 of Ancient History

“You should’ve brought a pad,” Chase said.

“I prefer tampons,” he deadpanned.

“No. Seat pads.” Chase lifted his butt up and showed off the South Rock-branded seat cushion providing safe harbor for his tush.

“Why didn’t you share this information with the rest of us?” I asked him.

“I thought you knew. And bleachers are built with the bare minimum so they can withstand temperature and weather variances. Do you think padded seats would survive the winter?”

“Chase…” Everett started. He patted him on the back hard, making his glasses jiggle on his bridge. “Never change, okay?”

Their conversation ran in my background. My eyes were glued to the field. I became an avid soccer fan now that I was openly dating the coach. Jocks hung after class to discuss Husky games and our chances of making it to the finals. And I actually had an opinion now!

“Go, go, go!” I yelled at number forty-one, barreling down the field before kicking a clean pass to his teammate and scoring. I hopped up and clapped my hands as loud as I could. “Go Huskies!”

“I’m still not used to you being butch,” Everett said.

Hutch turned from his huddle with some players and gave me a wink. After his promposal, he was officially out to the entire school and happy as a clam. He preferred it this way. He didn’t want to make a whole coming out announcement since straight people didn’t have to do that; he just wanted people to know and go on with their lives.

He turned back around, and I admired his ass in those pants.

I loved sports.

“How are we doing?” Julian asked, returning with hot chocolate for the four of us.

“We just tied.”

I gulped back a nervous lump in my throat. The players on the field moved with a graceful fluidity, weaving between opponents, sending the ball across unimaginable lengths.

Raleigh climbed the bleachers with his current girlfriend. Was she technically his girlfriend? They managed to stay together for more than three weeks, which seemed like a record for him.

They sat next to us.

“Amos, what’s up?” Raleigh gave me a fist bump. “Have you met Alicia?”

“It’s pronounced A-lee-see-a,” she said. Alicia had small town beauty queen looks and zero interest in what was happening on the field.

“Nice to meet you.”

Everett poked his head in. “You guys are a little late. The game’s almost over.”

“Didn’t know you were so invested, Ev. We had some, uh, errands to run.” Raleigh gave us an exaggerated wink. Everett audibly recoiled.

“Look at our guy.” Raleigh nodded at Hutch with the affectionate gaze of a big brother. “The Huskies were already the underdog going into tonight. The fact that he managed to salvage team morale after the Tommy Alvarez debacle and make this game competitive is huge.”

“Do you think Bergstrom will bring him back next year?” It was still up in the air, and Hutch said Bergstrom had stayed mum since the hearing.

“Let’s see if they can pull it out tonight. Either way, Hutch has already begun studying for his certification exam. And he has a great tutor.” Raleigh cracked a smile, then brushed some imaginary, not-at-all modest lint off his shoulder.

I stopped Everett from recoiling. “He’s joking, Everett.”

Raleigh had taken Hutch and I out to dinner a few nights ago to celebrate the soccer coach of the hour for making it to the playoffs. (Alicia couldn’t make it—she had a hot yoga class.) He could be a bit of an ass at times, but he made the most wonderful toast to Hutch. There was more to this cocky jock than my friends and I gave him credit for. Hutch was lucky to have him as a friend.

“Sometimes people make jokes, Ev.” Raleigh raised his eyebrows at Everett. He had the secret combination to always get a rise out of him. “How are rehearsals going forCurious Anus?”

“It’sCoriolanus,” Everett said through gritted teeth. I tried my hardest not to laugh. Really, really hard. “It’s Shakespeare.”

I was about to diffuse the situation, when the mood of the crowd shifted. Excitement built. A South Rock defense player blocked a shot, then passed it to their offensive player. He barreled down the field, the ball juggled between his ankles in perfect precision. Again, I was amazed at the coordination and poise and skill involved. He darted around opposing players while dribbling, then with what looked like graceful ease, passed the ball to his teammate who, without a single moment’s hesitation, kicked it into the top corner of the goal.

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