Page 12 of Totally Played
“We can still hang out, grab dinner, I haven’t eaten, have you eaten?” I don’t know what I’m doing. I didn’t want to come tonight at all, and he’s giving me an out. Why am I not taking it?
He shrugs.
“Sure, I guess. Why not?”
He sits, and I pull out the stool beside him and order a beer from Wally, the owner of The Trophy Room, one of three sports bars in Savannah. Our reservation is at the adjoining restaurant in about twenty minutes, so we’ve got time.
“Do you like hockey?” he asks, and I nod.
“My younger brother plays for Boston U.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, Cosmo Parks.”
“The Flash is your brother?”
“You watch college hockey?”
“I’ll watch pee wee hockey if that was a thing. Is that a thing?”
I shrug. “No idea, but Cosmo would. He’s been obsessed with the sport his whole life. Man, you should have seen his face when he opened the acceptance letter to Boston U.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets drafted this year. He’s an amazing player.”
“Fastest rookie on the ice, but don’t tell him I called him that. His head is big enough as it is.” Cosmo was obsessed with The Flash comics growing up, so I have my suspicions he’s the one who really started the nickname, but it’s out there now and even the commentators use it when they talk about him.
“My lips are sealed,” he replies, pretending to zip his lips shut, and I chuckle. “So your twin plays Banana Ball and your younger brother plays hockey. Any other sporting siblings I should know about?”
“My grandfather is a pretty mean bowler, and then I play, too.”
“You bowl?”
“No. I mean, I play sports. I play in the league with Tony, on another team.”
I catch a slight dip in his brow.
“You don’t like Banana Ball?” I ask, before I down the last of my beer. Wow, that went fast. I signal Wally for another.
“I can’t say I’ve ever seen a game, but I’ve heard…things.”
I laugh. “Fair enough.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure it’s a great…sport.”
“You don’t sound too convinced there.” He wouldn’t be the first or the last to question what we do, but I love it. I love baseball, dancing, and the unmatched crowd energy that makes me feel like a superstar. Sure, I’m not the most well-known in the league. Most people just refer to Tony and me as B-One and B-Two. Bet you can’t guess which one he insists he is.
“I’m just more into hockey than anything else. My whole family was Seattle fans, I’m from there, originally.”
“They were, but aren’t anymore?”
“It’s just me now,” he replies, and my gut sinks.
“Fuck. Sorry. When I said it, my mind was thinking they went for another team now or something. It never crossed my mind they could be…”
“Dead.”
“Yeah.”
