Chapter 3 – Reece
Things were never the same after Nick’s parents died.
It went without saying that Nick changed, but honestly it affected all of them in different ways.
Reece had never seen Nick hurting at all.
He was always winning, always having fun, always so carefree, but now he was quiet, his smile had faded, and his drive had undoubtedly cooled off.
The rest of the summer was spent in mourning, and the start of their senior year in high school was nothing like the three of them had been imagining the last few years.
It was too quiet, too lonesome. Even when Reece was with Nick, he was missing him, longing for his smile, his teasing, and more quality time with him.
It wasn’t the same anymore. Nick was pulling away from him and Reece couldn’t stand it—it made him feel helpless.
Hopeless. He was standing in the gym before practice, staring at Nick across the court who was dribbling a ball in place, a white towel draped over his head, shielding his face from Reece.
Nick never used to keep his distance from Reece, so it hurt to experience it but Reece tried not to take it to heart.
“Nicky?” He approached cautiously, calling out to him before he was too close since he was well aware of how on edge Nick had been lately. It was still true, judging by the way Nick flinched before turning to face him.
“What’s up?”
Reece dropped his face toward the floor, not wanting Nick to see the tears instantly filling his eyes. It felt like he was being dismissed, like Nick was turning down his company. “Do you want to warm up with me?”
His hesitance made Reece fear he’d turn him down, but Nick just grunted and started a slow jog that Reece matched.
He was still quiet. Too quiet. But Reece was happy to fill the void for Nick.
Even when Nick didn’t feel like talking, Reece rambled, and Declan was always around doing the same.
Some days were better than others, but most of the time Nick seemed to be suffering in silent depression.
Counseling only seemed to make Nick angry, and he was understandably overwhelmed as he was still grieving while trying to navigate senior year and his blossoming basketball career.
Agents had been contacting Nick over the phone since the summer, some even approaching him at school.
He had snapped at a handful of them. They didn’t care about Nick or what he was going through, only his name, image, and likeness—and how much money Nick could make them.
Declan was going through similar things, but he had his parents helping.
Both Declan and Nick had guaranteed full rides to college.
The same couldn’t be said for Reece. His grades were average and, while he was good at basketball, he wasn’t exceptional like his friends.
There was too much going on and plenty to worry about, but Reece’s priority was his hurting friend.
He was desperate to cheer Nick up, to make him realize that even though his life had changed and he’d suffered an unimaginable loss, there was still so much good in his life and so much to look forward to.
He wasn’t going to let Nick forget about all their plans and promises.
As the season kicked off and life got busier, things seemed to get better.
Not back to normal, but Nick was all in, playing his best, and playing with him was like living a dream.
He’d never been more lethal on the court.
Every game, it was as if Nick was on fire, and Declan was always matching him.
Reece started practicing on his own to continue getting better because his friends were soaring.
They dominated All-Star games, the season extending into March.
Their spring break was packed with practice and film review, which Reece pouted about, wishing they could spend at least a day on the beach having fun like they used to.
It helped him feel better about it seeing how seriously Nick was taking everything.
Put a movie on and he’d be dozing off, but he’d review films all day attentively.
The same couldn’t be said for Declan, he loathed film time, which Reece found amusing.
“Want to go for burgers after practice?” Reece asked Nick hopefully as he sat between Nick and Declan at their shared table.
“Hell yeah, I’m starving,” Declan answered, doing a little dance in his seat.
“I like burgers,” Nick said quietly with a shrug.
Reece smiled softly. “I know, they’re your favorite. We can go for ice cream after, too. What do you say?”
Nick looked from the basketball game running on the wide screen to Reece. The left corner of his mouth curved up for an instant as he attempted to smile. It faded almost immediately, but had shown itself long enough to make Reece’s heart skip a beat.
They ended up at a local burger place, seated in a booth. Reece was admittedly feeling giddy that he was in the booth next to Nick and they were even looking at the same menu together even though Nick had his own, he just didn’t bother picking it up.
“It smells so good in here,” Reece said with a sigh before turning his head toward Nick and breathing in deep through his nose. “Wow, that might be just you, Nicky.”
“It’s gotta be the food,” Nick said as if accepting the compliment might somehow put an end to him.
