Page 29 of Under the Lights
Deck and Philly had split before the last pitcher because they had wives and kids waiting for them, but the three that were left weren’t ready to call it a night yet. Since there weren’t any other options, they were still sitting at the Stewart Mills House of Pizza, drinking and talking.
“I thought by now there’d be something to do in this town,” Alex said. “I always thought we hung out and drank beer because we were young. Now I realize it’s because there’s literally nothing else to do.”
“We should head out soon, anyway,” Sam said. “We’re guests in people’s homes, and even though they said they’d leave the doors unlocked, we shouldn’t stay out too late.”
Chase rocked his chair back onto two legs. “Look who learned some manners while he was... where the hell were you, again?”
“Texas. And screw you, Sanders.”
“He’s right,” Alex said. “But a few more minutes won’t hurt.”
Chase set his chair down with a thump so he could refill his mug. The frost had long since melted off the glass, but he was too lazy to walk up to the counter and get a fresh one.
“I can’t believe Coach’s daughter is a cop,” Sam said. “I always thought she’d be a librarian.”
Chase snorted, even as the phraseCoach’s daughtercaught in his mind. Kelly was right. Her identity was always wrapped up with her dad’s. “Why the hell would you think that?”
“She was always reading, remember?”
“I remember she didn’t like me very much, so I mostly ignored her.”
Alex shook his head. “I think she liked you more than you think. And since you were too busy dating cheerleaders, she pretended she didn’t like you so nobody would know.”
“You’ve been watching too much afternoon television, my friend,” Chase said, but it was an intriguing idea.
Had Kelly McDonnell had a crush on him back in high school? Not that it would have mattered. Even if he hadn’t been going steady with Janie Vestal, he would have been too afraid of Coach to risk dating his daughter.
Hell, he was still afraid to date—so to speak—Coach’s daughter, as he’d so badly proven in the kitchen. But if she’d had a crush on him then and had thought about him over the years, she probably still wanted him more than she was willing to admit.
There had been no hesitation in her kiss. She’d enjoyed it as much as he had. And he’d seen the heat in her eyes and the hitch in her breath when he’d said he wanted to take her up against the wall. That desire was just as mutual as wanting the kiss.
But they were in a good place right now. They’d talked through the awkwardness and they each acknowledged the other wasn’t the right person. It didn’t stop him from wanting her, but he hoped like hell it would help keep him from showing it.
“Earth to Sanders,” he heard Sam say.
“Huh?”
“Considering the conversation, I’m real interested in where your thoughts went just now.”
Chase snorted, as if Sam was totally off base. “I was thinking about football and wondering if any of us remember the old play calls.”
“Shit, I barely remember how we line up on the field,” Alex said.
Sam laughed. “That’s easy for me. I stand behind the guy squatting over the ball and pray like hell I don’t fumble the snap.”
“Kelly said we’ll have access to the field next week to practice if we want,” Chase said. “I think we should take her up on that offer.”
“We don’t have a chance in hell of beating those kids,” Sam said. “But I’d like to not embarrass myself.”
“I’ve heard that before.” Chase took a swallow of beer. “We didn’t have a chance in hell of beating those kids for the championship back in the day, either, but we did.”
Both guys stared at him for a few seconds, then burst out laughing. He joined in because no amount of guts or inspirational speeches would get them past a team of well-coached teenage boys. But that didn’t mean he was going to let them steamroll over him, either. So a few years had passed since he and the others had played ball together. Didn’t change the fact that they’d been pretty damn good at it once.
“We really do need to get out of here,” Alex said. “If we don’t leave now, we’ll need more beer, and I don’t want to forget how to get to the Bartons’ house.”
“It’s a little awkward when everybody goes to bed and you’re not tired,” Chase warned. “I’ve got a stash of snacks and magazines in my room to kill time until I’m tired, but hopefully your families aren’t the early-to-bed, early-to-rise types.”
“I’m a night owl,” Alex said, “but I have my laptop, so I can work if they go to bed early.”