“Food smells good too, but you smell better. Ooh, this looks tasty.” He pointed at one of the burgers on the menu. “Have you had the secret sauce?”
Nick raised a brow at that. “The what now?”
“Secret sauce. See it here—I bet it’s delicious. Want to try it with me?”
“Dunno,” he mumbled, eyeing the description on the menu suspiciously. “You try it and if it tastes like shit, then we can share my burger.”
“Okay, sure,” Reece said with a smile. “Which one are you getting?”
“Fully loaded,” Nick answered almost immediately. “Look,” he said and pointed to one of the specials. “Now that’s a damn burger right there. Two hands.”
Reece almost started clapping, his excitement getting the better of him. He hoped Nick would eat well and loosen up with them. “Sounds like a monster but the best kind. What about you, Dec?”
“Oh? Is this the part where we remember that I’m here too?” Declan said, feigning genuine surprise, and then gasped when Reece kicked him in the shin.
“Don’t be mean.”
“You’re huge, Declan, nobody can forget you,” Nick deadpanned.
Reece laid a hand on Nick’s thigh, snickering. “Nicky’s right and you know we’d never forget you.”
“Well shit, I better get two burgers then since I’m larger than life.”
Reece had witnessed Declan put away double that before, so he wouldn’t be surprised. “Which two? Try the secret sauce with me?”
Declan grinned, looking more than happy to. “Sure! Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
“I bet you’d like that one with the onion rings too,” Reece said, pointing at it on the menu.
Declan nodded. “Yeah, I heard those are really good here. And they don’t slack on the desserts either, all kinds of stuff… like this vanilla milkshake,” he said and subtlety glanced at Nick.
“Where?” Nick asked, tone casual and nonchalant, but he was leaning over the table to see. “Hm. There’s chocolate too, Ree.”
“We’re totally having milkshakes for dessert,” Reece decided. “I can’t wait.”
The waitress took their order and served their drinks, leaving them to their own devices while the food was prepared, and Reece, for whatever reason, couldn’t be still.
Half an hour later, their table was loaded with burgers and fries and Reece was the first to take a bite, the secret sauce both sweet and savory, melting on his tongue and making him moan.
“Mm! It’s good!”
“Is it?” Nick asked, leaning in closer as if to smell it. Or bite it. “Can I have a bite?”
“Please!” Reece offered Nick the whole burger, body vibrating and turning red when Nick just took a bite like that, licking secret sauce from his lips as he pulled back. “W-well?”
“It is good,” he said, blue eyes softening right along with Reece’s heart.
“Wanna split then?”
It was small, but Nick smiled and Reece had to clutch his shirt at his chest because he’d desperately needed to see that. He wanted to make Nick smile more, so he intended to keep making him.
* * *
Life was moving too fast for Reece to keep up.
Graduation was fast approaching and he hadn’t brought up any plans for his future with his friends yet.
It didn’t disappoint Reece that he wasn’t being contacted by the NIL agents like Nick and Declan, they were on a whole other level.
But that didn’t mean that Reece didn’t want to keep playing with them.
Maybe he couldn’t on a professional level, but college he could do and he spent all of high school making a name for himself.
Late one Thursday afternoon, Reece was sitting on the park’s basketball court with Nick and Declan. They’d played ball for a while and then ended up talking for hours about their futures. All their offers and preferences were on the table, but their university of choice was unanimous.
“Coastal Miami,” they said it in unison, all three of them breaking out in smiles.
“It’s basically home already,” Declan said, rubbing his hands together. “They’ve been dying to get us.”
“You both better promise to keep playing with me.” Reece couldn’t wait for college, for this new chapter in their lives. He hoped to get even closer to Nick.
“We’re always gonna play together,” Nick said and Reece picked at the hem of his shirt, grinning wide. His friends wouldn’t leave him behind, no matter what.
But there was more than college to worry about.
Luckily, the basketball scholarship Coastal Miami offered Reece covered everything he’d need for his classes and boarding, but he was thinking about getting a part time job as soon as possible for some spending money.
He was going to be starting college after all, and that meant he’d be doing more than grabbing an occasional burger or ice cream.